More Taipei adventures

A few weeks ago friends took us out to the Taipei Zoo. It was a beautiful sunny day and although we as parents aren't too keen on Zoo's, this one was very nice. Apparently the same designers made the Zoo in San Diego and that one has been the most impressive we have ever seen. You could see that this one was made with a similar view in mind. It was a great day with great company. Maya especially couldn't take her eyes off the elephants.



The next day Evan "needed" to be a lion and this is how we went out all day with people being impressed with his face paint and his scary roar.



Then Christmas came and Evan and Maya had a blast. Evans new bike has been a big hit. He hardly lets go of it anymore...







At the end of every day it's bathtime. Since our house here doesn't have a bathtub we had to get one and the two get very cozy in it. A feast every night...

Arriving in Taiwan

What does a family of four look like after flying 14 hours to their new home in Asia? How much luggage do they bring?



Miraculously, the kinderen traveled liked the veterans they are. We (the parents) were pretty well prepared with games, toys, food and what not, but I've got to give it up to the kids. They didn't drive me to drinking, not yet at least...

I won't kid you, the first week was hard. It rained all week and we met the challenge of life in the big city. Now, as far as city's go, Taipei feels very soft, friendly, and welcoming. Still it is a city and navigating a double stroller up and down stairs, through the rain, through the crowds, and in and out of elevators is no joke. Don't get me started on the misery of apartment hunting.

We survived the first week and the sun came out. This past week has been about getting to know our new landscape and enjoying the charm, cafe's and other advantages of urban life. The kids seem unfased by the move. In fact they seem to love the stimulation around them, and certainly all of the attention. About 90% of the people in the streets take a double look at them, especially when they see the stroller with "another one" in the back.

It looks like we have found an apartment and we should be able to sign the lease and move in next week. The location is ideal, only 2 blocks from the Da-an Park (Taipei's version of Central Park). And it has a huge playground.







We call this one "Maya joins the Taliban"


Many of you know that Taipei is home to the World's (formerly) Tallest Building, Taipei 101. It is huge, towering way high above everything else. Given it is so big, you can see it from anywhere in the city which is handy when lost because you can use it to mark where you are. Anyway, one of our jokes during the apartment hunt was when the agent would point out, "look! a 101 view!" Again, seeing that everywhere in the city has a "101 view" this is not always that impressive. Anyhoo, today we made our first pilgrimage down to 101 and took the worlds fastest elevator up to the 89th floor observation deck. A clear day for us to survey our new home!





In the Basement of the 101 building is a huge food court where we decided to have lunch before heading home. That was quite the experience, ploughing ourselves with the stroller through the masses trying to find something vegetarian to eat that would suit our and Evans pallet. We had Indian (!). Afterwards Evan decided it would be fun to run off and play hide and seek so we lost him for a few minutes that were filled with anxiety. Daddy found him wearing a Santa Hat while hanging out with a Taiwanese girl. That scare gave us plenty of reason to head down to our favorite Gelato place and this is where Maya was sleeping soundly and we sweetened our day away with Gelato.

;

Our "Going Away" party hosted by two wonderful ladies. Lots of very sweet people, old friends, fellow yogi's and many kids were honoring us with coming to say our bye byes. There were fresh dosa's made in our backyard, a snack table for the snackish and a delish chocolate cake with champagne to top it all off. We felt so blessed to see our community get together and will miss all of them dearly.

You Said it, brotha!

Meeting With Masters

The family and I just returned from a four day retreat with the great yogi Richard Freeman. I am always humbled by Richards ability to convey such esoteric philosophical systems such as Vedanta in a practical and humorous way.

It occurred to my over the weekend that in the last 2 weeks, we have been able to spend a little time with some of the real heavy weights in modern yoga. This trip to see Sri Richard along with our recent travel to Encinitas where we sat at the feet of Sri Tim Miller and members of the Jois family as well as many other notable yogis has left us rich in experience.

