I take a prescription medication for an underactive thyroid. I have to take it every day for the rest of my life.

Over the past year I have been filling this prescription through a pharmacy in Canada because they let me have 100 pills for $34 dollars and they send the prescription to me through the mail. I can order 200 hundred pills at once.

That’s .34 cents per pill.

Today I decided to fill the prescription at the local pharmacy because it is so hot outside I think it may affect the the integrity of the dosage to have it mailed and sitting around in postal trucks and mailboxes. Thyroid medication has to be precise or you get really sick so this is an important consideration when the temperature in the sun is over 120 degrees.

At the pharmacy they informed me that if I use my insurance they can only let me have 30 pills at a time, and that these 30 pills will cost $22.17. So I can go down there every month to refill the prescription, and altogether using this system 100 pills will cost me $73.87.

This is approximately .74 cents per pill.

It’s also a major pain for me to have to do this over and over for no good reason.

When I informed them that I wished to have 100 pills like the doctor wrote on the prescription and not use my insurance, they charged me $127.67.

This is the same rate somebody who didn’t have insurance at all would pay. It’s $53.80 more than somebody who has insurance will pay, and $93.67 more than I can get them for by ordering them from Canada.

It’s $1.28 per pill.

Keep in mind that the US first sells these same pills to Canada at a profit before Canada sells them back to me at the .34 cents per pill price. It’s the exact same stock bottle with the American label on the bottle.

This is insurance in America and it sucks. There is no possible way that health is a more important consideration than profit.

The Blog-Health-o-Meter™ reads Fresher than ever.

Crunchy numbers

The average container ship can carry about 4,500 containers. This blog was viewed about 19,000 times in 2010. If each view were a shipping container, your blog would have filled about 4 fully loaded ships.

In 2010, there were 22 new posts, growing the total archive of this blog to 188 posts. There were 73 pictures uploaded, taking up a total of 11mb. That’s about 1 pictures per week.

The busiest day of the year was January 3rd with 171 views. The most popular post that day was Hashima Island.

Where did they come from?

The top referring sites in 2010 were facebook.com, manipura.de, my.yoga-vidya.org, mail.live.com, and ganeshaexercise.blogspot.com.

Some visitors came searching, mostly for water photography, hashima, hashima island, frogs, and ma jolie.

Attractions in 2010

These are the posts and pages that got the most views in 2010.

Hashima Island June 2009
5 comments

High Speed Photography November 2008

Yogic Limiting Adjuncts – Upadhis November 2009

Sivananda Yoga Tradition June 2008

On Time November 2008

During this conversation she learns for (apparently) the first time that we did not always have pc’s…

daughter: the academic building is all the language studies and liberal arts
and its like another world
people dress different
no cowboy boots or camo
but scarves and european man bags
and guys with long hair and a guy with a mohawk and kilt.
this is where I need to meet friends ha

me: yeah
liberal arts
that’s my major

daughter: what?
thats weird. I dont think computer science is liberal arts now.

me: my major is bachelor of science in computer science in the college of liberal arts
me: it’s not
after i left it got moved to engineering

daughter: yeah engineering

me: i’m so glad it wasn’t in engineering when i was in it
i would have hated that
i liked liberal arts

daughter: but wouldnt the curriculum be the same?
just in a new college

me: no not at all
it’s more like engineering

daughter: really?

me: all regimented and hard
yeah
it’s a hard degree now

daughter: so the whole degree changed but yours is still called computer science

me: back in the day it was theory
there were no pc’s
not invented yet
yeah

daughter: cool then you have a degree that sounds harder than it is

me: same degree. i just got it while the getting was good

daughter: what? the computer wasnt invented?

me: yeah
basically
good for me
lucked out for once
me: only mainframes were invented
you had to reserve time to log into it to do homework

daughter: I dont get what a computer science degree person would do after they graduated. Invent the computer?

me: no
lol
the computer was invented
pc’s were not

daughter: what?

me: they were mainframes as big as a room

daughter: nevermind.
ha
I dont know what mainframe means

me: then we did computer support stuff and programmed
me: search on
computer mainframe
and then click on images
and you’ll see ictures
pictures
that’s what i did
just like that

daughter: unix?

me: no, dos
do you see the pictures?

daughter: its looking to me like a science lab
but okay

me: yeah well your little laptop is a zillion times more powerful
those huge machines were like 128K
and ridiculously small
had to be shared
not even into gigabytes at all

daughter: what?

me: what what?

daughter: so not even my music would fit into that large thing?

me: no
omg

daughter: its like a new world for you these days

me: hahahha
lol
yes

daughter: I wonder if that will happen to me
if my computer will be obsolete

me: if you move to germany it might, otherwise you will never know because the US is going backwards
hahah

daughter: ha ha ha

me: yes your computer will be obsolete in less than 10 years

Most people who practice yoga like to participate in the yoga asanas, or postures. Usually people go to a yoga studio, or a fitness location a few times a week. The benefits of this practice are enormous and many yoga students will gladly tell you about their experiences with reduced stress, better mental health, improved physical health and so on.

