Uncomplicated

I feel weird on how I acted
On what I audaciously wrote
I know things should be taken lightly
So I must hold back tightly

Listening to a song, words all foreign
My thoughts were suddenly aroused
Even though I can’t understand a single word
I feel the emotions being told

I can’t compose a single train of thought
For a few hours I fought
To control my words from frantically gushing out
I feel my head is like a spout

I’m sorry if this poem makes no sense
I’m becoming so intense
The words are becoming difficult to pick
This is it, I’m going to smoke my last stick


posted on Facebook: Friday, April 10, 2009 at 7:46am

Yoga for life

When I was younger (in college), I used to seek various ways to have a healthier mind and body. To have an alternative direction to a solid set of moral values. I stumbled upon and read different texts and teachings like those of Confucius, and a vast variety of Buddhist teachings. Exploring options like those lead me to Yoga. So I bought myself a book called Jivamukti Yoga by Sharon Gannon and David Life. What I like about this book is that it not only teaches what Yoga is in general but also give insights to what Yoga is for, about, its history and the what it can do. I will not go deep on those anymore because I myself needs to read the book again to understand it fully. What I also like about this book is that it also has bits of Christian teachings in its pages, Yoga is not of Christian roots but what I know is that it started in India *and it is the second most ancient if India's six philosophical systems, which are also referred to as darshanas or poimts of view and are considered complimentary rather than independent.

Yoga is an ancient practice designed to link the body and the soul and to "liven it up". It is not only healthy, but Yoga also helps the body ones spirituality to become stronger. The Yoga poses and breathing techniques are designed to target specific body parts, enabling oxygen to be distributed more to that particular area. Also, certain yoga poses are designed to enhance organs, thus, making them function at their best. To add, those are just some of Yoga's physiological aspects and contributions to ones general health. The spiritual aspect is far more deeper and Yoga was also designed for spiritual enrichment as well.

**YOGA FOR P.L.H.I.V. How exactly can yoga benefit PLHIV?

“Worldwide, yoga has become widely recognized as an effective complementary management therapy for many conditions, diseases, and disorders, including HIV and AIDS,” according to Charmaine Cu-Unjieng, co-instructor of the Yoga for Life program.

“Since HIV attacks the immune system, PLHIV particularly need to maintain strong immune systems to keep from becoming vulnerable to a variety of opportunistic infections,” shares Charmaine. “An asana or posture sequence which aims to bolster the immune system was developed by B.K.S. Iyengar, the founder of Iyengar Yoga. The sequence encourages proper blood circulation, as well as increases the efficiency of the thymus, pineal, and pituitary glands, which are parts of the endocrine system known to regulate the production of T-cells, the body’s army against infections.”

“Inversions such as the Sirsasana (headstand), the Salamba Sarvangasana (supported shoulderstand), and the Adho Mukha Vrksasana (handstand) are part of the Iyengar asana sequence that can be of great benefit to people with compromised immunity,” adds Charmaine. “Backbends like the Salamba Setu Bandha Sarvangasana (supported bridge pose) and the Supta Baddha Konasana (reclining bound angle pose) are also used to open up the chest and stimulate thymus activity.”

Charmaine points out, “The most significant benefit of yoga to PLHIV may be in stress reduction. Although everyone experiences stress, the way that stress can take its toll on one’s immune system makes it even more of a concern for PLHIV. PLHIV may also face additional stressors in their lives, like stigma and discrimination, facing disclosure, or fear of sickness and death.”

The program also features pranayama or breathing techniques that can be equally beneficial to PLHIV, with the Ujjayi (victorious breath), Kapalbhati (breath of fire), Nadi Shodhana (alternate nostril breathing) as Charmaine’s examples of breathing techniques that help detoxify the body, increase oxygen intake, promote cellular metabolism, and most importantly, silence the mind.

But she also cautions, “Asanas and pranayamas should be taught by qualified yoga instructors who can teach you the right techniques, make adjustments to the routines for any physical limitations you may have, and make corrections as you perform the asanas. Likewise, anyone with special health conditions should consult his or her healthcare provider before beginning any yoga practice.”

When I started doing Yoga it not only helped me be flexible, but also it made my respiratory system stronger too, I was healthier. Matching Yoga practice with abstaining the consumption of land animal meat as well as any processed food, helped a lot. I stopped smoking at that time and I was not even drinking any processed drinks either. I was a heavy Green Tea drinker, the type that was imported from Japan and the one that one has to scoop out the leaves and put in a kettle specifically for teas. I can run a mile without slowing down, I can swim 4 laps without stopping in an Olympic sized swimming pool, I can climb walls (indoor bouldering) for hours. I can walk for miles, even for hours. I was lean, and it was my fittest, I had 6 pack abs. I never got sick for more than a year, and not a bit of pain in any of my insides. regular Yoga and a healthy lifestyle improved my mind and body that time. So what happened? College thesis came and it all crashed down. I was back to my old lifestyle of smoking and eating all those delicious land animal meat. I did have determination and interest, but I did not have any discipline.

