Guru ABBA

Dear Yogis

I don’t know if you have heard but there’s a scandal in the Ashtanga world. It rides on the back of the #MeToo movement and it turns out that Pattabhi Jois, ‘Guruji,’ ‘father of Ashtanga’, touched women inappropriately. He died in 2009 but there is a call for the grandson, Sharath, inheritor of Pattabhi Jois’ institute, to make a statement of apology. He hasn’t said anything about that but he has deleted many senior teachers, some taught by his grandfather, from the list of authorised teachers. Being on the list is a big deal - I read recently that training and the institute is to an Ashtangi what MIT is to an aspiring engineer! Ashtangi feelings are aflame.

Shouldn’t we, anyone who is hurt, look to text for guidance? Patanjali’s Yoga Sutras tell us to ‘still the fluctuations of the mind’. Minds are very unstilled, so that didn’t help! The lesson of the Bhagavad Gita is a call to action and devotion... it doesn’t help! There’s too much activity on social media and devotion has been severely tested.

This fairly ancient text might help! I had to laugh when I heard this on radio by Guru ABBA!:

‘Like a roller in the ocean, life is motion, move on.
Like the wind that’s always blowing, life is flowing, move on.
Like the sunrise in the morning, life is dawning, move on...’

When the student is ready, the guru appears!

Greek Yoga Retreat

If you are signed up for the first retreat, please look into securing your flights soon. The second retreatees found that BA cancelled the early morning flight on Sunday 16th September and the next morning flight doesn’t give the Minimum Connection Time at Athens Airport. Everybody is stopping in Athens for a night or two. Get in touch if you have any questions.

Home Studio

More new yogis at my lucky Home Studio. I wonder if the opening of Triyoga swept in new yoga excitement in Ealing. Who knew Ealing, Queen of the Suburbs, would have royal standing in the World of yoga! Every week more new yogis are seeking out a class: people are new to yoga, returning after years or just looking for a new place to practice. It’s lovely!  There are plenty of places next week. See what’s available here. Book here.

Training

Tomorrow, Saturday 24th, I am signed up for The koshas: 5 Spiralling Layers of Being with Zephyr Wildman in Triyoga Ealing. It’s at 14:00 - 16:30 so there’s no clash with Mark Colleano’s Ashtanga class at 18.30. Come with me!

Yoga in the News

The New York Times, no less, has an article called ‘So, You Say You Want to Do the Splits?‘. Never give up on the dream says the yoga teacher-author of ‘Even the Stiffest People Can Do the Splits: A Four-Week Stretching Plan to Achieve Amazing Health’. It’s a very readable review. The bulk of the book is “a short story; ‘How Are You Going to Achieve Anything If You Can’t Even Do the Splits?’ about two shame-ridden employees of a corporation in Japan who discover the joys and benisons of shake yoga”.

Cold is coming! Stay warm!

Yoga! Not Philosophy!

Dear Yogis

I have a little four-hour, once-a-week job at Triyoga Ealing on Sunday afternoons. I potter around cleaning up, refilling water bottles, replacing incense sticks, preparing studios and helping yogis and teachers. It’s a lovely job in a peaceful place so, quite by contrast, I heard a frustrated yogi coming out of a class announcing: ‘Don’t give me philosophy! Just give me yoga’. Hmmmm. Well, I’m not so sure I was very different back in the day.

It's possible to be a yoga practitioner without ever touching yoga postures. The inverse is also true - you can practice yoga without an interest in the ‘mind stuff’... but why not get a personal trainer and work the body that way? The physical results are quicker and there’s absolutely no philosophy.

But you’re drawn to yoga! You don’t need to acknowledge it but you’re meditating for the length of the class. However dynamic the class is, breath-focus means that calm is encouraged in the mind. The definition of yoga from Patanjali's Yoga Sutras is to still the fluctuations of the mind. If you know nothing more about yoga philosophy than that, it’s enough! The waves are not separate from the sea. The shapes we make are not separate from yoga tradition.

