TROPICAL TUNA MANGO SALAD

This salad is delicious, with added almonds and cocount it is high in protein & vitamines, low in fat, and so beautiful it looks like dessert. I have see it turn non-tuna eaters into tuna eaters, non-mango eaters into mango-eaters.
Its a real go to recipe…1 can of tuna & 1 ripe mango easily makes 2 generous servings…

lightly toast about 1/4c ALMOND SLIVERS in a dry pan over low-med heat–watch carefully

Dice A ripe MANGO (cut off the stem, stand it up and peel off skin with knife, find the direction the pit is oriented run the knife down and along side of it filleting the mango off the pit, cut the excess from the pit) dice into smallish pieces.

Drain a can of WATER-PACKED TUNA

Make a salad bed of FRESH GREENS (eg:SPINACH & ROMAINE–for crispness)
add thin slice SWEET SPANISH ONIONS & RED PEPPER

Make salad dressing: 1 parts BALSAMIC, 2 part OLIVE OIL, tablespoon of MILD OR SPICY CURRY PASTE, S&P to taste

lightly drizzle a little dressing on the greens & toss (do not overdo it…it wont need lots)
lightly drizzle a little on the tuna & toss (again, don’t overdo it)

Create the individual salads BY LAYERING:
SALAD GREENS
TUNA
MANGO
ALMONDS
finally top with SHREDDED COCONUT

BEAUTIFUL! Just wait till you taste it….

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Green Beans, Eggplant & Chickpeas…vegan delite!

This easy recipe is a healthy vegan option, it is not very precise–you can do more or less of everything…it is a take on a traditional Lebanese dish and is usually eaten HOT or COLD pinched in pita bread, but is nice on its own or on rice…the secret for the best taste is in copious amounts of alspice and letting it sit for a while, it tastes even better a day later!

In a wok or deep sauce pan fry 1C chopped SPANISH ONION in 1/4c of OLIVE OIL add plenty (6-8cloves) of CHOPPED GARLIC and continue simmering, when onions are soft and golden, add a couple of cups of CUBED EGGPLANT, trim and chop about 2 cups FRESH LONG GREEN BEANS add when eeggplant begins to soften; add 1 lg can or several DICED TOMATOES, and half can of TOMATO PASTE, add plenty of SALT & PEPPER & about 2-3 tbsp of ALSPICE, cover and simmer until beans are tender….adjust seasoning & serve.

A to Z the “Abundance of Zucchini”–a sweet & spicy take on the old zuke

>
August is coming to an end and zucchini is abundant, hence the need arises to invent some new recipes to use up these lovely long green things…

Using lots of fresh-from-the-garden goodies I made the most delicious LASAGNA I have ever had– twice!

But, First I went sweet, and found most zucchini breads/cakes/loaf recipes used only a little over 1 cup of zucchini—that’s not enough! I wanted to use MORE! and I had alot of other stuff to use up in the fridge too, like sour cream, lemons and blackish bananas. So, I got busy and TA DA! introducing…..a moist, delicious, sweet, & actually quite HEALTHY cake….full of fruit & veggies, whole grains and some protein

COCONUT BANANA LEMON ZUCCHINI CAKE
COCONUT LEMON BANANA ZUCCHINI CAKE
COCONUT BANANA ZUCCHINI LEMON CAKE

(i cant decide…maybe something like “summer-harvest” cake)

first bowl:

2 cup whole wheat flour
1 cup of ground flax (i used golden, but I’m sure it doesn’t matter)
2 teaspoons baking soda
2/3c cranberries (if you get minimally-processed ones…extra excellent!)
2/3c shredded coconut (or more, http://www.coconutresearchcenter.org/)
2/3c sugar (more or less to your liking)
3 tbsp poppy seeds (or more, http://healthyeating.sfgate.com/benefits-poppy-seeds-5632.html)
1/2tsp salt
note to self: next time add 1/2 cup slivered almonds, adds protein & couldn’t hurt!

second bowl:

4 large eggs (protein baby!)
1/2c sour cream (next time I will use yogurt–less fat, more protein)
2c shredded zucchini (one good medium sized)
2 mashed ripe bananas (medium size)
2 tsp vanilla
1/4c grapeseed oil
zest of one lemon (or orange, or both)
juice of one lemon (or one orange, about 4 tbsp)

mix contents of both bowls together & bake till golden & firm in center
350 degrees for about 35 minutes or more…depends on your cake pan–could make muffins or loaf, but definitely watch your time…

LEMON CREAM CHEESE FROSTING:

1/3c cream cheese, 1/4c butter, 1/2 c icing sugar, tbsp of lemon juice (in this case I used “realemon”) rind of 1/2 orange or a few chopped cranberries–makes it extra pretty & tasty

SPICY ZUCCHINI & GARDEN-GREENS LASAGNA

Sesame-Encrusted Tofu with stir-fry Vegetables

SESAME ENCRUSTED TOFU WITH VEGETABLE STIR FRY

Follow this order to make this beautiful meal in 20 minutes or less(not including the rice):

Make a batch of rice or noodles

First make the sauce:

simmer minced GARLIC & GINGER in SESAME OIL & CHILI OIL in small pot till aromatic
(I often use AKI’s Jar Ginger & Garlic–but don’t recommend any other jar garlic)then add 1-2 cups of WATER (depending on how much you want to make…)
add 1-2 VEG BROTH CUBES (you can also add a little sachet of dashi…if you have it)
some SUGAR
TAMARI or SOYA SAUCE
CHILI OIL and/or CHILI FLAKE to add spiciness
SESAME SEEDS
powdered CORN or POTATO STARCH (shake a few tablespoons in a little jar of water & then add)
stir occassionally while simmering until thickens, adjust seasoning

prepare garnish of either

: green ONIONS/CHIVES/CILANTRO–or mixed–set aside

chop vegetables and set aside:</ul>

KING OYSTER MUSHROOMS (or other)
EGGPLANT & other VEGETABLES
(brocolli, cauliflower, peppers, gai lan, sui choy, carrots, whatever…)

Prepare Tofu Nuggets

:
Dry& Cut FIRM TOFU (sometimes I use previously frozed & squeezed tofu, this has a great texture)

make sesame crusting with:


CORN or POTATO STARCH (about 1/2 cup, for one package of tofu)
SALT & PEPPER (to taste)
CHILI FLAKE (if you like spiciness)
NATURAL, BLACK & TOASTED SESAME SEEDS (few tablespoons or more if you like)
dredge tofu nuggets and fry on med-high in GRAPESEED OR PEANUT OIL
Keep tofu nuggets warm in a toaster over or re-heat in frying pan just befor serving
(these tofu nuggets can be cut like fingers and served as a side dish with dip…)

Stir-fry Vegetables

Fry Mushrooms (set aside) then Fry Eggplants, when done re-add mushrooms and other veg and continue frying until all vegetables are tender.

Serve Vegetables on bed of rice or noodles, top with sauce and hot tofu nuggets & garnish

see SUN LOTUS YOGA SANCTUARY FACEBOOK PAGE for more photos…https://www.facebook.com/SunLotusYogaSanctuary

Paul Becomes a Yoga Teacher June13/2013

So I have this photo of paul doing a standing bow pose (not very well I must confess…) on the top of mount prevost taken over 2 years ago; and then about a year ago, maybe more…I stayed up late one night and played with it on photoshop…I decided to enhance it, with rays of “sunlight” emanating from him.  I didn’t spend enough time to make it look pro…I just wanted to make it funky, put it on the desktop and use it to inspire him in his practice.

This week the photo is up on the desktop as a symbol of accomplishment. Paul has just  graduated from Ajna yoga 300hr teacher training. what a revolution!! 

Imagine, last fall i was setting up sun lotus as a yoga b&b, without an in-house teacher…sounds strange doesnt it…but i figured, we could just share our own journey and practice with others, and not neccessarily be credetialed. I figured that i know enough philosophy and theory to keep the knowlege flowing and i figured other teachers might just volunteer to stay and teach for us. but then, late last winter, we attended the victoria yoga conference–on a sunday (i havent had sundays off in the winter in several years–usually i am doing wedding viewings).

