Food is Medicine...Eating is Ritual (WORKSHOP SERIES)

Food is Medicine

Eating is Ritual

In each workshop you will:  
(offered individually or as a series)

*Learn how to relate to, prepare, and eat food nutritionally from ayurvedic, taoist, and modern approaches!
-samples & recipes of inspiring, tasty, organic raw juices, smoothies, meals, & snacks included to showcase what to eat/drink for breakfast, lunch, dinner, & snacks (80% vegan & gluten-free)
-showcasing optimal live, raw & cooked organic foods, superfoods, medicinals, herbs, teas, and healing supplements 
-each person learns their unique constitution and how to eat according to it as well as the seasons to keep in balance with the elements

*Purify and nourish the body, mind, and spirit 
properly, from the inside out w/ structural guidance and method, communal support, & yoga!
-information & techniques will be deepened through yoga instruction 
and workbook (included) 
-the yoga helps to detoxify as well as deliver nutrient rich fluids to deprived areas of the body and mind

*Attain vibrant health, healing, fitness, & conscious development through empowered understanding, insights, and meditation!
-two weeks are given to put into practice the delicious and motivating changes 
in diet and lifestyle for each step
-your commitment to taking each step and putting it into practice is essential so we will be strengthening will and focus through key yogic techniques

Workshop/Step #1:  
Purifying your diet and gradual detoxification
Saturday
January 11th,  2014
10am - 3pm
$108

Workshop/Step #2: 
Cleansing and strengthening liver function
Saturday
 January 25th, 2014
10am - 3pm
$108

Workshop/Step #3: 
Healing, rebuilding, and improving digestion
Saturday 
February 8th, 2014 
10am - 3pm 
$108

Workshop/Step #4: 
 Maximizing nutrient absorption & elimination 
Saturday
February 22nd, 2014 
10am - 3pm 
$108

Workshop/Step #5: 
Strengthening the immune system, decreasing inflammation & balancing hormones for proper metabolism in the body 
Saturday
March 1st, 2014 
10am - 3pm 
$108

SPRING CELEBRATION POTLUCK

sharing of recipes, stories, food ceremony, closing thoughts & reflections celebration, sunset yoga & meditation... 

MARCH 20TH
12 noon-sunset
(outdoor location to be announced)


"...you are what you eat and you live according to how you think..."

Register w/ Prema Devii "Trish"
(500 RYT, M.A. Education)
trishteaches@gmail.com
808-269-2638

Winter Solstice Meditation & yogic talk on the creation of the universe!

                                                                  

                                                                                                                                                                                        Photo by Prema Devii

Winter Solstice Meditation & 

Yogic talk of the creation of the universe

We are in a countdown of ever darkening days till the winter solstice December 21st, 2013!  A time of the darkest dark to the brink of increasing light.  It provides an opportunity to delve into our deepest lessons, reflections, and realizations about ourselves, our lives, our inner journey of the soul without attachment or criticism.  To really feel and integrate the changes both obvious and subtle so they truly become part of us.  It is a time to go within and nurture those aspects of ourselves that we have denied, ignored, or neglected as well as to embrace those aspects we have accepted, attended to, or cared  for and to ground it all into our being without regret but with resolve.  This is a closing of our annual trek around our solar birth star and likewise our own individual orbit around our soul.  As the solstice unravels with increasing light,  every step is out of the old and into the new and the only way to be renewed, is to know from what depth we have come...May the darkest dark bring that depth, for no matter how we think, it is from the dark depth that we know the highest light...

The Evening:

-Gayatri Mantra 13x

-Prema's talk about the creation of the universe...

a yogic perspective

-Yogic grounding and integrative practices

-25 min meditation (10 min guided)

-Savory root vegetable soup

-Community building: reflections & sharing

Saturday, Dec. 14th, 2013

Hataraj Yoga Center 

(Prema's Studio)
6pm-7:30pm

$10

Confirm your spot:

Prema Devii

trishteaches@gmail.com

808-269-2638

FOOD IS MEDICINE...LIVING IS SPIRITUAL #2 (Deep nourishment for fall w/ Red Dahl Soup)

The temperature is colder, the air drier, the wind moves more irratically, the days are darker, trees shed their leaves, animals become more dormant as they retreat into their dens, perennial roots/seeds take refuge in the womb of the earth...



