Yoga Everywhere: Revolution Inward

Kundalini Yoga Teacher Training In Egypt

2015-11-23T04:57:00.000+02:00

Week 1 of the Level 1 Kundalini Yoga Teacher Training course came to a close last Thursday. It was such a pleasure to be with these two amazing yogis. Siri Neel, Lead Trainer for the Course and Shama Kaur, the gentle force behind the organization of this course. I could go on and on...and I will as I continue to shuffle through my photos w
ink emoticon\

Dancing in the Rain.
On the afternoon that we were to watch a video class taught by Yogi Bhajan, it started to pour down rain! What a great way to start our Teachers Training with a classic greeting from the Master of Kundalini Yoga.

‪#‎kundaliniyoga‬ ‪#‎egypt‬ ‪#‎KRI‬ ‪#‎Level1‬

‪#‎kundaliniyoga‬ ‪#‎egypt‬

Kundalini Yoga Level 1 Teacher Training Cairo Egypt 2015

2015-09-22T02:58:00.000+02:00

Sat Nam Dear Readers:

I am extremely delighted to announce that we are launching the first ever Kundalini Yoga Teacher Training in Egypt starting this November 2015.
Through a gracious grant from the Kundalini Research Institute (KRI) we are offering this program as a "Reach Out Teach Out Program." This opportunity reduces fees from 5000$ in the US to 2200$ here in Egypt.

The Lead trainers are long-time practitioners and teacher trainers of Kundalini Yoga: Siri Neel Kaur Khalsa, Sat Purkh Kaur and Shiv Charan Singh.

Below is a Facebook event that contains all details to the event.

https://www.facebook.com/events/808652732533332/

If you are interested in this training please do let me know.

And we would be tremendously grateful if you could share this with your network of students.

Love and Blessings

Shama Kaur and Dev Dharam Kaur, Kundalini Yoga Instructors in Cairo, Egypt

Yalla Yoga, Cairo Egypt Yoga Studio announces Level 1 Kundalini Yoga Training

to apply, email: shama@yallayogacenter.com

Kundalini Yoga Foot Massage Reflexology

2015-06-24T03:29:00.001+02:00

Refresh. Relax. Reflexology. Foot Massage ala Kundalini Yoga

The object is to stimulate every nerve ending in the soles of your feet. There are 72,000 of them. The pressure of the fingers on the feet during the massage relaxes the whole body, as each place on the foot corresponds to a different area of the body .

Wash your feet, preferably with cold water to awaken the nerves. Get comfortable. Rub some oil or cream between your palms and begin the massage process. A 15 minute massage on each foot offers a good 30 minute meditation.

1st foot:
Begin with the toes. The massage technique is to twist and pull each “section” (between the knuckles) of every toe.

Start at the base of the big toe; grasp it with the thumb and forefinger and, using a twisting motion, massage in between the big toe and the next toe. Without changing the position of the fingers as pressure is applied, pull upward.
Next, move up to the middle section of the big toe, massage/twist several times and pull up.
Keep the movement, up to the uppermost section of the big toe.

Next, continue on to the next toe. Repeat the massage motion over each section of toe.

After massaging the toes, next is to massage the rest of the foot. Try to touch the entire surface.
Use your thumbs, fingers, even your knuckles in a slow and powerful circular motion.

Start under the big toe and work your away across the foot until you reach the base of the little toe.
Then move down and massage your way across to the other side.
Go left and right, right and left, from one side of the foot to the other, slowly moving downward to the heel.
Finish with a massage of the ankles on either side of the Achilles tendon, then briefly squeeze and release that tendon at least once.

Once you have completed the first foot, be sure to spend the same amount of time on the second foot. Otherwise you will be unbalanced.

Add Ons
Hold all the toes in your hand and flex them forward and back.

Massage up and down an imaginary line running from the middle of the heel to directly underneath the middle toe. This is a “life-line” and includes your kidneys.

Knead the feet, as a baker kneads bread dough.

To finish each foot, pat the sole briskly with the palm of your hand.
Then using both hands, starting at the heel, gently draw your fingers up both sides of the foot (top and sole) as if pulling out any remaining tension.

