There’s a walk coming up on May 21st so if any of my Yoga students or others are interested please get in touch with me. as I write this there are just a few spaces left.

I have a herb related blog called urbanherbology and details of the walk are posted there.

Safety First rear facing car seat, suitable from birth to about 1 year old or 13Kg. It has hardly been used and is in excellent condition. The seat itself is unmarked, very clean, no accidents & no stains. It has a newborn support pillow, sun shade cover, pads for shoulders & and side protection system. The cover, sunshade and shoulder pads are washable. The sun shade cover has a few small faint paint marks which aren’t obvious unless you closely inspect. The protection bar can swing around as shown so it can stand nicely on the floor when needed.
Also selling with the adapters needed to fit this seat onto a bugaboo frame. The adapters are also suitable for maxicosy attachment to a Bugaboo. The adapters alone are worth €40. Grey and black. The car seat is secured in position using a seatbelt. Looking for €45 ono for the seat and adapters together.

Two important messages this week…

A reminder that there will be no mama baby yoga lessons on 21st February 2012. It is my half term holiday.

Also for those of you who missed last week, you need to know that I am terminating lessons at Zensaz on 13th March 2012. Due to my school teaching commitments, I have decided it is best to stop lessons on that date. Those wishing to take private lessons with me afterwards are most welcome to contact me. There should be time beforehand for all classcards to be used up, if this is not possible for you please contact me so that alternative arrangements can be made.

I have loved teaching mama baby yoga at Zensaz and will be sad to stop but it is simply not possible to keep the lessons going. I hope to offer occasional dates for very small groups at my home. Please contact me if you would like to be on my mailing list.

Love and Light,
Lynn

In Yoga, links are often made to the Sun and Moon. 

For instance, a common Yoga style is known as Hatha Yoga. In Sanskrit, the word hatha (pronounced “ha ta”) means Sun (Ha) and Moon (Tha).  Hatha Yoga is often said to aim at balancing the Sun and Moon energies of the body,

Surya Namaskara (Sun Salutation) and Chandra Namaskara (Moon Salutation) are two commonly practiced Yoga asana routines, which can impart the qualities of the Sun and Moon into the body and mind of the Yogi.

But the analogy which I think of most often was taught to me many moons ago by Ranju Roy. Here’s my simple interpretation of the idea which may help your yoga practice in some way…

Imagine a fire in your belly.  A burning, bright, hot, all consuming fire.  This is the fire we need to fully digest food and impurities (ama).  It needs to be well contained in the belly. It needs to be fed appropriate amounts of quality fuel. It’s flames should be fanned by well cont,rolled breath and by movements of the abdomen.  This fire is Surya – the Sun.  It is your ally and should be treated with greatrespect.

Imagine a silver moon in your head.  A cool, calm, all seeing, shimmering moon. This moon (Chandra) is a store of the ambrosial nectar (Amrita). Amrita drips coherently into your body. Amrita is your life force, we all lose it at different rates.  When allowed to drip unchecked from Chandra, it travels downward into the belly where it cools Surya’s fire as it is transformed and lost. 

Yoga aims to keep Chandra and Surya at a respectful distance from each other.  To keep fire in your belly, where it can help to purify, vitalise, stimulate and cleanse. To keep amrita in your mind, where it nourishes, calms and stabilises.  When the two energies mix we can’t function effectively; Surya’s fire becomes weak so digestion suffers and illness creeps in, Chandra becomes heated causing hot headed decisions and our mind to be foggy. 

One way to keep the qualities of Surya and Chandra in there appropriate places, is to practice Kechari Mudra whenever you think about it.  It is said to prevent amrita from dripping into the fire and is essentially very simple. I’ll write about it again but it basically involves curling the tongue so the underside presses against the palate of the mouth

Surya Namaskara is a powerful vinyasa (flow of yoga poses) which can impart the qualities of the Sun in to our being. I enjoy practising it every morning, it provides a great start to day. There are several versions of Surya Namaskara to choose from. I prefer the Ashtanga Vinyasa Surya Namaskara A and B. Here’s a link to David Swenson, beautifully and skillfully demonstrating the two sequences (from You Tube)…

David Swenson – Surya Namaskara A & B

Lynn’s Ginger & Apricot Bread
4 cups unrefined spelt flour
1 1/2 cups water
Juice of 1 orange and it’s zest (optional but extra tasty)
250g dried fruit, finely chopped. I use roughly 130g apricots, 20g crystallized ginger (surface sugar removed), 50g medoul dates (stoned) and 50g sultanas.
2 tbsp fat (eg, olive oil or butter or 50:50 of both)
2 tsp fast action dried yeast
1/2 tsp ginger powder
1 tsp cinnamon powder
1/4 tsp cardamon powder
1/4 tsp nutmeg powder

