The passion of Yoga

In 2004 I was diagnosed with Seminoma Cancer. A massive tumor had spread to my left kidney, lungs and had managed to wrap itself around my aeorta. This is the same cancer that Lance Armstrong had. Needless to say I was reading all of his books he had written about his cancer journey. By the grace of God and the wisdom of my oncologist, I, like Lance Armstrong, survived. In the process of my treatment I had twenty-five chemo sessions - five days of treatment in a five-week protocol with two weeks in between each five days of chemo. I finished my chemo and then underwent surgery to remove the source of the cancer. To this day I have a residue tumor on my left kidney that is benign, with no signs of any active cancerous cells in my body. I am what the word “cured” describes, but my physical body was a wasteland of toxic residue.

I share that story to say that I was a prime candidate for detoxification. I was a walking chemo laboratory. My wife Linda had been doing Yoga for several years and had been doing Bikram’s Yoga for a year. She encouraged me to start Bikram’s Yoga and stated that we could do it together. I agreed and went to my first Bikram’s Yoga class twenty months ago. My first class was amazing; I was totally exhausted. I was completely physically depleted and could hardly speak a word at the conclusion of that first class. Dan was my instructor and his parting words to me were, “Bob, that’s all you have to learn. Nothing new from here on out”. Those words still ring in my mind some twenty months later as I learn something new at every class I take. Each class is a “lesson” about myself and the power of the human will to continue and complete the class. It is a lesson on the beauty of Yoga and what it accomplishes in the human form and structure, both physically and mentally.

From my first class with Dan I knew this form of body conditioning was for me and that this would be my new “Gym Time”. Yoga has changed me. My body and mind have new disciplines. I’ve purged much of the chemo chemicals from my body and rebuilt my core and muscle structure. I take each class with a passion to complete each pose with enthusiasm and tranquility. My septic and contaminated body has responded well to the rigors and solitude that Yoga requires and with the benefits of the prolonged heat of “Hot Yoga” I have felt the release of toxins that held me a prisoner detained in my own septic toxic anatomy.

I have new friends and an appreciation for my instructors who have guided and encouraged me to stay the course and perfect the art of Yoga. My health is at the center of why I do Bikram’s Yoga. The rewards of a strong physical core, new flexibility and a focused mind have encouraged me to maintain and preserve the benefits of Yoga. I am a rehabilitated cancer survivor and a more active person due to the rewards of Yoga. Thanks to all the staff at Coquitlam’s Bikram’s Yoga studio. They are always encouraging, while modeling the values of fitness, health and professionalism that make them such great instructors.

Nameste, Bob Peragallo

The Dregs of Summer

It has been said that every April, God rewrites the Book of Genesis. Summer to me is when the grass is Green. It has also been said that too much of a good thing is wonderful. Those who would wish for the eternal summer are the same ones who want it always to be a high tide and every night a full moon. The seasons just do not work in that order.

Summer will retract into the bowels of nature leaving behind a string of cool days and damp nights that speak to us of roots that need to go deep and prepare for future growth. The eagerness and energy of spring and summer are soon to fizzle out and be replaced by the comfort and coziness of fall. The fall, is a time where growth goes deep into the soil of life to prepare for a new harvest in the cycle of the seasons.

Here in British Columbia we are nearing the close of the summer that was promised by the coming of spring. We are now being taken into my favorite time of year, the fall. After a couple of months of hot dry days and hot nights I’m ready for change. Yes, I know that rain gets old and wet cool dark days drive average people indoors, but some of us are not average and love the crispness of fall days with the feeling of light dew and the need for the warm presence of fleece or wool.

The days of relaxation and rest come to an end and productivity begins to rise out of the cloudless, sun-drenched dog days of summer. Life begins to stir with the production of productivity and the newness that only comes from times of restoring and revitalizing the cells of our human makeup. Ah, summer the time of resting and enlivening the soul. Summer’s purpose was to show off the wonder and splendor of the creative process, the jewel that is hidden in the under-side of the soil of this planet and our lives. Summer is the time when the seed if brought to completeness and the full glory of its life cycle is completed. Each plant has its own glory. While each seed looks somewhat alike, some larger, some smaller, each produces its genetic code of beauty and wonder. The flowers turn to seed and die and return to the soil from whence they came and the cycle of creativity starts all over again.

That’s why I love the fall. Life is starting up everywhere one glimpses. The inconspicuous, secret work of life is beginning to happen all around us. It is a veiled process that goes unnoticed by most humans. God in His wisdom has created this process; the life that comes out of death is a regenerated life. This process is the divine right of His creation. We stand in submissiveness to His sacred, holy power for it is God who said, “This is a good thing” not Martha Stewart. The cycle of life will continue driven by the creative process of life and death spinning off of each other and the eternal promise of the assurance of life dominating in the end.