Getting up at 5am today to watch the second half of USA v Czech Republic was a tough one. Not that I went to bed very late, it was just hard. Still - if that's the cross I have to bear than so be it...incidentally it was good to see the yanks get a thrashing even if I maybe feel that way beacuse England got thrashed at rugby by the Aussies and also looked pathetic in the first match of the world cup....sour grapes.

It is loads of fun to be able to watch so many of the matches though, and I am making the most of it. My mate Nick sent me the above photo he took while out drinking in London over the weekend. Apparently the ball moves when you 'hit' it, although it is anchored by some string.

Today sees me back in the throes of business planning, warm and dry in my apartment while it chills down nicely outside. The business training and some recent discussions with contacts at a couple of wineries and also completion of initial research into software and market demand have brought some cohesion to proceedings and now I am tying it all together.

In terms of yoga chikitsa last night was a new first. I have been getting into Padmasana for a little while now but have been finding that the knees and hips were still tight meaning that my feet were liable to 'ping' out of the poisition after a period of time. However yesterday I noticed that things seemed a little more sustainable so I thought I'd try Utplithih - and it worked! I have to say it's a lot easier to hold it for 25 breaths than when one simply holds the legs up in simple cross leg. More than that though it just made the practice feel a lot more complete, tidy and satisfying. I was finding that last position a bit of a mountain at the end of each practice because it's exhausting as I was doing it. In full lotus position though, it really works. It's taken me nearly 2 years to get to this. Fuck it - I'm pleased!

But just as the ego was getting the better of me I found this and this - something to aim for? The most amazing thing to me is how the first dude gets himself into lotus position without even touching his own legs, while upside down.

original yogis

This stuff on YouTube is the latest cyberripple to pervade the ashtanga community, albeit in a predictably laid back way. Interesting to see dudes who learnt the practice from teachers who were born in the early 19th century. The moves really flow - very ashtanga - and of course it's all out in the bush somewhere - very yogic.

I love the jump backs. They are so slow, balanced and graceful. Enjoy. These extracts are from widely available vids (yoga schools worldwide).

Queen's birthday

Here's a wierd thing - the Kiwis have a national holiday for the official birthday of the Queen. Us Brits don't even bother.

So today is a national holiday.

This in fact means little to me. However it does give me extra license to spend time online checking out new trends and the latest ideas - the funkiest being the vlog - a personal www video diary - which look to me to be a very new feature of the web. Since about 2004 in any meaningful way. As we can see here there are basically about 600 in the US and the same again, maybe, in the rest of the world. That's new. So, in the early adopter spirit of things I think the world needs a Mysore Astanga Vlog and I'm looking at organising one. Looks pretty simple really - we need a camera and a laptop. Already 50% there. Then we have to transport equipment to India and decide on a format, or aim, of the vlog. Perhaps to introduce the world to Mysore ashtanga via video on the web, or maybe a more personal view a la video diaries. Having mulled over the idea yesterday with K and JS I we don't reckon Pattabhi Jois et al will take kindly to the concept of filming in the shala in Mysore. Nonetheless there's plenty more of interest to record. The daily experience of being there and the progression through the trip will present much to record and post.

Turns out KS's brother is a professional photographer and was full of ideas regarding equipment and how to set up for such a project.

Didn't practice yesterday, although I did start. Just didn't feel like it. The day was most certainly a wintry one and my drive was not to practice. I started and the forward bends just felt really uncomfortable. Try again later today.....

quality tv in a desert of drivel

I heard about this bbc innovation a few weeks ago when it was first reported. All bbc programming available to watch online for a week after broadcast - now that will be a relief to those of us living in places like NZ where not only is programming often of very poor quality but also marred by so many adverts that enjoying a film or drama is often impossible. TV as we know it is going out the window.

Political shit from the US of A

This lambasting of GWB is remarkable for mainstream American media nowadays. Clever. Also, Colbert is thankfully absolutely merciless with regards to the Washington press corp. They should have been doing this for the last 6 years.

humdrum

This week has ended up being humdrum - had a major motivation crash Monday and Tuesday as a result of feeling pretty dodgy stomach wise. Now Friday and still feeling a little drawn by it. Ah well. The business plan has not progressed much on paper but I did attend the first of my Business Planning courses, fully government funded here in NZ, where we had the sevices of a very competent facilitator to show us a good map to a business plan. Structured, clear and stimulating. Also nice to meet a couple of different people and hear what they are up to - not really networking in the 'Rotary Club' sense but networking nonetheless. There's some good ideas out there. My idea is a good one. The scope needs to be a little bigger still than I thought, at least in pure cash terms. This is because of the cost of certain types of software which would be best to use - $600 to $900 per user. Given that I initially was planning on having up to 8 users for a bigger campaign this ups the ante significantly. I suppose I need a littel time to assimilate that risk into my thinking. Having said that it would be 80% of the startup costs so it's still quite cheap. The thing is though that such an expense would be pure sunk costs - no way to retrieve them at all. Working it.