Although my son will not remember his meeting with Sri K Pattabhi Jois two years ago, I will be a proud yogi dad to remind him of that blessed encounter. In fact, the odds are that my kids will have little interest in yoga seeing that we always tend to push away from the path of the parents....

Oh well, at least I can share with them this little video that we were in at the opening of Jois Yoga in Encinitas.

Maya peeking through

Evan has been more interested in Maya lately so when I heard them both squealing with delight I found them interacting nicely. Evan had put his hat on Maya.....

How we survived 8 hours in the car with 2 babies

Amazing! That's how I would describe the performance by my kids. We were able to leave Palo Alto at 10am and arrive at our hotel in Encinitas by 6pm. Really amazing!

Here's how we did it:

First, we have been telling the kids for the past week that we were going to make a big trip. That helped us all to mentally prepare for the big journey. Ironically enough, a 5 minute drive across town is met with the constant mantra of "I want to get out!"

We do know that the kids understand almost everything that we say (even if sometimes they don't want to...) and that when we clue them in to the "plan" then things go a lot smoother. This includes mundane plans of "We are leaving for the market in 5 minutes." I suppose that they feel included in the decision and have a sense of power in that.

The second key factor to survive the drive was having mamma sit in the back with the little ones. Heleen planned for the journey with activities and games, books, beloved toys, and a goody bag with new toys. Additionally, a steady stream of snacks kept appetites balanced.

We only watched a DVD once and for only an hour or so, maybe two episodes of Go Diego Go. Evan was not really interested. Again, I think the fun of having mom in the back to play with made all the difference.

We stopped twice on the way. Once to refuel and a quick latte, that was about 4 hours into the trip and once after the stop and go traffic of LA, about 6 hours in. The last stop was initiated by a very hungry 6 month old that needed her mamma-fix. So, 45 minutes in Orange County on a grassy knoll outside of the In and Out Burger (only fries with mayonnaise for us) and we were on our way!

I hope that this story of survival will not be registered as over confidence because I am quite aware that we will have the drive back....and going home is never quite as exciting!

Say a prayer for us

Long Car Ride with 2 babies...

We've made a (somewhat) last minute decision to travel down to Encinitas from the Bay Area with our 2.5 year old and 6 month old. We feel bad about locking the kids down for a 7 plus hour car ride, but we want to take the trip. After Googling "Long Car Ride with baby" I've not really come across any great new ideas as to how we might occupy the kiddies.

One suggestion is to drive when the kids are sleeping. The big problem is that the 2 year old doesn't sleep in the car. The other problem is that if we were to drive at night, then I would...

We're planning on sing-along-cd's and even children's books on cd = John Henry narrated by Denzel Washington, etc and a marathon of DVD's. We've picked up some new toys that will act as surprises along the way...Hmm, what else? We'll plan to stop and stretch our legs quite a bit. Of course the makes the trip even longer...Oh boy.

We've been telling the babies about the trip. That helps in getting them excited about the adventure. "We're going to the beach!" "We're going to see a panda!"

One funny side note is that with the popularity of Go Diego Go in our house it makes going to San Diego even more exciting. Now we hear Go San Diego Go.

We'll let you know how it turns out!

playing on the old blog

a new look- whatdya think?

We finally managed to make some fun pictures again now that we have a fabulous new camera (finally!!!). We spent the day at the beach last weekend followed by Evans friend Aidens birthday party in the park. It was a fantastic day with warm weather, clear views and dear friends. The perfect day. You can see pics to the left in the slideshow. Just click on it to make the pics bigger...

Evan and Maya hanging out together....

Beach Hit-the-ball

All You Need is Love

Love, Love, Love....

Love, Love, Love....

Love, Love, Love....

Love is all you need!

The Beatles said it, and I agree. Love is all you need. And in this household, everyone needs there love. This is what I mean:

Just before 7am, with even more regularity than my alarm clock, Evan "goes off." It's time for him to get out of bed and entertain us for the next few hours. Of course, little Maya is in the mix too.

What a sweet baby girl, just wants to be held (but don't we all.) She gives a little cry to say, "Hey pick me up, too!"

