#initforallthelove

This Valentine’s, I’m in it for ALL the love!

Starting February first, I’m celebrating with a 14 day creative meditation, origami photo project. You yogis and yoginis will quickly recognize  that it’s inspired by the classic Buddhist Loving Kindness Meditation.

It is an opportunity for me to share my passion for paperfolding, a timeless art of transformation and mindfulness.  It’s also a chance to reflect on and offer appreciation for all the forms of love in my life.

I hope it will inspire you too, to reflect on the presence of love in your life and express and celebrate it your way.

Hop over to oneloveorigami.blogspot.ca or to my Facebook page, tarawoltjen, to see the whole series.

Please also feel free to share your reflections.  Together we can make this a practice in “Unity in Diversity” and a loving tribute to the most nourishing relationships in our lives.

Yoga and Origami Workshop

"Under the Rain" by Oriland

A great big thanks to all of you who joined Satwinder and me at Yoga Within on the weekend for Yoga and Origami.

It was peaceful and uplifting spending time with you folding and unfolding the energy and crafting pretty things from paper.

Many of you showed an interest in learning more paper folding so here are a few of my favorite sites for you to browse:

Origami Club is my favorite site for beginners and children.  They have great diagrams and even an animated diagram feature that makes it easier to understand transitions.

You can find the instructions for the cup we folded here and a slightly simpler variation of the lotus with optional leaves here.

Origami Spirit is a beautiful blog for artistic inspiration and soothing instructional videos.  Author Leyla Torres and her sweet kitty Corazon just added this beautiful post about Origami for stress relief and building community.  So Yogic!

Oriland is an absolutely charming Canadian site.  Authors Katrin and Yuri Shumakov have done considerable research on the brain benefits of Origami and their paper flower arrangements like the one pictured above are each more beautiful than the last!

Last but not least, I'm very fond of Paper Kawaii. Chrissy's video tutorials are clear and uncluttered.  Her photography and choices of paper are so creative and inspiring!

There are so many other amazing Origami artists and sites out there, but I'll save them for another workshop and post.

Do you have a favorite Origami site?  Leave your suggestions in the comments below.

Happy folding!

Saturday, December 8: Yoga and Origami

Origami Lotus Candle Holder

I'm excited to be co-teaching at Yoga Within with Kundalini Yogini, Satwinder Sran of Yoga of Self Mastery just in time for Christmas!  It's the first time we've presented Yoga and Origami together and I'm confident that you will enjoy the experience.

We will be folding an easy Cup/treat pocket, the Lotus Candle Holder above and a pretty Jewel Box/ornament.  Hail to the Jewel in the Lotus!  Om Mani Padme Hum!

Please contact Yoga Within to register.

Yoga & Origami with Satwinder Sran & Tara Woltjen

Saturday, December 8 2:00pm - 3:30pm

$20/Adult $10/Child *Children must be accompanied by an adult

Yoga and Origami are peaceful, meditative arts of alignment and transformation.  Both enhance functional fitness at any age and encourage creativity and joy in the process.  In the folding of our bodies or a simple piece of paper, limitless possibilities unfold.

• Relax with soothing live music and sound
• Practice Kundalini Yoga for "Folding and Unfolding the Energy"
• Learn mudras that bring the heart into the hands
• Create your own origami treasures for holiday decorating and gift giving

 You do not need previous experience in Yoga or Origami to attend this family-friendly workshop.  All are welcome.  Supplies are included.  Additional paper and giftable items available for purchase.

Sacred Advertisement

Origami lips folded by Andy

By Rob Brezsny, the wise and wonderful wordsmith of freewillastrology.com

You're a star -- and so am I. I'm a genius -- and so are you. Your success encourages my brilliance, and my charisma enhances your power. Your victory doesn't require my defeat, and vice versa. Those are the rules in the New World -- quite unlike the rules in the Old World, where zero-sum games are the norm, and only one of us can win each time we play.

In the New World, you don't have to tone down or apologize for your prowess, because you love it when other people shine. You exult in your own excellence without regarding it as a sign of inherent superiority. As you ripen more and more of your latent aptitude, you inspire the rest of us to claim our own idiosyncratic magnificence.
*
The preceding oracle comes from Rob's book, PRONOIA Is the Antidote for Paranoia: How the Whole World Is Conspiring to Shower You with Blessings.

one love origami

Wanna smile?  I invite you to visit my new origami blog, 

one love origami 

featuring:

• Cute origami stuff that I fold and photograph.
• The benefits of origami.
• The story of Sadako Sasaki and the Thousand Peace Cranes.
• Classes and events.
• Links and videos so you can fold fun stuff too!

Om Shanti!