August 2008 Newsletter

After many, many requests, we are pleased to announce the 7 Centers Yoga Arts Ayurvedic Cookbook compiled by Chef Mira Murphy. This collection of recipes used by Ambaya, Kevin Afuso and Mira during 7 Centers' teacher trainings contains so many mouth-watering dishes you'll want to spend all your free time in your own Ayurvedic Kitchen! Cost: $20 + $5 shipping & handling.

Everyone is welcome to join our COMMUNITY YOGA CLASS for only $3. All levels, from beginner to advanced, will enjoy visiting with old friends, making new friends and being guided through a balanced yoga session. Tuesdays 10:30am - noon.

7:00am yoga classes Get up early and do your practice before the sun gets high and the temperatures rise!

More kundalini yoga! Come for a transformational retreat - there is time for relaxation in the afternoons after intense practices in the morning that will focus and help assess how we use our energy in our lives. (more details below) Registration.

Announcing our first 30 day Kundalini Yoga Teacher Certificate Training coming up in February 2009. See details below..more to come.

Every season I create a new sadhana, or spiritual practice, for myself and for this summer of heat I have chosen:

Asana: Sphinx, Jathara Parivartanasana (Lying down twist) and Shavasana (corpse pose) with legs and paws relaxed in an open position. I always include shavasana as the primary posture as I follow Satyananda’s dictum that relaxation is the key to states of higher awareness.

Eye Exercises: I use flying insects and birds to improve my eyes - side to side, diagonal and up and down movements.

Pranayama: Ujjayii breath (soft snoring sound made through a slight constriction in the glottis of the throat) while practicing shavasana.

Mantra: The mantra of Tripura Sundari - the Sri Vidya or Sri Yantra is the physical representation of this mantra.

“The feminine nature is synonymous with beauty...with the female representing the Divine in form while the male represents the Divine in the formless. The highest beauty is of perception

and this occurs when the mind is cleansed from the known, the consciousness is cleared of its conditioning and rests in pure awareness. Sundari is the beauty of nature but as seen through the spiritual eye of unity - that there is nothing but God above, below within and without….Tri means three and pura is city - the three cities are the three worlds and the bodies that represent them: physical, astral and causal, matter, energy and thought…three states of consciousness…waking, dream and deep sleep….the three lights of fire, moon and sun. To delight in these experiences and yet to transcend them is Tripura Sundari.”

It is recommended to do one mala or chant this mantra 108 times at a cat sitting. In my case, I do my morning yoga as the sun comes up and in the evening I as the moon rises I do trataka (blinkless gazing) on the Sri Yantra that honors the triple goddess, Tripura Sundari.

The Ayurvedic Corner

Sandalwood

Indian Sandalwood is one of the most sacred herbs of Ayurveda. Known scientifically as Santanlum album and in Sanskrit as Chandana. Sandalwood powder and essential oil are renowned for their many medicinal and spiritual uses.

Sandalwood comes from an evergreen tree that is grown in southern India. The precious oil collects in the heartwood (center of the trunk) and is best harvested after the tree is at least 60 years old. The wood is ground into powder and then steam-distilled into oil for use in soaps, cosmetics, candles, medicines, perfumes, and incense. The harder outer wood is used to make beads and carved statues of deities.

Cooling Sandalwood powder is mixed with water into paste, and applied medicinally to relieve Pitta heat conditions, such as: sunburn, acne, rashes, fevers, herpes, and even infectious sores and ulcers.

Fragrant Sandalwood oil soap has natural antimicrobial and hydrating properties, making it an ideal cleanser for gentle, sensitive, and aging skin.

Calming Sandalwood is a wonderful meditation tool. Its sedative property clears stress from the nervous system. Essential oil applied on the third eye awakens intelligence and lifts depression. Burning incense and using a sandalwood mala for japa helps to quiet the mind.

Sacred Sandalwood has many spiritual significations as well. Sandalwood paste is used in Hindu religious rituals and ceremonies to purify the space. That paste is also applied on the forehead to bring the devotee closer to the divine.

The Indian sandalwood tree has become endangered in recent years. All Sandalwood trees in India are under government control and they have tried to prohibit the uprooting of these trees, whether on public, private, or temple lands. Exportation of sandalwood is strictly limited. However, this has not stopped many poachers from smuggling sandalwood, raising the prices of this valuable commodity sky high. The older the tree, the more fragrant and valuable its wood.

Due to its numerous healing properties, pure sandalwood oil and powder are as precious as gold.

Some information for this article was taken from

www.mapi.com Sacred Sandalwood article.

For Health Consultations, Herbs, and Ayurvedic Spa treatments, please contact Avani Robinson
Authentic Ayurveda of Sedona

It’s that time of year again, with two eclipses happening in August. We start the month off with a solar eclipse on the new moon day of August 1, 2008. This eclipse takes place at 15 degrees of Cancer, in the nakshatra of Pushya. This new moon could be especially powerful. Sometimes eclipses can indicate a sudden rise or fall, something unseen, now comes to light. Pushya is considered the most auspicious nakshatra of all 27, and has a nourishing effect. Maybe a good time to notice those areas of life (inner and outer) that we need to give a little extra attention to, so we can feel fully nourished and satisfied. In addition, why not look around to find those in need of some support, and be of service at this time. This eclipse is in the sign of Cancer, which is ruled by the Moon, so this might be an exceptionally emotional eclipse, revolving around issues concerning our home, our mother (and Mother Earth), and our emotional equilibrium. Areas of healing could center on our personal insecurities, and how attached we are to others.

The next eclipse will be August 16, 2008, and it is a lunar eclipse on the full moon day occurring at 0 degrees 21 minutes of Aquarius. This eclipse is a bit unusual as it is at 0 degrees 21 minutes, just barely entering the sign of Aquarius, so it is in a way, demonstrating the beginning or start of something new. This eclipse takes place in the nakshatra of Dhanishta, which is a wealthy or prosperous nakshatra. Maybe a time of looking at what we value in life, and how we spend our money, and deciding how we will share our wealth in the future, not only individually, but collectively too. This is also a nakshatra that connects to hearing and listening, so a good day to meditate and go within.

Remember that eclipses are considered days of spiritual initiation and great times to perform our spiritual practices and prayers. Eclipses are also times of change and the beginning of a new awareness or consciousness, like a divine message, helping us to get back on track and connect deeper within.