At first it was just  karla and i  going, but then paul said he wanted to come too…Ok i said, i guess i will sign you up for the last yoga class of the conference–called recovery yoga. Karla and i attended kirtan and yoga dance.  while paul was in class, karla and i perused the vendors and went for tea. When paul finished his class we said goodby to karla and jumped in the car. how was class i asked. its funny he said, i thought i wouldnt like it because it wasnt bikrams, i thought it might be too boring for me,..but i loved it, i really did, in fact i think i just love yoga all yogas!”  that was cool. i asked then if he had the chance to fill in any ballots for the draws for half-price teacher training–we had recently been tossing the idea of him taking yoga teacher training–since he is the more physical of the two of us, and with his dyslexia, a hands on, practical kinesthetic class might be right up his alley & give us both something to offer our guests–he said everything was closed when he was done. oh well i said, i filled out a few…i guess if we win, that will be a sure sign we are on the right path. he agreed.

The following monday when i woke up, i wondered to myself how long will it take for them to tell us we have won. needless to say, i was not the least bit surprised to open an email from ajna yoga to find out “one of us has won teacher training” it said one of us, because I had also put Pauls name on the ballot, to ensure that we would both qualify for the prize.

This is not the first time what i have pictured has come true.  One of the most significant images i have created was a painting on the door of Pauls Iguana Bus.

painted 5 weeks after knowing Paul, I stepped back and saw my future

I had only known him for about 5 weeks, when he contracted me to redecorate his bus…on the door, i had this desire to leave some of the original paint show thru the new art & to attempt to break out of a habit of being so precise, so I attempted  to paint an Iguana by painting the negative space around the iguana without a contour line to work from. This created a much more abstracted iguana than i would have normally drawn, the first one turned out ok-ish, but i thought i might do better a second time, then a third…I thought  i would paint out the one’s i didnt like.  when i stood back from the painting, i saw a very clear & startling vision of paul, myself and our child represented as these 3 iguanas heading into the fire (a life of risk & adventure) how true that  has turned out!!

 

 

One day seven years ago, i had a vision of peacocks meandering around our grounds “oooh how lovely, i thought…I would love to get some peacocks” 2 weeks later a young male and female peafowl suddenly walked on to the land and stayed. Although we have gone thru an assorment of females, Mr Blue stayed with us for over 7 years. He was part of the land here, a symbol of sanctuary, beauty and peace. He was very close to us, living on our decks constantly watching us thru the windows, following us around the gardens and hanging out wherever we were settled down. It turns out of course, that peacocks are very symbolic in yoga, hinduism and many other cultures, representing rebirth, love and immortality as well as:
Glory
Vision
Royalty
Spirituality
Awakening
Refinement
Incorruptibility
Nobility
Holiness
Guidance
Protection
Watchfulness
integrity and the beauty we can achieve when we endeavor to show our true colors.
In Hinduism the Peacock is associated with Lakshmi who is a deity representing benevolence, patience, kindness, compassion and good luck.
Similar to Lakshmi, the Peacock is associated with Kwan-yin in Asian spirituality. Kwan-yin (or Quan Yin) is also an emblem of love, compassionate watchfulness, good-will, nurturing, and kind-heartedness. Legend tells us she chose to remain a mortal even though she could be immortal because she wished to stay behind and aid humanity in their spiritual evolution

Contemplation on the powers of the Peacock can supposedly bring you more vibrancy and vitality in your experience. The Peacock can also help you on your spiritual Path, and breath new life into your walk of faith.

The Peacock can rejuvenate self-esteem levels too. If you’re feeling “blah” and blue, imagining the glorious, techno-color display of the Peacock supposedly provides us a proper mood to embrace our own nobility.

Peacock Feathers have been used for healing for tens of thousands of years in every culture throughout time. They are said to carry Spiritual Healing Energy that can be used to assist people seeking balance and harmony in their lives. With the proper guidelines of use, they allow the individual to connect with the Universal Healing Energy and use this energy to heal people of all of their complaints, imbalances and disease.

