Another good site

I found this analogy of consciousness to a microchip, which is great, especially the summary at the end of the page.

http://www.swamij.com/computers-consciousness.htm

This is also a great resource for the yoga sutras, especially as I am writing my paper for The Essential Yoga Sutra.  Enjoy!

Chants in Sanskrit

I found a website with chants in Sanskrit proper, sanskrit phonetic and english, and thought I'd share:
http://www.greenmesg.org/mantras_slokas/
Enjoy!

All Things Thoracic Spine Part 1: Functional Anatomy

For those of you who geek out on anatomy, breathing & alignment - check out the three-part series on the thoracic spine. Revel in the beauty of our insanely complex physical bodies!
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Functional Anatomy: Why the Hell T-Spine Mechanics are Important
Here’s the gist of functional anatomy. I’m not going to bore you with the details of how many degrees of rotation each vertebrae has (7-9 degrees), or the bony components that make it kick ass, or try to make myself sound super-serious and book smart (poop), because it’s more important to know what the hell all of that means when it comes to getting your [yoga] on and preventing you from having a soul-draining injury for the rest of your life from not training like a jack-bag. Sound good? Thought so.

The T-spine has three primary roles: attachment point for the ribs; attachment point for the scapula; and mobility for the ability to flex forward, extend backward and rotate. We’ll talk about each three today, as well as what components need to be involved with a training program or assessments.

The ribs attach to the entire length of the thoracic spine, which is one of their defining physical features compared to other segments of the spinal column. The ribs are interconnected by intercostal muscles, and under the direct influence of the respiratory muscles like the scalenes, diaphragm, rectus abdominis, and to a lesser degree the remainder of the core musculature. Read More of Part 1...

Part 2 : Assessments and Figuring it All Out
Part 3: Corrective Strategies

Perfect Pesto

Here's the general recipe:

• 2 cloves garlic
• 4 cups packed basil
• 1/2 cup toasted pine nuts, cooled
• 1/4 cup parmesan
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 1/4 tsp kosher salt (or more to taste)

Chop the garlic in the food processor.  Add everything else.  Taste and adjust.

Substitutions:

• walnuts or pecans for pine nuts
• juice from 1/2 lemon for parmesan (increase salt)
• flavored oils, anyone? (think... chili)

I prefer lemon to parmesan, personally.  (Which is just plain weird!)  Also, I don't measure my basil.  I use two big double handfuls, and usually have to add a little more olive oil.  Depending on the flavor of the basil, you might use more or less.  Generally this makes between 1/2 and 3/4 pint pesto.  

Enjoy!

Need Pranayama Exercises?

Download by going to my Public Dropbox and getting the BRTT_June2_2.mp3 file.

Favorite iPhone Apps

I have no catchy title... feel free to suggest one :)

I have a couple of apps I find really useful for various aspects of practice and I thought I'd share them.

Yoga Timer - the yogic metronome.  This is great for a yin or restorative practice where you want to spend x minutes in a pose before moving to the next one.

Way of Life - a goal tracker.  Prove to yourself that you really can meditate for 9.75 minutes every day.

... and my favorite...

Muscles by RealBodyWork - see muscles of the face, arm, torso and leg.  Pay a few extra dollars and get animations of common movements and the muscles that make it happen.  (Apparently they also make nerves and other systems, too, if anatomy is your thing.)

Satsang Gang