"My true yoga love is yin yoga and its ability to create powerful inner medicine through stillness and insight. Softness, space and feeling are things that are not celebrated enough in this fast yang world. Yin is the feminine uprising, reconnecting to Mother Earth and our deep inner knowing. I teach yin teacher trainings and workshops internationally and community projects like Plastic Free Yogi."
I always think its funny that we call one day earth day....celebrating and acknowledging our Earth Mother on this one day...all days, every day, all days past, present and future are to live in honour and reverence for all she was provided and bowing at the ways we can defend and protect her.....I hope we look back on this time in life where we over consumed, over used, took advantage, got lazy, didn't participate in the change or rise up as the leaders are are meant to be.. and look back in tears and apologize for our youthful wastings, our inactions and our silences. I have a challenge to all. Live lightly always, each day. know all actions have reactions (you can't throw 'away' plastic you know) and the power of your intentions fused with conscious actions will for certain change the path. Live and leave the smallest material imprint and the biggest soul footprint. lets honour each other, our brothers and sisters of the earth..knowing small shifts have massive impacts in places we can not see. come and pray for the earth with me tonight at One Yoga for the People Vancouver. Beats and Bhav, Reggae Edition. Unity in the Community! OM . Plastic Free Yogi is a challenge to make no no no no new plastic waste. you can do! its uncomfy at times..but make changes, modify and celebrate discomfort as the inspiration for change! BOOM
Check out 100 Steps to a Plastic Free Life!
It was all “downward dance hall dog” Sunday at a Vancouver nightclub where 100 yogis packed the room for one of the city’s first-ever reggae yoga classes.
A rainbow of yoga mats covered Fortune Sound Club’s dance floor and thick bass flowed from the club’s state-of-the-art sound system into the hands, feet and backsides of smiling yogis.
“I’ve loved reggae for a really long time,” said Danielle Hoogenboom, the founder of Love Light Yoga who led the sold-out event. “Yoga and reggae are two of the utmost conscious practices — put them together and you’ve got a powerful force.”
Hoogenboom led her first reggae yoga class at a concert in Jamaica last year, but she’s been playing reggae in yoga studios since she began teaching seven years ago.
She organized Sunday’s event with local DJ Tank Gyal, who has run reggae dance-hall nights in Vancouver for more than seven years and played tunes for the yogis.
The class began with a series of flowing, dynamic vinyasa yoga poses and transformed into the slow, restorative poses of yin yoga, but was broken up with a lively reggae dance party in the middle, of course.
Yogis were encouraged to make noise and break yoga rules whenever necessary.
“It’s more about the feeling and the energy,” Hoogenboom said. “You want to leave here feeling positive and strong, not with your (butt) kicked and tired.”
Alex Pearson, a fellow yoga teacher who helps Hoogenboom manage events, rolled out her mat for the uplifting event.
“A lot of reggae music is more intelligent and aware and focused on creating positive change,” Pearson said. “I think that yoga’s something that engenders that same mindset as well.”
Hoogenboom has a second class booked at Fortune for Feb. 15, before she heads to Jamaica for an annual two-month teacher-training sojourn.
I am pleased and excited to have shared an amazing immersion and retreat with both my students from Vancouver and local Jamaican students. We had an amazing time together and I am slowing bringing together all the images, experiences and insights via some blogs I am working on.....diving into the blogging slowly with lots to share. I feel also so blessed to have also taught a Yin Yoga Immersion in Kingston, loads of pictures here and more to come as I sort out the galleries of time away!
I am stoked to announce that I am returning to Jamaica at the end of this month to share yoga at the Calabash International Literary Festival in Treasure Beach. I will also be teaching another small workshop series in Kingston again at the TrueSelf Centre of Being. LOOK OUT!