Well, sadly on one of Paul’s very last yoga classes, we have had to move Mr Blue to a beautiful park by the ocean. Our neighbor just couldn’t bear the thought of the damage he might do while he occassional sat on his roof–and was completly acting mental over it, and since Mr Blue had lost his last girlfriend he was lonely and crying out alot.
I miss him alot and still cry for missing him…the place isn’t the same without his stunning beauty and peaceful noble nature…he was too good to be true, we really really loved him, as did everyone else who visited here and got to know him on a personal level.

I know he must be happy at the park, with all the beautiful gardens and tourists, it must remind him of home…and now at least he has lots of new friends.

As it turns out, peacock is “my animal” on my vedic astrological chart…Mr Blue was definitely here to serve a purpose, with Paul’s Yoga teacher graduation and the opening of Sun Lotus as a yoga B&B, I guess his job was done, But I will never forget his voice…LEEE-YON…LEE-YON…PEEEK-KOK…

(at least I got my wish to finally hold and pet the lovely guy before I saw him off…we had a long cuddle in the back of the van…good by Mr Blue, I hope we meet again.)

THEE BEST MORNING GLORY BREAKFAST CAKE / MUFFINS (if I do say so myself)

Morning Glory Breakfast Cake/Muffins

I love a good morning glory muffin, and while on the hunt for the perfect recipe I found that every one seemed to have something missing…I wanted it all, and I wanted to make them as healthy as possible…packed with protein and fibre…although I still use sugar, I have made them with honey or agave as well…it works.

2c whole wheat flour
1/2c combined oats & flax (both or either–I sometimes use a porridge mix)
1 c sugar
2tsp cinnamon
1tsp nutmeg
½ tsp ginger
2 tsp soda
2 shredded Large carrots
1+1/2 c combined stuff, depends what I have in the house…some or all of the following:
(almond slivers, coconut, pumpkin, sunflower seeds, cranberries, raisins, sesame seeds)

in separate bowl combine:
4 eggs
1+1/3c grapeseed oil
2 mushed large bananas

gently fold dry & wet ingredients together, do not over-mix, bake until bamboo stick comes out clean. (45 minutes at 350 or so in a muffin tin or rectangular cake pan)

Garlic-Rosemary Mushroom-Quinoa Soup

Whenever I see organic Mushrooms on sale at the grocery store I stock up, throw them in the freezer and then make this soup whenever we have a hankering…adding quinoa gives it body and added protein. Don’t hold back on the garlic!

rich Garlic-Rosemary Mushroom Quinoa soup

roughly chop lots of GARLIC (about 2 whole bulbs)
handful of shredded CARROTS
fry in butter or olive oil, with SALT & PEPPER
and about 1/4 c of dry ROSEMARY LEAVES
and a tablespoon or so of DRY SAGE
add non-msg VEG BROTH CUBE
add sliced MUSHROOMS (2 packages, any kind–I like crimini)
you may add a bit of chopped POTATO
continue to fry until carmelized
add about 4 cups of WATER and boil until potatoes are tender
blend with immersion blender
add 1+ cup of uncooked QUINOA
when quinoa is cooked add CREAM or MILK
SALT & PEPPER & chopped PARSLEY
optional additions which enrich the taste:
1/2 cup PARMESAN CHEESE
1/2 cup white wine

Apple Chipotle Cheddar soup

Having a ton of apples to deal with at the cafe, I decided to create an apple soup that was hearty, sweet’n spicy, delicious and nutritious…Now its a big hit …enjoy!