End by pulling up and away from the top of the toes, and then shake your hands out to release all the tension you pulled from your feet.

Meditation for Restful, Refreshing Sleep

2014-11-26T16:45:00.000+02:00

Times are stressful. Here is a easy meditation to help you with your sleep.

MEDITATION FOR A RESTFUL, REFRESHING SLEEP

POSTURE:Sit comfortably. The spine straight.
Place the hands in the lap. Palms up, with the right hand over the left. The thumbs are touching and point forward.

EYES:Focus the eyes at the tip of the nose, with the eyes half closed.

BREATH:Inhale in four equal parts, while mentally reciting the mantra “Saa Taa Naa Maa” on each part of the inhale. The mantra is mentally chanted four times for a total of 16 beats.

Hold the breath in, while mentally reciting the mantra “Saa Taa Naa Maa” four times, or 16 beats.

Exhale in two equal parts, while mentally reciting “Wha-hay Guru.” Wah-hay is recited on the first part of the exhalation, and Guru is recited on the second part of the exhalation.

TIMING:Continue for 15 minutes to 62 minutes.

COMMENTS:Practice this meditation in the evening to help you enter into a deep, restful sleep. You will wake refreshed. When practiced regularly, your sleep becomes deep and relaxed. Rest allows nerves to regenerate. After a few months, you will breathe in the same rhythm as the meditation while sleeping.

Meditation for Restful and Refreshing Sleep

From "Allowing Inner Peace" Kundalini Yoga Manual for Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)

It is Up to You to Create Your Beautiful Story

2014-08-10T17:17:00.000+03:00

The power of your story will dictate how you act
and react to the environments around you.

Whether you have a meditation practice or not, remind yourself to pay attention to your thoughts as you act and react to situations. You will find that you replay over and over the same narratives to describe your experiences and interactions.

The power of your story will dictate how you act and react to the environments around you.

Are you are living the life of hard knocks? Or are you living a life that is polishing you from coal to diamond?

Today, turn your attention to the language you use and the thoughts you have that explain your life and the world around you. Story is so embedded in our experience that it’s often invisible, but this is where we can truly make a difference.

Our personal stories impact our emotional wellbeing and human experience. Our thought processes follow the same training principles that we use to train our bodies.
In other words, stories are “muscular.” Each telling is a repetition, whether out loud or in our mind. With repeated tellings, the story becomes more powerful in our experience, leading the way for our observations, expectations, attitudes and behavior.

Once we understand the true depth and power of narrative in our lives, we become a lot more mindful of the stories that we tell and listen to.

Mantra and the Breath of Life, Dr. Bibiji Inderjit speaks at Summer Solstice

2014-06-25T16:11:00.001+03:00

Bibiji Inderjit Kaur, wife of Yogi Bhajan, speaks about Mantra and the Breath of Life at Summer Solstice celebration.
I was very humbled when she mentioned me and the students in Egypt. She also lead the calm heart meditation that I was teaching to everyone that I would meet to help them deal with trama and stress during the times of our Egyptian revolutions.
Bibiji will soon be releasing a book about the power of mantras for transformation

Bibiji Inderjit Kaur, wife of Yogi Bhajan, speaks about Mantra and the Breath of Life at Summer Solstice celebration.

Summer Solstice Sadhana in New Mexico

2014-06-19T07:10:00.001+03:00

Summer solstice celebration starts tomorrow in northern New Mexico.

For the next two weeks, I'll be in New Mexico for the summer solstice celebration that happens every year in the mountains just north of Española, New Mexico, about 25 miles north of Santa Fe. This land is sacred to the local Native Americans and is located in the Jemez Mountains at an altitude approaching 7,000 feet.

Summer Solstice runs from June 19-28, 2014. It is a week long event of kundalini yoga and meditation, and white tantric meditation.

I am managing the registration booth for solstice, so if you are attending, please find me and say hello. I am there to help you with any questions or assistance you need if you are attending for the first time.

For those of you who do not want to spend a week, you can join us for Peace Prayer Day on Saturday, June 21 10:30-9pm It is a free event filled with music, dancing, and the sacred healing walk.

I will do my best to post as many pictures that I can over the next few weeks.

