Dolphin day

Yesterday was the final day of our Kundalini Yoga Teacher Certification course. Intense and inspiring, it was great to be a part of it—not only as a participant, but as one of those who made it possible.

To celebrate our closing, one of our fellow yoginis arranged an afternoon boat ride down the islands courtesy one of her friends who has a large cabin cruiser. On the way back to the jetty, about fifteen dolphins surrounded the cruiser, playing and swimming in front of, alongside and behind us. It was magical. The perfect send-off.

Read about the symbolism of dolphins here.

Homework

Lately whenever anyone asks me to do something—professionally or socially—my answer is: "Check me after August 5th."

Who would have thought that this time would have come so quickly—or come at all? I cast my mind back to roughly around this time last year when my friend/yoga peer Durga Devi and I were embarking upon our efforts to bring the first ever Kundalini Yoga teacher training to Trinidad & Tobago and the Caribbean.

With the guidance and assistance of the Divine, we did what often seemed daunting or impossible. The final week of training will be from 30 July - 5 th August. How time has flown.

Meanwhile, in the next few days leading up to the 30th July, the rest of life comes to a slow down or halt. I have a lot of homework to focus on—various assignments to complete and studying to do for the final exam.

It has been a great journey. Where it ends is where we begin again.

Try this delicious recipe

(Photo added after it came out of the oven)

The second intensive week of Kundalini Yoga teacher training finished on Friday 3 June. It was a fantastic seven days. On one of the mornings, we had a yogic cooking class—the results of which we had for lunch. The menu was Yogi Tea, Mung Beans and Rice and Beet/Carrot casserole. It was all extremely delicious, nutritious and filling, without being heavy. Definitely called for seconds.

This morning I went to the market and bought a few items, including beets and carrots. As I write this, the beets and carrots are steaming upstairs, waiting to be peeled and grated so that I can make the casserole. It is worth trying.

Here is the recipe (taken from this source). If you make it, let me know how it tastes.

Beet & Carrot Casserole

This is a very tasty, light recipe that is wonderful for the health and cleansing of your liver.

1 bunch beets

1 lb. carrots

1 Pint Cottage Cheese (optional)

2 bunches of scallions - chopped

3 cloves minced garlic

4-6 tbs. olive oil or ghee (clarified butter)

Braggs Liquid Aminos and black pepper to taste

Grated cheddar or soy cheese to taste

Scrub beets and carrots. Steam beets whole. When half done (10-20 minutes) add the peeled carrots. Cook until tender, yet firm. After they cool, remove beet skins. (They slide off easily).

Grate beets and carrots with a coarse grinder. Mix together loosely (so the colors stay distinct).

Saute the scallions and garlic in the olive oil. Toss this mixture with the beets and carrots, Cottage Cheese, Braggs and black pepper. Put in a casserole dish. Cover with grated cheese and bake until cheese is golden. This recipe was created by Siri Ved Kaur Khalsa.

Source of recipe

I'm back & Sprout update

I have no photos to show from the first week of intensive yoga training. Immersion in the actual experience was my only focus.  Yoga every day, sometimes from as early as 4:45 a.m. to 6:30 p.m., and other days from 8:00 a.m. - 6:30 p.m. It was like being in heaven. In fact, it was heaven.To be doing something you love for an entire day, with kindred spirits and with nothing else from "outside life" to attend to for those seven days.

Everyone else went home at the end of the day, as they all lived in the West. Being from the East, I opted to camp out in the garden of our venue for the week, rather than commute. I slept in a massive, spacious dome-shaped tent, with doors and windows and mosquito mesh. At the end of a long day I would return to my "cave" and sleep, having intense dreams and lots of inner transformation.

With so much yoga, it is inevitable. We all had many shifts and realisations—inner and outer.

I don't feel very wordy, so this is as much as I will muster up as a recap of the experience.

To close, on an entirely different note, I'll share some images sent by Sprout's new owner, who also adopted his foster mother (now called Gabby). Both cats are doing fine and, as you'll see from the photos, Sprout has certainly sprouted.

It's happening

After almost a year of steady planning and preparing, we have achieved what we set out to do—bring Kundalini Yoga Teacher Training to T & T for the first time ever. There were many challenges along the way, moments when we could have given up, frustrations and conflicts that made us wonder why we were doing this. But we persisted against all odds, learning to trust more in the Divine and to expect miracles.

In the process I made a great new friend—my fellow organiser Durga Devi. We supported each other throughout, her strengths filling in at points where I was not so strong and vice versa. E.g. She is great at budgeting and accounts which is not my forte. I am good at graphics and creative and some marketing aspects. And so on. With trust, support and encouragement, the journey unfolds.

In the words of Yogi Bhajan, who brought Kundalini Yoga to the West in 1969: Keep up and you will be kept up.

Even though at times it is difficult to believe, the following two sayings are also true:

Jump and the net will appear.


Walk by faith, not by sight.

The first day of the first week (of three weeks) of this intensive training course is this Saturday, 26th March 2011. The week finishes on Friday 1st April.

This will be my last blog post until after that date.