Full moon approaching, root down like the trees and blow in the wind

So the Equinox brought with it the usual chaotic weather, it is like all the wind has been trapped and as soon as the Earth shifts its position so it is released, and so too the rain, cleansing the Earth as much as it cleanses us all too.  I must admit it was starting to get a bit vata out there, so it is refreshing to be brought back down to earth a little...

So now we are in Autumn, the leaves are collecting at the side of the roads, the hedges have been cut back, the fields are being ploughed, the tomatoes and butternut squash are plentiful, leeks too.   And perhaps it is inevitable, having gotten involved (a little) with growing the vegetables, I have now discovered a new found interest in cooking.  It has come as a bit of a surprise if I am honest, I have always shied away, my Mum and brother are fabulous cooks and I have always let them get on with it.

But now, here I am with recipes in front of me, making my tomato sauce from scratch, not a big deal for most I know, but a novelty for me, and preparing some rather yummy vegetarian dishes, a Thai courgette curry, vegetarian spaghetti bolognaise, immune boosting vegetable soup (that is its real name), this wonderful Indian vegetarian curry called !Niramish".  I shall have to share some here, in fact the Niramish is really a joy if you like mango:-

Ingredients (serves 6)
2tbsp sunflower oil
3 tbsp curry paste
1/2 tsp chili powder
2.5cm peeled & grated ginger;
1 large onion chopped
3 garlic cloves crushed
3tsp mango chutney
1 small cauliflower
2 potatoes (sweet is nice)
2 carrots
2 red peppers
1 x 400g chopped tomatoes
1 x 400g coconut milk
210g green beans
salt and pepper
1 juice lime
fresh coriander

1.  heat oil, add curry paste and chili and stir for 1 minute.  Add ginger, onion, garlic and mango chutney and cook.  Stirring for 3-5 mins until onion softened but not browned.

2. Add cauliflower, potato, carrots and stir well to coat in spices.  Cook, stirring for 5 mins.

3. Add red pepper, toms and coconut milk and bring to the boil, then add beans and season.  Stir well.

4.  Cover and simmer gently for 21-30 mins or until vegetables are tender.  Stir in lime juice and seasoning.  Serve hot with garnish.

Tomorrow night we are planning a homemade make your own pizza night, which should be fun as I am dairy insensitive so can never usually indulge in pizza, but making it at home it can be cheese-free.  Yum, yum.

Anyhow aside from the cooking, I have been trying to walk to work in between the rain showers this week and it has been rather lovely, not least to get the legs working and to breathe the fresh  air, but to gain a different perspective of the roads and lanes between here and town.  One of the joys of travelling for me is the fact I have to walk everywhere, whereas over here life is always so time pressured that the car always takes centre stage, such a shame as walking is so underrated as a fabulous past time, especially if one gets the chance to get out onto the cliffs of course.

We planted a tree yesterday, it is an early birthday present for E, this lovely liquid amber, such a wonderful colour, we do like to set these trees free from their pot bound existence in the gardening centres over here.

Aside from that it has been a rather uneventful and yet conscious week as we build up to the full moon this weekend.  I was reading an astrologers report, which predicts turbulent times the next few days with the potential for a natural disaster as the earth seeks to release some of her pent up energy.  I am hoping that won't happen but already we have the fatal air crash in Nepal, which is so sad, all those people excitedly awaiting their trip to see Everest.

I have flown a number of times within Nepal and it is incredibly scary as the weather changes so quickly and the planes are so tiny and the safety requirements not so seemingly strict as they would be in the Western world.  That flight to Lukla is especially scary, the runway is one of the smallest in the world, perched on a mountain, sloping upwards.  Leaving that runway is worse than arriving, a bit of a white knuckle, close your eyes moment!  My thoughts are with all those in Nepal affected by this recent tragedy.

So let us all ground our feet to this earth as we tried to encourage in class yesterday, energising the root chakra and standing tall and strong and blowing in the wind as the full moon delivers its powerful energy to us all.  Enjoy!!

With love and light and much gratitude,

xxx

Autumn Equinox blessings

It is the Autumnal Equinox tomorrow (Saturday) and still the sun shines!  In Paganism this is known as Mabon.  Like with the Spring Equinox, we have a time of equal day and equal night.  However after tomorrow, the days grow shorter and the sun begins to wane in its power.

