2. Do yoga at Yoga for Today in Sherwood Park during Yoga for Food Week, January 2-8, 2012. Bring non-perishable Food Bank donations in exchange for yoga classes throughout the week.
You are warmly invited to bring a donation and join me for Intermediate Hatha Yoga on Sunday, January 8 from 9:00-10:30 am!
3. Get educated! Check out this article by the United Nations World Food Program: 11 Myths About Global Hunger. You can feed your mind and hungry people around the world at the same time.
It was such a joy and an honor to "play" teacher for you as you learned to read and write in Sanskrit, memorize the first nine Yoga Sutras, and explore the various paths of Yoga!
And it was sooooooo much fun playing Leela, The Game of Knowledge with you on Wednesday night as we celebrated our last class of the year together!
For those of you who don't know, Leela is a board-game created by the ancient Yogis to teach and illustrate the evolution of the soul as it migrates through the planes of existence and Samsara.
As children, without knowing its origins, many of us played a modern variation of this game known as Snakes and Ladders.
Snakes and Ladders, India, 19th Century
The version we played together in class was illustrated and translated by Harish Johari and Pieter Weltevrede in the ancient style, with arrows that shoot you up through the planes of existence and snakes that swallow you and take you down!
It was such a blast playing, reflecting, and "reaching enlightenment" with you!
Warm greetings and salutations to the Hatha Yoga Teacher Trainees at Yoga for Today!
Thank you all for your time and enthusiastic participation in this weekend's Yoga Philosophy classes.
Here is the link to my previous blog post on the Mahamrityunjaya mantra - The Mantra for "Great Liberation" otherwise known as the Om Trayambakam.
And the quote I mentioned from Marianne Williamson:
“Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small does not serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won't feel insecure around you. We are all meant to shine, as children do. We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It's not just in some of us; it's in everyone. And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.”
----from A Return to Love, by Marianne Williamson.
Thank you to those of you who submitted your Yamas and Niyamas assignment yesterday. I look forward to reading them. They will be available for you to pick up from the front desk by Wednesday night/Thursday morning.
And Congratulations! In addition to fulfilling the philosophy requirement for your Hatha Yoga Teacher Training Program, you've completed 15 hours of study toward my FREE Apprenticeship Program certificate! I look forward to your application! Jai!
I just had my first cup of Chai sweetened with raw, organic, Alberta "Peace Country" honey in a very long time and it was sooooo soooo yummy and sweet!
So I thought I'd share a few traditional Indian chai making videos with you, and some of the nutritional benefits of honey:
"In Hinduism, honey (Madhu) is one of the five elixirs of immortality (Panchamrita). In temples, honey is poured over the deities in a ritual called Madhuabhisheka. The Vedas and other ancient literature mention the use of honey as a great medicinal and health food.
In Buddhism, honey plays an important role in the festival of Madhu Purnima, celebrated in India and Bangladesh. The day commemorates Buddha's making peace among his disciples by retreating into the wilderness. The legend has it that while he was there, a monkey brought him honey to eat. On Madhu Purnima, Buddhists remember this act by giving honey to monks. The monkey's gift is frequently depicted in Buddhist art.
Historically, honey has been used by humans to treat a variety of ailments through topical application, but only recently have the antiseptic and antibacterial properties of honey been chemically explained.
In Ayurveda, a 4000-year-old medicine originating from India, honey is considered to positively affect all three primitive material imbalances of the body. "Vaatalam guru sheetam cha raktapittakaphapaham| Sandhatru cchedanam ruksham kashayam madhuram madhu|| "It has sweetness with added astringent as end taste. It is heavy, dry and cold. Its effect on doshas (imbalances) is that it aggravates vata (air / moving forces), scrapes kapha (mucus / holding forces) and normalizes pitta (catabolic fire) and rakta (blood). It promotes the healing process.""
Thank you to Wikipedia for the information above.
If you want to know even more about the benefits of honey, click here.
Wow - This little Tabla player must have some serious music samskaras from a past life!
This performance (at the age of 7) is so charming I had to share. And as if his talent weren't enough, that bright smile and curly Keshava hair are irresistably Krishna-sweet! He's like a young Zakir Hussain!
Did you know we have a tabla student of Zakir's right here in Edmonton?
