Lose Weight, Get Smarter, Be Happier

Lose Weight:

eat mainly stuff with lots of
water in it:
veggies and fruits
uncooked

eat high quality meat
that has been range feed
or is wild
and is organic

maybe cook
it
maybe not


don't eat after six
in the evening

better
don't eat after five
in the evening

no fat after five

no flour
no sugar
no junk


okay:
how to get smarter:
learn five new ways
to do everything
you do:

come from sitting to standing
roll over
walk
talk
listen
write
worry
smile
eat
brush your teeth
and
so
on





okay
how to be happy:

breathe
learn to be present
learn to forgive
(the Work of Byron Katie
will take care of that.
i'll hire out to do that,
or you can do on your own)


basically:
if we are awake to now
we are real

if we aren't
la
la
either
high functioning robot
or not so high functioning robot

oh
well

Tai Chi, Yoga, Health, Weight Loss

Life is good.

In Tai Chi, you move slowly,
from foot to foot,
and move your hands and arms, too.

Most fools
teach it in a very strict
and anal way:
do just this,
do just that.

Boring.

Bad for the brain.

Good for getting people up off the couch,
and out of the car,
and away from the computer
(yeah, this one, right
in front of us!!!!),
and
still:
boring.

Think about moving your weight,
from foot to foot,
when do you do that?

When we walk, eh?

And Tai Chi is fun
or should be fun
because we change directions
as we are pretend walking
and waving our hands
into this shape
and that.

But it's still this:
using the pelvis to rotate,
shifting the weight from one foot to the other,
noticing our breathing,
noticing our spine.

This is
or could be
way fun.

Fun to be present.
Fun to notice two arms and two legs
and gravity
and breathing
and moving from foot to foot.

Balance.
Awareness.
Rotation.
Shifting.

Fun.

Okay,
and what about yoga?
There you don't get to move
around as much.

Oh, well.
It's more popular in the West,
it would appear, by the vast number
of yoga studios "helping"
and torturing vast numbers of people,
most of whom are desperate to like
themselves and their bodies more,
torturing again
with the same old:
do it "just right"
stuff.

Boring again.

And, truth, to be told
beautiful when you "get it right,"
and sometimes
fun
to try for the various contortions,
like crow, or Warrior 3,
good for balance,
good for figuring out how
we work.

And still:
how to make these two
potentially ahttp://www2.blogger.com/img/gl.link.gifmazing activities
and turn them into learning
and enjoyment and discovery.

If you thought
http://www2.blogger.com/img/gl.link.gifI might mention the Feldenkrais Method
and the Anat Baniel Method
you are right.

and that's all
for now.

they are mentioned.
plenty of other essays,
especially in Wake Up Feldenkrais blog
to shed light on these
amazing ways
to improve
thinking
feeling
learning
knowing
discovering
and
moving

and what about health
and weight
loss??

maybe tomorrow
or the next post,


ciao
for now

chris

Classes Happening

Would you like to
Upgrade
and Transform
Your Level of Ease,
Vitality
and
Creativity?

to say nothing
of improving

Thinking,
Relaxing,
Sleeping,
Anti-Aging,
Posture,
and
Breathing

SEPTEMBER CLASSES


Classes Happening





Group lessons /
September and first week of October



Friday 4 & 5:30
Vitality & Anti-Aging


Saturday 9:30 & 11 AM
Backs, Necks,Shoulders, Hips

Sunday 1
Musicians, Singers

Monday 6:30
High Performers









Most classes,
for all levels,
and you can make amazing
changes in each session.

$20 per class if doing a series
$30 drop in, most classes

First Saturday class
and High Performers
will be more involved, complicated lessons
cost $30 per class by series
$40 drop in





Each class will contribute almost as much as a day's
workshop
in any other method.

