Buddha Fashion--Day #9

Today I'd like to show you a few moments of my day. This is hardly a typical day in my "normal" life, but then again, since when have I been normal? I don't have any stunning ashram/mountain pictures yet (wait until the weather gets nice--then I'll look like a total tourist), so these moments will be more metaphorical than "hey guys, look at the pretty mountains!"

There will be mountain pictures to come. I pinky swear. Maybe even a few puppy pics.

This Buddha statue is in my dorm room at Shoshoni. While there are many different variations of Buddha, this statue got me thinking about last night's meditation practice--The Medicine Buddha. This practice is a healing chant, both for mental and physical distress. At Shoshoni, we chant it first in English, then in Tibetan. Much of the chant includes visualization of the Medicine Buddha (he's blue) who looks like this:

My favorite part of the Medicine Buddha is the short chant, which we say 108 times:

TADYATHA OM  BEKANDZE  BEKHANDZYE  MAHA  BEKHANDZYE RADZA  SAMUDGATE  SVAHA

There is also a myriad of mudras (hand formations), most of which I can't remember. Maybe next week they'll stick. 

The medicine Buddha chant is both calming and energetic at the same time. It's chanted in a very staccato manner, but allows time for silent meditation in order to let the healing energy sink in. 

It's also nice for the restless sort, as the silent meditation lasts only about ten minutes. 

So I know I was only supposed to include one moment in my day, but hey, it's my blog right? And order to engage readers of all types, I thought I'd include some fashion-y thoughts, seeing as one of my favorite parts of going to an ashram is exploring a different side of style. I'm not "faking" a style; yoga is all about play and exploration. Why not express that in your clothing?

Yes, my bed is the one with all the stuff piled on it

     One positive about the cooler, cloudier weather is that I won't be sporting a sports bra tan for a month when I return home. 

This has been a year of fashion exploration. The black hair was kind of a blind dive into the unknown (though I'm still loving it). My comfort zone fashion-wise is a tank top and jeans, but the nice thing about flowy pants is that you can put them on and instantly feel like a dancer. Also, muffin tops are less noticeable. I know the creative spirit is within, and it doesn't matter if you were wearing a paper bag, but flowy pants and a bright top help in the creative realm. 

A few weeks ago, I told my roommate "I'm going to an ashram; I need to find hippie clothes, quick!" We raided Plato's Closet like it was about to go out of business. I think there was one dress that looked like a sleeve left and some blue jeans. But they don't feel like "hippie" clothes anymore (unless I'm wearing a bandana--then I look like a hippie koala bear). They feel like fun, light, let's adventure through the woods, kind of clothes. In jeans, it's fun to swagger. In gaucho pants, frolicking is the thing to do. 

Have a happy Wednesday! 

Namaste.