Noticed further financial turbulence of course, dips and buying into them, more dips, swings in sentiment. Lots of comment in FT and others explaining the risks the markets suddenly woke up to. This is nothing new to what I have seen. There is definitely a buying opportunity coming up in the next few months. Short of a nuclear attack on Iran I don't see a long term issue here for equity investors. I am definitely a major amateur in these matters but the more I see these swings, corrections, slumps and (inevitable, at least so far) recoveries the more I have begun to see them as buying opportunities rather than 'the end of the world'. The trick is in the timing however, and also to buy with the full intention of holding for at least 5 years at least.

Yoga wise, I am swinging right back to the full 3 month India thing now. Looks like my parents will make it out which is awesome - it will be great to experience the thing there with them for some of the time. My practice has been fragmented this week, and a couple of muscle pulls - one mild one on the front of the chest bizarrely - have meant that much of my awareness is being brought to the concept of acceptance. Acceptance of where one is, acceptance of things as they are. Acknowledging all the time the dynamic nature of these same things. Acceptance implies not giving up but seeing without judgement. Therein lies the purity of the idea that is detachment. So often we attach judgement to any acceptance, judging ourselves or others in some way, but to accept with no judgement must be liberating for all concerned. It certainly can remove barriers to progression and development in something like an ashtanga practice. So if the week has been humdrum, certainly in comparison to last week then the harm only comes from the attachment to the idea of comparison between the two weeks. I am subtly different to how I was last week, so would it be right to compare my experiences from one week to the next?

India isn't going anywhere

The last week has seen me starting to write a business plan. I realised that the 'one man band' model just won't cut it for my idea and so more structure means more planning. As a result I have become a bit of a desk jockey again in life. Have been waking very early and working on it all day. Got myself fixed up with some business training (all government funded amazingly) in marketing, planning and finance which starts over the next couple of weeks and I have also started to get together a reasonable spreadsheet for doing the financial side of things on.

Obviously I still have plans to go to India as well - and I intend to do so but I am also aware that if I get this plan together within the next month or so and it looks good then I may be itching to get on with it, or there may be work opportunities to take advantage of - which might be to good a chance to miss. If this happened then I would either cut India short or shelve it. India isn't going anywhere. If I have to cash in the ticket so be it. On the other hand, it'll still be an option if I want to do it.

One result of sitting down all week is that my left hip has really tightened up, or at least it feels tighter. I can still do Mari B and C but it feels harder. Having said that, the practice as a whole is definitely back on that upward, lighter, stronger trajectory of a couple of months back. In the interim I have had some pretty hard sessions - taking a lot of mental energy. Maybe the change is partly due to pratising 4.5 times a week (an easy Friday practice). This feels good and right. In Mysore I realised that if I want to go only 5 days a week then that'll be just fine. Pressure can only come from me, because the teachers certainly won't be exerting it. With a slightly greater frequency of practice comes another little change - I am beginning to make it into a respectable Padmasana at key points of the Primary series - Urdvha and ordinary Padmasana as well as a half decent Yoga Mudra. All of which is mightly good to feel and do

So, progress is evident in all areas!