---

We are at 19262 Carriger Road
near Solano

long gravel driveway going towards
the hills in the West
second driveway south of Grove

if it's light out:
park at top of
Solano
walk north on Carriger to first long gravel driveway
on left
(sign might say 19260)
fields on both sides
small palm tree across from driveway:

walk up the driveway to your class:

one: less car noise for people here

two: you integrate your lesson by walking back
to your car for five minutes or so after the lesson

three: you get in the habit of
doing things in ways other than your habit

p.s.
don't bring a cell phone to the class




Phone:
707-996-1437

email
is chriselms@vom.com

thanks

and these classes
will
transform
your life

hope
to see you there

Eliminate Pain (Emotional)
Improve Skills
Love Yourself more,
Wake up to Now

What could be more?
Ongoing enjoyment of all the "ups"
and "downs" of human existence.

Is this possible?

Of course.

Combining what I consider the most
powerful tool
for emotional change
improvement
and happiness,
The Work of Byron Katie

and good old
connecting to now
(see many essays at
SlowSonoma.com Now essays)
and
connecting to Nature
via gardening
and
walking
and
breathing

and
connecting
to now
via
the WakeUp Feldenkrais work,
which is a method
of knowing
how wonderful it is to
learn
and to
have a nervous system
and
to
move
and
to improve
moving and learning and being
present

we'll combine that
with Gestalt
and active listening
and communications skills
and

clean up relationships
with Mom, Dad, kids, ex-mates
and so
on

and get
back to
what you were meant to be:
alive
knowing you are alive
happy
and loving
of yourself
and others
and
the Earth

good


Sessions are $120 per hour the first day
and $90 per hour on the second consecutive day
if you wish to up the speed of learning
and $60 per hour on subsequent days of learning
and
change
and
transformation

enjoy
even
the idea
of more
ease
calm
peace
love
and
happiness
in your
life

starting,
of course,
right now

love,
chris

and call me
at 707-996-1437
if you wish
to begin
now
changing
for the even
sweeter
life

Tai Chi for Non-Dummies

Tai Chi is good for you.
Right?

Isn't that what everyone says?
And if everyone says it,
doesn't that make it true?

Well,
no.

And Tai Chi could be good for you
and it could be a nice way of doing
something better than sitting around
on your couch
and it could be a way of obsessing
one more time
with "getting it right"
and thus hurting your spirit
while perhaps improving your body.

So: what would the intelligent way be
to go about learning and practicing and enjoying
Tai Chi?

What would be a way of Tai Chi-ing,
if that is a word,
which it now is,
tai chi-ing yourself to improvement in
body, mind, spirit and breath
and
brain?

Well, for readers of my various blogs,
it will come as no surprise that I will
recommend a Tai Chi that blends in the awareness
and playfulness and experimentation
and discovery of the Feldenkrais Method
and my own take on that
which I call, Wake Up Feldenkrais.

And how would this look?
Well, best to come to classes,
on Saturday mornings at 9:30 AM and Thursday at 5:30 PM.

But here's a hint:
Tai Chi
is about moving the weight intelligently
and gracefully from foot to foot.
All the hand stuff is nice
and a way to pay attention to two legs
and two arms at the same time.

What's in between?
The spine.

Find two or three tai chi moves,
really learn the feet and pelvis
and arms and hands.

And then:
let the pelvis move in the opposite
of "supposed to."

Let the hands move in the direction the
head isn't moving?

Let the weight sometimes shift the same
way the pelvis is moving,
sometimes the oppostie.

This is a lot harder to describe than
to do.

and so: begin
to experiment and learn:
when am i learning
and when am i just being
a mechanical robot?

This could be
an amazing learning.

Recovering From Surgery

We all of us live lives that could be a lot more aware.
Sometimes, through habit and accident, we move in clunky ways that are inefficient, and sooner or later, even painful. Human nature is not to slow down and learn how it is that we are moving and being that is creating this pain. Human nature is to

One: just want the pain to go away. Or:

Two: ignore the pain, and learn to work and live and function around it. Or:

Three: plow through the pain, get the think of how rough and tough we are and actually get to enjoy the agony, if nothing else, for the bragging rights.

