Zen Meditation

After teaching an early yoga class today, it was followed by my very first experience of zen meditation. It was led by Bahay Dalangin which is a group of dedicated zen practitioners.

Practicing mindful meditation is very much alike to my experience of yogic meditation during my teacher training. The only difference between the two are the rituals. With breath as the main focus, the seated postures are just the same as well. We sit in silence and in stillness (on comfortable cushions with pillows on the floor), either in half lotus, full lotus or in a cross legged position where in the heels are in line with each other. The spine is erect but relaxed. With eyes half open, we gaze on any point on the floor, and yet, still be aware of our surroundings. In yogic meditation, practicing stillness is a little more strict. As much as possible, we try not to move. If numbness starts creeping in our legs or any part of the body, it is suppose to be ignored. In zen, when this happens, we are allowed to change position. All you need to do is bow down (as a sign of respect to the person beside you) and switch. After 3 sets of sitting still and in silence for 15 minutes, the ritual included a meditative walk as well. We did ours for 5 minutes.

The end goal of zen or yogic meditation is all the same. It is to think of nothing, and instead more "doing." By going back to our breath, it helps us to stay in the "now," with no thoughts of the past or future, but only the present. In this modern and hectic world, this is almost impossible to do. So instead of fighting or indulging stray thoughts, it is instead acknowledged and then set aside by focusing back on the breath. In yoga, it is said that breath is the carrier of prana which means life force. In meditation, it is also our breath that helps us reconnect with our "inner selves" and helps us realize our true nature-- in my case, maybe my christian nature that is in me. I know this sounds like its a little hard to understand. But think of it this way, it is through the beauty of stillness and silence that we are able to hear and discover what is within. Practicing this discipline is proven to be a very big help in calming our minds and bodies in this chaotic world.

As of now, I will take the latter as the reason why I will start my practice of zen meditation. But in a parallel universe, I would meditate more faithfully, to not only achieve a calmer mind and body but to unhinder my mind of its many layers and experience insight into the nature of our existence-- ideally, which is to attain enlightenment. :)



Photo credit: rheasrhapsody.co.uk

Shampoorific!!

Finally! I found two natural shampoos that actually work for me and that I can actually stick with. Because I don't really like using conditioners, I have been on a quest for a long time, searching for that perfect shampoo made from natural ingredients, and one that doesn't dry and feel coarse the moment you rinse it off. This search wasn't easy because being an ex-user of commercially made shampoos on the market, my standards were pretty high. I was forever looking for that perfect shampoo product that was "after-conditioner-soft-and-smooth" especially after rinsing. Believe me there were many naturally based shampoos that I've tried, and the moment I washed them off, the texture of my hair felt like rubber bands to the touch, and it felt like combing my way through teased hair.
Every purchase I made has been a trial and error case until I recently discovered and tried Ilog Maria's Honey & Propolis shampoo and Mt. Banahaw's Gugo Exotic shampoo. I have to say that I love how they just smell on my hair!

Ilog Maria's Honey & Propolis shampoo doesn't lather much at all and felt a little coarse at first after washing it out. But it gets better. The instructions asks you to apply 2 slices of Calamansi (in my case about 6-8 since my hair is very thick) as the finale. As Calamansi has enough limonene oil in it, I was surprised to feel that the texture of my hair after rinsing the Calamansi juice off, really did my hair good. It felt soft and smooth after. Not being a fan of conditioning, I finally found something worth a conditioner which was just in my fridge all along! :)

The natural ingredients used are honey, which is great for conditioning and hair growth; Propolis which helps ease scalp infections (such as dandruff, falling and graying hair); and natural oils of coconut, palm kernel and castor that are combined for gentle cleansing.

The Adventure of Alternating

Since I've learned not to stick to one shampoo rigidly, I also found Mt. Banahaw's Gugo Exotic shampoo. The dried Gugo vine is still contained in the bottle and is the source of Saponin which is a natural surfactant that also has "magical" cleansing powers for hair and scalp. Since I do have falling hair, it is also believed by the folk people that Gugo aids in hair growth.
When the shampoo is finished, I still like to make use of that potent Gugo vine in there by adding some water in the bottle, shake, and massage away on my scalp.

I alternate shampoos every week or so. I read somewhere that this is the healthy way to keep your hair vital and alive. And so far, it does look and feel that way.

With all this sublime natural ingredients to use and without also having to worry about polluting the environment, my quick, quality showers have never felt this refreshing! :)


P.S I love buying and browsing around for natural products at the echo store located in Serendra, Fort Bonifacio. :)