paritosh

Book neutrality program

/ antonioyrocinante / Leave a comment

In my first full-time job at a fund manager in Boston, brilliant people surrounded me. One of those individuals was a portfolio manager named Forrest Berkley, who was brilliant and, fortunately for me, very patient. One of his adages, which he personally did not keep, was that of paper neutrality. The idea is that for every paper that came into his office, another one had to leave. This was easier said than done; his office was full of stacks of research reports from stock markets around the world! But I liked the idea, and I would occasionally mention it as a joke when I threw away some paper.

Now that I am older, I have realized that I need less and less to be happy. I have become a bit of a minimalist. While having lots and lots of books might make you look smart, you really do not need them. Once you read a book, you are rarely going to return to it for reference or to re-read it. Let’s face it, how many books have you re-read? In my case, in over 40 years of reading, I have only re-read a handful of books.* So once you read a book, give it away, donate it, sell it, you do not need it.

In that spirit, I have evoked Forrest Berkley’s old adage, and I now have a self-imposed 100-book neutrality program at home. This means that I can only have 100 books at home at any given time. This requires a lot of reading and a lot of donating and giving away books. Does it work? Yes, more, or less, sometimes I might be a bit lenient, but then I remember, and I carefully go over my shelf. Picking out books that I know I shall never get around to reading, cleaning out doubles (I just gave away a Thomas Merton repeat to my yoga teacher, Paritosh), and getting rid of books I have read.

So, unless you like collecting stuff as a hobby, implement a neutrality program. For each blank that comes into your home/office/whatever, another item has to go. You are welcome…

  • Voltaire, Candide
  • Hemingway, The Old Man and the Sea.
  • Gabriel Gárcia Márquez, Crónica de una muerte anunciada
  • Omar Khayam, Rubaiat
  • Unamumo, San Manuel Bueno, mártir
  • Federico Gárcia Lorca, La casa de Bernarda Alba
  • Cervantes, Don Quijote

Celebrating 10 years of Yoga

/ antonioyrocinante / Leave a comment

As any normal person who has gone to the gym with certain regularity knows, it is mind-numbingly boring. I had heard all the wonderful benefits of Yoga, so about ten years ago, when somebody offered me a Yoga class at the gym in Chapel Hill, I signed up.

I liked it, I liked it enough to return and make it part of my routine, which also meant not doing the same boring workouts. I moved to Florida and continued going to Yoga at my local gym, and so on. Back in Spain, I dropped it; there seemed to be a disconnect between the mentality of Yoga and Spain’s well-established Scholastic tradition. I tried a few venues, but was not convinced

When I returned Stateside, after a bad experience at a local studio, I eventually found Paritosh at Casa Manabilss. What I realized was akin to thinking that for years I had been going to Taco Bell, thinking I was eating Mexican food, and then trying Mexican food in Mexico! My life was changed; I had now entered into real Yoga. Paritosh patiently explains not only the asanas, but they why, the philosophy, the history, the spirituality, the whole package!

On top of that, Paritosh is hilarious! Yes, I know all the jokes and when they are going to drop, but that is part of what makes the class fun.

Originally, the class was labeled Yin Yoga, a type of Yoga that works the fascia of the muscles by holding the asanas longer. Now it is Raja (Royal) Yoga, which gives Paritosh more room to do more encompassing exercises: meditations, breathing exercises, Yoga Nidra, etc. It is a very enriching class, as you never know exactly what the components are going to be, but they are always amazing.

Also, Casa Manabliss has a new home in what used to be the function room of a restaurant! They have done a great job preparing it and keeping the disco ball! It is a great new venue!

You should be practicing yoga, an update

/ antonioyrocinante / 3 Comments

In the Western world we think of yoga as a bunch of exercises to improve your fitness and flexibility. That is only true in a very small part. The truth is that Yoga means yoke or union and it is the uniting of body, mind, and spirit.

So, what was my surprise when a teacher basically berated a student at the studio I used to go to (I will not name them, but you can read about it here). Being a teacher myself I immediately told the management and asked for the cancellation of my subscription and for the return of my money.

Some fresh research led me to Casa Manabliss, also down the road from me in Delray Beach. I signed up for Yin Yoga on Sunday evening. Yin Yoga is a slower paced practice, with asanas held over a longer period of time, which allows the tissues to “heal” better. Sure it can be a bit uncomfortable, but isn´t that the key to life?

What a refreshing surprise, it turns out I have been doing yoga wrong for over seven years. Yoga is not a workout; it is not a physical endeavor. In the West, we have twisted yoga to make it a physical, body only exercise. Go to the studio or gym, get a good workout, sweat, and hit the shower.

Yoga is a way of life, a philosophy. I am blessed to have found my teacher Paritosh, who was trained in the ashrams of India. His lessons center on the breath to focus mind, body, and spirit. He is gentle, caring, and hilarious, if you enjoy corny jokes, like (to a student showing off her fancy new mat):

Yoga teaches you to have attachment to your mat.

Paritosh

Bottom line, this is what yoga should be like: a meditative practice that clears the mind while healing the body.

I am thrilled to have found Paritosh at Casa Manabliss and I could not recommend them more!