Home Studio

My lucky Home Studio has welcomed a lot of new yogis recently. It’s such an honour to introduce new yogis or rekindle the enthusiasm of lapsed yogis.  There are plenty of places to book for next week,  

Greek Yoga Retreat

I bought my tickets for London - Athens - Kythera and I have a couple of observations. The first is to watch the baggage restrictions between BA and Aegean and Sky Express. I got the first flight out of Heathrow which leaves an enormous amount of time at Athens airport so the second observation is that there’s time for a leisurely meal in the hotel opposite the airport. The same on the way back with the late flight from Athens to London. All details are on my website including suggested flights. If you want help with booking, call or email Eleanor Docarragal, at the Flight Centre: eleanor.docarragal@flightcentre.co.uk and her number is 0208 840 9179.

Training

Tomorrow I’m off to Winchester for the Day Christensen workshops. If you’re in the area, I hope to see you there.

Yoga in the News

On the Simon Mayo Radio 2 show yesterday Simon discussed the diaphragm with a clip from actor Martin Shaw and then with guest Christen Linklater, a voice coach. (Wind forward to approx 17 minutes into the programme). She explains that it’s the primary breathing muscle and closely related to the emotional nerve centre - your solar plexus. She mentions that when people ‘hold the stomach’ it makes the breath go into the upper lungs and is ‘restricted’. (In Ashtanga, the instruction is to hold the ’Uddiyana Bandha’ or squeeze the lower abdominal muscles in for exactly this reason – David Keil anatomy here if you’re interested.) She ends with the importance of sighing! It’s a nice listen.

Offering Your Practice

Dear Yogis

Have you ever heard a teacher say at the beginning of class ‘offer up your practice‘? Stewart Gilchrist says at the beginning of his classes something like this: ‘Offer up your practice to God. If that doesn’t suit you, devote your practice to the universe. If that doesn’t chime with you, offer your practice to someone you know”. With this ‘offering’ we try to take any selfishness out of our practice. It’s another way to free the mind.

In the Buddhist tradition it’s common to find ceremonies taking place to offer merit to departed ones or to people in need of support but if you’re not brought up with devotional ideas then it might be hard to get your head around. I found this on the notice board of the London Buddhist Vihara on how to make an offering: ‘As you make an offering, allow joy to arise in your heart; make your mind calm and contented; focus and fill your mind with the act of offering; and you will develop a heart of boundless loving kindness’. Nice, eh! Try that when you’re invited to offer up your practice.

One Of Us

I love it when someone we practice with has a big event or a great achievement. Professional boxer Hamid Sediqi has a fight on March 3rd in Bethnal Green. He’s a total inspiration. See attachment.

Greek Yoga Retreat

There are plenty of places in the retreat for all levels, Sunday September 9th to 16th. All details are on my website including suggested flights. Get in touch if you have any questions.

Home Studio

There are plenty of places to book for next week, especially on Monday and Thursday. It’s a cashless studio now – bookings and payments are online to ease the problem of no-shows. I still have a WhatsApp group, however, if last-minute places come up. Let me know if you want to be added.

Training

Tomorrow I’ll be doing Chakrabatics with Stewart Gilchrist at Indaba. Come with me. If you want to stay in the warmth of your home, here’s a You Tube of the led primary series with Manju Pattabhi Jois. The whole thing is completed in an hour. The film cuts out before the final two postures, Padmasana (lotus for 10 breaths) and Utplutih (lifted lotus for 10 breaths). By that time you might have been in Savasana for half an hour so don’t worry too much about it!

Yoga in the News

The Telegraph tells us that: New on the menu: Waitrose makes space for evening yoga classes. Lucky you if you’re in Newbury, Basingstoke or Banbury. Classes are £7. Apparently shoppers are spending money on events rather than things and so Waitrose is experimenting with yoga and in-store consultations with nutritionists.

Refinery 29 tells us: I Went To Meghan Markle's Favourite Yoga Class & Here's What Happened. It’s at Y7 Yoga, a hip-hop yoga studio with a cult following in LA and New York. It sounds like fun and I wouldn’t mind going!

The Poses of Sisyphus

Dear Yogis

I wonder if your approach to yoga poses changes as much as mine does. My every posture is like a postcard from the past; a chronicle of the journey from impossible or inelegant to not-too-bad. Warrior 2 always reminds me of my original bottom-protruding inelegance. Until I found any height, Hand to Big Toe Posture (B) was five breaths of plummeting dignity. And what about the sheer persecution of hamstring stretches! Shoulder Stand deserves an ‘it’s complicated’ status on Facebook. After years of struggle I found to my surprise and delight the holy grail of surrender and stillness. Things changed after I was in a Hit & Run. Shoulder Stand was as broken as my bike and the uphill climb started again. It’s my Sisyphus pose along with Halasana which is a whole world of frustration.