I am blessed and so pleased have been a part of the Dub Treatment, an evening of Art, Culture and Rastafari in Kingston with Jah9, a powerful female reggae artist and visionary. There is a live recording on this event somewhere out there and many reviews, so have a peep and make sure you check out her online. Here are a few pictures from the Yoga on Dub, a special opening to the concert and event as we set up nearly 40 yoga mats and moved together to the sweet bass medicine of DUB. Much LOVE to sisterhood, yoga and more powerful events of union to come.
BLESS
peep more of the amazing Dub Treatment Images by a talented local photographer, JIK Reuben
For more information you can check out the Vancouver School of Yoga Site.
Pleased to bring you this blog post from Jolene McGill. Jolene has a student at Unity Yoga in Vancouver when I first met her. She went became a volunteer, then an employee handling studio affairs. Jo then completed a teacher training and began to teach at Unity Yoga. She has become a great friend over the years and joined us in Jamaica as my assistant. All retreat leaders I believe then an extra set of hands, ears, eyes and support to create a powerful environment for change. So grateful for Jolene's presence with us as both student and coordinator, and of course the alter and yoga space honouring each morning. Give thanks Jolene for all that you offer to the world. Here is her first blog from the first few days of our 14 day training and retreat. Keep your eyes peeled for the images and video on its way!
O Beloved
Great Spirit, Sacred Mother
in a kind and gentle way, I bow to thee
offering you my sincere and humble gratitude
for your abundant nature and unconditional love.
As the sun kisses my cheeks it reminds me that a new day has come again. A new day sure to be filled with growth, knowledge and love filled conversation here at Bromley Estates in Jamaica.
Every morning I make the journey down a simple path dotted with old stone steps that are probably as old as the estate I now find myself standing on. It leads me ever so gracefully to our open air yoga studio where I am drawn to the magnificent locally carved Buddha, adorned in Gold that lives at the center of our practice space.
It is my pleasure to spend the first 15minutes of my day wandering the property gathering many flowers and ferns from around the land to bless our divine Buddha. I then allow myself to create the space in my life for pray and stillness. Honoring the great spirit within all creation as I bow humbly to its feet.
Giving thanks for the opportunity to be here on this sacred land we call Jamaica. To be a guest in the hills of the beautiful Parish of St. Ann. Birth place of Marcus Garvey, Bob Marley and Burning Spear. To be surrounded not only by a blissful and deliciously deep daily yoga practice but also by a very rich and deep culture with a not so blissful and delicious history.
Every morning we meet at 8:30 on the yoga platform and flow together to awaken our bodies and reunite them with our mind and spirit. Yesterday we started with yin guided by the Lovely Miss. Hoogenboom.
At this retreat we are also studying Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) theory and learning about 1 of the 12 meridians each day. So each class, both the morning flow and yin, are structured around the meridian we learnt that day. We Stretch, twist and compress the meridian of the day in order to create healthy flow within our bodies.
Morning class is then followed by a delicious breakfast that is provided by the staff here at Bromley, a beautiful old estate that has been in the family of Jonna, the owner, for over 5 generations.
Then it is off to our TCM lecture that runs for about 1 ½ - 2 hrs each day. As I mentioned earlier we discuss and learn about one of the 12 main meridians of the body. Yesterday we discovered and discussed the spleen meridian. Whose element is the earth and the emotion tied to it is thought, or overthought. It was fascinating to learn about how the health of our mind or thoughts can affect the part of body the spleen extends to, our muscles. Makes sense once you start to think of it though. They always say we store our issues in our tissues in yin class and as our teacher pointed out today we can see the truth in this. He said that when we overthink or worry it can be filed away like a librarian files away a book in to the muscle tissues of our body. So tightness or knots with our body may be related to our mind and the way we think on a daily basis. Simply put, our body is a reflection of our thoughts.
Then comes time for lunch, which again is a divine spread as if it was created for the Gods themselves. It is always vegan, vibrant and full of life. Such a gift to be able to enjoy the local and organic foods sourced from nearby farmers. Fresh and traditional Jamaican dishes partnered with dishes from home.