What many people are not aware of is that yoga is considered by many to be a holistic lifestyle, and there are many simple practices that can be put into your life on a daily basis that will positively impact not only your own health, but your relationships and interactions with everyone you meet.

With the holiday season upon us, most people experience days of greater stress trying to meet all the obligations of family, school, children, parties, and entertaining on top of their regular activities and packed into that same 24 hour day. It can get difficult to remember that the season is really about love, sharing, and giving.

There is a yogic concept called The Opposite Positive Thought. In sanskrit this is called Pratipaksha Bhavana (pronounced pra-tee-pak-sha bhaa-va-naa).  The definition is: “The method of substituting the opposite through imagination; thus fear is overcome by dwelling strongly on its opposite, viz., courage.”

More generally, what that means is, anytime you have a negative thought you should immediately try to replace it with a more positive thought. Thoughts of stress are replaced with thoughts of calm. Thoughts of anger are replaced with thoughts of love. Thoughts of impatience are replaced with thoughts of patience.

Any negative thought you have at any time, and about anything or anyone, should be replaced with the opposite positive thought.

Trying out this concept will not only make you feel better and help keep you on a more even keel, it will help create around you a more positive aura, so that your family and friends and all the people you meet will feel enriched and uplifted by your presence. Even if you only remember to do this part of the time, it will still go a long way. It seems like such a simple concept, but it really can help a lot towards making the holidays for you and your loved ones go more smoothly.

“The best thing to give to your enemy is forgiveness; to an opponent, tolerance; to a friend, your heart; to your child, a good example; to a father, deference; to your mother, conduct that will make her proud of you; to yourself, respect; to all men, charity.” ~Ben Franklin

Happy Holidays!

Here are a few pictures of some of the ones I feel compelled to share:

The Bacon Mug -
A giant mug made out of bacon filled with cheddar cheese.

Bacon Wrapped French Toast Sticks Stonehenge

Inside-Out Spaghetti & Meatballs -
A giant meatball stuffed with spaghetti, marinara sauce and ricotta cheese.

Meat (in) loaf

The Meat-Up -
Ground Beef, topped with 2 pepperoni logs, stuffed with Cheez Whiz,
topped with a layer of bacon, topped with a layer of mozzarella cheese slices,
topped with more bacon, topped with meatballs,
and served with brown gravy.

The 30,000 Calorie Sandwich -
Sandwich filled with ground beef, bacon, corn dogs,
ham, pastrami, roast beef, bratwurst, braunschweiger and turkey,
topped with fried mushrooms, onion rings, swiss/provolone/cheddar/feta/parmesan cheeses,
lettuce and butter on a loaf of white bread.

The Widowmaker -
1.5 lbs of ground beef, 1 package of bacon, 1 package of italian sausage,
1 box of hot pockets, 1/2 package of fried onion strips between 2 Tombstone Pepperoni Pizzas
topped with Velveta Cheese and Marinara Sauce.

Pork Brains in Milk Gravy (didn’t know this was possible)

There is a website called Speak Kind Words www.speakkindwords.com that is trying to spread this message. They say:

“We live in a verbally abusive society. Our minds are bombarded with cursing and angry tones, with sarcasm and profanity. Often the people whom we love the most are the ones who must bear the brunt of our anger and frustration. Our words are powerful and they have a profound effect on those upon whom they fall. We have the power to tear someone down in an instant with our tongue, and we do it every day without thinking about the consequences.”

The first quote on their page is from Mother Teresa and it says “Kind words can be short and easy to speak, but their echoes are truly endless.”

Thanks to the people of this site for spreading this wonderful message.

Be in the moment
When the content of our consciousness is emptied, when we have accepted every minuscule bit of ourselves, when we have freed ourselves of all conditioning, when the past and the future are closed chapters, then the present unfolds like an endless song. Still as a lake, our mind is poised in the moment, alert, joyous and free. With no identity to fetter us, no needs to tie us down, we surrender ourselves fully to life, experiencing, enjoying and letting go. We are home, free.