#kundaliniyoga in #newmexico

Choose Your Path Wisely

2014-06-06T16:49:00.000+03:00

How many times have your heard to follow your own path? There are many times that a well worn path and a good fence is a welcomed relief as we try to find our own way.

Kundalini Yoga Summer Solstice Celebration in New Mexico

2014-05-23T15:58:00.000+03:00

June is fast approaching. Are you ready for Summer Solstice celebration?

"We want our gathering to be together. We want to see each other. We want to meet each other. We want to sing together. We want toface each others’ difficulties. We want to help each other. We want to loveeach other. We want to understand each other. We want to practice the mantra,Keep Up." -Yogi Bhajan

June is approaching quickly, and that means that summer solstice is just around the corner. Every year, Kundalini Yoga practitioners from around the world gather in northern New Mexico for the 3HO Summer Solstice celebration.
I invite you to New Mexico to join us there. I will be at the registration table, so be sure to stop by and say hello.

For all the details, please follow the link: What is Summer Solstice Celebration.

"If, somehow, because of circumstances or because of certain duties, you can’t come, please remember those ten days are precious. Wherever you are, meditate, chant and enhance your sadhana and just be very aware and careful that during those days you have to be very special." -Yogi Bhajan

Yoga in Egypt mentioned in Kundalini Research Institute Newsletter

2014-03-26T21:29:00.001+02:00

Excerpt from the Kundalini Research Institute Newsletter, January 2014 - Read it Here

Written by Hari Charn Kaur Khalsa, director of Reach Out-Teach Out
We Are KRI

Members of the Aquarian Trainer Academy at Winter Solstice (I am in the back row on the right)

Happy New Year! I have just returned from a trip to Amritsar, India and China and now I am with members of the Aquarian Trainer Academy at Winter Solstice, which is where we just had a Trainer’s Forum with Trainers from around the world. One of our Trainers in Training, Dev Dharam Kaur, also known as Darla Hueske, has been serving as a Kundalini Yoga Teacher for the past seven years in Egypt. She has brought the healing technology of Kundalini Yoga as taught by Yogi Bhajan to men and women through two revolutions and has returned to the United States with her husband for a short period of time for more training.

Dev Dharam Kaur has traveled through Egypt and into Africa teaching meditations such as The Calm Heart to her classes, sharing simple but powerful techniques with those affected by the conflicts and wars in their area. Having marched with millions of peaceful protestors in both Egyptian revolutions and numerous other peaceful demonstrations throughout the last two years, she noticed that her classes were filling with people wanting to calm their stress. Despite the political turmoil, many of the students still come with the same reasons as any other student of Kundalini Yoga.

Speaking to her at the Forum, I was so moved by her dedication to return to this area when her stay in the United States is complete. When we talked about teaching in Egypt, Dev Dharam said, " Yogi Bhajan always told me that I must teach. Whenever I was in his presence, he would say not to worry, he will take care of everything, " Dev Dharam remembers, "so, when I moved to Cairo in 2007 with my husband, I immediately started to teach. At that time yoga was very new to Cairo. Over the last few years many yoga studios have sprung up around the city. " She is currently working with some of her students to bring the first Level One Aquarian Teacher Program to Egypt in the coming years.

Hari Charn Kaur Khalsa

Director of Reach Out–Teach Out

Call For Translator: English to Arabic for Yoga Manual

2014-03-03T05:54:00.002+02:00

I am looking for someone that can help me translate my Kundalini yoga book / manual to Arabic.

SYNOPSIS:

Discover Inner Peace project is a landmark project and the first of its kind to be offered in the Middle East. It has been developed to help anyone under intense pressures and critical situations. The program uses a combination of Kundalini Yoga, meditation, and healthy food choices to help people release the effects of continual stress.

Discover Inner Peace provides students and teachers with training and support that uplifts our individual and collective transition to an open-heart world. This program is based on the teaching of Yogi Bhajan, and was originally founded by his wife, Bibiji, under the Create Inner Peace program.

Please contact me here if you have qualifications to help me.

Bodhisattva: Do not fear

2013-10-23T03:28:00.002+02:00

Bodhisattva: Do not fear. Granting wishes and blessings.