Our afternoons are either filled with free time or an adventure. For example yesterday we journeyed to Mahoe Falls, a beautiful and sacred part of the country. A cascading limestone waterfall that is dotted with little pockets of spring water for basking in or small fall spots for you to shower in. You are able to climb up the falls from the bottom and enjoy every moment of nature’s divine creation as you do so. Barefoot and connecting to the Earth as the natural spring water nourishes and tickles your feet, embracing fully the great spirit of the water. Simply stunning! 
To finish up the day I was blessed with the opportunity to guide everyone through a flow class inspired by our spleen. It was filled with Lots of opening and compressing of the anterior thigh and frontal body.
One of the interesting qualities associated with the spleen that we learned yesterday was that when the Qi is balanced and expressive our awareness of the possibilities of change awakens. I hope that through our continued practice of yoga and our awareness of the power of thought in relation to our physical body grows, we can begin to tune into all the possibilities for change within and in time we will begin to see them reflect in our world and reality. For when we live and breathe the change we wish to see in our every moment. The world will become the change we wish to see.
Blessings for now
Includes: workshops, yoga classes, shared accommodation, airport transfer (one shuttle each way), plus:
+ Airfare, insurance, and taxes not included + Studies can be applied towards teacher training with application
Join us for 14 days of study/retreat in the beautiful hills of St Ann's Jamaica. Retreat with a yoga teacher and a Chinese Medicine practitioner/acupuncturist to explore the theory of meridians, emotions and chi and how it applies to yin yoga. Workshops and yoga in the morning and evening, rotating day trips and plenty of free time to explore. Receive community acupuncture, indulge in nourishing foods while immersing yourself in this exploration of alternative health and body psychology. Suitable for beginners and/or teachers. Explore these healing practices in a way you can utilize their tools with your students, or simply integrate into your life and daily activities. Part theory, part practice, all retreat.
Danielle Hoogenboom is committed to unity both on and off the mat. She believes in the power of yoga to change lives and create amazing shifts in the world around us by starting with personal healing and health. It is her great honour to share yoga and a collection of wellness studies as a compass on this life.
Ryan Thompson is a registered acupuncturist and traditional Chinese medicine practitioner in Canada. He has practiced for 10 years in a variety of settings, including supervising students in a school clinic, doing ‘detox’ acupuncture in addictions and mental health units, working in private practice, in addition to providing low-cost treatments and teaching local practitioners in third world locations including Guatemala and India in the model of the Barefoot doctor. Ryan’s most recent Barefoot Acupuncture session was in a very rural region in Northern Guatemala. www acupuncturebc.com
This afternoon event will explore a short assisted yin yoga series, a practice of yin that is done in pairs. Think yin yoga meets thai massage. Learn how your body moves in new ways when you are able to let go, work with gravity and a partner to achieve deeper explorations in your yoga practice. Makes a great gift for a partner! Come together and learn this short series to be shared again and again. Includes tea and snack. Limited space, please register in advance: danielle@lovelightyoga.com Sunday, Dec 1st 1:30pm-4:30pm Unity Yoga Vancouver. BC $45 per person
Last year I was in Jamaica assisting Seane Corn at the Cabribeann Yoga Conference. On the last day of the conference, a woman attending asked Seane and I if we wanted to meet an incredible woman doing amazing work not far from where the conference was held. Sister Jackie was doing something amazing. She has been creating a home for abandoned and orphanged children, kids with various degrees of physical and mental disabilities, HIV positive children, young mothers, and any children in the area that needed a meal and refuge at what Sister Jackie calls the "House of Love". She provides food, shelter, education and love. Its sparse, but its a beautiful created family. Thats an even larger challenge to education in Jamaica because each child is required to pay school fees, and their is bus fare daily, and money must be sent for lunch.The surrounding community, (and as I grown to learn actually a lot of the island knows) knows every well whom Sister J is. She is a bright, vibrant and loving woman and I was moved by her joy, strength and connection to spirit. She has an awesome sense of humour and has such a powerful presence. I was very moved by my brief time at Sister J's place last year. An age range from new babies from teenage moms, teen girls, young boys, toddlers and a handful of elders over the age of 90. About 14 children leave there full time, others pass in and out. Jackie has been taking in these children for nearly a decade, but community work for most of her life. Some have come to her, some children's stories were told to Jackie and she rescued them, many have lost their parents to AIDS. Some of them have been with her many many years, others passing thru in times of need. The whole community knows that if there is need, Sister Jackie's house of love is always open. Twice a year she hosts a camp. One over Christmas time where she has upwards of 60 kids and a summer time camp for some of the most disadvantaged kids from all around the island. Some of them stay with her for the whole summer as it ensures that they have a meal and a safe home. I am floored that she says so easy that 60 kids are coming thru, with so much ease and peace. She is a remarkable woman.
