I HATE YOGA!

That's it folks. The National Fatwa Council has declared that yoga is "haram" or banned due to it's Hindu elements. They fear that yoga could erode the faith of Muslims.

All this fuss about yoga *hrmphh* Tell you the truth. I don't really like yoga. I once accidentally farted midair into a middle aged man behind me while I struggled to do a butt-in-the-air Downward Facing Dog pose. I did try a few more times after that, but again, they all ended up in a disaster. I learnt, basically, there's no quiet method to fart while doing yoga, and with that pose, there's no way I can avoid the "gas". With that, I decided to retire gracefully.

Baby doing a similar yoga pose that made me stop doing yoga. Yes, his butt IS in midair. No lie!


Besides, yoga is too hard *whine* *whine* I have to take time off from my beauty sleep to contort my body into various poses only my husband can enjoy looking.

Having said that, I can see that yoga has helped a few of my friends tremendously. My friend Airene has been going to an exclusive swanky yoga center somewhere off Jalan Ampang, in a beautiful restored colonial house, for a few years now. She can do an impressive headstand. And she has a really healthy, beautiful, strong looking body. Her teacher has a very good breathing technique for those who breathe through the mouth rather than the nose (for people like me) due to sinus problems.


That was probably how my butt had looked like when I did the darn pose!

Isn't it amazing how small children sleep. My first born loved to sleep in this position as well. So organic, so natural, it must give them a feeling that they are still in the womb.

Little children have really amazing limbs. Yoga would probably be easy for them. However, I have come to accept that yoga is not for everyone, especially for me. Oh well. I'm going to drown my sorrows in a glass of shaken not stirred fresh, raw organic grape juice.

Jasmin
"Eat Raw Food Today" facebook group
http://eatrawfoodtoday.blogspot.com/

ps I got this video from youtube if anyone is curious to know what the Downward Facing Dog pose is all about.

pps I'm so sorry, but my center alignment is not working again.

HOW MALAYSIANS DETERMINE WHEN THE RAMADAN MONTH STARTS

My dad used to work at the Land and Survey department for the government when I was a little girl. And every year, the guys at my dad's office will take a long drive down to an island to see if they can see the new moon (the month is determined by the Muslim calender). If they can see the new moon, the Yang di-Pertuan Agong (the paramount Royal ruler of Malaysia) will announce the next day to be the start of the Ramadan month.

It was very exciting for the children because we get to follow our dads to the beach and play in the sand while we wait for our fathers to do their thing.

The people, irregardless if they were Muslims, Buddhists, Christians or Hindus, in the office enjoyed going on the field trip as it was a fun outing for all.

I remembered, they would buy food from the villagers, and the mummies would put the spread on a table. You know, swimming and running can make a kid real hungry. All those clean air and salty water was heavenly. My mood was not dampen even when my mum forced my brothers and I to wash ourselves from the icy cold well water. *Brrrrr*

I remembered sitting cross legged on a beach mat, eating rice on a banana leaf, as a plate, with plain boiled shrimp, roasted fish from the barbeque pit and raw vegetables (called the ulam) with my hands .... all these food, a kid would normally thumb their nose at, at the dining table, just tasted exotic and absolutely delicious.

You know, when we try to eat healthier, sometimes we tend to focus on the yuck aspect of what we consume ... like less salt, less sugar, less of everything. We need to remove ourselves from this mindset and make meals fun. Go out and have picnics with your kids. Meet friends at a restaurant for a meal. The meal you consume may be simple, but your friends will distract you with fun conversations.

Break out and enjoy!

Jasmin "Who Thinks Ramadan Will Start on 1st Sept 2008" Choy
"Eat Raw Food Today" facebook group