As 2011 fades into a memory, 2012 promises...... what does 2012 promise? Lots going on in the news about our president. Evidently, he signed a bill last night, new years eve, that some view as a criminal act against our nation. Something about us loosing the Bill of Rights. Tea Party members think we are headed for an American version of Nazi Germany. I'm not sure about all that, but I'm pretty bummed about what they are trying to do to the internet. For more information on that got to "Sopa: The Internet Blacklist Bill" , which again, Tea Party members blame Obama. I blame large entities that have truely been in charge since they invented the Federal Reserve System that day on Jekyll Island back in 1913. For more on this see "The Creature From Jekyll Island".
What else will 2012 bring? More of this I reckon. Capt. Charles Moore of the Algalita Marine Research Foundation first discovered the Great Pacific Garbage Patch -- an endless floating waste of plastic trash. He brought it to my attention back in february of 2009 and I'm pretty sure we've not missed a beat at contributing to a garbage patch in the ocean about twice the size of the state of Texas. For more information on this please watch this video "Capt. Charles Moore on the seas of plastic". We are screwed people.
So, it's not all a bed of roses. Quite a few thorns and weeds. Bad stuff happening all over the world. Combine that with my own personal struggles, (I think what Willie Nelson was really trying to say was "Mama's don't let your babies grow up to be musicians", cowboys just sounded cooler), and it would be easy to slide into a depressed state. But I do stuff to battle that funk. I get to work. I make some art. I do yoga. I do other stuff too........ but a mans got to have some secrets.
When I told friends I would be doing a 10:30 to midnight yoga class on New Years Eve, I received reactions like, "That sounds odd", "No, don't do that!" or "That doesn't sound like a very fun New Years Eve". But I guess I'm not so unique, it was one of the larger classes I've attended in the few years since I started doing it. The type of yoga I do is called Bikram, and classes run exactly 90 minutes and consist of a set series of 26 postures and 2 breathing exercises. Bikram Yoga is ideally practiced in a room heated to 105°F with a humidity of 40%.
Their seem to be as many critics of Bikram style yoga as their are people that swear by it. My personal view is that I'm doing a form of exercise that completely works my body in a constructive way. I'm improving my spine and joints when other forms of exercise wear them down. Yoga also compresses and stretches organs, muscles and ligaments, and because Bikram is hot, it allows me to do this more effectively. For me at times it's too hot, it wouldn't hurt my feelings if it were a few degrees cooler. I loose tons of water and minerals so I have to be careful. But that's part of the process of yoga as well, learning to pay attention to your bodies warning signals and adjusting so you stay healthy and uninjured.
Bikram loyalist, the ones who've really "drank the kool-aid", will even say they believe this yoga saved their lives. I'm more of the variety that believes I'm practicing a most primary form of yoga, but an important one. You can't learn to read without first learning your ABC's. I relate things to music, so to me Bikram Yoga is like learning nursery rhymes, their is other complex music out there, but a child needs it to be simple at first so they can grasp it. Simple does not mean easy, it's really difficult, but if you can learn to meditate and breath in this most uncomfortable setting, you are laying some foundation to being a more centered person. Some day when I've gotten closer to mastering some of these postures, I think I'd like to try some different forms of yoga. But for now this is a good place to start and I'd recommend it to just about anyone.
Alright, that's my thoughts moving forward into 2012. Happy New Year!
p,s, don't worry too much about politics or your personal situation or things you can't change, it is all bullshit anyway. Have fun and remember......................
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