In a ‘level 2’ class this week the teacher offered various options for poses – as most teachers do – so I did Shoulder Stand against the wall keeping my feet on the wall. Ahhhhh, glory! That’s where the posture is! Another one is Bound Marichyasana C. Why am I struggling to bind when the posture (twisting the spine, calming the mind) happens when I don’t! Ambition o’vaults itself; postures get lost. I’m entering my third decade of yoga and I think light bulbs are only just going on.

Greek Yoga Retreat

There are plenty of places in the retreat for all levels, Sunday September 9th to 16th. All details are on my website including suggested flights. The second retreat is full.

Home Studio

There are plenty of places to book for next week in the Ashtanga-based classes of Wednesday and Thursday. It’s a delight to welcome new people to my joyful Home Studio. The stretchy classes are popular and packed so it’s probably time to add another class. If a Tuesday 6.00pm class suits you, let me know.

Training

Join me in one of these! Next Saturday February 10th, I’ve signed up for Chakrabatics with Stewart Gilchrist at Indaba. The following weekend I’m in Winchester at the Day Christensen workshops. A long way in advance, in April, I’ve signed up for Eddie Stern workshops in Brixton and in May, when summer will be well on the way, I’ve signed up for Kino MacGregor’s workshops. One I haven’t booked yet but looks thoroughly appealing is on February 24th – a workshop in Ealing Triyoga with Zephyr Wildman on the koshas.

Yoga in the News

Frankie McCoy wrote in the Evening Standard about how bad posture, specifically the spine, is at the root of so much of what makes s feel bad. I couldn’t find it online so it is attached. A really good read. (Grateful to Emma Leahy for sending it to me.)

This is an ‘article’ about Yoga for Energy from Inside Time, The National Newspaper for Prisoners and Detainees. It’s not so much an article than a chart of postures. Pretty useful!

If you like podcasts, I’ve been listening to Fit & Fearless on Radio 5 Live. The presenters, Tally, Zanna and Vic, are not so easy on the ear but they are very inspiring and their tips are brilliant. They are completely positive and encouraging about their experiences, mistakes and  successes and, mostly, about lifting weights.

Savasana Sadness

Dear Yogis

Have you ever found yourself overly emotional or crying in Savasana? I was chatting with a yogi this week who said that he sometimes does... even though he’s a Northern bloke! It’s no surprise at all – in any part of the country. In everyday life we build up or various personalities for work, home, friends, strangers and don many types of armour and emotional control. We layer that with tightly held opinions, politics and beliefs. On top of that, big challenges make us fight, flight, or freeze, all of which show up in the body (perhaps endless colds, perhaps thyroid dysfunction, perhaps psoriasis). The list of ingredients that make us who we are is exhausting! In the yoga studio we start to let go of those layers, those artificial constructions.

Yoga is like taking the armour off – or at least loosening it.  In class we peel back the layers, the koshas, and try to get to our truer self. Whether this is your intention when buying expensive Lulu Lemons or not, this is what’s happening! It doesn’t have to be about tears. Stretching and exercise releases endorphins so your Savasana might be in a state of bliss.

Greek Yoga Retreat

What a nightmare! I’ve had to change the dates of the retreat by one day. I found to my horror that Aegean Airlines has changed its timetable so it’s impossible to leave the island in time to catch a London flight from Athens. Both retreats are now Sunday – Sunday retreats. (Allcomers and All levels will be 9th to 16th September and Ashtanga with workshops will be 16th to 23rd). The price for the first retreat will change slightly to reflect one extra day. The website will reflect those changes later today.

Home Studio

I hope you’re managing to dodge cold & flu season. I had to cancel classes yesterday but I think I dodged the bullet. Samahan definitely helps! One yogi called it ‘magic tea’.

There are plenty of places to book for next week in my little Home Studio, especially the early Ashtanga class on Thursday. The new booking system seems to be well received but please let me know if you have reason to be unenthusiastic about it. Payment is now with Timely (debit card), not Paypal.

Cover

I’ll be teaching Ashtanga at Yoga West this Sunday from 8.30-9.45, covering Titi Rylander’s class.

