DAILY PHOTO: Views of Medellin
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PROMPT: Want to Read
How do you write what people actually want to read?
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Step 1: Accept the fact that the overwhelming majority of people don’t want to (or like to) read. The only items I put up in paragraphs (these days) are book reviews. People will read reviews to know what a book says without having to actually read it. The book review is considered the lesser of two evils by those who don’t love reading.
Step 2: Read anything that’s more than a few punchy lines for the “reader.” (i.e. use audio files or YouTube-style video segments.)
Alternatively: Don’t give a rat’s ass and write for yourself.
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Speed Kills [Kyōka]
speeding across
the river bridge by car,
i miss the scent --
sweet riverine perfume --
that I'd smell from the bank.
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Askew [Haiku]
a tree grows, askew;
canopy stretched one way -
wind can’t shake it.
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BOOK: “Health, Healing, and Beyond” by TKV Desikachar (Trans. by R.H. Cravens)
Health, Healing, And Beyond: Yoga and the Living Tradition of Krishnamacharya by R.H. CravensMy rating: 5 of 5 stars
Publisher Site – FSG / North Point Press
I was eager to read this book because I found Desikachar’s “The Heart of Yoga” to be one of the most important books for yoga practitioners. The book under review is in large part (but not entirely) a biography of T.T. Krishnamacharya — T.K.V. Desikachar’s father and arguably the most important figure in the development of modern yoga. Krishnamacharya was sponsored by the King of Mysore to build a school at the palace, and luminaries such as B.K.S. Iyengar (prop yoga,) Pattabhi Jois (Ashtanga Vinyasa,) Indira Devi (the Russian-born Johnny Appleseed of Yoga,) and others came to be his students.
The book not entirely a biography. It might more accurately be described as an exploration of Krishnamacharya’s philosophy that use stories from his life to elucidate his lived philosophy. Readers will find that the building and maintaining of health is a major element of Krishnamacharya’s philosophy, but perhaps not so much that they find the title apt. The book also spends a fair amount of time on other topics such as yogic ethics and an approach to teaching.
I continue to respect Desikachar’s candor and lack of dogmatism. He discusses his father as a teacher and parent, warts and all. The lack of dogmatism seems to reflect the apple not falling far from the tree. Throughout, Desikachar emphasizes that his father, whatever his faults may have been, was tolerant and saw yoga as a no-strings-attached gift to the world. Krishnamacharya did not require his students, not even his son, to adopt any particular religious belief – despite being a believer himself.
I’d highly recommend this book for all yoga practitioners.
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DAILY PHOTO: Replica of Old Peñol
PROMPT: Most Spontaneous
Clap — awkwardly — at something that no one else clapped at? I don’t know. The “most spontaneous” phrase reads a lot like “most dead,” “most unique,” or even “most perfect” to me.
If the question aims for something at the intersection of major life events and spontaneity, it’s more likely to yield romantic revisionism than truth. Being truly spontaneous at scale is a hard way to live if you’re not a hermit or a crazy sage.
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Salute [Haiku]
flag rolls and snaps
as wind whips over
a once stately fort.
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DAILY PHOTO: Monumento Torre del Reloj
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PROMPT: Self-Care
Is “self-care” first-aid done when there’s no one else around? If so, persistent bleeding and fevers above 103 degrees are given privileged positions on my to-do list.