I checked in with Sheila, the woman that originally introduced me to Sister Jackie to see if there was anything we could bring to Sister Jackie's House of Love when we came as a small group from Vancouver to study Yin Yoga. Sheila said one of the big expense in the house was soap, TP, women's product and diapers. This got me thinking about waste as well as when I was last in Jamaica, when I saw such an abundance of trash, and alot of it burned. I was very curious to have the conversation about woman's cycles with Jackie
I checked in with Lunapads because I was very aware of the great work they were doing with girls around the world and I was curious if they had never done a project or made donations in Jamaica. I met up with Madeleine Shaw, one of the co-founders of Lunapads. We had a great conversation about cycles, Pads4Girls and how empowered cycles for young woman mean empowered choices for all women. Lunapads happily shares the patterns for their snap into your pantie cotton pads with various inserts for various flows, adjustable sized panties with a little slide in fabric pads, or a few for heavier flow. Lunapads donated 20 kits for Sister Jackie's house for teen girls and new moms. I was so stoked to share this with the girls and with the
I wasn't sure how Sister Jackie's girls would feel about talking about menstural cycles with me.
I am personally interested our natural moon cycles as sisters of this world and the amount of waste that is created with a disposable period, as well as how unattached to this cycle we are. Somewhere along the way we have lost the connection to our cycles, and have started to see it as a dirty and uncomfortable burden, instead of a wonderous wealth of information and direct link to the moons, oceans and world around this. We may have forgotten that its in fact a deep and spiritual honour I believe to be a woman, to be so deeply connected to Mother Earth.
I checked in with Lunapads because I was very aware of the great work they were doing with girls around the world and I was curious if they had never done a project or made donations in Jamaica. I met up with
Join Danielle freshly home from completing her 500 hour Yin Yoga teacher training with Paul Grilley for an examination of the ways we which we can modify our yin practice to really transform. Come fill up in yin nerding land as we examine variations of shapes that are suitable for our bones and can differ greatly from person to person. Learn different ways to use props to really create a powerful practice just for you and the tools to offer this knowledge to your students if you teach. All levels, All LOVE.
Counts for CEU with Yoga Alliance.
Unity Yoga
Sept 29th, 2013
1:30-4:30pm
$35
Join us at Unity Yoga in Vancouver on June 9th for an afternoon of yummy yin in the sunshiney and cozy studio. Lets fill your hearts with self love, nourish the body with delicious yin, soothe the mind with meditation and our tasty breathe. Marinate in your own sweet self, and let the juices of life flow through you freely. Then of course, post rest...lets rise up and join together in some organic vegan curried lentils. Full heart, full body, full spirit.
BYOB (bring your own bowl, spoon too!) 
Tea and soup served. Mats provided.