fry lots of ONIONS & GARLIC and small chopped CARROTS in olive oil, with SALT & PEPPER
add 2 cubes of non-msg VEG BROTH CUBES
add 8 peeled & chopped APPLES (any kind…)
add equal amount of chopped SWEET POTATO (not yams…which are orange)
top with water & boil until tender, then blend
then add for texture & colour:
shredded REGULAR POTATO (about 1 average size)
shredded CARROT (about 1-2 average)
finely diced RED PEPPER
cook until tender
add CREAM or MILK
handful of SHREDDED CHEDDAR CHEESE
SALT & PEPPER
finely chopped CILANTRO OR PARSLEY
finely minced CHIPOTLE PEPPER to taste (seeds removed, use fork and knife–see picture)

using canned chipotle pepper in adobe sauce, hold with fork, split and scrape out seeds…then finely chop until its mush

Mexican “Lasagna” (gluten-free) & Burritos & Zesty Enchilada Sauce

 METHOD (For more photos see Sun Lotus Yoga Sanctuary facebook page)

Cube yams & toss in olive oil, (optional: with crushed garlic) cayenne & chili powder, salt and pepper & roasted in oven tray until tender–25 minutes (these roasted yams make a tasty side dish on their own…)

note: sweet potatoes are yellowish, yams quite orange…often mislabelled

 Cook Quinoa 1:1 with boiled water, simmered on low until tender

 Make stuffing by mixing together:

Cooled roasted yams

cooled cooked quinoa(or brown rice)

frozen corn

black beans (i used canned, but you could soak and cook your own)

sliced black olives (these are the very mild canned ones)

diced sweet onions

diced red pepper (or any other sweet and/or spicy peppers)

shredded cheddar/jack cheese

lots of chopped cilantro leaf & stalk (-the stalk has more flavour than leaf sometimes)

couple of dashes of lime juice, salt and pepper

 

Make ZESTY CHIPOTLE ENCHILADA sauce:

fry a fair amount of chopped garlic in puddle of olive oil, add fair amount of chili powder, after simmering for 5-10 minutes,

add jar of strained Italian tomatoes

add a tbsp or more of minced canned-chipotle peppers—(few seeds if any)

add dash of chipotle hot sauce (the vinegary kind)

after simmering for short time, remove from heat and add chopped cilantro

salt to taste

 

Method: beginning with thin layer of sauce, layer corn tortillas with cheese & filling & sauce,

Top last tortillas with borders of chipotle sauce, and a thick stripe of green tomatilllo salsa down the middle then sprinkle with cheese., bake for 30-40 minutes.

 

Alternative: wrap in whole wheat tortillas and wax paper and freeze stored in the old “tortilla bag”–defrost, heat for 30-40 minutes, top with enchilada sauce, green or red salsa, sour cream or plain yogurt

 

finding our way

This is our yoga studio, most people comment that they’ve never seen a mirror ball in a yoga studio…but when you do ecstatic dance its a nice touch…we just painted the floor–meant to be burgundy, came out fuscia…I don’t know if its the right look or feel yet…its a bit intense!

I dont even know where to begin. We are just about to say goodbye to the first 3 guests of the season at Sun Lotus, they are 3 beautiful souls from the UK and they have been here for a few weeks. I just want to cry, its all been so lovely.

Sarah and Mandy have been the most beautifully willing students, the sacrificial lambs–they are the kind of students inspire a teacher to teach. Knowing that we are just begining to teach they have been more than eager to encourage us to spread our wings and go for it. They can be credited with legitimizing our endeavors, keeping us to our ashram schedule, and giving us sincere feedback as we needed it. Their enthusiasm has been inspiring to say the least, they whole-heartedly participated in asana, meditations, chanting, fasting and yoga dance–with virtually no prior experience. Their discipline and dedication were truly inspiring. Within the first days here they added their own pre-bedtime asana practice. For the whole time they’ve been here–even when it had been offered by others, they avoided caffeine, alcohol and meat (totally of their own accord, and apparently for the first time in their adult lives!) They turned our lounge into a study hall full of yoga books from our library, they asked questions that showed deep introspection and curiousity, they even bought their own books, they watched documentaries and before my very eyes became two truely gorgeous young yoginis.

