Category Archives: india
[PICS] Dealing With A Super Storm – Wow!
October 29, 2012.
I watched and listened in horror as CNN and The Weather Channel broadcast the anticipated arrival of “Super Storm” Sandy onto the densely populated northeastern shores of the United States.
I may have been half the globe away but it felt like my world was shaking. I hoped that the forecasters were wrong, as so many have been so many times. I hoped that the media was simply hyping a bad situation as they are apt to do. But I was wrong on both counts.
It is hard to imagine how the storm could have been any worse or affected any more people. The economic damage estimate so far exceeds $50 billion!
More than 80 lives lost, millions without power, untold property damage, massive infrastructure destruction, huge business losses…the selected photos below capture some of the rampage.
[Click on a picture below to view as a slideshow. If you are reading an email post, click here for the gallery below to be more accessible and to view photographs showing off Sandy’s terrible wrath and aftermath].
What stands out for me out of all of this though is how the country responded. How, especially its governments (at all levels) and its people rallied, came together and dealt with the disaster when Super Storm Sandy came bearing down on the most populous regions of the United States. Before. During. Soon After. The best example of this was seeing how the first responders worked day and night to help the people affected.
As bad as the crisis was, the immediate situation was brilliantly managed and executed.
I watched in awe.
And I will always remember.
[And if this is the so-called “big government” that the GOP has demonized and been railing about…bring it on! In fact, bring it on, on Nov 6th.]
It’s not over yet. Not by a long shot. Recovery, restoration, rebuilding – the country has pressing needs for these critical efforts to continue, now more than ever. But what we have seen demonstrated so far shows promise – that the administrators will deliver a lot of what is required at this time.
Two days (just two days) after the storm, state and city officials started taking steps toward considering major infrastructure changes that could protect the city’s fragile shores from repeated disastrous damage.
And private industry stepped in too, such as in the form of the media. Communication was paramount throughout. And it was nonstop and uninterrupted, as it should be.
Another example was Google with its Google Crisis Response team (part of it’s non-profit arm) who assembled a Hurricane Sandy map to help anyone track the storm’s progress and provide updated emergency information. Wonderful!
Live updates like this one had to have been essential and incredibly informative for those who were directly or indirectly impacted.
All of this got me thinking…
I have previously compared Mumbai to New York City, including it’s physical geography on the coast of a country. This is my temporary home now.
What if we had a Super Storm that barreled down on Mumbai? How would we face it here – the anticipation, preparation and communication, living through its disastrous wake, and the aftermath?
And, most importantly, how would the government have helped? Just how would we have handled it here?
Frankly, it does not bear thinking! So, let’s just change the subject, please.
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Photo credits: All photos from The Weather Channel and Huff Post
Yoga: Invert Yourself – It’s Good For You
I’ve talked a lot about Surya Namaskars but another yoga pose that rocks is one called Vipreet Karni. “Vipreet” means inverted or reversed and “Karni” means action.
Vipreet Karni is classified as a “Mudra”, which also means posture (like Asana). A Mudra’s goal is to bring stability to the body and mind by focusing the mind on prana – life force, control – with a specific posture. It brings stability to the body through stability of the mind. In that, it differs from Asana whose primary purpose is to make the body stronger and healthier.
Beginning
Here’s a picture of the beginner’s version of Vipreet Karni. Lie flat on your back, arms spread wide for support, lift your legs straight up (and I mean, 90 degrees up) and hold. When you can see your toes, that means your head and chin are in the right position too.
It sounds easier than it is so I recommend that when it is first tried, you do it with your legs supported against a wall.
Before I had learned how to do the more advanced version of this posture, I remember practicing this wall-supported beginner’s version in some very interesting circumstances.
We were six women on our Roman holiday last year. After miles of walking and playing tourist all day in that beautiful city, our bodies were exhausted, our legs and feet aching like crazy. One friend suggested getting into this posture to calm those aching limbs.
So, at the end of a hard day’s work and before our daily wine and dinner “meetings”, we would get ready with Vipreet Karni, the beginner’s kind. That meant assuming this pose on our respective beds, limbs against the closest walls and staying that way for 5-10-15 minutes. And, boy did it help!
So what if there were six females in weird positions looking a bit loopy? It was just for a few minutes. And it was so worth it. Thanks B!
That was my first taste of it, and it really was quite straightforward and simple.
Going Beyond The Beginning
Well, a few weeks ago, my yoga instructor introduced the much more advanced version of this posture to me during our regular class.
No more simply lying on your back and relaxing, oh no. Now, it was time to get your torso up, up and away.
An attempt at that is pictured above, except you will notice that it’s not quite there yet (it’s from a couple of weeks ago). Legs are not aligned straight with the torso and achieving a 90 degrees angle with the floor is but a gleam in someone’s eye.
How to get there
Step 1 to get to this version of Vipreet Karni is to start out with the Halasana (Plow Pose) – pictured below:
From here, slowly lift just your legs, straight up, with unbent knees and without moving your hips from the Halasana position.
Ensure that the torso is also up straight (lengthen it!) so that it is at 90 degrees with the floor. It’s not quite there in the 2 week old picture above – simply not straight enough.
All the weight of the body must be on your supporting elbows, forearms and nape. Thankfully, you are allowed to support your body with your arms!
Once you are there, try to hold that posture for some time. This is one place where your ‘mind over body‘ definitely comes into play.
We hold this position for a count of 80 now – and that will soon increase, I’m sure.
Would you believe me if I said it was extremely tough and then some, at first? Honestly, 90 degrees seemed an impossible feat for me to achieve (no kidding!).
But like with anything to do with yoga – you must try, try and then try again. Here’s a picture that is more recent.
See, it didn’t take that long for it to improve, and there’s room to continue to hone it with practice. My instructor says – you can do it for one minute, two, five or ten minutes – it can’t help but benefit you.
Vipreet Karni has become one of my favorites. One reason could very well be that I was so sure I would fail at it. Instead! I have been able to achieve it (or nearly there, anyway) and can actually own up to some bragging rights. The other (real) reason is that it make me feel great. Body and mind.
What are its benefits?
This posture works everything in your body from the legs to the nape, especially the back and the abdomen. Strengthening, lengthening and increasing flexibility. And, let’s not forget, the real intent is to strengthen the mind! To develop control and focus.
Modern teachers believe that Vipreet Karni is good for virtually anything that ails you – Anxiety, Digestive issues, Headaches, Eye Sight, Insomnia, Depression, Arthritis, and on and on and on. What an awesome range that is!
In fact, yogis from ancient times claimed that after six months of Vipreet Karni, “grey hairs and wrinkles become inconspicuous“, and that it “destroys” old age and death. 🙂
Do you need any more inspiration to try it out? I mean, really?
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The Yin and Yang of Life Anywhere 