Children’s Books

This week my favourite children’s books came out inthe Home Studio so I promised links. I’ve used Wai Lana’s Exercise is Fun with my niece since she was three-years old. It’s a gentle and colourful and engaging book. When she was a little older (six or seven) I bought her Babar's Yoga for Elephants which steps up from individual postures to sequences. Inevitably you have to hold your trunk in some postures. We held a teddy instead. My Daddy Is a Pretzel is a book I bought for a friend’s children (under ten) and, along with two other friends, they went off and conducted their own yoga class. It worked well.. I also bought a new one: I Am Yoga by Susan Verde. And here are some You Tubes.

Yoga in the News

The Metro this week told us that ‘Apparently, hot yoga is no better for you than regular yoga’. It’s the postures, not the heat, that benefit the body! Hmmm... but some people just like the heat on the skin.

Ashtanga Insomnia?

Dear Yogis

Do you ever have trouble sleeping after an evening Ashtanga practice? I usually hear the exact opposite but it is widely written that Ashtanga is stimulating and energising so it would be no surprise if it felt like a coffee at bedtime. If this is the case for you, you might need a much longer Savasana after practice – perhaps with legs up the wall for extra restorative effect. Leave out any backbending poses as they are said to be particularly stimulating. Traditionally, Ashtanga is practiced in the morning before the daily grind.

I put the question to an Ashtanga Discussion Group. Here’s an answer from one person which echoes other responses: “I think it negatively affects my sleep if I practice after early afternoon. On the whole though, years of steady practice have generally helped improve my quality of sleep while reducing the number of hours I need”.

Here’s another question which might shed some light on this... what is your Ayurvedic type? If you are a Vata type, then perhaps your evening needs to be particularly concerned with grounding and winding down. Here’s an article about the right yoga practice for your Dosha type.

Greek Yoga Retreat

There are plenty of places left on my yoga retreat for all levels, September 9th – 15th. Take a look at my website page for Greek retreats in September. Check out the Devon ‘Complete Wellbeing Retreat’ in October too.

Home Studio

Every now and again we take a look at angle strength and stability in our sessions. It helps in all the standing postures. Here’s the Physio department of the Australian Ballet to give tips.

There are plenty of places to book for next week in my little Home Studio.  I have a new booking system. Payment is now with Timely (debit card), not Paypal. If you have any problems, let me know. I have ‘data inputed’ with abandon this morning so that current bookings are transferred. If you have been inundated with confirmation emails, that’s why.

Yoga in the News

Here’s a lovely article in The Telegraph: ‘Should our children be learning yoga in the classroom?’ The thrust of the article is that yoga sharpens their developing minds and increases short attention spans.

GQ is telling its pump iron readers that Yoga is the New Rest Day and that it helps with purposefulness and mindfulness. Here’s what the writer entertainingly says about his introduction to yoga: ‘During the first few times I went, I would have been extremely self-conscious about how profusely I was sweating, if not for the fact that I was already extremely self-conscious about the fact that I resembled a stiff, spindly-legged newborn deer while trying to contort myself into each successive position‘.

I Think Therefore I Am Not

Dear Yogis

I hope the year is going well for you so far. Me... I've had a cluttered mind! If yoga is encouraging us to still the fluctuations of the mind, why has my mind been fluctuating like a crowded Jacuzzi? In Savasana yesterday I had to laugh at the endless chatter. What is it this time!!! Events over Christmas and a marathon 16 hours looking after an old neighbour addled my brain but, in truth, the poor grey matter has been fuzzy before and will be foggy again... And so it goes!

This is exactly where yoga kicks in; to point out when you get tangled up in thoughts. Yoga is the art of disentanglement.  Problems occur when we attach to the story and then endlessly regurgitate it to make it palatable. So obvious, eh! I can see exactly when the mind bubbles with those self-spin-doctored stories. (Sometimes it’s like having my own personal Iago.) It’s just thoughts, that’s all. Mental phantoms. And when people do or say something hurtful, well, they are supposed to! They are helping to make the mind a stronger and quieter place.

Next week the news will be full of ‘Blue Monday’, supposedly the most depressing day of the year (originally press-released to make you book a holiday!). Really is should be called Messy Mind Monday. Don’t get tangled up – it’s just a news-filler. Clear out the Jacuzzi mind instead!