A few weeks ago I was quite daunted by this process and yet now, having gone through this period of "change" with much awareness on my mat (and in life generally), I am really quite looking forward to the colder and darker days ahead to retreat and snuggle down in front of the fire, preparing and eating deliciously tasty ans warming soups and generally slowing the pace of life down a little after the activities of summer.

Mabon is also known as the harvest home and basically marks the end of the agricultural year.  Now all the crops will have been gathered (we are almost there) and preserving and storing for winter is a priority.  I must admit even I have gotten into the spirit of this this year, even if it is simply a matter of roasting down tomatoes, liquidising and then freezing for the winter ahead!!

The leaves have turned colour, some to rust and brown before they fall from the trees and then you have the marvellous copper beeches, which glow copper in this wonderful Autumnal light.  We still have flowers in the garden, I am very proud of the ones I planted from seed this year, many were eaten by slugs but some have survived.  Astors I think.  I am blown away by one of the purple ones we have in the front garden, it has over 16 flowers on it - imagine the energy that when into growing all those twelve flowers, well done little plant I say!!

So tomorrow I shall be celebrating the Autumnal Equinox in my own way. Firstly to give thanks for all our blessings and achievements and second, to project the ability to manifest that which we possess.  After all it does no good to manifest a goal if you cannot hold onto it.  You see ideally at this time of year, the goal you set yourself at the start of the year should have manifested or be well within your reach.

Indeed it is incredible how life does unfold for it has been abundant recently as a few new opportunities have presented themselves after a few months of letting go (never an easy process) to make room for the new to enter (after all the new cannot enter however much you wish, pray and envision, until you have created the space for it to enter by letting go of thos old emotions, mental conditioning, behavioural patterns that no longer serve you), so there is every reason to give lots of thanks, every day for that matter, and maintain a positive presence. So blessings all the way.

I have been fortunate to manage a swim in the sea most mornings this week, high tide at Petit Bot has been a delight.  And this has been proper swimming too so that I can't wait to get in a hot shower by the time I get home!  Incredibly invigorating, so too my more traditional Hatha self-practice of later.  I am not sure if it is coincidence, because it could also be due to the fact that I have taken joy in cooking meals from scratch this week (no idea where on earth the passion and inspiration for cooking has just come from but I shall embrace it all the way!) but I have had much more energy than I have had all summer, or so it feels. 

There is a lot to be said for that slower, more prana focused Yoga practice, so too a prana filled and fuelled meal, prepared with love and fresh vegetables, let alone when one turns a corner in one's healing and starts to see the light again.  Hoorah, for the world does indeed appear brighter and the possibilities endless.  But that is a whole other matter...

For us now, Autumnal Equinox, take a walk outdoors, go sit in nature and give thanks for the blessings of the Universe, for the food we eat, the air we breathe, for the capacity to love and for all our friends and family.  There is much to celebrate indeed.

With love

xx

Sunflowers and Yoga fun!

Well I have woken feeling energised, clear and indeed positive for the week ahead and I can't help thinking that this is due to a wonderful traditional Yoga intensive yesterday.

Wow, what a morning as 24 students came together to immerse themselves in the beautiful light Yoga energy.  We began with some pranayama to centre, calm and begin the cleansing process, followed by a traditional asana class with lots of poses to release blockages within the energy body as well as detoxifying the physical body, bring more flexibility to the spine and thus clarity and calmness to the central nervous system and releasing stiffness from the joints.

Then we sat and chanted like I have never sat and chanted in Guernsey before.  Wow!!!   AUM, the primordial sound of the Universe, my gosh, it sounded like we had a choir in the room, in fact I even found myself moving my hands as if I was conducting as we quietened the sound at the end of the practice.  And then we sat.  So peaceful, throat chakras buzzing, silence, energy vibrating, cells healing.  Bliss!!

I then led everyone through a Yoga Nidra, hopefully it was profound on some level, as it always tend to be for me - a resolve in Yoga Nidra tends to manifest in life generally, it is a powerful practice.

