We are all that we have met.

Foto Flick of the day: Sharon Gannon & her marvelous yoga-master skills.

Stay Sassy.
Chetna

If you’re looking for guidance or challenge in regards to yoga, I highly recommend “Power to the Peaceful Yoga” with musician, Michael Franti, and yoga gurus Sharon Gannon and David Life. Michael Franti is the creator and lead vocalist of a band called Michael Franti & Spearhead. He is also an outspoken supporter for a wide spectrum of peace and social justice issues, which is apparent in this DVD. Sharon Gannon is a yoga master, author, animal activist, and artist with a commitment to yoga as a path for spiritual activism and activation. Both she and David Life cofounded the Jivamukti Yoga Method, which emphasizes vinyasa, scriptural study, devotion, prayer, music, and meditation, as well as animal rights, veganism, environmentalism, and political activism as paths to enlightenment.

I’ve been following “Power to the Peaceful Yoga” for almost a year now and I still feel enlivened by it.  Although it’s at an intermediate level, it provides clear direction and insight. It treats yoga as so much more than a routine to burn calories or tone up. I think it stays true to the origins of yoga…a practice of cleansing and improving oneself internally outward; a discipline to attain a more considerate and inclusive perspective on that which is larger than ourselves.

Keep the Peace
C

Project Inform: A Night of Hope 2009.

Themes of the noche:
The tasteful infusion of condoms and fashion
A different take on couture night gowns
Culinary bites courtesy of the Four Seasons Hotel
Live auction and gay humor a la Alec Mapa
*Raising money in support of AIDS/HIV victims

I recently participated in this very event that was sponsored by City Model Management, and organized by a non-profit based in SF called Project Inform [www.ProjectInform.org]. Proceeds from this event will benefit the organization’s advocacy, policy and treatment information program, which has offered support to people living with HIV for the past 24 years.

The affair consisted of a fancy dinner at the Four Seasons Hotel in the city, a live auction which included an African Safari and various other posh prizes- some of which were sold for up to $2500, the risqué humor of the Master of Ceremonies, Alec Mapa (an award-winning actor from the show Ugly Betty), and a “condom couture” fashion show exhibiting a charismatic collection of innovative and entertaining garments, all made partly or completely of condoms. Photographed to the right is Alec Mapa with the project coordinator of the event, Henry Lucero.

I got the opportunity to collaborate primarily with one of the 12 participants, Catherine Jane [www.CatherineJane.net], an incredibly talented and fun local designer who happened to be a veteran of this annual event. She created a beautiful crème and golden strapless gown, fluttered with hand-painted, glittered-gold condoms, and an ample yet graceful train affixed to the bottom. All was divinely accompanied by Russian Red lips and Retrospeck golden eyelids, courtesy a la MAC Cosmetics and its team of eccentric artists.

All of the designers used the textures, shapes, and colors of the condoms in numerous and artistic ways; painting them, knotting them, stretching, bundling, and cutting them…so many of the pieces looked nothing like latex!

Overall, it was a fabulous experience and I’m glad to have been a part of it.

Wear a gown made partially of condoms to raise money for AIDS/HIV…Check!

Keep it safe.
Chetna

This morning’s dew droplets on my windshield sparkled like shattered diamonds in the reflective sunlight…evanescent as they evaporated within my 7-minute cruise to work.

The beautiful thing about a rainstorm is that I appreciate a brighter day so much more afterwards.

Keep warm. No umbrella, no jacket, just warm.
C

As my dreaded seasonal blues kick in here in San Jose (which you’ll be hearing more about in the months to come, I’m sure) and the leaves transform initially to tones of dull yellows and eventually to deep reds, yet another beautiful Indian Summer yields the winds warm and the sun shining several miles north in San Francisco.

A few weekends ago, 2 very talented photographers, Anna Cone & Christopher Nelson, a creative student designer from the Academy of Arts University, and a funky make-up artist named Tamra-Marie, and I travelled to Montara State Beach, which sits peacefully off the windy Highway 1.

Unpacked and ready to roll, we decended about 100 steep, wooden steps, with our blankets, cooler box & snacks, cameras and lighting all in hand, to the flawless landscape and chilled waters of Montara Beach. Interesting tid bit: it turned out that half of the beach, hidden behind a few boulders that inconspicuously split the beach in two, was a nudist’s haven…now, I was warned of it prior to our arrival but I never realized just how awkward it would be until, standing there so proudly before us, was an old, gray-haired man…in nothing but the nude, mind you.

Anyway, the beach’s buff sands, terra cotta-esque rocks, warm breeze, and the slight overcast provided for an awesome photoshoot.

Sure, walking in the sand while wearing 5-inch heels can be a flexing challenge on the soles and calves…

And certainly, clambering up those jagged rocks in a delicate, hand-made silk dress may be an arduous task…

Most of all, laying on a boulder, while appearing more graceful than gawky, with 5-pound bangles on one’s wrists may prove to be more abrasive than it seems…

Yet…it was all so completely worth it, and ultimately, not demanding at all. Everyone couldn’t have made it easier nor more pleasant. Including the nudists, who not only added sufficient peculiarity to the event, but even, too often, strolled by to boldly inquire about a photoshoot of their own…minus, of course, the minuscule detail that is the fashion part of it…

Stay toasty.
Chetna