Greek Yoga Retreat

My website has been updated with details of the three retreats: the Greek retreats in September and the Devon ‘Complete Wellbeing Retreat’ in October. The retreat with Lisa has a waiting list. There are plenty of spaces on the other retreats.

Home Studio

The effect of Triyoga in Ealing seems to mean the general interest in yoga is on the rise and new people are coming to give it a go in my little Home Studio. New Year resolutions make for an exciting time.  There are plenty of places to book for next week.  I seem to have lost my Paypal button. Until I rectify the situation, you can pay online with my Paypal email, taniashillam@hotmail.com but please write and let me know. (Please don’t book with no intention of coming!)

Yoga in the News

Newspapers seem to think it interesting to send unfit journalists to yoga classes and spiritual sceptics to ashrams for a dose of yoga and meditation. However, this article from the Inde is quite fun. ‘Nepal yoga retreats: Are spiritual holidays a load of nonsense?’. It turns out the answer is ‘no’.

Not to be outdone, the Guardian kicks in with ‘Yoga for lazy people: seven moves to make you happy’. More interesting is the Guardian’s travel guide and yoga guide to Mysore (Mysuru).  Mysuru, India, city guide: what to see, plus the best yoga centres, hotels and restaurants. Makes me feel like going!

Need a Resolution? Take a Retreat!

Dear Yogis

How are you doing with your resolutions? If you haven’t decided on one yet you can come to class and take part in mine – 10 press-ups a day! I think yogis are smiling... it could, of course, be grimacing. The Bhagavad Gita, that cornerstone of yoga literature, tells us that you can only give up something of a lesser taste if you experience something better. It's called The Higher taste. The book, of course, refers to our spiritual quest. However, I commandeer the idea for your New Year Resolution quest. A higher experience will come with daily press-ups!

Here’s a better example of a Higher Taste and, on finding it, getting rid of the lower behaviour. On my recent course with David Swenson, one yogi gave a presentation about Brahmacharya or redirecting energy. We had to ask ourselves where our energy is being used and can it be better directed. Do we waste energy on uninspired thoughts? I thought this was massively useful, especially over Christmas when family might bring Eastender-like issues.

Another yogi gave a presentation on Atseya  or non-stealing. I was fairly confident that I’m not a thief. Boy, I was wrong. She asked if we ever steal energy from another person... perhaps there’s someone we don’t like and don’t give our best to. Obviously, they can’t shine in our company and we drain their good energy. That's theft! I thought of all the times I have stolen somebody’s light!

My Nan, as a schoolgirl in Edwardian Britain, had to go to the headmistress to learn the lesson of the day and then go and teach other children. I feel similar in teaching yoga. I learn all that I can learn and do my best to pass it on to you.

Greek Yoga Retreat

The venue is booked. The dates are secured. The buzz is palpable! Write to me if you’re interested. The dates for your diary for the September 2018 Kapsali Yoga Retreat are:

Week 1 for all levels (Ashtanga, Yin and holiday) will be Sunday 9th to Saturday 15th. The cost is Single £650, Shared Double £600 and Shared Apartment £630. I will be teaching this retreat with guest teacher Kiros Tzannes.

Week 2 (Ashtanga and Workshops) will be Saturday 15th to Saturday 22nd. The cost is Single £700, Shared Double £650, Shared Apartment £680. I will be teaching this retreat with Lisa Maarit Lischak, my yoga sister, and guest teacher Kiros Tzannes. So many requests have already been made about this week that I will have to operate a waiting list for the moment.

Home Studio

It’s so good to feel the buzz of the little Home Studio after time off over Christmas. No one looks full of mince pies. Everyone ate smartly and drank wisely and a good time was had by all. It’s so good to see the post-celebration relaxed smiles and stress-free vibe. There are plenty of places to book for next week.  I seem to have lost my Paypal button. I don’t know why. Until I rectify the situation, you can pay online with my Paypal email, taniashillam@hotmail.com but please write and let me know.

Yoga in the News

The Independent helpfully tells us that ‘Yoga in the workplace can reduce back pain and sickness absence’. Absolutely! I teach in many work-places and hear about back problems due to endless sedentary duties all the time. The Inde tells us that ‘back pain is one of the most common reasons for visits to the doctor, and missed work. In fact, absence from work due to back problems costs British employers more than £3bn every year.’ If you want to introduce yoga into your workplace let me know. I have lunchtime slots available.