Creating Self Love, Kundalini Yoga Kriya

2013-10-17T02:42:00.006+02:00

The First Posture of the
Kundalini Yoga Kriya: Creating Self Love
Taught by Yogi Bhajan on April 4, 1994.

Love Your Body Day 2013
Wednesday, Oct. 16

NOW Foundation has organized Love Your Body campaign. The Love Your Body campaign challenges the message that a woman's value is best measured through her willingness and ability to embody current beauty standards.

As a long-time yoga teacher, I have met women from around the world who always fret about body and beauty issues: losing weight, looking attractive, getting a flat belly, getting a prized yoga butt, and even getting taller or shorter!

When I was younger, I too, tried to destroy my body through starvation and other extreme means. I would look in the mirror and find every flaw. Big nose. Fat lips. No matter how much I exercised, I always had a potbelly. I despised myself.

As I got older, I knew that I could see my self differently. I went on a journey to change my perception about myself.

The first thing that my teacher, Yogi Bhajan told me is to feel and experience self love. What does that mean? Self love is not always easy. It might be considered selfish. But, self love is not selfish…it is the most selfless and caring idea we can have about ourselves. We love ourself, we open our hearts for others.

How Do You Love Your Body if You Don’t Have Self Love?

The power and beauty of all women is indescribable and honorable.
It transcends body and image.
Your body does not make you a woman.
Your fashion and your beauty don’t make you a woman.
The one thing that will make you a woman is your self-love of being a woman.
You honor and bless your self.

Yogi Bhajan, said, “Love doesn’t rule you. What rules you is fear, phenomenal fear. If you cannot bless yourself, then nobody can bless you.”

My contribution to #loveyourbody day is a posture from part one of a kundalini yoga set that Yogi Bhajan gave his teachers so that love can be invoked and fear can be reduced.

For more information about the Now Foundation Love Your Body campaign, please visit this website: http://loveyourbody.nowfoundation.org/index.html +National Organization for Women (NOW).

#kundaliniyoga #kundaliniyogameditation

Feeling Stressed?

2013-07-21T23:12:00.002+02:00

Information blasts from every side. Revolution. Coup. Who? What? How?

It doesn't take an expensive workshop to ease stress.

Find some stones and stack.
Stack.
Chant.
Clear your mind.

Meditation During Revolution: Inner Conflict Resolver Reflex

2013-07-15T09:43:00.004+02:00

The week grind on. Everyone that I know is stressed. Talk of revolution and politics cut into every conversation. As the rush of revolution adrenalin subsides, we are left sorting through a deluge of information.

Stories. Replay. Analysis. Videos. Tweets. Facebook.
What to believe? Who to believe? Rumours run Rampant!

Years ago, long before Twitter and Facebook, I remember Yogi Bhajan telling us of the coming Age of Aquarius. He warned us that we would be overwhelmed with information. All secrets would be revealed. All lies exposed. Everyone would know everything about everyone. I sit here once again after another wave of millions of people came together outside my front doorstep. I not only hear my teacher's words, but experience his vision.

The flood of "news" is overwhelming. Media hyped stories with points of view jabbed in from every angle: images challenge images; words reversed; words spewed.
Writers and commenters confuse us with propaganda, changing media strategies, and retelling of events ad nauseam. We take sides. We push. We pull. We argue. We agree. We judge. We stalemate.

The cacophony holds us in confusion. Emotions get stuck in deadlock.
Maybe you find yourself in anxiety. Maybe you find yourself in hopelessness. Maybe you find yourself fear. Maybe you find yourself in euphoria.

Our inner conflicts block our ability to think and act clearly. We want to find the Truth, but we don't know how to navigate through the depths of information.

I say, take a break.
Turn off your television. Log out of your internet.
Take a seat. Pause. Take your breath.

When you depend on your mind to discern what is true, it will lead you to duality. Our minds are not equipped to handle the flood of information coming at us. The mind is expert in volleying back and forth with arguments for and against.

When your breath pattern changes it disturbs your prana, your life force. This disturbance puts us into an inner conflict. Our energy gets scattered. Rather than being centered, the energy moves distressed through our being. We are are unable to determine our own course of action. We are unable to discern our Truth.