As an aside, and based on my observation as well as age old adage I want to draw attention to the corner of the world concerned with finance and all things material. Never has the old saying 'Sell in May and go away' been more apt. Turmoil is looming in the markets, see London equities for example, and not for the first time this is happening mid year after a good run up in the (northern) autumn and spring in share markets. All I can says is that generally these dips, always panic driven and in this case partly inspired by emerging markets problems of a few weeks back and latterly by concerns over high commodity prices and rising interest rates slowing growth, have almost always in recent years (post dotcom boom/bust anyway) been good buying opportunities. Either to get into new stock or to get more of an existing investment in and thereby improve the average price of a holding. There's no doubt that there's a lot to be worried about. Geopolitical risks are definitely on the up - not just with Iran, which is a typical slow burner and could easily take another couple of years before we have the real 'fallout' if you'll pardon the pun, but also over energy in Europe with Russia getting bolshie. And risk indicators like Gold have been showing the effect of this type of thing for a while now. The jump through $600/oz in the last couple of weeks certainly looked like end of rally dynamics or at least time for a bit of a correction. And this correction is spreading out as other commodities look overpriced meaning that producers of these products might not be able to continue to sell at such high prices which in turn leads to concerns about their stockmarket valuations and which is now causing a drop in overall equity prices. But why in the middle of the year? This is to do with market liquidity. In major financial centres people go on holiday or take their foot off the gas at any rate during the summer. Thus comes May and you see fewer people doing fewer trades. This means that shifts in sentiment and big deals will have disporportionate effects on prices. Ergo the current slump. On the upside though, notwithstanding all arguments about trade imbalances and the falling USD (also often a harbinger of equity market collapse), we have to look at why commodity prices are so high. It's because certain regions are growing very quickly. China and Japan are both growing, albeit at very different rates, the US is growing and so is Western Europe. This is essentially pretty healthy. Interest rates are going up as a result. This is the sign of a healthy economy and a normal global interest rate cycle as opposed to the disaster aversion scenarios that have been in place for a few years now.

The US and China have lead the way out. Productivity is good and improving in many key areas and seems to be one reason why oil at these levels hasn't unduly troubled the major economies. Growth, productivity and some fairly nasty geopolitical risks. Nothing new there then, at least not if the last 10 years is anything to go by.

the business model evolves

Just had a spot of lunch with AP and heard all about the storm that is being caused in her family a bitter ex- of her brother, with whom she has an 8 year old girl. The ex- is losing it. They separated 4 years ago and now for some reason they are having a blow up and she is calling his whole family to tell them what a bastard he is (A said she really didn't think he was) and rant down the phone also calling them 'wogs' (casual Aussie racist term for people of Mediterranean origin). In addition she has told her daughter never to utter that family name of her father in the house. The daughter has the same name as the father. What a mess.

On the subject of this trial I have now completed of the sales/marketing idea - which went well - I have realised that to make it grow and turn it into a useful business is really a two person job. It really is. One person can perform the function required, but too slowly and then that person is stuck doing the job and can't grow the business either by developing new accounts or devising and running current campaigns. So, need a partner basically. Talked to JS about it yesterday, who has a lot of the skills necessary as well as the knowledge and experience. But does she have the motivation? We shall see. The thing I like about the idea so much is that it requires no capital to start with. And it makes profit very quickly. Perfect. I really see it as a business that could be built into something worth $1m+ in 2-3 years. Just need to get it going.

I have practiced 5 days this week. During the week I have noticed a couple of odd things. Firstly my left leg has had a couple of sciatic grumbles particularly after doing backbends - I think my backbends are getting more acute without being uncomfortable. But I hear the sciatic nerve - slow down. The other wierd thing was that upon eating red meat three evenings in a row I woke feeling depressed three mornings in a row. Thai noodles a fourth evening, woke up fine. I don't eat that much red meat anyway so this is not too much of an issue.

The main aim in practicing a little more regularly is so that when I get to India (September 15th, booked and paid for) it will not be too much of a step up to 6 days a week. Having said that, if I don't make it to every practice I will not consider that a problem, but still a little preparation can't hurt.

Saw a really touching and very thoughtful documentary recently called Born into Brothels . Some of the utterances made by these young kids, with almost no education at all, would sit easily alongside the most memorable and most poignant quotes in literature. Because of their intelligence and perceptiveness, which shines from their faces and the screen, this film more than any I have seen recently gives the lie to the concept that the poor, and especially the children of the poor, do not know the nature of the state of existence they find themselves in. They know they suffer, that they are exploited and shackled by circumstance. And they know the possibility of escape in all but the most exceptional circumstances is zero. From the group of ten or so kids who form the focus of the film and who are literally born and raised in brothels in a tiny alleyway in Calcutta only 2 seem to have found a way out at the end of the film, by getting into, and staying in, schools where they can live outside the red light district.

persistence pays off

Well, the little marketing/sales exercise has begun on a trial basis and the response so far has been surprisingly good - a few more sales would go down well but the level of acceptance from winery mail list customers is very high. People really want to discuss the wines and winery and are positively overjoyed at the prospect of being called occasionally by us. Good news. Have been using Skype for the calls, a lot cheaper than NZ Telecom (gougers that they are) and this works ok - there is a little bit of a delay, particularly for places that are a long way from their local exchange - for example a few of the mroe rural ones. The Auckland and Wellington homes are fine, and even the delay isn't a real issue for a couple of reasons - firstly Kiwis, like Aussies, are a little bit more laid back on the phone than say Brits of Yanks, so a little pause sits ok with them, and also people are used to ropey lines with mobile calls so they tolerate it and it doesn't interfere with the sell. Now, it occurs to me that of course this activity, skype based as it is, is totally portable and thus could be done comfortably from anywhere with a broadband link. Top of the list then for India. All I need to do is get a campaign hooked up to do over October and November and I could be able to earn while in India. Now that would be incredible.