When all desires that surge in the heart
Are renounced, the mortal becomes immortal.
When all knots that strangle the heart
Are loosened, the mortal becomes immortal.

This sums up the teachings of the scriptures.
—Katha Upanishads

To get a copy click on Download and select the pdf version.

Many thanks to Gopal (Greg Hill) for copying each page and making this available to us.

Swami Vishnu

Recently the Dalai Lama chanted the Om Tryambakam. You can listen to the mp3 file from the previous link or here.

Dalai Lama

From the website:

The story behind the recording: A beloved friend of the Dalai Lama, another monk, was making his transition from this life to the next.  Not, it might be said, as a trauma or a lost cause, but as a joyful journey at the correct time and with understanding of life beyond earth life. The Dalai Lama sat at his friend’s bedside and chanted this chant for hours until the monk,with joy and peace, made his crossing. Those who were present begged the Dalai Lama to record the chant so that it might be shared with the world. He agreed to do so only if it was stated that the recording could never be sold, but only given away. This MP3 is the result. It is not for sale but is meant to be copied and shared.

This is one of the most sacred and powerful mantras used for healing. It has truly wondrous therapeutic power when chanted or listened to regularly. Mrityunjaya mantra will help you to know the divinity within. It is chanted to know eternity. The mrityunjaya mantra is considered one of the maha mantras or great Sanskrit mantras because of its potency to give protection and manifold blessings. Maha mrityunjaya literally means the great victory over death. It is associated with Shiva, the destroyer of ignorance, and the liberator from the cycle of death and rebirth. It is therefore a life giving mantra that not only protects the physical body and gives health, but purifies the mind at a deep level.

Lord Siva

Feel free to share the links and recording.

Check it out and add your too awkward moment today…

—————————

I feel a need to speak out about this issue as it is one that comes up regularly in yoga classes. I appreciate everyone’s comments here, and so it may seem like I am attacking you specifically here in my post, I’m not, because I’ve heard all these arguments before and I don’t agree with any of them. This post is to go on the record with why I believe there should be no restrictions placed on women who are menstruating and who want to do yoga.

1. Myth: you shouldn’t do inversions because it disturbs apana vayu.

I think the vayus know which way to go regardless of the orientation of the body. If you swallow while in headstand does the swallow not get to the stomach anyway? Does digestion stop depending on if you are laying down, upside down, upright, sideways? Does the heart stop beating depending which direction you orient the body? People confined to bed rest are still able to urinate and defecate.

If it was so easy to upset the vayus, then why is so hard to raise the apana and lower the prana to meet in the middle by using bhandas? We spend hours and sometimes years at this in pranayama to make this happen.

The argument that the apana vayu is disrupted when doing inversions seems at first glance like it makes sense because inversions can make the menses seem to stop for a few hours or a day before resuming. I suggest it is because of gravity, and not because of upsetting the vayu. It is not a big deal. The vayu knows where to be.

2. Myth: menstrual blood is impure.

I can’t fathom why anyone would think this except for misogynistic reasons. Menstrual tissue is first grown in the uterus to allow implantation of the fertilized egg and to provide nourishment for a newly fertilized egg. It is sacred in it’s life-sustaining ability. When an egg does not implant, it is no longer needed by the body, and is evacuated. At that point it comes biological waste, but I think calling it impure implies the connotation that women are impure and all the bodily discharges made by them are impure.

If you believe all biological waste is impure, then let’s have a discussion about the impurity of semen discharged for purely recreational activities. That never happens, because misogynistic thought does not allow male discharge to be considered impure.

(image: fertilized egg on uterine wall)

3. Myth: ovaries/uterus/perineum are too fragile.

The ovaries/uterus are well protected and very resilient. Anyone who has ever carried a baby to term can tell you that during the 8th and 9th month of pregnancy every single internal organ is squished and stressed beyond belief. This includes the uterus and ovaries. Not only that, but babies kick HARD and indiscriminately everything inside the mother’s body. After that, we have a very rigorous delivery, potentially the most difficult physical activity that a body can endure.  And yet after all this, the uterus and ovaries work just fine and many women have more than one child.

Besides this, there are many professional female athletes who run, swim, dance, practice gymnastics, ski, etc. I doubt they take off four days from their sport to rest during menstruation and they have no ill side effects in the long run.