Why not? Two babies, two arms. Poor mamma, at least I get a "break" when I go to work, she is on duty 24/7. Feeding, cleaning, watching, worrying...

By 1pm, the babies are down for a nap. Finally a moment to myself to lie flat....But who's that bounding up onto my chest? Kitty!

"Oh, Hi kitty. I love you too...I know, I know, you need your snuggles too."

Kitty is easy to please. A few minutes of earnest stroking and he is set. Of course he would still rather sleep on my face if I don't mind...

Oh yes, didn't I have a wife somewhere amongst all these children?

I have to find out if she is getting her snuggles....

We all need Love

(the Beatles play out) "Love, Love, Love. Love, Love, Love. Love, Love, Love. All you need is Love...

Bedtime!

Maya's First Days

We've finally got a few more pics up! You can click on the slide show and a larger window will open with high resolution photos.

Introducing...

Maya Lief Williams

born 2/10/10 4:58am Mountain View, CA

7lbs. 9oz.

20 inches long

mamma and baby (and dad and evan) are doing well. "the picture perfect delivery" according to midwife and nurses. God Bless

Happy Birthday Baby Girl!

Super Mamma = Super Baby! After a mere 5 hours of labour, down from 24 for baby #1, Little baby girl appeared on the scene. 4:58 am Mountain View, CA; 7 pounds 9 ounces and 20 inches long. Big Girl!

Using breath work and deep humming, Mamma was able to give birth completely natural, no drugs (brave woman) and no complications. Our midwife Linn deserves a ton of credit. After delivering Evan, we have total trust and faith in her Wisdom and Knowledge. She did put me to work though, pulling and guiding that slippery one out!

Hopefully, pics will be up soon and a name announced too!

a

Our home is a shoefree home but there's one pair of shoes that we allow Evan to wear inside: his "klompen". They're his favorites and it makes us laugh hearing him make his music with it around the house. Cute little dutch boy.

In ons huis worden geen schoenen gedragen maar er is 1 paar die Evan binnen wel aan mag: zijn klompen. Het zijn zijn favorite schoenen en het brengt ons aan het lachen als we hem zijn klompen muziek horen maken. Schattig klein Nederlands jochie.

Adarsh and Evan working in the garden. Evan loves it every time daddy goes out with him to dig in the ground. We have a lot more garden work to do which is good cause we have such a good little helper around....

Adarsh en Evan aan het werk in de tuin. Evan vind het heerlijk als papa met hem buiten aan het werk gaat. We hebben heel wat meer tuin werk te doen en dat is goed want we hebben een hele goede kleine helper...

Post Op Yoga Follow Up

It has been a little over a month since the appendix was removed from me' belly. When asked "how you doin' ?" I generally offer two answers:

1.) I'm doin' good, pretty much normal in fact. One of the hardest things was not being able to submerge my body for 6 weeks. This meant no bath time with baby...Finally, this past Sunday, Evan and I were able to slash around the tub again, yeaaaaa!

So, I'm pretty much normal as far as daily activities such as lifting, carrying, taking a bath.

2.) The other part that I feel compelled to answer is how I'm doing yoga-wise. At this point, I'm probably at about 65-70 % of where I was pre surgery. Before I get into specifics I should say that I'm so happy in practice at the moment and having a really good flow. I haven't been goal oriented in asana in a long time anyway. I'm really in the space of gratitude just to have 90 minutes to my self in the quiet of the early morning.

As far as specifics, I'm able to do all of the Primary Series (with care in Marichiasana D so the heel isn't pressing to much) and have added postures of the Intermediate. I've been cautious with deep back bending, but have started adding some things like a mellow version of kapotasana (if there is such a thing) and dropping back/standing from urdhva danurasana.

Given the fact that we are days away from hatching a new baby, I'm not expecting to intensify practice in any way....I'll do what I can, when I can! Or I'll simply substitute yoga for sleep...

