Yoga, the Philosophy

In America, yoga is most often viewed as a calming form of exercise, a way to stretch the body and relax the mind. There are all kinds of forms, from the typical yoga class one may take in a studio or gym, to hot yoga which takes place in a 103 degree room.

The Academic Study of Religion Club at NC State often brings speakers and practicers of different religions to have academic discussions of doctrines and philosophies. Tonight, a young woman (whose name I was unfortunately unable to catch) who studied yoga in India came to campus to discuss yoga as more than an accompaniment to a healthy lifestyle, but as a philosophy to live one’s life.

Before we even struck a tree pose, she explained to us that the postures of yoga, asana, is actually one of the least important aspects of yoga, although it is important, It’s interesting because 99% of yoga classes taught in an American context will focus on asana more than any other aspect. She then clued us in to the other seven parts that make up yoga practice as a philosophy, a part of the Eight Limb Path written in Patanjali’s Yoga Sutra.

She wrote the Eight Limb Path on the board for us!

The Eight Limb Path is as follows:

Yama: interpreted as your relationships with others. The five yamas include: ahimsa, satya, asteya, brahmacharya, and aparigraha.
Niyama: interpreted as your relationship with yourself, self-discipline and spirituality. The five niyamas include: saucha, samtosa, tapas, svadhyaya, and Isvara pranidhana.

Asana: the postures of yoga.

Pranayama: the control of one’s breath in yoga practice.

Pratyahara: interpreted as withdrawing oneself from the senses (distracting).

Dharana: interpreted as concentration of the mind.

Dhyana: interpreted as the meditative practice of yoga, which expands on dharana, as complete concentration.

Samadhi: this is interpreted as what some may call “enlightenment,” achieving a perfect state of yoga practice through mastery of the other seven limbs.

These definitions don’t expand full the complexities of each limb, but the overview we received allowed us to understand that yoga is way more than what your mom does once a week to stay toned.

The philosophy of yoga seeks to do what most organized religions and philosophies seek to do, which is relieve human suffering, called dukha in the Indian context.

When you incorporate the morals and practices that accompany the idea of yoga as a philosophy, it’s easy to see not just a change in your physique, but in the way you relate to yourself, others, and the universe.

Hayao Miyazaki’s, “The Wind Arises”

The American film audience is hard to please, especially when that movie involves subtitles or an extensive presence of non-familiar culture. These factors, however, do not prevent any film by Hayao Miyazaki from making waves on this side of the world.

This past Thursday, I attended a screening of the limited release movie, The Wind Arises, written and directed by Hayao Miyazaki. Although this movie was originally in Japanese, the North American version features dubbed audio by many heavy hitters in Hollywood including Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Emily Blunt and Elijah Wood. The Wind Arises tells a fictional historical account of Jiro Horikoshi, who designed the Mitsubishi A5M and Mitsubishi A6M Zero used by Japan in World War II.

credit http://www.filmophilia.com/

The story of Jiro Horikoshi is bittersweet, filled with death and destruction, but all the while he stands by his dream of creating airplanes. This film mixes surrealism with war brutality, but the sequences flow like a story book. The animation is beautiful, so even if you’re not into WWII stories or Japanese planes, the visuals will hook you by themselves. There is also an alternative love story in there for the romantics, but don’t expect hearts and butterflies at the end (not a spoiler, just a warning).

credit http://collider.com/

Jiro mentions often throughout the course of the film how he feels burdened in knowing what his beautiful creations will cause: death and destruction as a result of the war. To Jiro, the fruition of his dream designs comes with a heavy price that weighs on his heart. Jiro’s conflicting feelings on creating airplanes that will eventually be used in war are assuaged by the Italian plane designer Caproni, with whom Jiro shares dreams. Caproni asks Jiro, “do you prefer a world with pyramids, or with no pyramids?” Jiro would rather a world with pyramids, justifying that creating his dreams is more important to him than what others may do with them.

The romance between Jiro and Nahoko is as tragic as it is amazing. The Great Kanto Earthquake of 1923 is what brings them together, and the years that separated them actually brought them closer. Although the war is not directly to blame for the time Nahoko and Jiro were separated, the necessity for Jiro to work on his designs until they proved perfect created a saddening divide between them. This is only encouraged by Nahoko’s tuberculosis, which prevents her from standing by her husband’s side. Their relationship is characterized by sacrifice, loneliness and a yearn for how things once were. Jiro yearns for Nahoko to be as well as she once was, and Nahoko wants Jiro to remember her as her healthy self, which fueled her decision to leave their home as her disease worsened. Despite their hardships, their true connection makes their tragedy worthwhile.The question, “do you prefer a world with pyramids, or with no pyramids?” is the overarching theme of the film, and affects all aspects of Jiro’s life in work and personal. If beauties of the world exist, there will always be drawbacks and sacrifices with which one much come to terms in order to truly appreciate them.

Despite Hayao Miyazaki’s alternative story telling methods in comparison to the typical heavy-action, happy ending American rhetoric, The Wind Arises was embraced by North American audiences. Film is a medium which perpetuates language, culture, history, and perspectives of the former three all at once. The fact that American film audiences accept, enjoy, and nominate these foreign films for Academy Awards (wooo, Miyazaki!) suggests that globalization is shaping the way we view everything — even cartoon movies.

Waba!

Waba is one of those places on Hillsborough St. that not enough people are able to point out.

Like Mitch’s Tavern, Waba has more of a “secret entrance” feel, and only after a fair share of steps do you find yourself in such a great restaurant. Waba serves super tasty Korean cuisine, everything from bulgogi to ramyeon (Korean romanization of ramen!).

Waba is a favorite place of mine to eat at when I’m on Hillsborough… which is always. The upstairs space is cool in that if you sit at a booth by the window, you can people watch and enjoy a Korean beef bowl in peace.

When I order my ramyeon, the (always) cheerful cashier shouts my order to the kitchen in Korean. They don’t even mind when I practice my (poor) Korean in the form of “gamsahamnida!” or “gomapseumnida!” when I go up to collect my freshly prepared noodles and veggies in soup. Way better than any ramen you can purchase at Harris Teeter.

Spoons and forks are available, but it’s customary to eat ramyeon with a soup spoon and chopsticks, and you really don’t even need the soup spoon. The broth is often spicy, but really tasty to slurp down once you’ve finished your noodles and veggies. It is polite to bow when collecting your food at the front, and is Korean custom to receive with both hands. Of course they won’t judge you if you don’t do these things, but if you practice these respects, they notice and are pleased!

The only downside I notice can also be considered an upside– Waba is not typically very full, aside from some students grabbing lunch in pairs or alone. The quiet is assuaged, though, through Korean pop songs accompanied by music videos on the TV. On the walls are scribblings in English and Korean about how awesome Waba is.

Overall, I would and will continue to frequent Waba. The food is amazing and pretty cheap for an authentic taste of Korean cuisine!