There are three treasures to protect, balance, and cultivate to attain the highest levels of health, healing, fitness, and conscious development: 1- prana/chi: the vital force that  that makes a seed sprout  2- ojas/jing: the deep, vital essence that supplies nourishment for growth and 3-  tejas/shen: the vital radiance that brings forth ripened fruit. We are like plants needing to be nurtured with these three energies, these three treasures:  force,  essence, and radiance.  The question in regards to our overall quality of health is to ask: "How VITAL is our force, essence, and radiance in our bodies, in our life?".  
 To what degree is the quality of my life force, life essence, and life radiance?

 Autumn is now in full and it is time to focus on building a treasure house of ojas/jing. This is the time for deep, vital nourishment to replenish our batteries.  In Taoist medicine the batteries are our kidneys.  Below is a quick list of things I've been recommending in general to focus on to keep long life in those batteries and to nourish ourselves in general to prepare for the long winter haul ahead.  By doing some conscious rituals at this time we will be able to jump into spring with vitality in our step.  Remember what we do on a day to day basis determines the quality of our life:
  
Fall rituals to honor ourselves, the season, and life... 1-Rub warm sesame oil into the joints or as an whole body moisturizer to reduce stiffness, increase circulation, and bring more nourishment to the surface of the skin.  Move all joints daily, intelligently to flush them of toxins that inflame them
2-Eat lots of grounding, root vegetables and oils like hemp, olive, coconut, grape seed oils
3-Start and maintain intake of herbs that build immunity like: astragalus, ginseng, medicinal mushrooms (shitake, maitake, reishi)
4-Insure proper hydration by adding a pinch of sea salt or a bit of coconut water to your water for better absorption by cells
5-Maintain intake of raw greens but have it with steamed vegetables
6-Drink liquids at somewhat room temperature and not ice cold, increase intake of herbal teas like tulsi, licorice, chai, nettle
7- Insure proper intake of magnesium like "CALM" which you can drink at night to get nourishing, deeply healing sleep, to calm and heal frayed nerves, reduce anxiety and stress, to improve muscle contraction and relaxation=proper detoxification of tissues
8-Focus on feeling nourished and not "full" by including all ayurvedic tastes:
 bitter (arugula, mustard greens, bitter melon, kale, collards), salty (sea salts like french or himalayan, astringent (slightly green bananas, cucumbers, pomegranates, tart fruits), sweet (stick to natural, raw sweetening from fruit, honey, maple syrup, blackstrap molasses), sour (kim chee, yogurt, sauerkraut, kefir) , pungent (pepper, garlic, clove,pepper ginger mustards , horseradish , wasabi , onion, etc..) (the american diet which mostly contains sweet and salty reflects the malnourishment that lays at the heart of most health issues, illness, and disease) ...oh...& eat only 80% full at most leaving 20% for digestion
9- Retreat inward reading books, writing, being creative...nourishing your soul
10- Meditate as a way to clear the mind of normal thinking, synchronize right & left brain function, cultivate inner peace, compassion, & joy, gain an expansive, all embracing view of yourself, your  life, and life in general

FOOD IS MEDICINE...LIVING IS SPIRITUAL RECIPES:

Red Lentil & millet Dahl Soup w/ Spinach and Chard
-Wash lentils millet and drain at least 3x
-Cover with pure water 2" and boil...adding water as you go as it soaks up a lot of water
-Spice with turmeric, ginger, fennel, coriander, cumin,  
-After boiling for a good 5 minutes allow to simmer until lentils are soft
-In bowl place greens and pour the hot soup over it to soften
-Add liquid Braggs and/or sea salt to taste and stir in
-Drizzle with a good omega oil of your choice above
-Crack some black pepper on top, squeeze of lemon, & a good pinch of chopped cilantro on top

