Reflection

"My beloved child, break your heart no longer.

Each time you judge yourself, you break your own heart.

You stop feeding on the love which is the wellspring of your vitality.

The time has come. Your time. To celebrate. And to see the goodness that you are.

You my child, are divine. You are pure. You are sublimely free.You are God in disguise.

And you are always perfectly safe.

Do not fight the dark. Just turn on the light.

Let go, And breathe into the goodness that you are."

Swami Kripalvanandaji (Bapuji)

Time and Patience

The Big 108!

Jarvis Chen Iyengar yoga teacher

Today I attended our local global Mala project. 108 sun salutations given by nine different yoga teachers from a variety of disciples. We did salutations in the form of Forest Anusara,Vinyasa, Kripalu, Iyengar and to our own funky beat. We got down into adho mukha svanasana with lady Ga Ga, and breathed and stretched to MC Yogi and in the end we danced in celebration to krishna das. It took about three in a half hours to get through it and there was a good deal of dropping into child's pose going on, but we made it! Each teacher had there own special way and all brought the love into the day. I highly recommend participating in your own mala be it at home or in a group. It's wonderful, albeit I'm so sore right now and just know its going to be rough going crawling out of bed the next few days.... but ah...... well worth it.

Peace to all,

Miss. S.

Shana Tova

Blessings and good cheer to everyone in the new year!

Yoga in Africa

This is so beautiful, its what heaven must be like. Actually it's a photo of Arusha National Park in Tanzania. OK here is my offer to you. A. get up EXTRA early, get out a shovel, wrap up like Nanook of the north you bastard its cold out there! Start shoveling your car out of that ice ridden snow infused driveway or parking space. Make the commute from hell to work. B. pack light but durable clothing, bring a yoga mat, your camera, and Hemingway's The Snows of Kilimanjaro and bring yourself to Paradise. Linda Sama of Meta Yoga will be leading a yoga retreat in the acacia forest, in Tazanzia, February 26,27,28. 2010. Linda is an old soul, peaceful and living in the light. She really has a way of making you feel good and know that no matter what is going on everything is going to be OK. Check out her blog and you'll see what I mean.

In the meantime here are some details. Tanzania (United Republic of Tanzania) is located in eastern Africa between Kenya and Mozambique, bordering the Indian Ocean. With an area twice the size of California, Tanzania contains spectacular landscapes and abundant natural resources. To name a few, Serengeti, Ngorongoro Crater, Lake Manyara, Olduvai Gorge, Tarangire National Park, and Mount Kilimanjaro are famous tourist destinations.

The full details for the retreat can be found here. There is an option to extend your stay and safari or stay in a beautiful hotel by the sea. The fee is amazingly reasonable and part of the proceeds will go toward The Seva Foundation. Good travels while building good karma, can't beat that!

Bon Voyage!

Peace on a Sunday Morning

When the mind is steady, we can see a little truth.

When the mind is disturbed, we can't see anything.

Growth allows a portion of the mind to remain

an objective witness even in the

face of disturbance. The witness is always there,

if we can keep a wakeful attitude.

Swami Kripalu

My Family and Other Animals

I just finished Gerald Durrell's completely enjoyable memoir of his childhood years on the Greek Island of Corfu between 1935 -1939. My Family and Other Animals is Durrell's study of wildlife on the Island as well as a comical sketch of his family. He, his two brothers, sister and mother head off to Greece where the climate is sunny and the culture more suitable to their offbeat personalities. Corfu opens up a world for the author which in turns effects the living planet. Gerald Durrell grew into adulthood to became a naturalist, zookeeper and environmentalist and eventually brought forth a new standard in zoo's. As an adult he eventually founded his own zoo on the premise that they should act as reserves and regenerators of endangered species. This was a new idea and veered substantially from zoos at the time where caged animals were treated more like circus entertainment. The Jersey Zoological Park founded in 1958 evolved into the Jersey Wildlife Preservation becoming a leading zoo in the field of captive breeding, championing the cause of such species as the Lowland Gorilla and various Mauritian fauna. Durrell's policies on a zoo as a preserve built for educating the general public, preserving a species and housing the animal in the least restrictive environment were new ideas for which he paid dearly in criticism and for a period of time even blacklisted from his professional community. By the time of his death in 1995 wildlife preserves, programs to save endangered animals, conservation trusts, and vast programs to educate the general public had been established and his policies are now the standard worldwide. His ashes are buried at the Jersey Zoo with this inscription by William Beebe.

"The beauty and genius of a work of art may be re-conceived, though its first material expression be destroyed; a vanished harmony may yet again inspire the composer; but when the last individual of a race of living beings breathes no more, another heaven and another earth must pass before such a one can be again."