Awakening Ganesha

September 1 , 2006                       Monthly  Newsletter                                        Volume 22              

Namaste,

Join us on September 6th for a FREE Introduction to Yoga class. This class will be held on the first Wednesday of every month from 5:30-6:30pm. It will be an hour-long talk on the benefits of yoga, clarification of the different styles of yoga that may interest you, and a Q & A session. Please join us and tell a friend who has never done yoga before!

New Class offerings:   

Anusara - Inspired Yoga

Beginning September 7th, Sherri O'Neil, R.Y.T., will be offering an Anusara Yoga series. The class will run 6 weeks, September 7-October 12th, from 6-7:15pm. Anusara Yoga was developed by John Friend in 1997 and is a popular hatha yoga style with a tantric philosophy. The emphasis of this style is on a set of "Universal Principles of Alignment" which underlie all "heart opening" postures and the spiritual/meditative benefits of hatha yoga. For more information, call Sherri at 282-0876.

This is a non-studio class.  Class passes do NOT apply. 

Morning Kundalini!

Rebekah Crisp will be offering a 10:30am Kundalini class in the yurt on Wednesdays beginning September 6th.                                                                                      

The Adventures of Lionheart,  Temple Cat

The Gospel of Nature

The lineages of temple cats, come from the Himalayan mountains, not merely the "home of the snow," per the Sanskrit meaning but also the source of yogic wisdom and spirituality for millions of people regardless of their background. Swami Rama (one of my favorite swamis) speaks of the gospel of nature in his memoirs Living with the Himalayan Masters: 

"For me, the Himalayas are my spiritual parents ...that had only one entrancing theme: love--for nature, love--for creatures, love--for the Whole. Then I started listening to the music coming form the blooming flowers, from the songs of the birds and even the smallest blade of grass and the thorn of the bush. In everything lives evidence of the beautiful. Do you need psychological analysis to discover in Nature the source of so much happiness, of so many songs, dreams and beauties? This gospel of the nature speaks its parables from the glacial streams, the valleys laden with lilies, the forests covered with flowers and the light of stars. When one learns to hear the music of nature and appreciate her beauty, then his soul moves in harmony with its environment. His every movement and every sound will surely then find its due place in human society. The mind of man should be trained to love nature before he looks through the corridor of his life."

Likewise, I have found that here in Sedona among the cathedrals of the red rocks, there is a sacred energy that offers ancient wisdom for those that have the eyes to see and the ears to listen and the ability to be still amongst the grasses and insects.                

Photo by Dawn Justice

The Ayurvedic Corner

                    Sattva, Rajas, Tamas

While cooking meals for students during our yoga programs, I am pretty strict about the ingredients used to prepare our meals. This decision often causes much confusion among students. For clarification, I will address this topic in the next few newsletters.  

   The answers lie in the connection between the physical food we eat and the effect it produces on our energetic bodies. In Ayurveda, everything we put into our physical bodies has a direct impact on our mind. Ayurvedic cooking is meant to nourish and support the mind as well as the body. To understand this body-mind connection, we must understand the three qualities of mind and nature: the Gunas--Sattva, Rajas and Tamas. The Gunas are the attributes used to understand and conceptualize ourselves physically, emotionally and spiritually.

   Foods that support sattva are deemed sattvic. Sattvic foods are pure and calming, promoting clarity, peacefulness and equanimity. Sattvic foods encourage and support our connection to our higher spiritual selves. Examples include most fresh fruits and vegetables, most raw nuts and seeds, ghee and virgin organic cold-pressed oils.  

   Foods that encourage rajas are called rajasic. Rajasic foods are stimulating but often distracting, promoting and activating emotional experience. Think passion--and aggression. Examples include coffee, peppers and hot spices.  

   Finally, foods that increase tamas are called tamasic. Tamasic foods are heavy, numbing and devoid of prana and chi--life energy. Tamasic foods encourage confusion, disharmony, inertia and a separation from the oneness of our true nature. Tamasic foods include frozen food, fried food, and meats. Many in Ayurveda say that Rajas and Tamas are the causes of illness and disease, whereas Sattva is the path toward enlightenment and the sole cause of health.  

   Therefore, in the spirit of Ayurveda, we at 7 Centers strive to serve sattvic meals to our students to encourage and support the work being done here.

Yogurt is an interesting example of these three qualities of nature.  Freshly made yogurt is sattvic. Processed, preservative-laden store-bought yogurt, which is not freshly made, is rajasic. Frozen yogurt is tamasic.   Homemade yogurt is quite simple to make and far superior in taste and nutrition. Next month I will give you an easy recipe that I use to make homemade yogurt. It will help you bring more sattvic energy into your life!

Kevin Afuso is the Cook for the Ayurvedic Kitchen at 7 Centers. He both educates and nutures the teachers and students with conscious food during yoga trainings.

Vedic Astrology News

The First House in Vedic Astrology

The Vedic astrology chart consists of twelve houses, called bhavas in Sanskrit. Each of the twelve houses has different significations and rules different aspects of life.

The first house is the most important and significant house of the entire horoscope. The first house, also called thanu bhava, sets the foundation for the chart. The astrological sign that rules the first house is called the Ascendant or lagna in Sanskrit.

The first house signifies one’s basic disposition, personality, and one’s potential. It is the house of the individual and defines the self. It describes how we interact with the world, as well as how others may perceive us.  The first house represents our general behavior patterns, basic temperament, our general psychology, and the lens through which we view life.

On a physical level, the first house represents the general appearance, the health of the body, and the physical constitution. It is one of the major houses used in medical astrology, describing the possible nature of disease via the sign ruling the first house, the placement of the lord of the first house, and planets located in the first house.

Esoterically, the first house may also represent wisdom gathered from previous lives and contains the essence of the soul as it begins its journey in this life.

Debra Infante, Vedic astrologer, can be reached at (928) 639-0623 for astrological consultations, either in person or by phone.

7 Centers Yoga Arts

Upcoming Yoga Trainings and Special Workshops            

Teacher Training Alumni News 

Patricia "Blue" Maltas (January 2005) wrote that she is presently in Alaska, but still has her home base in Austin, Texas, and will be back there soon. Her music is still with us here at 7 Centers. She hopes to come back for a visit sometime this winter. Any new releases, Blue?

Shilpa Kamat, (July 2004) is assisting in a 3-day "Naka Ima" intensive workshop in Sebastopol, California, Sepember 22-24th.  Naka-Ima is Japanese for "Inside of Now," and the practices are rooted in the belief that in shifting our consciousness, we shift the consciousness of the world. For more information, please contact Shilpa at cloverslug@care2.com or call her at 770-356-3476.  You can also go to: http://www.soul-centeredhealing.com.  Good luck, Shilpa.

Mira Murphy (September 2005) left this week for extended studies in Bangalore, India and Thailand.  Mira will be studying with Friends World for Global Health and Healing. Good luck, Mira! We miss you already.

Carla Ricci (September 2005) has set up a site for alumni of 7 centers on MySpace.com. The address is www.myspace.com/7centers. There is a message board where you can post messages and/or announcements.    Carla suggested opening it up to all graduates from all classes. Check it out!  

Sydney attended a week-long yoga retreat with teacher Lilias Folan (of PBS fame) at the Feathered Pipe Ranch in Helena, Montana. She was very excited about doing yoga and massage for a solid week--not to mention the great food and peaceful surroundings.  Life just keeps getting better and better....