gdp's Comments

elephant journal: Yoga, Sustainability, Politics, Spirituality. : Why I quit the New York Times to join Balkan gangsters.

Sun, 8 Jul 2012 13:26:39 +0000

Oops, forgot the tongue-in-cheek emoticon. :) Try these extracts: http://soundcloud.com/danielcsimpson/sets/rough-g...

elephant journal: Yoga, Sustainability, Politics, Spirituality. : The Obama Delusion.

Sat, 7 Jul 2012 14:24:48 +0000

My response to this has apparently disappeared, as have others from the thread linked by elephantjournal, which has just been linked again in my latest post. Anyone know a good stockist of tinfoil hats? ;)

elephant journal: Yoga, Sustainability, Politics, Spirituality. : George Clooney: "Disillusioned by people disillusioned by Obama..."

Sat, 7 Jul 2012 14:21:59 +0000

Bizarrely, my sceptical comments on this post have disappeared - as have others on this thread, where the author posted a link back here: http://www.elephantjournal.com/2012/01/the-obama-...

elephant journal: Yoga, Sustainability, Politics, Spirituality. : The Obama Delusion.

Thu, 26 Jan 2012 04:04:37 +0000

Thanks Mark - it's amazing how many people seem to assume that things like military bases and bloated "defense" budgets are just "how it is", or even "how it ought to be" (for fear some other power has them). Eisenhower's honesty was impressive though: http://www.h-net.org/~hst306/documents/indust.htm...

elephant journal: Yoga, Sustainability, Politics, Spirituality. : The Obama Delusion.

Thu, 26 Jan 2012 04:01:52 +0000

The Ghost In The Machine? ;)

elephant journal: Yoga, Sustainability, Politics, Spirituality. : Yoga Wrecked My Hash Habit.

Mon, 16 Jan 2012 09:46:34 +0000

:) The thought of a chillum full of Phillies makes me queasy...

elephant journal: Yoga, Sustainability, Politics, Spirituality. : Yoga Wrecked My Hash Habit.

Mon, 16 Jan 2012 09:45:47 +0000

You're welcome - glad to hear it raised some cheer!

elephant journal: Yoga, Sustainability, Politics, Spirituality. : Yoga Wrecked My Hash Habit.

Mon, 16 Jan 2012 09:44:29 +0000

Very true! That's certainly been my experience in my own life - the "choice" to continue suffering often felt comforting, whereas facing it, and changing, felt alarming... Another way in which yoga's helped - to tease me out of my comfort zone and grow. All the best, Daniel

elephant journal: Yoga, Sustainability, Politics, Spirituality. : Yoga Wrecked My Hash Habit.

Sat, 14 Jan 2012 09:40:12 +0000

Well said Braja - behavioural patterns mostly rearrange themselves, unless something subtler changes. I liked this film about yoga and addiction - even if some of the subjects are substituting, the asana seems a better hit than booze: http://www.adyo.org/home.html

elephant journal: Yoga, Sustainability, Politics, Spirituality. : Yoga Wrecked My Hash Habit.

Sat, 14 Jan 2012 09:37:47 +0000

Thanks! If yoga's taught me anything, it's to learn to observe imperfection, and accept it, without that being the end of the story itself... I like this line from Iyengar: "Yoga teaches us to cure what need not be endured and endure what cannot be cured." A lot seems to hinge on the power to discriminate. :)

elephant journal: Yoga, Sustainability, Politics, Spirituality. : Yoga: Doing More Harm Than Good?

Tue, 10 Jan 2012 09:39:47 +0000

We got chatting in a taxi to Rishikesh... then got chanting by the Ganga with some Kazakhs. A friend from London's getting married in Calcutta, so I got in touch with Hari and said hi... turns out his research centre's walking distance from the wedding venue.

elephant journal: Yoga, Sustainability, Politics, Spirituality. : Yoga: Doing More Harm Than Good?

Tue, 10 Jan 2012 09:30:33 +0000

Accha! I'll be seeing him in Calcutta this time next week... It's a small world! :)

elephant journal: Yoga, Sustainability, Politics, Spirituality. : Yoga: Doing More Harm Than Good?

Tue, 10 Jan 2012 09:22:01 +0000

Yes, I was there for the Ayurveda course. There was someone else from Mayapur there too - he's working on this: http://www.brconline.co.in/ Hope to see you in March for more of the mountains and the wisdom of Yog Ganga!

elephant journal: Yoga, Sustainability, Politics, Spirituality. : The Housewife Who Shone Light On U.S. Yoga.

Tue, 10 Jan 2012 07:55:57 +0000

Synchronicity! :) http://www.elephantjournal.com/2012/01/yoga-doing...

elephant journal: Yoga, Sustainability, Politics, Spirituality. : Yoga: Doing More Harm Than Good?

Tue, 10 Jan 2012 07:54:51 +0000

An inspiring read, and a welcome dose of balance! Thanks for sharing Braja, and stressing the importance of learning where one's limits lie (without necessarily being constrained by them... as Rajiv stresses). Sounds like our paths almost crossed - I was in Rajpur in November. Considering a return trip in March - both the course and the surroundings were idyllic.

elephant journal: Yoga, Sustainability, Politics, Spirituality. : The Housewife Who Shone Light On U.S. Yoga.

Tue, 10 Jan 2012 07:40:31 +0000

Glad to hear it! :) Another teacher near here was railing about most Western yoga being exercise, because of a lack of focus on teaching gratitude (among other things). It's a tic with him, but he's also very good: http://www.yog-ganga.com/

elephant journal: Yoga, Sustainability, Politics, Spirituality. : The Housewife Who Shone Light On U.S. Yoga.

Tue, 10 Jan 2012 07:15:23 +0000

Thanks Braja. Usha's really tapped into that envelope distance knowledge - it seems to come from her experience. Sorry to hear about yours - that truck sounds painful! All the best from Rishikesh, Daniel

elephant journal: Yoga, Sustainability, Politics, Spirituality. : The Housewife Who Shone Light On U.S. Yoga.

Sat, 7 Jan 2012 10:46:49 +0000

You're welcome - I'm glad to hear it was inspiring. Meeting Diana inspired me to write more about yoga - there are so many people out there with stories to share...

elephant journal: Yoga, Sustainability, Politics, Spirituality. : How B.K.S. Iyengar Kicked My Asana.

Fri, 30 Dec 2011 03:58:25 +0000

Thanks Jill - it was a pleasure to write. The hardest bit was deciding what to leave out. With my class notes and transcriptions of summit talks and interviews, I wound up with tens of thousands of words... :)

elephant journal: Yoga, Sustainability, Politics, Spirituality. : How B.K.S. Iyengar Kicked My Asana.

Fri, 30 Dec 2011 03:55:01 +0000

Thanks Valerie - I guess some people don't like the detailed physical instructions, or holding postures. As you say, it's almost as if focusing on alignment were somehow "less yogic" than other means to meditation. I thought this talk by John Schumacher was refreshingly frank on what puts people off about the Iyengar method, and how to counter that: http://iynaus.org/yoga-samachar/fall-2010winter-2... Best wishes, Daniel