Inner Conflict Resolver Reflex

This meditation resolves many conflicts and is an automatic reflex for survival. The effect is certain, gradual, and simple.

Kundalini Yoga Meditation: Inner Conflict Resolver Reflex

Inner Conflict Resolver Reflex

POSTURE: Sit in an Easy Pose, with a light jalandhar bandh.

EYES: Close the eyes 9/10ths of the way.

MUDRA: Place the hands over the chest, with the palms on the torso at the level of the breasts. The fingers point toward each other across the chest.

BREATH: The key to this meditation is attention to the breath. Inhale deeply and completely for 5 seconds. Exhale completely for 5 seconds. Hold the breath out for15 seconds, by suspending the chest motion as you pull in the Navel Point and abdomen.

TIME: Begin with 11 minutes. Build up to 31 or 62 minutes.

TO END: Inhale deeply and stretch the arms up over the head. Relax the breath and shake the arms and hands for 15-30 seconds. Relax.

~~~~~~~~~~~

This breath pattern holds the breath out three times as long as it is held in. So, the body senses a lack of prana in vital areas of functioning and asks how it can quickly and optimally reorganize itself to respond to this survival threat. The fibers of the Pranic Body extend and re-channel the prana to form a new pattern filled with clarity and action potential.

Your built-in computer can calculate your total resources and the level of challenge, then design a strategy to prepare and use the mind and body effectively.
Be honest with the breath timing, and the meditation will be honest with you.

- Yogi Bhajan

~~~~~~~~~~~~

Meditation during Revolution: Meditation for a Calm Heart

2013-07-06T10:04:00.000+02:00

The last few nights have been challenging to keep a focused mind and focused breath. Military helicopters flying overhead. The energy pulsing from Tahrir. Constant checking Twitter to find out where gun fire is coming from. I can't settle into sleep. Nervous. Anxious.
During the day, we can see the people in the streets. At night, we can only hear gun fire and shouting. A battle is being waged, but I don't want my fear to play into the scene. I am in the middle of this war zone. But, I chose to be calm for those that are not calm.
Rather then fret, I practiced a meditation that I frequently teach in class. I practice it when I find it hard to be calm and find center.

Meditation for a Calm Heart

POSTURE: Sit in an Easy Pose, with a light jalandhar bandh.

EYES: Either close the eyes or look straight ahead with the eyes 1/10th open.

MUDRA: Place the left hand on the center of the chest at the Heart Center. The palm is flat against the chest, and the fingers are parallel to the ground, pointing to the right.

With the right hand, make Gyan Mudra (touch the tip of the index (Jupiter) finger with the tip of the thumb). Raise the right hand up to the right side as if giving a pledge. The palm faces forward, the three fingers not in Gyan Mudra point up.

The elbow is relaxed near the side with the forearm perpendicular to the ground.

BREATH: Concentrate on the flow of the breath. Regulate each bit of the breath consciously.
Inhale slowly and deeply through both nostrils.
Then suspend the breath in and raise the chest. Retain it as long as possible.
Then exhale smoothly, gradually, and completely. When the breath is totally out, lock the breath out for as long as possible.

TIME: Continue this pattern of long, deep breathing for 3-31 minutes.
To End: Inhale and exhale strongly 3 times. Relax.

When you hold the breath in or out for "as long as possible," you should not gasp or be under strain when you let the breath move again.

Kundalini Yoga for the 1st time in Alexandria, Egypt

2013-06-09T11:46:00.000+02:00

It was the first time that Kundalini Yoga classes were held in Alexandria.

Transformational. Exciting. Invigorating.

After one week of kundalini yoga practice, we all were left bright and vibrate.

Thank you all you bright and beautiful women. I can't wait to join you all again.

Kundalini Yoga Classes in Alexandria, Egypt

2013-05-28T12:56:00.001+02:00

Refresh yourself with kundalini yoga.

I am very excited to announce a special series of Kundalini Yoga classes in Alexandria. Four classes only from 1 June to 4 June.

1 June Saturday 19:00
2 June Sunday 19:00
3 June Monday 19:00
4 June Tuesday 19:00

Venue: Centre Rézodanse – Alexandria, Egypt
Located in central Alexandria, on the 2nd floor of a historical building of Sezostris Street.