And here’s the neat thing: with the work of Wake-Up Feldenkrais and the Anat Baniel Method, we can have the pain become irrelevant. It will not only disappear, but we will become organized in our brains and bodies, so we move in ways that keep this pain from coming back.

For those who take the surgery route, many are surprised at how traumatic this is to our system. And many are disappointed at how little actual improvement takes place, though sometimes we have literally “cut through” the problem. Even so, our bodies need to mend, and the easier and more graceful our movement can be, the easier and quicker will be our healing.

This work is premier in helping us to learn again as we did when we were infants, and hadn’t a lot of muscle, how to move in the easiest and most useful way. This work appears to be “body work,” but is brain work.

This is about reorganizing and upgrading our nervous system.

It’s fun.

It works.

And if we can create pathways in our brain and in our functioning of moving in easy, efficient and pleasurable ways, we can set up a life for ourselves where we won’t need another surgery to patch up the complications we create in our reaction to the last one.

So, if you want to heal without surgery, or if you’ve had surgery, and want to recover in the easiest and a smartest way, come try this work and discover how good you can be at learning. Learning to live life with more ease, more pleasure and more discovery.

You’ll like it.
Your body will like it.
Your life will like it.

Yes..

soul and soil

what is the soul's purpose
on this planet?

what is the soil's purpose?

what is the purpose of organic
life?

what is the purpose
of our life?

there is a certain glory to life,
and the soul's purpose
is to find
and dwell in that glory.

This,
I think,
is real health.

Many people think of health as the absence of sickness.

Others think of it as a certain vitality, an ability
to get out and live life fully.

Others think of it as the ability to spring back
from stress and setbacks. (This was how Moshe Feldenkrais,
a judo dude from a troubled country clawing its way onto the stage
of world history) saw health.

I see health as that sort of glow
you feel inside when you eat an apple
or a carrot or a piece of celery
and that was just what you wanted and needed to eat.

Or maybe I see health as that sort of glow
when you are working in your garden,
and that feels like life's great gift
to you
and your gift to life.

Or maybe i see health as all those moments
when,
peaceful
and alert
and happy in
the present,
we go about making our lives
and the Earth a nicer
place to live,
and certainly that can mean,
just smiling at someone
as they pass us on the street.

Lordie,
lordie,
what am I talking about in here?

Health,
I guess.
Or a good life.

Somewhere in here,
by the title,
I "should" talk about soil,
and the dirt that becomes soil
when it is left alone,
or favored with attention and care
and good organic nutrition,
a little manure, a little bit of leaves,
some straw, some old rotten food, some new
young worms, some bright wild seaweed, some
happy seeds,http://www2.blogger.com/img/gl.link.gif
some smiles,
just like for our friends and neighbors,
maybe some paper
and cardboard,
so many ways to feed
the soil.

is that good,
feeling the soil?

Probably.

And how do we go about feeding
the soul?

Ah, maybe that we'll talk about tomorrow
at Slow Sonoma dot com.

The Rains and our Inner Well Being

In this part of the world, on many a day, if the year is good, and the weather is kind, we have a good drenching rain. Today and last night has been that way. Last night the wind could be heard wild and whipping and this morning on our wide front porch, even boots and gloves supposedly “protected” by the overhang, were drenched. This cut a little into this morning’s fun, since without the big waterproof boots, I can’t frolic and stomp and work around so easily in the wet and mud and rain.

This, a shame. Yesterday’s pushing of wheelbarrows full of compost and horseshit in the drizzle, not only kept my body warm, and gave me pure and free exercise, but lifted my spirits as well. Who can feel poorly when the full fresh wetness of winter is all around, and you can march and stomp through it in your high boots, like some happy child.

Children know that rain is fun. Adults think it’s a bother, as if the wetness will somehow dissolve us.