It has been a great and interest January working with my changed body in asana practice. I do see the body as a Koan, to be worked with and investigated for greater insight into one's own nature. A large part of this is the ability to observe change without attraction or aversion. Just pure observation as it is...

What is the sound of one body breathing?

a

Tweet!

I wanted to point out that I have started a twitter feed on the right hand side of this blog, just below the slide show. Although I've only been tweeting for a few days now, I quite enjoy it. A little different than updating my status on facebook, which I rarely do. I figure it's a place where I can give a quick thought without bothering anyone, unless they are following me. Since I have zero followers, I am not bothering anyone. Heleen thinks that I'm a little silly, twittering away with no one reading, but I kind of like it...

Take a poll of yoga teachers and most will tell you that the corpse pose is the most important of all postures. This final resting position allows the body to integrate the various asana and pranayama forms that have been practiced. Additionally, we have a chance to stop and do nothing, the body has a chance to "re-boot" and prepare for the next activity.

Often, we tease students who quickly jump up from their corpse as doing the "New York City Savasana." Rushing off to the next activity without resting leaves the body jittery and sore, and the mind is more likely to give into agitation.

Although the corpse seems simple, it takes practice to really reach a state of complete relaxation.
I could go on and on about why yogis should learn to master the corpse, but I'll assume you believe me and tell you how to do it the Mysore way:

1. After completing Utpluthi and your vinyasa, jump through to the seated position. Massage the sweat back into your body, especially around the joints and any areas that feel tight or sore.

2. Cover your body with your sarong (called lungi in South India) or large towel and lie down. Even if the room is warm, you do not want the body to cool down or catch a chill after your practice.

3. Cover your eyes with a small towel (I typically use my shirt to cover the eyes). In the picture below, you can see how the eyes and head can be wrapped with a large ace bandage. This is really helpful in allowing the senses to soften and quite practically it keeps the light out so you may rest more deeply.

4. Take care to align the body in a way that is natural and comfortable:
Open the feet about shoulder width apart, allowing the legs to naturally rotate out-soften the hips and buttocks. Allow the pelvis to become neutral in neither a tilt nor a tuck so the lower back is relaxed.

Turn the palms up resting just outside of the thighs. Press down through the back of the head so you can "walk" the shoulder blades under. Have the shoulder blades flat under you will keep the chest open for easy, deep breathing.

Rock the head from side to side until it reaches neutral and the neck is relaxed. Soften the face and scalp, release the jaw.

5. Continue with about 5 Ujjayi breaths until the body softens. Then allow the breath to become so soft that you can hardly feel it on the nostrils.

6. Become still. The first of the yogic abilities (Siddhis) to develop is stillness. Do not fidget. You could move, but for now you choose not to move.

7. As the body and breath reach a point of stillness, the mind is certain to follow.

8. Rest here for a minimum of 5 minutes, longer is better 15-25 minutes if you have the luxury of time.

9. This is not a sleeping pose. You may drift into a Theta brainwave state which may resemble lucid dreaming or the space just before sleep, but no snoring please!

10. Exit your corpse with care. Gradually deepen the breath and move a stretch slowly. Bend the knees and roll to the side, take a moment on your side before pressing up with the arms as to not strain the back.

The corpse can be practiced anytime. I'll do it several times in a day, just for a few minutes, so I may feel refreshed and energized - Truly better than a cup of coffee!

The Dog is Back!

Week 2 of my appendix-free yoga began on Sunday. Feeling pretty confidant after an optimistic meeting with the surgeon on Friday, I was ready to add gentle back bending postures to my practice.

I spent last week doing Sun Salutations skipping the upward facing dog. The sequence went a little something like this:

1. Inhale the arms up
2. Exhale bend forward
3. Inhale open up
4. Exhale directly to downward dog
5. Inhale step forward open up
6. Exhale bend forward
7. Inhale arms up
Exhale Samasthiti

Armed with the confidence of the surgeon's "thumbs up" and a general good feeling around my incisions, I was ready to gently arch the back. I began by lowering from plank all the way to the floor. Then I did gentle back strengthening postures like shalambasana and a low cobra pose. After 5 or so Namaskars, a very mellow version of the upward dog was introduced, no problem!