1. Make the fruity bread dough.
You could use a bread machine on the dough setting (takes about 90 minutes) or…
a)In a large bowl, combine all of the ingredient by hand.
b)Work into a smooth pliable and elastic dough by repeated kneading for about 10 minutes.
c)Leave the dough ball, covered, to double its size in a warm room (about 30 -60 minutes).
d)Knock back the dough by kneading again for a few minutes.
e)Reshape into a ball and again set aside in a warm place to double in size (30 – 60 minutes)

2. Prepare the dough for baking by shaping in any way you wish. 
I like to divide it into 12 - 16 and roughly roll each piece into a ball.  
Other times I divide it and place the pieces in the pits of a non stick muffin pan.  
Most simply, form into one or two large balls, deeply slit across the top in a star pattern – makes a beautiful loaf.
Or make a rough oblong from the whole dough and place the into a non stick bread pan.
Plaited dough is also easy to do and the end result is attractive and can be torn easily into individual servings.  To plait you split the dough into three equal parts, form equally long peices by gentle rolling, stick the three together at one end and plait as you would a pony tail.

3. Bake on a tray, in a preheated oven at 200 C. 
If you have a dough setting on your oven then all the better but it’s not at all essential.
Baking time will vary according to the way you divide your dough, or not.  If you bake a single loaf then it will probably take about 30 minutes to cook through.  If baking small rolls, plaits or muffin pan rolls then they may only need 15 – 20 minutes to cook.  Keep an eye on the bread as it cooks. To check that baking is finished, knock the top crust gently with a knuckle or finger nail.  If it sounds good and hollow, it is probably done.  You can also check with a sharp knife but the knock test is usually sufficient.

4. Cool the bread.
Turn out from any pans / trays you have used and place on a wire rack to cool.

5. Storage.
Bread freezes well if needed.  It doesn’t keep at all well in a fridge and should not be stored at room temperature in airtight containers.  Spelt bread tends to stay more moist than wheat bread.  Store covered but able to breathe.

For a totally refined sugar free version, replace the crystalised ginger with an extra tsp of dried or 2 tsp freshly grated ginger.

Spelt, Apple & Oat Muffins
Ingredients
200g spelt flour
50g porridge oats
3 level teaspoons baking powder
1 tsp ground cinnamon
125g dried fruit (such as raisins or chopped apricots, dates or prunes)
2 medium eating apples, peeled and grated
125ml plain, full fat yoghurt
125ml whole milk (goats works fine)
1 egg
50ml olive oil

Method
1. Preheat oven to 190 degrees C and set up a 12 hole muffin tray with paper cases.
2. Combine the flour, oats, baking powder and cinnamon in a large bowl. 
3. Carefully combine the grated apple into this dry mix.
4. In a jug, combine the yoghurt, milk, egg and oil. 
5. Pour the wet mixture into the dry-apple mixture and now add the dried fruit.
6. Mix lightly, stopping just as soon as everything is combined.
7. Divide the mixture between the muffin cases.  They should be about 3/4 full.
8. Bake for 25 – 30 minutes until well risen and golden brown.
9. Transfer to a wire rack to cool.
10.  Eat within 24 hours or freeze them.

Beautiful music, played by musicians who experience it as a form of meditation, can help to set the scene and transport the mind to a calmer place.  Adults, children and babies can quickly learn to associate a peice of music with the yoga that will follow.  Just as laying out your yoga mat in a familiar way can become a ritual that helps you quickly flow into your practice, so too can music help – whether played by yourself or someone else.

An inspirational musician, who I recently learned about is Ali Akbar Khan. He has been playing and teaching traditional Indian music for many years, in India and California.  Here is the beautiful Morning Meditation, from his album Journey…

It was a lovely surprise to find this peice of art in the park. The symbols for each chakra are traditional and the sculpture shows the seven major yoga chakras. 

From the base up, the names of the chakras shown are as follows. Their associated bija mantras and common western names are alongside.

Muladhara chakra – Lam (Base chakra)
Svadhistana chakra – Vam (Sacral chakra)
Manipura chakra – Ram (Naval chakra)
Anahata chakra – Yam (Heart chakra)
Vishudda chakra – Ham (Throat chakra)
Anja chakra – Sham (Third eye chakra)
Sahasrara chakra – Aum (Crown chakra)

The sculture is called ‘Totempaal’ (Totempole) and is by Theo Niermeijer, 1970.

Totem pole with chakras (wheels)

20th December 2011
27th December 2011
3rd January 2012

1:1 Lessons will also be unavailable during this period, when I’ll be taking time out for some mid-winter rejuvination and contemplation.

Classcards/strippenkaarten purchased leading up to the holiday will have three weeks added on to them, if they would have included those dates.

Classes will run each week up to those dates and thereafter; There is no autumn break / herfst vakantie. Any confusion or problem with the dates – please feel free to email or call me.