When did we learn to be so fussy and frightened of a little discomfort? And is this really discomfort, a bit of wetness in our socks, or around our knees, and even, seemingly the worst of it, dripping down our neck? We can tell ourselves it is a drag, or that it’s yucky, or that it’s whatever we like to label experiences we want to avoid, but much like the emotional discomfort we were examining in the first section, physical discomfort, at least short of real miserable cold or hot, is often a mental story, a set up in our mind to be unhappy about the way things are going.

So we have the dampness, which as an experience is just a little .., well, damp. And then we have the story about the dampness, about how we really are uncomfortable, how we have to get back indoors, how we have to “fix” whatever is happening right now. We use the dampness as an excuse to dampen our own experience, to clamp down on our joy in living.

And now, this now as I write, the sun has come up between rain showers, and the clothes that I washed and hung around the house to soak up extra house heat and dry that way, the clothes beacon: put me on the line, they say. And, of course, the story: that’s too much work. And the story: it could rain again and I’d have to go out and bring them in. And the story: why can’t I just be like everyone and put my wet/damp clothes in the dryer? Well, I could, and prefer not to use the electricity. And anyway, the sport of hanging up wash is one I enjoy.

So rain not only gives me a chance to get outside and learn the difference between the experience of getting a little wet (after all there are coats and sturdy shoes, even when the boots are down and out of commission) and real suffering. It also gives me the chance to play with my clothes, the see if the skies will stay clear of rain long enough for some drying to take place.

And by the time these last two paragraphs have been written, the clouds and grayness has come in again. The wind is still strong, and by the end of this paragraph, the rains could be back. Time to put on my boots and take a walk. Maybe they’ll still be wet inside and my feet will get a little wet.

Maybe it will start to rain on me. Maybe I’ll play part time gambler and hang some of the clothes on the line.

If I’m present, it’s all a gift, isn’t it?

the importance of fresh air

sweater on plant on piano

to breathe fresh air:
our bodies like to do this
and when riding a bike along
a beautiful road today
i saw some people taking happy walks

other people work
outside

still others
do chores
for their animals

others garden

some just go
outside
and sit

this is
all
a nice way to
live

and
does
it make
any money?

ah,
the big question

somehow: you can build gardens
and talk to people
and write books
and think useful thoughts
and think no thoughts in a kind
of enlightened
state

all this
you
we
i
you
us
can do
outside
breathing fresh air

How to Lose Weight, part 44:

Don't Wait to move around,
not "exercise,"
call it Life

>
"half backbend," (head under gap) from Chris' SUFIA yoga (Feldenkrais/yoga/tai chi) mix

Moving is fun

to lose weight:
take twelve to
twenty minutes
set a timer
and dance
or walk fast
or lift rokcs
or do push ups
or all of the above
in some mixed
and awaren
and fun
way

and then
eat

eat slowly
and in
awareness

but earn your food
by joyfully being
in the life
of movement
and awareness,
first

How to "Lose" Weight

stop waiting
to
be present
and
pay attention
to
the eating

the food
the tastes
what you put in
how fast
how you chew
shallow
what do you love about eating

how do you
know
when to stop

that's the start
and then:

eat lots of raw foods
maybe all

and then:
eat most
in the middle of
the day

and then:
combine starches with greens
and proteins with greens
and fruits alone or with raw protein

go slow
eat less
wait
and have
a snack
that has no
flour
no sugar

oh yeah:
drop flour
and sugar from the eating

lots to change

discover the thrill
of changing

why
wait???

Sufia Yoga Class

(no longer offered on
Mondays
instead:::
on Friday afternoon
and Saturday mornings
at the new
Waking Up
Cottage
on Carriger Road:

call for location
and times
and to reserve:
707-996-1437




Sufia Yoga=
Strength
Unification
Flexibility
Intelligence
Awareness & Anti-Aging

A new invention
an evolving and wonderful
combination of
yoga (I was certified at the 200 hour level this summer)
Feldenkrais (I have trained 183 days, not hours, beyond the required 160 days)
Tai Chi
Pilates
and
More

Anti-Aging?
Yes, using our brains
as we did when we were first learning
to walk, roll over, talk and crawl,
reactivates a youthful and discovery
oriented approach to being
that brings us younger in feeling, movement and spirit

Strength of many sorts:
arms, shoulders, backs, abs, legs
and most of all:
brains, awareness and delight

Following the patterns of life:
expansion and contraction
Rotation and lengthening of our spine
Balance, coordination, and novel patterns of moving and learning
Discovery as intrinsic to a spontaneous, joyful and creative life
Loving now as intrinsic to a peaceful, rich, creative and loving life

Just show up.
Please bring a mat, and one (or more) for a friend(s), if you have extra.
Thanks.

