KonaYoga.com

A Good Example

If you can't be a good example, then you'll just have to serve as a horrible warning.

-Catherine Aird

This past Saturday, I'd say that Hawaii served as a good example of how to deal with a horrible warning. The illustration above depicts the 1960 Chilean tsunami that brought destruction to our shores after a 9.5 magnitude earthquake. Luckily, our floating lei of islands made it through this time.

All of us in Hawaii have our own stories, experiences and opinions of what happened on February 27. These are the five things I appreciated the most:

1. Text alerts from the Hawaii County Civil Defense. I signed up a few months ago to receive news for my Guava Bee blog and receive notice of road closures, high surf warnings, brush fires and earthquakes. I'm so glad that I wasn't caught by surprise. I got a Tsunami Advisory at 9:41PM Friday evening and a Warning at 1:08AM on Saturday. To sign up for the service register with HCCD.
2. Twitter provided news and civilian updates. I learned via Twitter that the sirens would be sounded at 6AM on Saturday and decided that I wanted to be far away from Alii Drive by that time.
3. A place to go. I packed a few days worth of clothing, my computer, passport and birth certificate and drove up the hill to my parents' home in Kealakekua.
4. People. Family, friends and the people of Hawaii made it all so bearable. I witnessed a respect for nature and for the agencies responsible for our safety. I received concerned phone calls, e-mails and generous housing offers. At the end of the day, when the warning was canceled, I saw several "garage parties" in neighborhoods that I passed on the way home. I even went to a baby's first birthday party that had been canceled that morning and resurrected by the afternoon!
5. The Tsunami stood us up and for that I am most grateful. It gave us a chance to appreciate our strengths and fix our weak points as we served as a good example of how to deal with a horrible warning.

~~~~~~~
Suggested links:

Surviving A Tsunami - Lessons from Chile, Hawaii and Japan

Haiti and Chile need help and March is Red Cross month - HawaiiRedCross.org  Have fun helping through their On-line Auction, March 8 to 31.

Image: USGS.gov

The Eyes Have Had It!

Scratchy eyes and compromised lungs are some of the health issues people have been dealing with due to the increase in volcanic activity of the Big Island. The County of Hawaii has issued some suggestions for dealing with the excessive sulfur dioxide and ash in the air at their news site.

In my restorative yoga classes this week, we've been focusing on long, deep exhalations with the intent of fully expelling any toxic, metabolic wastes from the lungs. We have yet to scientifically document the effects, but folks report feeling much more rested and focused. So, exhale long and deep and spend more time in restorative poses and/or activities. This too, shall pass.

Photo:BadBoy69

Kona Storm Clouds

Often in class, I will change the direction of what's to be considered the "front of the class" and left and right directions may get confusing. Holy Costco, coined instantly one day by Jean Swift, is one direction that cannot be mislaid. Everyone knows where Costco in Kona is.

I came out of the store yesterday to find that the name had finally stuck: "Holy Costco, look at that sky Batman!"

The weather this past week has surpassed traffic as the number one conversation opener in Kailua-Kona. But a little after 6pm last night, it had us gazing up at the sky in awe. People had come outdoors from other businesses in the Kaloko area to witness the display.

All I had with me was my little Minolta digital camera, purchased years ago from Holy Costco.

Best Friends

Friends are the family we choose for ourselves.
-Edna Buchanan

On Saturday, I went to a memorial service for Adelheid (Heidi) Paik who passed away on October 19 in Honolulu. She and her late husband, Kwong Sin Paik, had four children who attended Konawaena: William, Heidi, Bernadette and Linda. Linda and I have been friends since the fifth grade and as I looked at all of the family photographs on display, I realized that her mother had an influence on my life too.

Adelheid Kreft grew up in Germany and followed her mother, on foot in 1944 to escape the Nazis and then the Russians, from Danzig to Berlin and on to Bavaria. A year after the war ended, she met a young man from Hawaii and then a year later, found herself on a coffee farm in Kona.

Heidi lived an affluent life before the war and when she became a coffee farm wife and mother, she shared her experience-rich life with, and through, her family. My first and lasting exposure to opera came from Heidi by way of Linda's voice. Musetta's Waltz from La Boheme was my favorite and Linda sang it beautifully even in her pre-teen years. She always prefaced her rendition by letting me know that it wasn't a song for a "nice girl". I'm sure her mother told her that.

Heidi sought out and befriended other German brides and had a circle of friends with whom she enjoyed kaffee klatches and singing. But she also appreciated the ethnic mixed plate that is Hawaii.

I sat at the front door of the church on Saturday with another grade school friend, Nellie Pulido Medeiros, where we looked after the guest books and received the cards and offerings of condolences. So many people stopped to tell me that they, or someone close to them, had been Heidi's best friend. Some had German accents, others were Filipino, Japanese and Hawaiian. They were all her best friends.

I sat behind the congregation at her service and noticed many of my classmates. Many were there to help, as well as be there for their best friend, Linda. Like mother, like daughter.

Some people have a magnetic attitude, always extending an open arm into a circle that already looks full and occupied. Linda opened her arms to me when I was a new kid at her school. She always encouraged others to sing with her, even though her clear soprano notes could outlast and override us all.