I had bought my Buddha along with me as a representation of the peace and harmony that resides within each and every one of us.  People brought offerings so that the Buddha looked rather lovely.  Photo to follow hopefully.

On Saturday E and I went along to the Sunflower maze at the Saumarez Park walled garden bit.  Wow amazing, so many beautiful sunflowers and such a great idea.

We managed swims in the sea each day at Petit Bot, I would love to say it feels warm but alas I am finding it cold and not so pleasant these days!  Good to wake you up and cleanse however.  We managed a walk out at Petit Bot on the cliffs too, beautiful as ever, especially with the autumnal colours and the blackberries starting to come through - late this year.

I must admit I am loving autumn now I have accepted the change of season.  I made my first batch of autumnal soup yesterday, an immune boosting one, yum, yum.  Autumn solstice soon,and then we start to see the change in this lovely late summer sunshine and warmth.  Time for the boots!!

So all in all it has been an invigorating, enlightening and nourishing weekend.

Thank you to everyone who attended the class yesterday, much love and light.

Om shanti.

xx

May all beings have happiness

I managed to catch sunset last Sunday evening, quite spectacular.  I just love the light at this time of year, so too the clarity and lightness of the air.  We really do need to make sure to ground, otherwise we will be taking off with all that vata - make sure to apply cream to your skin too, it tends to suffer when the air is so light and bright.

I have been reading this fantastic book by Tim Freke about being spiritually awake in the real world.  There is this wonderful chapter about meaning and magic, about how one can manifest one's intentions into life.  Tim quotes his 8 year old daughter who says:

"Imagination and reality sync together to make one thing.  A thought transfers itself to reality.  If you transfer your thought from your head to your heart, it comes out as reality...but never quite as your expect".

Wow  she is spot on - they must have some interesting conversations over supper in their family!!

We can manifest, there is no doubt about it, but we need to feel it first, from the heart.  And yes, it does not always manifest as we intended, that is why they say you should be careful about what you pray for.

Anyhow, I wanted to share this lovely Tibetan Buddhist prayer with you:

"May all beings have happiness and the causes of happiness.
May all beings be free from suffering and the causes of suffering.
May all beings never be parted from freedom's true joy.
May all beings dwell in equanimity, free from attachment and aversion".

With love and light,

x

The Blue moon came and went

So the blue moon came and went, bringing with it a healing energy that caused many people to shed tears, weeping away the old to make space for the new.  This is most definitely the year of profound change.  Even the summer decided to give it a miss this year!!

Interestingly we are now in Virgo season and with this the opportunity to focus on true vocation and life purpose.  Virgo is associated with healing, purity and wellbeing, so no wonder we have to go through a process of transformation, for that is the path of healing.  This means things may be a little edgy for a while.

Evidently Virgo is also associated with harvesting and the results of what was sown.  So this is the time of year where we realise the practical reality of what we sow.  if we don't like what we see, then perhaps it is time to give consideration to sowing a different path next year.  Interesting to view life in such a manner, that once again we do have some bearing on how things turn out.

Of course often the Universe throws us curved balls and reminds our egos that we are not necessarily in control and we don't always get what we want.  At such times it is tough to stick to the age old, "accepting the way things are", "going with the flow", and "trusting in the Universe".  Perhaps it is all a matter of faith.  Faith in oneself and with the bigger picture that we may not see for years yet.

I have been told that the soul purpose of Virgo is to purify and prepare our physical form so that it is more receptive to light and becomes a suitable vehicle for consciousness.  It really is a time to give thought to whether we are fully aligned to our true purpose.

I find these times uncomfortable and yet they bring with them an opportunity to turn within, retreat, be quiet and still and embrace divinity.  There are huge changes going on out there, and the focus should be on staying grounded to the earth and within the heart, so that we can ride above the anxiety, worry and anger that comes with such testing times.  Yoga, Reiki and meditation can all help enormously, it is so easy to underestimate the support they offer us.

Plus of course there is nature, all is alive and beautiful, brightly coloured flowers fill the garden and there is a lightness in the air that encourages one to get out there and breathe it all in - gardening certainly helps the grounding and loving nature within us all to appear.  The sea is warmer too, Petit Bot was a delight yesterday as it was so quiet with all the schools back again. 

Happy practicing.

Om Shanti x