Questions???
707-996-1437
or
email me at: chriselms@sbcglobal.net

Feldenkrais® + Yoga + Tai Chi + Awareness
= SUFIA YOGA

Strength
Unification
Flexibility
Intelligence
Awareness & Anti-Aging

A new invention
and
an evolving and wonderful
combination of
yoga (I was certified at the 200 hour level this summer)

and
Feldenkrais (I have trained 183 days, not hours, beyond the required 160 days)

and
Tai Chi
(studied five years in Berkeley with
Lenzie Williams)

and
core work

and
turning on the learning switch
(see Anat Baniel Method,
where I have studied for 92 days)
applying body brain learning
to golf, tennis, baseball, skiing,
eliminating back, neck and shoulder pain,

and
More

......

Anti-Aging?
Yes, using our brains
as we did when we were first learning
to walk, roll over, talk and crawl,
reactivates a youthful and discovery
oriented approach to being
that brings us younger in feeling, movement and spirit

Strength of many sorts:
arms, shoulders, backs, abs, legs
and most of all:
brains, awareness and delight

Not just stronger,
but :
Get
Smarter ( using your brain, learning new and non-habitual ways of moving, and problem solving)
Sexier (connect to vitality, to the pelvis, to breathing, to loving yourself, to Life)
Stronger

Following the patterns of life:
expansion and contraction

Following the human construction:
rotation is what we are built to do most easily
being on two legs makes us uniquely unstable and capable of all sorts of mobility

Following the world in which we swim:
the ocean of GRAVITY: pelvis, legs, rooted, grounded, balanced, strong, back muscles to hold our head up

the ocean of AIR: torso, breathing, open hearts, rib basket not rib cage, flexible and aware ribs and sternum

the ocean of LIGHT and sound and smell and taste: free and mobile neck so we can turn easily and see the world

P.S.
We won't do this:


But if you could
this yoga would help you be even better at it



THREE TYPES OF CLASSES:

One: this mix:

Yoga, Feldenkrais®, Tai Chi
“Smarter, Stronger, Sexier;
More flexible, more aware.”
Fri 4:30 PM, Sat: 9:30 AM

Two:
tai chi, as I learned it in Berkeley
though
as it's never been taught:

Tai Chi (the Feldie way): Sat. 8 AM

Three:
on the floor,
easier movements
for greater learning,
ease
and pleasure,
though,
not strength
building

BRAIN ACCESS MOVEMENT
“Smarter, Sexier;
More flexible, more aware.”
Monday: 7 PM Fri 3:30 PM, Sat. 10:30 AM




see Current Class Schedule

Living Life is Good,
Even when you are tired

written by a tired
chris,
oh
well


to be healthy

walk

to be healthy

smile

to be healthy

try something
that you think is "hard"
to do

this could be:
being present when
unhappy

this could be:
making a phone call you are
afraid,
or reluctant to make

this could be:
loving someone who is
giving you a hard time

even yourself
if you are giving yourself a
hard time

this could be:
going to bed when tired

this could be:
taking a walk when
tired

this could be:
walking in silence
when you are wired

this could be:
writing
in the present
following the breathing
your breathing
me breathing
anyone's breathing
while writing
or reading or
reading (that's a hard one,
every tried it:
if not,
hey:
another hard thing to try)

why try to hard things:
like to breathe
and know you are breathing
when your chatter mind
wants you unhappy?