Pulling out the book from my bookshelf bring back healthy memories. As of this writing I decided to go back to Yoga again. I know it will bring great help to my depleting immune system. Thus, with my "back to yoga" plan; I will promote the group I found a couple of months back in which I also partake in one of their activities (a few weeks ago).



***Yoga for life
Yoga for Life began in June 2010, and is the Philippines’ first community-based yoga program for persons living with HIV, as well as others who support them and the cause and want to experience the beauty of yoga. To date, the community has grown to over 300, as Yoga for Life continues to reach more people and build a community of advocates who, through yoga, share their energies towards living positively and living well.

Yoga for Life will have an activity for the 28th International Candlelight Memorial. The event will be held at Glorietta, Makati this coming may 15th. For more details of the activity, please click here.

References:
*Practices for Liberating Body and Soul. Jivamukti Yoga by Sharon Gannon and David Life.

**Yoga for Life's Seasons by CZARINA NICOLE ONG

***sexandsensibilities.com

Prelude: The replays you have never seen before

As I have said in my previous post, for this month of May I will be posting all the posts in my now deactivated Facebook account, with of course my real name deleted. For me it will be like a replay of my life, that you guys have never seen before. I will still post present day stories and personal documentaries in between the "replays". For proper identification, you will know the difference of which is a "replay" and a present day post if you see an italicized phrase such as this one "Posted on Facebook: Monday, October 26, 2009 at 12:59pm" at the end of every entry. Present day posts will not have those phrases.

I decided to post my entries from Facebook to this blog, because those are part of my history, and this blog is somehow a documentation of my life, thus, it is only right to migrate them here.

43 entries are to be migrated to the Bohemian Diary, it will take more than a month to fully tell a part of my documented life since early 2009 to early 2010 up to my last Facebook "note" post on March 27, 2011.

Here is the first installation... Written to say goodbye. First post for the month of May, as I say goodbye once again...

**********************************************************************************************************

Goodbye, hell-oh!

Fear is my enemy

Undermine my weak heart

Careless and childish

Kiss me goodbye

You were a charm

Onto my body you spread your warmth

Unfortunately, 

It ended blatantly.

Posted on Facebook: Sunday, March 7, 2010 at 4:45pm

LET GO

To close this month of April, I am letting go of some important aspects of my life;  Facebook is one in particular. As of this writing, my Facebook account is going to be deleted in a few minutes. I will let go of some of the uploaded photographs that I don't have a single copy, but most (90%) of the photos in FB are saved in my portable hard drive... So it is not much of a big loss. Important contacts may be lost, but I still have connections of friends that can lead me back to them, so we'll still be in touch. I cannot explain (yet) why I am going to delete my Facebook account containing 1,349 friends and acquaintances, someday I will. I have collected and saved all the past poems I have uploaded in that account. Thus, I will post all of them here, one poem/post for each day. Therefore, May will be poetry and moving on month. It's moving on but revisiting almost 3 years worth of my Facebook or documented history. The theme for May will be... Looking Back and Moving on.  Not that I have a particular theme every month; but with the number of poems and other posts I have saved from my soon to be deleted Facebook account, it will be almost like I have a theme for next month.


First, Planet Romeo, now Facebook. Perhaps one day I will go back to Facebook, but not now. Deleting my account will not be "that" hard, really. I am ready to delete it any time.


8:52 AM Manila time... Facebook options... Temporary, your account will be deactivated....


Remember, you can reactivate at any time by logging in with your email and password, although you must have access to your current login email address. Also note that your admin status in any groups or events will not be automatically restored after activation.


Or

"I have another Facebook account." - Now this one does not have any options given, meaning once I hit confirm, everything will be deleted.


I will miss Facebook and all my friends there. However, I want a clean start. I still have the photos, hmm.. but what about the tagged photos? Although there are free applications out there that will enable me to download all those photos.


 9:00 AM Manila Time... I chose...


"Your account has been deactivated

To reactivate your account, log in using your old login email and password. You will be able to use the site like you used to.

We hope you come back soon."


So there.. Until the day I decide to go back to that exciting web of connections, Facebook. Goodbye. I have to let you go, for now.


To close this entry, here is a song I just discovered around an hour ago, with my portable Hard Drive unplugged, I browsed Youtube for some videos that might inspire me to write and ease this feeling inside as well as to send a message across (the room). So I found a perfect video from M-Flo featuring Yoshika, which is a very fitting video for my endeavors. Give it a listen and read the translated lyrics too. The song is really nice!


