Starting Yoga Again

There is a new Bikram Yoga Studio by my house so I started doing yoga again there. It is a big studio, not quite as homey as the one on Tropicana, but very nice. I am on my 3rd day of a 10 day challenge. I plan to do yoga everyday while I am on break and then continue to do it twice a week.

I am so stiff. It is terrible. My back and neck have been really bothering me. I feel almost like I have whiplash, but even with only 3 days of yoga, I can already feel my body getting back into alignment. I need this! Why can’t we just stick to the things that are good for us. I hope I can this time with yoga.

See more progress on: do yoga regularly

Making a Difference in Boxing

Now that my school year is winding down, I am excited about getting more and more involved with amateur boxing. Adriano and I began our judging training last weekend at the Golden Gloves tournament and I really enjoyed it. Today, we are going to officiate at Johnny Tocco's which should be fun. Hopefully the weather will be nice today as the fights will be outside. I also wrote and submitted a grant through the Nevada Community Foundation. There were a lot of other applicants so I don't know that we will get it, but we have to start somewhere. I've decided I'm going to try to find and write one grant per week. I also want to do the Nonprofit certificate program through UNLV educational outreach. There's a lot I need to understand about running a nonprofit in order to make it successful. Then this summer, I will get more involved with coaching. It will be nice to give back to Leroy and to help the kids of North Las Vegas.

The World's Fastest Indian

The World's Fastest Indian is a heartwarming and inspirational film about a real life New Zealander, Burt Munro (played by Anthony Hopkins) who travels to Utah to race his motorcycle. Anthony Hopkins is brilliant as Burt Munro whose determination, good nature and resourcefulness make you laugh and cheer for him. His story is a testament to the human spirit and the importance of believing in your dreams and taking risks to make those dreams come true. The people who help him along the way and who he in return helps gets at the core of what makes us all human. There is the neighbors' young son who spends his free time with Burt and get bits and pieces of wisdom from Burt as he acts as his assistant; The transvestite hotel clerk who is touched by Burt's nonjudgmental nature and kindness; The Salvadoran car salesman who sells Burt a car and gives him the workshop space to fix the car; A fiery older woman who lends Burt some tools as well as a little romance; an elder Native American who helps him get his "Old Indian" back on the road; the young soldier on leave from Vietnam who truly believes the war will be over soon and then the Racing community who recognize his determination and help him get into the race. It's a beautiful, simple story about making dreams come true.

Bride and Prejudice vs. Pride and Prejudice

I watched Bride and Prejudice this past weekend. It was a cute adaptation of Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice and a nice way to explore Indian marital customs and cultural clashes with the western world. Aishwarya Rai played the role of Elizabeth quite well and she is so stunningly beautiful. Martin Henderson was also a good choice for Mr. Darcy who was transformed into a Wealthy American in this film. This film was a musical and they had everything from Punjabi bhangra numbers, Mexican ballads to a full gospel choir. It definitely added to the colorfulness of the film. I saw the adaptation of Pride and Prejudice with Keira Knightley and Matthew MacFayden a few months ago, and have to say that in terms of acting, it is a higher quality version, but it lacks the color, music and humor of Bride, but both are wonderful in the different choices they make to tell the same story.

43 Things

There is a site called 43things.com where you can list your goals. The idea is to list 43 things you want to do and track your progress. I am up to 30 things right now. This site is nice for someone like me who is very ambitious about what I want to do. I hope to have all of my 43 things by next weekend. Then begin to comment about my progress more regularly. To check out my goals go to 43things.com/person/sawanttara. There is also a site called 43 places to keep track of all the places you've visited and want to visit.

AudioBlog

Efficiency in Humanity

"I try to live it, rather than talk about it, because there are enough second-hand car salesmen for God."
-Bono when asked about religion

On my flight to Brazil, I read the TIME magazine, December 19th issue that was dedicated to their person or rather persons of the year as it happens to be for this year. I think the choice of Bono, Melinda, and Bill Gates was excellent. Prior to reading the article, I knew that Bono was an activist, but I didn't realize that it was to such a great extent. I was impressed by his level of knowledge and by his savvy at working with people of all walks of life as the article revealed about him, "Bono...moves in political circles like a very charming snake, aptly named his organization DATA (debt, AIDS, trade, Africa) to capture both the breadth of his ambitions and the depth of his knowledge." Bono has power, money and knowledge as well as a name and face that's recognizable the world over and he's using this in tremendously sophisticated ways to make significant improvements for the world's poor.

Melinda and Bill Gates are as impressive as Bono in terms of their philanthropy. Everyone knows they are the richest people on the planet, but they are the biggest philanthropists in the world as well. What I was really impressed by them as a couple and what a deeply passionate relationship they have with each other and the world. At least once a year, they take a "learning tour" where they go to a places on the earth to learn about problems and successes in the third world. They go in without revealing to people who they are and talk with them about their lives. After such experiences Bill and Melinda spend hours discussing what they have seen and experienced. Another impressive fact is that they demand business-like efficiency from the projects they fund. They don't just give away money haphazardly, they want to know that they are getting a return in improved lives from the money they are investing.













"For being shrewd about doing good, for rewiring politics and re-engineering justice, for making mercy smarter and hope strategic and then daring the rest of us to follow, Bono, Bill, and Melinda Gates are TIME's persons of the year."

-Nancy Gibb
TIME magazine