Yoga is potentially the most nurturing and healing of all disciplines. I don’t believe that a simple headstand or any other yoga posture can be more stressful on the internal organs than having a child. Do you know someone who has had their reproductive organs injured because of yoga? On the contrary, I think yoga can help sustain and improve the function of the reproductive organs no matter when it is practiced.

I think womens’ bodies are built strongly enough to do yoga whenever we want.

4. Myth: the rshis told us not to do it.

The rshis should be venerated for bringing us the science of yoga. They are to be held in high esteem.

The truth is, the rshis lived in forest ashrams surrounded by brahmachari boys and maybe a few other male monks. If he had a wife, he did not allow her to do yoga. When Swami Vishu-devananda brought yoga to the US in the 1960’s, he taught asanas to women for the first time ever. He placed no restrictions on what women could or could not do during menstruation. He also was a self-realized yogi and a hatha yoga master so I think he knows something about it too. All these objections have come up since his time.

Women were kept from doing yoga for millenia. It was misogynism. I don’t think the viewpoint of the rshis on this matter should be taken seriously.

In summary, I think each woman should decide for themselves what they want to do during menstruation. It seems with all these restrictions to be mainly men telling us what to do with our bodies. Only women know how it feels. Some months I feel great and I do all the asanas. Other months, not so much and then I prefer hip openers and seated postures. I do what feels right for me at the time. I think women should make their own judgments and assertions and then we can move forward to a more realistic view so that our daughters and grand-daughters don’t have to deal with the ever-present “you can’t” do this or that because you’re a girl.

Many oms to all of you and much success on your spiritual path.

(image: swami vishnu in headstand)

So, to illustrate one aspect of time-wasting that goes on at our high school, a couple weeks ago I asked my senior to make a list of all the movies they watched at school over the course of her senior year as best she could remember. Here is the list:

• Approximately 20 BBC documentaries on astronomy
• Hamlet (a parody)
• The Prestige
• Wuthering Heights documentary
• Pride and Prejudice
• Like Mike
• Zone (blues music documentary)
• Men in Black
• Astro Spies documentary
• Contact
• Runaway Jury
• Supreme Court PBS show
• Political ads documentary
• Gideon’s Trumpet
• Sybil
• Seven Pounds
• Pursuit of Happyness
• Rudy
• The Rookie
• Pay it Forward
• Avatar
• Lucas
• Monty Python and the Holy Grail
• Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
• Maxed Out
• 5 People You Meet in Heaven
• The Peaceful Warrior
• ESPN Sports
• Inspector Gadget
• Back to the Future

The BBC documentaries were 60 minutes each and used up one class period, all the other movies as best as she can remember took up two class periods. Hopefully ESPN Sports only lasted one class period.

Generally I don’t have a problem with documentaries because I think they add a lot to a class in certain subject areas. And even some of the classic movies like Pride and Prejudice are marginally OK. But seriously, this represents 78 class periods used up in movies or documentaries. There are 180 days of school, so approximately every 3 days one of her class periods was a movie.

Just one example of why the US education system is falling over a cliff.

First movie I ever made from scratch on my Mac.

I especially like this quote from the book which is a story about an event that happened with Swami Vivekananda and which I think demonstrates the detachment of a true sannyasin’s mind:

He [Swami Vivekananda] was one day walking with Miss Muller [a student] and an English friend across some fields when a mad bull came tearing towards them. The Englishman frankly ran, and reached the other side of the hill in safety. Miss Muller ran as far as she could, and then sank to the ground, incapable of further effort. Seeing this, and unable to aid her, the Swami – thinking, “So this is the end, after all” – took up his stand in front of her, with folded arms.

He told afterwards how his mind was occupied with a mathematical calculation as to how far the bull would be able to throw him. But the animal suddenly stopped a few paces off, and then, raising its head, retreated sullenly. The Englishman felt ashamed of his cowardly retreat and having left the Swami alone to face the bull. Miss Muller asked the Swami how he could muster such courage in such a dangerous situation. He said that in the face of danger and death he felt – and he took two pebbles in his hands and struck the one against the other – as strong as flint, for “I have touched the feet of God.”

Along the edges of this hole in the hedge you can see 4 butterflies – this is how thick they are throughout the hedge which I would guess is 150 feet long.

And here is my dog Penny looking in the window – practicing ahimsa – there is a squirrel about 4 feet behind her eating birdseed.
The “dirt” all over the window is pollen stuck on the glass – it has been very thick in the air this week.