I did of course nearly ditch this whole exercise the other day, but almost because of a lack of anything else ready to get into I thought 'why not play it out, nothin to lose..."

This could be developed and am already talking to a mate at another winery who seems to suddenly like the idea. Which is a start. So, could look to grind this out a bit further. No start-up costs, only a few hours work per day. Perfect if it can fly. No risk - just my time. Good business.

Yoga wise, I really think my attitude is transforming compared even to 2 months ago. I am trying to totally take any pressure off myself, while also sneaking around to a 4 or 5 practice week. Easy practice if I feel like it. I really notice my ability to observe aspects of what I am doing now without really changing them. A big shift and something I always wondered about. What would it feel like? It feels a like you are almost external to your actual body, clearly able to visualise yourself lying there, or watching the chest rise and fall as if it werent one's own. It's actually incredibly peaceful to do - like a mini break from life almost. This is a big help in terms of grappling with things like the fear and apprehension that sometimes arise before a difficult asana, or just one that keeps getting away from one, like headstand or the Lotus - which is still a way off for me. Fuck it - keep right on!

John Scott in Hawkes Bay

Still there is talk and it seems that BW is certain he will make it sometime in July. Apparently his parents live (in fact) round the corner from me and so Hawkes Bay is possibly the easiest place for him to travel to in the entire world. http://www.johnscottashtanga.co.uk/ is the site for a flavour of what he does. He has written one of the best books I have come across by a westerner on the whole astanga thing, along with Matthew Sweeney.

Anyway, from the sound of the flyers for his Auckland session it sounds really interesting - mainly because it all sounds quite new.

Perhaps something to look forward to then!

Autumn has been fab so far, really warm and sunny, although I am now in trousers most of the time it is still t-shirt weather.

Have been downloading some awesome tunes recently - favourites include grooups like Zap Mama, Hil St Soul, a couple of songs by Aya and also some great stuff by producers such as Nightmares on Wax and Naked Music NYC. Obviously on a RnB vibe these days. It has to be said though that this is the Gill Scott-Heron/Herbie Hancock influenced end of RnB rather than the Whitney end of things. So, RnB with a huge funk influence and turning into House a lot of the time. Great fun - long live the iPod.

Quiet Sunday yesterday, went to the library in the afternoon and picked out the latest home reading selection - so am now looking at part autobio stuff by Charles Bukowski, who had a pretty fucked up childhood to say the least, and was a lifetime alcoholic. Reminds me of Tobias Woolf's writing but it is even more brutal and lyrical. Also reading Uncle Tom's Cabin too - which is predictably depressing in its examination of slavery and all its horrors. Also looking forward to other novels by Robert Olen Butler (to satisfy my Vietnam story craving) and Philip Roth (about a fascist US president who sides with Hitler).

Saw Crash the other day (it has finally reached Hawkes Bay cinemas, although it is also available on DVD already). It was enjoyable enough but predictably, for US films, too clean, to convenient and way too devoid of ambiguity. Amazing that it won any oscars to be honest. Short Cuts, Robert Altman's adaptation of Raymond Carver, which is years old and much better, deserves far more attention. Also watched Remember me - an Italian film - about middle class Roman family and their trials. Like a couple of other Italian films I have seen over recent months (particularly Catherina in the City) it exposes beautifully from within domestic contexts the awfully schizoid character of daily Italian life and culture - an over-the-top obsession with glitz and supeficiality, total submission to individual needs and wants without thought for the collective from the Right and from the Left total paralysis and self doubt resulting in despair and desperate measures. The obsession with celebrity and TV, and public performance in general, as the single most important validation of individual worth is constantly fallen upon. It's as if these directors are looking to find the essential, single, problem with this aspect of contemporary Italy but once into an examination of the phenomenon they themselves are almost swamped by the vacuity and dazzling lights of the TV studio, the semi naked dancers and the crooning , perma tanned presenters.