Jody, the young fellow from the UK with an obviously old soul, is a soon to be kundalini yoga teacher. His presence has been a real blessing for all of us, he has been a true source of knowlege & inspiration on many levels. His selfless devotion and countless hours of creating a beautiful & consistent new look for Sun Lotus thru promotional materials, facebook, twitter, wordpress and website design is truly an inspirational model of karmic work. (I can only repay him with love and a deep commitment to teach yoga to all who find their way here–sat nam!) He also lovingly makes & serves wicked hot drinks (honey garden-mint, almond-milk chai latte, honey lemon etc) and inspired us all to fast on the full moon–which was a great idea and saved me one day of cooking–thank you my love!

In some magical spontaneous collaboration of spirit, Jody and I discovered a style of meditation that I will forever refer to as the “jazz of meditation”–easily moving between the two of us as facilitators, we had an unforgettable 4pm meditation sitting out on the stumps overlooking the pond listening to soft sacred music in the background. I began by suggesting that we either close our eyes or keep a drishti (soft meditative gaze) gently we began to do some small stretches for our neck, back and arms, then some breathing excersizes, from the kundalini tradition offered by Jody, we then relayed back and forth with different suggestions for contemplation or movement, each of us offering insights direct from our present experience…the girls sat in quiet cooperation, following along in our natural flow–the hour passed completely unnoticed. When we wrapped up, Sarah, who had been struggling with meditation, joyfully exclaimed “I think I like meditation now…” Jody and I both knew it had been a special kind of experience that we were not likely able to repeat, but we would now use as a benchmark and a new perspective on teaching meditation and yoga. I was truly inspired & full of gratitude; the possibility of having such a wonderful experience with a wide variety of individuals–particularily other teachers who might pass thru Sun Lotus is truly exciting…what a sharing, what a gift!

The definitive highlight of this opening season, has been the yoga dance on the full moon friday night. Without too much thought on thursday night i lay in bed and quickly put together a playlist from my limited selection of danceable sacred music and suitable pop music. At 8pm on Friday evening we cleared the studio of mats, set out water, played soft sacred music, burned inscense and carefully lit ALL the candles. I have had this incredibly strong yearning to combine dance and chant and to teach it to others as I beleive it can open the doors to heart and spirit on so many levels. However, I am still a little uncertain as to my ability to bring people along in the dance journey and this was only the third time that I facilitated an ecstatic yoga dance.

We had listened to a wide array of chant up till then but as usual the girls, like most new yogis were reluctant to actually use their voice in chant–I was hoping that now, with their previous exposure to some of the songs, combined with their previous practice, new understanding and the conduciveness of the environment, they would perhaps let go of that niggling little bit of ego that says “you look/sound weird doing this”. Conscious dance is strange for most people. Jody had experience, loves music and dance and his energy was uplifting and easy to feed off, but the girls admitted they would not normally dance unless they had a “few drinks’inem” so I was half-expecting it to be a bit of a struggle. I hoped I made the right choices in music, pacing and timing.

Here is the song list we used, and the way it came together…the list is just under 2 hours with 28 minutes of much needed savasana included:

Become like Pleasant Music 1:10 this is a nice little intro from Sadhguru Vasudev

Ganesha Mantra – Wah 4:30 invoking ganesh at the begining of any practice to help remove obstacles which may impede the path to the highest self–we began with a little kundalini breath work breathing up energy from the earth thru legs to moola chakra

Liberation Dance- Shiva Rea 5:53 perfect voice over intro into conscious dancing

To Be Free-Mike Oldfeild 4:22 spirit, melody and lyric are so beautifully matched in this lovely song that even though paul overplays it, somehow it never loses its magic…they groaned, “we know this song…but its so good anyway” this really broke the ice, we began the song with more breathwork breathing up to the sacral chakra

Ang Sang Wahe Guru–(artist needed) 3:18 this has a great voice over at the begining “the Dynamic loving energy of the infinite source of all, is dancing in every cell of my being….”–we balanced the brain-hemispheres with walking around in circle with our eyes following our swaying hands

Radhe Bhaj Soulshine–wah! 6:20 a song about love with lots of voice over–we did breathwork up to solarplexus chakra

Give Love–MC Yogi 3:10 a very upbeat, with almost a juvenile energy, very ‘solar plexus’