Let Go

Let Go 

by: M-Flo loves YOSHIKA

Translated by: Malraux

How things stand, I couldn't just forget you 

I can't just shut you away 

While I know that we couldn't let it get any deeper 

No matter what, I've got to let you know how I feel 

Especially when I'm giving it all I've got 

I want your heart boy, even if it's just for one moment 

I'm still drowning in this love that cannot be 

I don't want to wake from this dream can't let go

It's selfish, but I don't care 

I want your unwavering love right here 

Come one now baby, come on... 

It all started off with "Hey how you doin'?" 

A love story wound open as we met eye to eye 

And now, I'm left wondering "do love and loss come as a set?" 

Time stands still, even though I left you 

I make myself believe that I'm alright 

Though it hurts my heart for you not to be by my side 

Just wanderin' if you feel the same 

I wanna see if these feelings are for real 

Idling away your life doesn't make you nobody 

So don't be afraid, loosen up your reins 

If you wanna be free, let go... I'm tellin' you 

EGO is terrorism of the heart 

So, just listen 

Though sweet and silent time passes by 

My body, its breaking apart, boy why does it have to be like this? 

I'm envoloped by dark anxiety. (I feel like I'm going to break.) 

Oh why do I try to monopolise love? 

All without saying a thing 

All I want is for your love to be right here 

I lept aboard just as the Love Train's doors began to shut 

A man who doesn't like to wait, straight no chase 

Speeding towards the reality we now face. run, run run, 

The hands on my watch don't stop 

The magic that only works once, the key to destiny 

How suddenly things changed, it ridicules logic 

Don't hurry and Mr. Heartbreak might stay 

Rewind, fade, the memory returns 

Tell me how to be free 

Oh baby, oh baby 

Will my heart be free 

So tell me even for just a moment

Translated lyrics from www.corichan.com 

JPOP Addiction (part 3): Utada Hikaru (live)

I think by this time most of you already know that I am so much addicted to Utada Hikaru. She is on top of my most favorite artists of all, ever! I wanted so much to go to one of her concerts, too bad she's already retired, at age 27. However, she left us with her timeless music, immortalized.

For a change, here is a playlist of some her songs, all live versions. This is dedicated to all Jpop listeners out there, specially to all Utada Hikaru fans! Songs in the playlist are from her Bohemian Summer(2000) and Utada United(2006) concerts.



Music Playlist at MixPod.com

Manila, Easter Sunday Photowalk (part 2)

 The siblings



Bananas in the crowd

A man peddles boiled bananas in the middle of the crowd under the soft morning sun.




Go ate, do the walk!



Bikes can carry more

Bikes can carry more than people and things, smiles too.




Family Day

Sunday is family day




Stroller strolling down the street

A baby taken out for a Sunday morning walk



                      Boy
                      
The boy looks for food in old ice cream containers his family brought to store food.




                      Can't walk well, so he bikes
                      
Disability is not hindrance to move.




                      Not a money for food
                      
A scavenger opens up a plastic bag of thrown food, hoping to find scraps for breakfast.




                      Morning bathers
                      
Rest after a refreshing swim.




                      Morning bathers II
                      


                     Divine shelter
                     
Father and daughter seeks shelter for the night under a statue of the Virgin Mary.

Manila, Easter Sunday Photowalk (part 1)

                                       Balloon Man
                                       


                                      Balloon Man and the Flower Woman
                                      


                                     The boy and the morning sun
                                    
A young boy selling balloons on a Sunday morning. I pray to God that one day he will be living a better life. Just dream boy, just dream and go for them.


Fishing for lunch

A man, waiting for a bite. His catch will be his lunch or if he's lucky, will last for the whole day.


The busy Sunday bathers

Southern part of Manila's Baywalk, filled with weekend swimmers.


The busy Sunday bathers II

The northern view of baywalk, filled with weekend swimmers.


Out with friends



Sunrise smiles

A mom and her friend, smiling at the morning Sunday sun.


Space-retro bikes



Family Day II



The lady at the house of God

An old lady at the church. I was watching her for a while. She's not really begging for money, but just stands there. She has a very beautiful face, one can even tell how beautiful she was when she was younger. Her tattooed eyebrows and sharp nose, tells something about her past and her ancestry. I kept on wondering what happened to her, what made her to what she is and what is she doing there. I can tell she's not like that in the past, but what happened?


When everyone went home

Manila's Red Light district, early in the morning, when everyone was either taken home or went home.


Oh my morning

Near the front of a famous gay club. All that's left after a night of merry drinking and dancing, are the scandalous stories of love and lust on the street where many hearts find refuge and cravings indulged.


Susi?

Susi or sushi?


Morning Sun

A peaceful scene on an Easter Sunday morning. A piece of a little peace, in the middle of Manila's clubbing district.