-Give thanks to the day and to the food by placing palms over soup and infuse it with your acknowledgement  that as it enters your body you are feeding it good nourishing protein, improving your digestion, stimulating & strengthening your immune system,  reducing inflammation, and protecting cell membranes...
TO EATING FOOD AS MEDICINE AND LIVING SPIRITUALLY WITH OURSELVES AND OUR ENVIRONMENT RITUALLY AND IN CELEBRATION ...
Namaste,
Prem Devii 

GUIDED 

YOGIC MEDITATION WORKSHOP

Saturday

November 16th, 2013

6pm-7:30pm

$10

This evening will be a guided meditation through the eight limbs of yoga.  We will first review how to purify the mind and body through postures,  practice alternate nostril breathing, withdraw the senses to fine tune our awareness, develop concentration through mantra and visualization, and hold a detached but observant relationship to thoughts and feelings that arise.  Each part will be verbally guided so as to awaken a stream of conscious flow that can be more smoothly trajected toward union with infinite peace, love, and joy.  From here you will launch into your own silent, still absorption of the infinite. To transcend duality and the boundaries of time even just for a moment is a blessing that reverberates 
through ones life.   

For those who have had trouble really establishing a meditative flow, this evening will offer the guidance and signposts toward better meditations. 

 Please e-mail, call, or text to hold your spot:

Prem Devii

808-269-2638

trishteaches@gmail.com

FOOD IS MEDICINE*LIVING IS SPIRITUAL (INTRODUCTION)

"As above, so below. As within, so without."
(Hermes)

Yoga & Ayurveda

The seasons change and so with them, we too must change!   How we orientate, interact and take care of ourselves, nature, and life must be according to the time honored seasons.  This is the yogic way of union.  

This is the Ayurvedic way or life knowledge.  

Ayurveda is the sister science of Yoga...

that guides us in how to deeply nourish and nurture our bodies and minds in balance and harmony with the elements, the building blocks of this manifest universe.  Revering, interacting, and preparing proper foods, herbs, & medicine from the natural world, Ayurveda has for millennia, been kin to Yoga and therefore bestows a powerful medicine for us today: to live, eat, and ingest natural, organic, whole foods and medicines such that our bodies and minds are in greater resonance with the universe.  How we eat, how we breath, how we live and move with diverse ecosystems,  how we give and receive, & how we rest and restore, are the immortal keys to raising our consciousness such that spiritual development and that of the planet unfolds with least resistance.  It is quintessentially Taoist as it is the essence of who we are to do so!  It is a way of living, an attitude, a philosophy that returns us to the inherent wisdom within nature and its cycles and thereby, to the inherent wisdom within ourselves...

The more we live in union with nature, with our universe, the more we will  be sublimely empowered with what Zen Master Yoda would call, "The Force."   

Why?  This is because as Hermes said, "As above, so below. As within, so without.", the core wisdom upon which yoga and ayurveda have stood for millennia. 

 That force is THE  fountain from which true vitality and radiance come allowing our physical bodies to be light, our minds to be clear and at peace, our hearts to love unconditionally, and our consciousness to rise to spiritual heights.  

Helping to cultivate a treasure house of health, healing, fitness, and conscious development  in their purest, highest forms, I will be writing more about yogic lifestyle & optimal nutrition from Ayurvedic and Taoist perspectives. Combined with more current, progressive  ideas and thinkers on health & healing,  I hope to build a strong relationship between our bodies, our minds, 
and the foods and medicine we ingest in future blogs titled: 



  Food is Medicine * Living is Spiritual

Topics Covered:
-yogic, ayurvedic, Taoist wisdom
-nourishing, nutritious recipes
-raw juice concoctions

-super smoothies
-herbs, spices, & medicinals
-healing practices
-raising of consciousness & ones vibrational frequency
-self-care
-applied ethics
-holding space & acting from our higher selves
-yoga therapy perspectives


To balancing and harmonizing ourselves with the universe!
Prema Devii 
500 RYT, M.A.

:)) Bookmark my BLOG SITE to STAY TUNED...I will be posting the recipe for that lentil soup, potato corn chowder, and essential juices & smoothie material!