I was able to continue practicing the entire primary series omitting only a few postures where the heel might press into my incision areas such as janu sirsasasana C, and Marichyasana B and D. I even practiced Urdhva Danurasana trying to only moderately stretch the abdomen, keeping the arch in the upper back.

Energy wise, I feel pretty much back to normal. In my teaching and life activities I also feel pretty normal, just taking extra care with any lifting, etc.

As you know, the best thing about getting sick is getting better! Yet again, I have a chance to appreciate good health and feeling vibrant.

Thanks for reading!

adarsh

Taking Rest and watching movies

One of the nicest things about doing nothing for a week was a chance to watch some movies. I have to admit to being a bit of a film buff. I'll re watch a movie that I like several times. I've seen things like Pulp Fiction and Raising Arizona in the double digits. Yes, I'll pick up a DVD of a movie I've seen several times just to watch the Directors Commentary or other juicy special features. Basically, I would rather see repeat viewings of a movie that I like rather than sit through a plotless Hollywood Cash Grab.

We don't get to watch very many movies any more though. Those with kids and/or their own business can relate I'm sure. So I reveled in the chance to kick back with a few movies while resting. My week in film went like this:

1. While recovering from surgery in the hospital I was so happy when Ghostbusters came on the telly. I haven't seen this Bill Murray (love him) classic since I caught it on the big screen as a young fellow. It really holds up. The special effects are still solid, back before everything was "painted on" with CGI. I recommend it!

2. Browsing through the selection at the local Children's Library, I picked up a copy of In The Valley of Elah about a father searching for his son who recently returned from Iraq and has since gone AWOL. It's not a very uplifting movie but well acted (Tommy Lee Jones and Charlize Theron). I suppose the film ended up at the Children's Library by mistake. Recommended if you do not mind a bit of a downer...

3. Don't get me wrong, I really enjoy the art of CGI. I've seen the entire Pixar catalog including earlier short films. Heleen and I saw Finding Nemo while in Mumbai on the big screen and have seen it several times since. Recently, I've started branching out and watching non Pixar films. We watched Ice Age with Evan and all loved it! Evan especially loved the little squirrel creature Scrat, big squeals of delight with every bonk on the head. Recommended.

4. Ocean's 13 was available at the Adult Library so we decided to enjoy a no brainer movie. It was a lot of fun. Heleen and I got to fantasize about being Vegas high rollers trying to pull one over on Al Pacino and his Hulk Hogan style perma-tan. I have to admit that we generally see and enjoy everything with George and Brad. Also recommended.

5. and 6. We were on a roll with our movies until our mail man delivered out Netflix choices of Bruno and Observe and Report. Both movies made it on the Que because we really enjoy the respective lead actors Sacha Baron Cohen and Seth Rogen. Interesting that both movies arrived on the same day. Both of these "comedies" left me feeling depressed. While O and R had few redeeming qualities, Bruno did provide a few big laughs. I do appreciate that Cohen is pushing people way beyond their comfort levels, like a modern Osho. But again, the movie left me feeling a little down. I would recommend Bruno for those who enjoy a wicked sense of humor and do not mind squirming while watching others squirm on the screen.

7. Finally, we re watched Rushmore. This is one of those movies that gets better with repeat viewings and more Bill Murray. This Criterion Collection DVD had a ton of special features including a documentary "making of" (filmed by Wes Anderson's brother) and commentary track. I didn't get to watch the commentary, so I'll have to do that in the future. I can't wait for the Fantastic Mr. Fox to come out on DVD.

Now that I'm back on my normal schedule, we usually only get to watch movies on the weekend. Julie and Julia just arrived in the mail which I'm very excited about!

Any recommendations for us?

For now the balcony is closed,

adarsh

Slowly, slowly starting back yoga after surgery

As many of you know, last Monday I underwent an emergency surgery to remove my appendix. I'm guessing that an appendectomy is always an emergency surgery?