New Year, New Resolutions

Dear Yogis

Well! We jumped to light speed and hurtled past Christmas. I hope you had a lovely time. One of my favourite moments, apart from Star Wars, was hearing how my cousin has given up sugar (carbs) and how much better he looks and feels. Right on cue my favourite podcaster Lucus Rockwood has a podcast on how to love your body... by not poisoning it with sugar and carbs! His guest talks about Fruit Free Smoothies... I know I have too much fruit. Based on this podcast I ordered a blood glucose monitor. Lucas Rockwood very helpfully says that no matter what your age or what your condition you can turn it around by eating intelligently and start to feel better within 24/48 hours.

Resolutions

We need to line up our resolutions in time for New Year’s Eve. What’s yours? I resolved, after the Yoga Connects Festival this summer, to go to more yoga festivals. I just loved life in a field, mixing with yoga hippies and nomads. (I’ll start in February with Day Christensen in Winchester – not quite a field and not very hippy but it’s a start and organised by my friend Lisa. Come with me!) I’m making a new resolution to study Thai Yoga Massage. I had a small experience of it at the Yoga Show in October and loved it.

Home Studio

Classes are back next week apart from Monday. Otherwise, there are places left and you’re welcome to come. Instead, on Monday 1st January, Triyoga has a day of free yoga. Triyoga takes donations for for classes and gives the money to Ealing Soup Kitchen. It’s a lovely studio – so go and see why Ealing continues to be the Queen of the Suburbs!

Training

Information about Valentina’s Yoga Teacher Training Refresher and next Teacher Training courses can be found on her Facebook page.

Yoga in the News

Wellbeing trends of 2017, according to BT.com, include Turmeric Lattes, Teetotalism and ‘casual Veganism’. (More and more cafes in Ealing offer alternative coffees. Harris and Hoole in Ealing has Turmeric Lattes.) If you’re travelling for New Year celebrations, try 8 Great Yoga Moves You Can Actually Do on an Airplane according to Bravo TV.

Happy New Year. All the best for 2018. Tell me what your resolutions are.

Yamas and Niyamas for Christmas

Dear Yogis

Winter Solstice come and gone, Christmas is next, and then we start climbing back into the light and on into Spring! Thank you for making 2017 such a joyous year. I think back on classes where you’ve brought your friends and relations, celebrations and joy, problems and pains, and made my Home Studio a friendly and happy place.

Can yoga be relevant at Christmas? Yes it can! You’ll need the moves to help with digestion!  Last year I suggested some postures! This year, more philosophically, the Yamas and Niyamas are yoga’s version of precepts that can give some guidance at Christmas, as in life. I found a lovely article by YogaMagazine.com that suggests how to practice non-harm, restraint, self study and moderation over the festive period. There are lots of tips on how to resist that extra helping!

Resolutions

I always find it sweet to hear yogis, experienced and inexperienced, criticise themselves. You’re all so good and you’re impressively motivated. Please make a New Year Resolution to watch out for your self-criticism and laugh at it. Wag your finger at yourself and let the criticism go. Yogis say things like ‘I could be better’, I’m not very good’, ‘I don’t consider myself to be flexible’, and so on. Just consider yourself a yogi. That’s all you need. A teacher this week was less than impressed with my practice. What can I do? I just love the practice, I love classes with friends, I love teaching and I love being part of the yoga world. Do what you love! That’s all that is required!

Home Studio

Classes at home are classes with friends. I’m back in the first week of January. Some places are booked, some are not. You’re welcome to come. Till then, there’s plenty of yoga to be had in Ealing now that Triyoga is here. Every time I visit I see friends from Nuffield, Eden and my Home Studio. The annual tradition at Triyoga is that all classes on New Year's Day are by donation, with all proceeds going to each centre's chosen local charity. 

Training

Don’t forget that my teacher, Valentina, has a refresher for people who have done Teacher Training . It’s 6  – 7 January 2018. Also, if you’re interested, her Teacher Training which starts on March 3rd/4th and you can find my testimonial here.

Yoga in the News

My goodness! The Telegraph reads like a yoga journal with this article about myofascial release for better health! Have a look and see what a tennis ball is really for!

Happy Christmas, Happy holidays, Happy Kwanza, Happy Eating with loved ones.