Please join us for one or all of the classes.
Beginners to advanced students welcome.

Please contact me for more information.

#kundalini #yoga #egypt #alexandria

Make your next practice COUNT!

2013-05-26T16:49:00.000+02:00

On Saturday, June 1, The Breathing Room will participate in a global yoga benefit to send 200 girls in Asia and Africa to school next year. We will be donating 100% of fees from the classes below to Room to Read’s Girls’ Education Program.

Please join us in supporting Namaste World! by attending the following classes:

7.15-8am meditative walk – April (sign up at the studio please!)
meeting/starting point in front of building 20, road 15

8-9am family garden yoga – Jessica
at Jessica and Jonah’s garden, building 20, road 15
a special hour for the whole family!

10-11am Sivananda – Dominika
an open class at the studio

11.15am-12.15pm Yoga Nidra – Jenna
at the studio
Yoga Nidra literally means “yogic sleep”. What you will experience in the class is a deep, guided, internal relaxation. You will spend most of the class lying on your back – so you are welcome to use the bolsters at the studio and are encouraged to bring a small pillow and a blanket or warm clothes to get the most comfort out of the session.

12.30-2pm vegetarian lunch (sign up at the studio please!)
at Dominika’s house – 12, road 21 (same street as CSA is on), floor 5

5-6.30pm Yang/Yin – Robi
an open class at the studio

6.30-7pm Kirtan – Dominika
at the studio
Kirtan is a different way to calm the mind and can carry us to a place of quiet and stillness. Using ancient Sanskrit Mantras, Kirtan calls upon sacred energies which serve to quiet the mind, remove obstacles, and bring us back to the center of our being.

all the classes and special events are donation based, with a suggested donation of 50LE. if you have time that day we’d love to see you at one or the other thing offered – bending, stretching, singing – having a good time – for girls education!

About Room to Read:
Educating girls is the most powerful and effective way to address global poverty. Room to Read supports girls so that they not only graduate, but also develop the skills they need to negotiate key life decisions. Room to Read’s Girls’ Education Program uses an enhanced approach that includes providing academic support, mentoring and life skills training to girls in nine countries in Asia and Africa. Finishing secondary school leads to smaller, healthier families, lower HIV infection rates, and higher wages. Educated women are more likely to educate their own children – ending the cycle of illiteracy in one generation. To date, Room to Read has supported more than 20,000 girls!
For more information, visit: www.roomtoread.org

Kundalini Yoga Classes in Hurghada Egypt

2013-05-21T11:51:00.000+02:00

Join me for a week of Kundalini Yoga. I will be teaching in Hurghada this week.

MAY

Tuesday, 21. Thursday 23. Sunday 26. Tuesday 28.
Kottos Mall, Ballet Studio 1st floor
Hurghada, Egypt
30EGP
Everyone welcome.
Classes are taught in English.

Invoke the spirit of Mother Earth with your own body.

2013-05-03T12:30:00.001+02:00

As I travel from one part of the earth to another part of the earth, I set my intentions for connection. A dear friend recommended this meditation to me a few years ago after having a frightful incident during the revolution. I use it now when I need to connect to the earth before I travel. ps: do this on the ground, not a tree stump ;-0

Old Gypsy Way of Calling on the Spirit of Mother Earth

This meditation will connect and calm you.

Posture: Sit in Easy Pose with a straight spine, and a light Neck Lock.

Mudra: Raise the arms up 60 degrees from horizontal, elbows and wrists straight. Stretch the body forward slightly from the plane of the body. The angle of the palms follows the angle of the arms. The fingers are straight and together, thumbs relaxed.

Visualization: Imagine a flame at the Heart Center. Do not move.

Breath: Breathe consciously, long and deep.

Time: 3 minutes.

To End: Inhale deeply with a prayer for the loftiness of Creator Mother Earth and peace. Hold for 15 seconds. Exhale. Inhale deeply. Feel in your heart the blessing of the Divine Mother. Hold for 15 seconds. Exhale. Inhale deep. Feel the taste of the sweetness of life. Hold for 15 seconds. Exhale.