because
life is a rising up
through the muck
an exploration
of possibilities

any moment
in the
real
now
kind of place:
is impossibly wide open

even
this
silly
wonderfu
one

wonderful
one

won der full
one

one dear full
one two three

there you be

Waking Up Now

Friday Night wake up Group:


for some folks, Friday night
is pizza
or flake out
or party
or all three

for others:
what a grand party
to gather with others

and stay present

talk in the present
listen in the present
move in the present
sit in the present
to be silent
in the present

nothing fancy
everyday
magic
of waking
up to now

as we get "advanced" we will
talk of the immense topic:
How to Heal the Earth
and
staying present
as we speak and
listen,
we will experience
this discussion at a whole different
level than the usual
feeling frantic, cynical, distraught
or whatever emotional
habits grab us
when we aren't present

and,
it's possible to feel "bad"
when present
except
except that underneath
that
there is always a feeling of peace
and supportness

impossible?
no.
difficult?
perhaps.
Come and give it a try
of easy effort,
attention,
and delight
in the
Now.


Friday nights:

7-8:30 PM

$10-15 per person

$15-25 per couple


call for location
and to clarify
your wishes for yourself
in such a group

707-996-1437

Waking Up
in the New Year

January 5
First Saturday in
the "New Year"
2008
Saturday
1-5 PM

every moment is "new"
if we are "now"

easy to say
to write
to blah, blah about

easy to "do"
easy to forget
a delight
an absolute delight to
be there
and stay there
as long as we can

yes

Come together
to sit in silence
to speak from the present
to move with awareness
to learn about learning
to be present
to find the peace
that is
always there
when
we are now

$50 before Jan. 1
$60 after

Modified Head stand

Upside down
and the legs off
to the side.

Does this look
fun
or
hard
or both?

Yes.

Clear Skies
and the Waters of Inner Peace

Gurdjieff once said that most people's idea
of happiness

was to eat themselves
into a stupor

well,
tomorrow's a
good chance to do that

or to
go for the real gold:
awareness as we eat
awareness as we open
our mouths to yap, yap

awareness as others speak
and we are tempted to fill our
mind with what we are
going to say, "next."

all that next
stuff
next thing to say
next bite to gobble in

and food,
yum,
one of the few moments we
are
now
when that tastes hits our nervous system
yum
yum
and hey,
one bite
needs
another
and another
and another
and
the tastes in the mouth,
and that social permission to plunge
in
and take it in my the shovelful

and soon the now
of tasting
the deliciousness
has gone into the glog
of stuffed
stupor

ah, happiness

of a sorts

oh, well
it's a sweet life

wonder ful
to wake
up
any
moment

even
now

Healing and Enhancing our Relationships

From poor to good
from good to great

it's always fun to improve

Relationships are core to a happy
and sweet life

and we sometimes
either
go numb in them
or get so busy we don't see the other
or get locked into combat
or suffer in silence
or act in ways that are highly "asleep"

This work is for anyone who wants to
wake up to now,
to live with more pleasure,
awareness,
and love.

For themselves
and others.

Couples,
parents and teenagers
grown adults with issues still with their parents
anyone holding a grudge and having forgiveness hard to come to
anyone estranged from someone they once loved:

this work is
for you.

Sessions
last from one to two hours
and cost $60-120 per hour,
you chose the amount.

Eating Less

To become a sweet and fine
weight
just for you

sometimes
you have to wait
until you eat
again

do a little
something first
a Feldie lesson
a twenty minute walk
or yoga
or tai chi,
or meditation

it's good
to do
a little something
when we think
we "have" to have
something
just now

breaking fasts
means
to explerience
the joy
of letting the stomach
wait
a little bit

no big deal
to our body
huge deal
to our robot
mind

don't believe me?
Okay.
don't believe me

or come in
for hereandnow
consultations
and see
remember
learn what you once
knew as a child:

there is a food
much
dearer
and deeper
than
food

and
of course:
enjoy the heck
out of your food

and
of course:
eat slowly
enough
to
WAKE UP
whilst thou eat