When I started my blog my intention was to post some interesting vegetarian recipes on a regular basis. This didn’t quite work out…but I discovered this amazing source of Indian vegetarian recipes. The site is called: http://www.manjulaskitchen.com

Manjula is a great cook and great teacher and shows us how to cook simple, tasty and very authentic Indian vegetarian and vegan dishes. Her blog is a source of great information and she has every recipe in video format so you can see exactly what you need to do and underneath you will find the recipe with all the ingredients and the quantities required. 

I love the way Manjula teaches. Every recipe I tried so far has turned out really well and I am going to cook more as soon as I can.

Go and visit Manjula’s kitchen I think you will really enjoy it http://www.manjulaskitchen.com

Till next time

Connie

Your Yoga Partner

from

http://www.yogainahurry.com

This week Charly and I interviewed Georgina Abrahams or “JD”. JD together with a team of other volunteers is the instigator and organiser of “Spiritfest” which is now in its 8th year. It will be happening again from January 7-10, 2010, in a National Park about 1 1/2 hours drive from the centre of Sydney. Each year Spiritfest has a theme and this time the theme is “creativity”.

Creativity is more important than ever before, nevertheless it has become more neglected and discounted than at any other time in history. Technology is king and creativity has been pushed aside and is seen as  a kind of luxury, an indulgence, something that is just for fun when we have nothing better to do. Yet I believe that creativity is the one thing that leads to new inventions, solutions and shifts in paradigm, no matter which field it is employed in. Just recently I saw a comment by a surgeon who said that she sings a particular song when washing her hands in preparation for an operation – the song has exactly the length of time required to wash your hands. She does not have to rely on clocks or alarms or anything else….she also said that she had to be creative each and every time she performed surgery because that was the nature of the work.

Listen to our interview to find out lots more about creativity and Spiritfest:

If you are interested in joining us  (I am hoping to be there) and want to find out all the details, download the 2010 brochure here

Till next time,

Connie

Your Yoga Partner

from

http://www.yogainahurry.com

It is Yoga Aid Challenge time again here in Australia! On Sunday 15th November yogis will take to their mats again to do “Salute to the Sun” for a good cause. To participate in an event or to organise your own go to

http://www.yogaaidchallenge.com.au

and find out what is happening in your area. The event has gone truly global and to find out what is happening in your country you can also go to this site. Yoga Aid Challenges are happening at different times of the year in different countries.

In case “Salute to the Sun” is too challenging for you – never fear, there are other ways of participating.

Till next time,

Connie,

Your Yoga Partner

from

http://www.yogainahurry.com

Last week Charly and I discussed “Giveaways” on our radio show. Giveaways are events on the internet which you can take part in. Usually giveaways have a theme or a directed at a specific interest group. A lot of them have gifts that are of interest to internet marketers and people who run internet businesses. We understand that these gifts would be of little interest to most of you. So Charly Leetham and Lenore Miller have done something special.

But let me start at the beginning: When somebody decides to organise a giveaway (a mammoth task by the way!) they first of all need contributors or JV partners who are willing to give a product (usually downloadable) or a service free of charge.  Charly and Lenore Miller from Outrageously Healthy have organised the “Outrageous Health Giveaway” for anybody interested in Health and Wellbeing. They organised some fabulous contributors who have made available some great gifts for you.

Check them out here:

http://stretchyourmindandbody.com/blog/mowb 

As a “member” you can then visit the giveaway as often as you like and download as many of the products as you want free of charge in return for giving your name and email address to the person who contributed the gift.

In case you have a gift you want to contribute it may not be too late, talk to Charly and Lenore here:

http://stretchyourmindandbody.com/blog/mowb-jv

To learn more about giveaways, here is the link to our show:

There are really some great gifts in there, have a look and check them out. I started downloading them but haven’t finished yet. A number of contributors have never taken part in a giveaway before and this is a great way to get to know them and what they have to offer.

http://stretchyourmindandbody.com/blog/mowb

Connie,

Your Yoga Partner

from

http://www.yogainahurry.com

Yesterday I participated in the Deepavali or Diwali Festival. It is one of the main Hindu festivals and was organised by the local Hindu Council. It took place at a stadium. In short, this festival symbolises the victory of Good over Evil, Light overcoming the Darkness and welcoming heroes after winning the battle against different evil forces.

There are many legends attached to Deepavali and if you want to know more, go to: 

http://www.diwalifestival.org and look under “Legends”. There is also other Deepavali information on that site and some lovely poems as well.

At the festival there were many stalls, lots of them offering great Indian vegetarian food, some had clothes, jewellery and other items. The stage was buzzing with non-stop entertainment, mainly dancing and a few singers. The dances ranged from very traditional village dances to modern Bollywood style dancing. Even the modern dances had amazing hand gestures and eye movements choreographed into them. Tradition was never abandoned completely!

Different spiritual traditions were represented throughout the festival as well and I want to share one of the “gems” with you:

A man told me: “You can only enjoy the sun that is shining today, yesterday’s sun will not warm you or give you any benefits. This is why you need a living master to guide you on your spiritual journey, somebody who will be there to travel your path with you, guide you and support you. It doesn’t matter who this master is, as long as he or she is a truly enlightened human being, a true master.”

I haven’t had time to think about the above in great detail. One thing that immediately came to my mind was the fact that human beings seem to do better when they are accountable to somebody about their actions, what progress they have made, which new strategies they have put into place – whether this is in your own business or on a purely personal development level. Especially when we are dealing with old beliefs and behaviour patterns it is very easy and tempting for us to find excuses not to do what will be beneficial for us in the long run.  Maybe the modern day psychologists, counsellors, social workers, health professionals, yoga teachers and others have replaced the gurus, saints and priests to a large degree?

Are we ”hard wired” to follow a leader, a shining example, our hero? Is this something that was necessary for the survival of the human race a long time ago and are the remnants of this behaviour still within us today? I don’t have the answers, nor do I know what criteria we should apply to find a true living master of any tradition and where they are to be found.

I leave you with these thoughts for today, if you have any ideas, comments or opinions, please share them below in the comment section.

Till next time

Connie

Your Yoga Partner

from

www.yogainahurry.com