Adelheid Kreft Paik opened her arms to embrace a new life, a new family and new friends here in Hawaii. Her reach continues to grow through all of us touched by her and her children. Where is it written that we can have only one, best friend?

Photo:Home and Garden

Haumea's Garden

Thalia Davis, a Kona Yoga regular, kindly forwarded the news of this weekend's Haumea's Garden- A Local Food Exposition to be held at the Sheraton Keauhou Bay Resort.

Thalia says that 85% of what we eat on the Big Island is shipped in. INcredible! Thanks to organizations such as The Kohala Center, our own conscious farmers, and progressive educators, we will:

...make a strong positive statement for the future of our Island’s agriculture, with an emphasis on the keiki, their education and their future participation in our communities as leaders.  We can assist our island to eat in a healthier way, creating a thriving and resilient economy while preserving our precious natural and cultural resources.-The Kohala Center

Not far from our studio, Innovations Public Charter School has started a garden program to teach kids about our environment, food and cultural history. Thalia's son attends the school so you can be sure she'll be at the summit and at the benefit concert on October 6. The proceeds from the concert will provide support for youth gardens and agricultural programs around the island.

Look at all of the participating farmers, businesses and organizations listed here:

http://www.kohalacenter.org/food/haumea.htm. It'll warm your heart and tummy to know that the Big Island is eating its way to sustainability!

Hawaiian Edibles

I picked up a copy of Edible Hawaiian Islands' premier issue at the Keauhou Farmers Market this past Saturday. Publisher and editor, Gloria Cohen, writes: Everywhere you look, there are signs that the Hawaiian Islands are in the midst of a renaissance in sustainable eating (eating locally produced food) - and we should all be a part of it.

There's an article about Richard Ha's Hamakua Springs Country Farm that reminded me of the sauce I made using their cocktail tomatoes and a cilantro pesto from Manuka Farms (9/18 on my Eat Local food list). Ha expects to produce close to 2 million pounds of tomatoes this year in all shapes, sizes and varieties! I'd say he's doing his part in "...making our state self-sufficient."

The magazine highlights farmers as well as the commercial establishments that acquire and prepare locally grown foods. It credits the top chefs who began  Hawaii Regional Cuisine (HRC), with changing the way Hawaii eats and thus raising the demand for top quality local produce and food products. Incidentally, Kona can be proud that one of the original HRC chefs is our own Amy Ferguson, owner of O's Bistro in the Crossroads Shopping Center.

At this point, you may get a complimentary copy of Edible Hawaiian Islands at all Borders stores in Hawaii, and maybe from one of the vendors at the Keauhou Farmers Market. Look for the pineapples on the cover! As for me, I want to try the Chopped Salad recipe from Restaurant Bar Acuda (page 30).

Looking Through Different Lenses

There's a great message on Senia.com today titled "6 Ways to Do SOMETHING DIFFERENTLY- exactly where you are". Her premise is, why wait to go somewhere in order to be more observant or to enjoy life? Why not do it just where you are?

Focus close-up as I did with the bottles on my windowsill, or focus wide-angle and enjoy all of the trust that every driver along with you at the 4-way stop possesses.

Today, I think I'll look for something that I haven't noticed or paid much attention to at the studio. Something to appreciate in a new way. Thanks, Senia!

4:45pm Here it is...

The studio floor. It takes a daily beating from hands and feet pressing down on yoga mats, to massage tables laden with bodies at rest. Lately, some of the underlying spackling is peeling off and exposing bare plywood and when I look at the floor I'm usually thinking about ways to replace it.

Today, I want to acknowledge our floor, represented here by the two hard working fellas who hold our movable walls in place. When I hold yoga classes and face the ocean, I look down at the floor and see them smiling up at me.

Painting the floor would have been a back breaking job if not for my years of uttanasana, and the sliding walls would not have been possible if not for the ingenious woodsmen, Albert and Mike. I think I'm going to look at the floor through softer lenses so I can see a way to transform rather than replace it.

Do You See What I Mean?

It is only with the heart that one can see rightly; what is essential is invisible to the eye.
-Antoine De Saint-Exupery

My friend Jerrie Stafford, just opened a photo exhibit at Peaberry and Galette in the Keauhou Shopping Center. It's a fascinating display of human eyes and because of the way she's cropped the photos, it's difficult (if not impossible) to recognize her subjects.

I guess we're so accustomed to seeing a face in its entirety that features viewed separately, may leave us clueless as to a person's identity. What we see, is not always correct and at times we could be looking directly at the object we are looking for, and not see it.

"Seeing is believing" and "I'll believe it when I see it" are long popular mantras and so the painting above illustrates that for me: people worshipping the sense of vision. Oh, All Mighty Eye.

There is a neurological condition known as prosopagnosia which renders a person incapable of recognizing faces. I found one woman's explanation of her "ailment" very captivating. Since she cannot recall features, she relies on emotions and the sound of peoples' voices.

As we learn more about optical illusions, blind spots and color blindness, it's easier to admit that what we see, is not necessarily what we get. How do we learn to see with our hearts? Nature and the arts, I believe are logical starting places.

Jerrie's photographs will be on exhibit for another week and a half and my eyes are part of the show. See if you can find them!

Who are you going to believe, me or your own eyes?
-Groucho Marx

Artwork:Mandalas.com