Yogic Meditation for lunar eclipse: October 19th 2013

Yogic Meditation 
for the lunar eclipse... 

The lunar eclipse occurs this day Oct. 18th, a time of planet, sun, and moon alignment.  The forces of these celestial bodies no doubt creating a force within us that can go deep to the heart of the change that our soul so desperately needs to meet.  We can find ourselves depending on the readiness, preparedness, and work we've done or not done in our body, mind, heart, and spirit, we can find ourselves in states from denial, fear, struggle, loss, or death to states of acceptance, love, resolution, gain, or rebirth.  

Our meditation practice can therefore provide the foundation for the inner work involved to move through it by providing a steadfast determination toward the central point of it all where movement subsides and a clear, quiet knowing arises.  Like the mountain that is large and vast at its base, it rises above to greater heights and points of view across the horizon of life...and only at its peak does one gain that 360 degree direct experience with all that is.  From elevating upward to a more expanded awareness or consciousness, one can experience the one consciousness behind it all.  Connecting or meditating to such a state of mind where you can flow in that one consciousness, IS where clarity and firm action comes through resolutely, opening the floodgates that have halted your inner growth.  From here comes the strength to set in order that that has been chaotic or even confusing as the value of our time on this earth becomes clear as day.  To set in balance that that has been tipping the scales keeping us running to and fro for there is no right or left just front and center.  And from the heart at this vantage we feel the entirety of it all and the meaning and purpose of our life in it. We are blessed with that fleeting but powerful mystical drop of the infinite having come through our crown to the root of our very existence.

May we taste that drop and meet the infinite such that the inner work we all must do on our personal unique journey here, is done with grace, kindness, and pure love for ourselves and each other.

Yogic Meditation Workshop

Saturday

October 19th

6pm-7:30pm

$10

*yoga asanas 

*gayatri mantra 13x for the eclipse/full moon

*25 min meditation

*soup & sharing

Please call/text/ or email to reserve your spot!

Prema Devii 

(Yoga Therapist, 500 RYT,  M.A. Education)

808-269-2638

trishteaches@gmail.com

hatarajyogacenter.com

Harvest moon into fall equinox meditation workshop: 

Saturday 

September 21st 2013

6:00-8:00pm

                         $10

Today, September 19th 2013 is our harvest moon and on Sunday, September 21st it will be our fall equinox.  In the fullness of the moon we transition into an opportunity to balance as the equinox is a time of equal day and night...a momentary portal within which we can harness or harvest the harmony and balance of nature and its cycles.  This portal, this point where the moon face shines in full spectrum of the sun is our chance to also, look straight through all the confusion, drama, hurt, and fear directly and embrace the opposite...soak up the opposite.  Harnessing the clarity, meditation, love, and courage to hold in balance for ourselves and others, our dual, human  nature such that a unity consciousness of a spiritual nature can lead the way, into the oncoming darkening days.  It is a time also, to reflect on all the fruits of our inward and outward labor from the year and integrate them deep within, such that all lessons and wisdom truly become part of us on a cellular level.  From this psychic nourishment we can extend our roots deeper into our mother earth and tap into her well of unconditional love so that we may draw up the feminine and meet the masculine in better equilibrium within ourselves and society.  Expressing that balance in everything we intend, think, and do and celebrating in a more organic, holistic, homeostasis that is regenerating, rejuvenating, restoring, and revitalizing to our soul.  

In this meditation workshop we will be guided in a full hour of restorative yoga poses, essential oils/essences, guided relaxation and visualizations, sound therapy, and journal writing to initiate our entrance into the womb of fall where we each so desperately need to nourish, nurture, and become one with ourselves...

Join us in our sacred circle, sacred space, and sacred support as we celebrate with meaningful ritual and supportive practices, the natural cycles of life and their purpose in our lives.

Gifts for the Evening

*healing medicine: herbal teas

*nourishing carrot yam coconut soup to share and ground our evening

*workshop journal & flower

***Please call or email to register***

Prema Devii "Trish"

808-269-2638

trishteaches@gmail.com