Knock on wood, I've always been lucky in health. In fact, this was the first time I've ever been in the hospital (as a patient) for anything and have not seen a doctor (other than Ayurvedic) since I was a small child. Oh well, I guess it was time for a new experience!

Before continuing I should define; "yoga" in the title of this post is referring to my asana practice. I actually never stopped practicing the yoga of breath and mindfulness (that's the real stuff) which was extremely helpful in calming my anxiety before the operation (anesthesia, being cut, possible death, financial cost of health care in America...) As always, staying with my breath and trusting in the process and the extremely qualified staff at Stanford helped a ton.

While recovering in the hospital room the day after the operation I began with gentle Chi Kung and Active Isolated Stretching for my neck and shoulders. My belief is that allowing the oxygen, blood, chi to flow consciously through the body would expedite the healing process. I already felt much better having lost one sick appendix. The doctors and nurses seemed pleased with how everything looked and sent me home. I was able to decline any pain medication as I only had mild soreness from the incisions. I wanted to have my wits about me.

I came home on Tuesday and spent the week recovering by watching movies (I should include some reviews here), weening myself from coffee (goodbye my french roasted friend), and trying not to lift heavy objects like baby, cat, manduka yoga mat...

Before continuing I should mention that I would not encourage anyone to practice post op without the approval of their surgeon. I based my decision to practice on trusting in my own sensitivity, knowledge of anatomy, and mind/body awareness based on a 15 year practice. I know how to go slow with care and patience.

Yesterday morning (Monday-exactly one week post op) I was ready to begin a gentle Ashtanga practice. My focus is currently on what I can do rather than what can not be done: The "Not Yet" category includes back bending (including upward dog), deep twists, lotus pose (not wanted to press the heal into the abdomen). The "Can Do" list is quite long I am pleased to report!

With an awareness of not wanting to overstretch or compress the abdomen in any way and budgeting 75 minutes for my initial practice I was able to complete the following asana series:

Surya Namaskar A x 10 (minus the upward dog)
Padangusthasana
Padahastasana
Trikonasana and Parivrita Trikona with a gentle rotation
Parsvakonasana
Prasarita Podottanasana
Parsvottanasana
Utthita Hasta Padangusthasana
Utkatasana
Virabhadrasana

Janu Sirsasana
Marichyasana A (as a gentle twist)
Supported Navasana
Baddha Konasana (w/o bending forward)
Uppavishta Konasana
Supta Konasana

Sarvangasana (Iyengar style with blanket and strap-long hold as Sarvangasana is the "Medicine Cabinet" of yoga)
Halasana
Karnapidasana
Mathsyasana with straight legs, keeping arch in my upper back, neck
Sirsasana
Yoga Mudra
Sukhasana
Resting

I feel I could actually do more, but I wanted to stick with things that were fairly easy and could be performed with minimal risk. The most wonderful part for me was not being goal oriented, rather oriented to experiencing my new body.

I'll continue posting my journey of appendix free yoga. Thanks for reading!

namaste,
adarsh

Christmas 09

Happy New Year to all of you!

We had a wonderful time celebrating Christmas together and on the slide show to the right you can see some of the pics we shot of Evan having fun with his new goodies.

We went outside and to the park on Christmas morning and it seemed like the entire town had left. We were the only ones there (ok, admitting that 8:30am in the park was a bit early). The wagon you see in the slide show is an old radio flyer we found at our house. Adarsh fixed it up like new so we took Evan for a ride in it which he loved.

Monday after Christmas Adarsh had to go to the hospital after a night of pain in his stomach. It turned out to be his appendix which was taken out straight away that evening. After taking a week of rest he is doing well again and has slowly started his AIS practice again (smartstretch.com) and will gently begin his Yoga practice tomorrow. Slowly slowly is his motto here...

New Years eve and day was spent with a sick Evan and not much sleep but he is also on the mend so we're happy to go back to regularity with everyone healthy again.

Wishing you all the best for the new year,

Heleen