Yogi Bhajan originally taught us this meditation on July 4, 1994

Light and Shadow: One cannot exist without the Other

2013-03-22T18:50:00.002+02:00

There comes a stage in the evolution of an illuminated soul,
when it begins to see the law hidden behind nature.
To it the whole of life reveals its secret.
Hazrat Inayat Khan

Spring Equinox Energy Inspires Us to Lighten Inner Mysteries

2013-03-20T05:43:00.000+02:00

Today marks the Spring Equinox. Equinox means "equal night." Day and night are in perfect balance. Because the sun is positioned above the equator, day and night are about equal in length all over the world during earth's equinoxes.

The Great Sphinx faces the rising sun on the day of the Spring Equinox.

Secrets of the Ancients

Ancient cultures marked the sun's cycles in stone. Knowledge of the special power in Spring was universal. Egyptians built the Great Sphinx to directly face the rising Sun on the day of the Spring Equinox.

Tune into Sun Cycles of Change

Life, and the movement through natures cycles, feels like it is moving into a grand pause for about five days. This stillness - and shift towards increasing light - is recognized as a very potent time to focus and set intentions for the coming months. From this day forward, you are moving, along with everyone in the Northern hemisphere, more and more into the light.

Spring Time is Planting Time.

Spring Equinox moves us from the deep winter days of hibernation to turning outward, being filled with the increasing light. This looking out inspires action. Use the special upsurge of energy after the Spring Equinox to "get going." Spring Ahead

Set your intentions. Find your balance. Flow into your life.

"If you don't design your own life plan,
chances are you'll fall into someone else's plan.
And guess what they have planned for you?
Not much." quote from Jim Rohn

A Yogic Beautiful Skin Secret

2013-01-18T23:36:00.000+02:00

Living in an Indian community, I learned many health and beauty secrets just by using herbs and spices. One of the most powerful spice is turmeric. Turmeric is a bright yellow spice used in eastern dishes. It's what gives Indian food that beautiful golden color.

But what many women don't know is that combining turmeric with yogurt, milk or olive oil, they can make an inexpensive, effective face mask.

Here's a nice little recipe that you can use routinely for glowing beautiful skin.

Beware, turmeric powder can stain fair skin and clothes. When preparing the powder, try to keep it contained with no spillage. If you are fair, like me, your skin will initially look sallow after you remove the mask. But, trust me, the stain will fade away after a few hours.

My Recipe for Glowing Skin:

1 to 2 teaspoons turmeric powder
For oily skin: 1/4 cup plain yogurt, few drops of lemon juice
For dry skin: 2 tablespoons olive oil, almond oil or coconut oil, maybe more
Some drops of honey

Preparation:

Mix the turmeric in a small glass bowl. Should I mention again, turmeric stains:

According to your skin type use either yogurt or oil:

If you have oily skin: Add lemon juice and stir. Slowly mix in the yogurt until a creamy paste is formed. Use more or less yogurt to your liking.
If you have dry skin: Add the oil slowly and stir until a paste is formed. Add more for more creaminess.

Apply mask to face and neck.

Leave the mask on for 15-20 minutes. Relax. Let the muscles in your face relax.

After the time is up, use a wet warm gentle washcloth that you don't mind staining, gently rinse off the mask. I use baby washcloths and towels for my face.

Splash your face with cold water to give it an extra glow.

Glowing skin requires proper care, cleaning, and feeding. Feed your face. Clean your face. Be kind to your face.
SMILE.

Egyptian women have been using yogurt for years to keep their faces beautiful and supple. Many of my friends are now adding turmeric to their nightly yogurt masks.

Have a beautiful day.

Himalaya Herbal Products In Cairo

2013-01-12T05:09:00.002+02:00

Himalaya Herbals have made it to Cairo. When I was in Dubai a few months ago, I was excited to find Himalaya in the supermarkets there. It didn't take but a few months before I found a small selection in Spinneys at the Mall of Arabia in 6th of October.

Himalaya Neem Face Wash and Neem Soap.

Why do I love these products? I started using Himalaya several years ago in India. The natural ingredients are perfect for keeping your skin clean and clear in harsh environments. For Cairo, this is a perfect product to keep your face clean without drying it out.