Good Feeling–Flo Rida 4:30 with perfect timing Mandy finally freed her throat chakra by sqealing out “oh my god, I love this song“–it was becoming dusk, i turned on the mirror ball, hit the lights and we danced and hollered out the words to this very freeing song….(end of mirror ball experience)

Hey Diwani, Hey Diwana–Dum Dum Project 6:09 this song gave us a chance to cool down, drink water consciously recognising where the water had been before and observing it entering our body and then dancing as a body of water, dancing as a body of energy, moving our molecular bodies thru the molecules of space and recognising that we too are mostly space…

Don’t follow the Guru–Ganga Giri 6:27 this was a perfect song for third-eye chakra, it is energetic and fun, and speaks of recognizing your own inner guru, your own ability to see the truth/reality–your third eye.

Ma Chant Kali–Wah!4:22 gently energetic, lovely voice over with messages about grace etc.–I beleive this might have been when Jody introduced the idea of feeling the energy between your two hands before they touch (it feels like reverse magnets…) and we all became fascinated by this for a while…Particularily Sarah!

Ocean of Mercy (hare Krishna)Jaya Laksmi 5:53 this song is the most beautiful rendition of the maha(great) mantra “hare Krishna” the gang had heard it before and despite its deeply devotional nature its catchiness is inescapable…we all danced enthusiastically and I think I saw them chanting along…but I am willing to bet they had at least one stray thought of
“what the hell am I doing, dancing around singing hare Krishna –I wonder what my friends at home would say…”
then the next song came on….such a contrast!

Dancing in The Moonlight -Toploader -3:46 this was unexpectedly received with a very vocal and critical “oh no, not this song…this was so overplayed back home” I asked “when?” because its from 1973 and these guys are only 30…but apparently it was a huge-hit in the UK being covered in 2003 by toploader…”anyway, I said, check out the moon”…by now–as if by some divine intervention, the moon had magically appeared over the pond, shining like a giant orange orb enhanced by drifting wisps of mystical blue-grey clouds…we gathered into a tight group at the doorway where it was clearly visible and re-started the song and together sang it as loud as possible–the words were a perfect fit!
…”when that moon is big and bright its a supernatural delight, everybody is dancing in the moonlight….everbody here is outa-sight, they don’t bark and they don’t bite, they keep things loose, they keep it tight…everybody feeling the moment right, its a fine and natural sight, everybody is dancing in the moonlight”…I could not have timed this better nor chosen a better song, this was obviously a divinely inspired moment~really really special….I get goosebumps just thinking about it…I was so taken away with the magic of the last moment the next few songs were a blur for me, anyway they provided ample time to cool down, bring the energy down and get ready for savasana…

Mere Govinda ✬ Jai-Jagdeesh 9:40

Sada Sat Kaur – Gobinday Mukunday 9:55

Heart Sutra 7:32 Wah!

In Sunlight by Tina Malia 5:43–we begun to pull out mats, blanket etc and lay down for savasana

Ong So Hung 22:15 The Guru Singh Experience–the nice long length of this song, enabled be to complete our session with a smudge, and a little leg/foot massage for grounding…

whilst in the throes of this dance, I had some exceptional revelations come to me; for one, I literally felt like I had become some kind of witch-doctor or shaman, then I felt I was channeling Shiva, I could see myself with arm bands on, wild hair flowing, stripes across my forehead–dancing out the old incarnation of Sun Lotus and dancing into creation the new vision, I felt very alive and very much in the flow–I felt since I had put so little time & thought into making this playlist, that It must have been inspired by something beyond myself…I felt I had come home, and merged the burning desire to teach esctatic dance with the sudden capacity to do so…I could see myself doing it over and over again, teaching it to many…It blew my mind!! It took me two days to recover.

After the long savasana, we sat up around a candle and talked about our experience, I was heartened by Mandy saying “oh my god, I could so see myself with my girlfriends dancing around our apartment like this…” I hope to inspire others to take up yoga dance…I hope to be able to host Yoga dance at Sun Lotus at least once a month!