Unity Yoga (10th and Commercial)
Sunday, June 9th
1:30-4:30pm
$30 +tax
Dates: Sat. May 4th & Sun. May 5th Times: 1-6pm Cost: $199 (20% off for Lotus Grads)
Welcome to quieter side of Yoga ! In this 10 hour Yin Yoga Intensive you will learn to deepen your practice and understanding of the benefits and practice of Yin Yoga which creates physical, mental and emotional space thru the balance of opposing forces to understand our selves on a deeper level to reveal the internal medicine we always carry. We will explore how Meridians (energy paths) and Chi (energy) effect our health and well being and how to modify Yin for our individual bodies and how to offer variations to our students. Learn the pathways and movement of this energy as a powerful source of personal medicine Physically, psychologically and emotionally.
This workshop will explore the origins and intentions of Yin as well as how fascia affects every inch of our bodies, both inside and out. Learn the intentions of creating a well rounded Yin practice as well as how to intrigue Yin poses into a dynamic asana class. Discover the deep power of this seated, long held practice. Dive into your breath, reconnect with your sweet and powerful self and create a nurturing and peaceful environment for relaxation, rejuvenation and bliss for your selves and others. For Teachers and all Interested Students.
Curriculum: * An Introduction to Yin Yoga * Anatomy of Fascia and Inner Flow * Skeletal Variations * Energy and the Elements * Teaching Methodology, Techniques & Practice * Incorporating Yin Yoga into all classes * Healing one on ones
About Danielle: Danielle Hoogenboom is a Vancouver, BC based yoga teacher, certified in Lotus Flow and Yin Yoga as well as workshop facilitator, artist, clothing designer, mala making, garden loving and socially involved Gemini. Her commitment to the practice of yoga from practical theory to the mystical; from seated yin yoga to fierce power, is one that aims to share the diverse healing yoga offers as a co-created tool for transformation, for both ourselves and our communities.
Join us for a warm, cozy and nurturing Sunday afternoon. Dive deep into your own practice and self care for a 2.5 hour Yin Yoga practice and meditation, then stay for dinner of vegan lentil stew with your chilled out yinnie friends.
Its an important season to really rest and nourish the body. Slow down, breath deep, let go. Retreat to advance, nourish the cycles and find stillness. Yin Yoga is very much an practice for organ health, our practice will focus on caring for the Kidney and Urinary Bladder meridians for this winter season.
Sunday, February 17th.
1:30-4:30pm
Unity Yoga, Vancouver. BC
$25
pre reg: danielle@lovelightyoga.com & the event on facebook here
Join Danielle for an examination of bones with all of their wonderful variations to see how this can effect your yoga practice. Our focus will be on yin, but This workshop is inspired from my work in completing my 500 hour Yin Yoga Teacher Training with Paul and Suzee Grilley.
We will look at how to make yin yoga accessible to all bodies and begin the journey of recognizing all the variations of poses that could work for different bones. Dive into your practice to understand more thoroughly how to create a yin shape just for you, and as well as how to apply this work in your classes as a teacher of both seated and dynamic asana. Open to all levels from yin virgins to teachers.
$30
The fascial system is the system of tissue responsible for the postures we hold in everyday life. Without it, our bodies would be a puddle of tissue on the ground unable to function. When fascia thickens from injuries and everyday habits, it produces chronic pain from the inability to stretch and move with its surroundings. The better the form of the fascia and posture, the more fluid and effortless are the functions of fascia and all the tissues it holds, including organs, nerves, blood vessels, muscles, bones, and brain and spinal cord. We will examine fascia in the practice of Yin Yoga how it encourages an opening in the deeper fascial tissues, allowing freedom for movement of the deeper structures of the body, such as bones, ligaments, joint capsules, and tendons, which then provides more space for the surrounding tissues to rest and move more comfortably, thus reducing and preventing chronic pain.
February's Yin Monthly at East Side Yoga will examine and celebrate the Chinese New Year 2013 as a transition into the year of the Water Snake. Water is the element of the Kidney and Bladder meridians, as well as the organs and energy of winter. We will look at a balanced practice to strengthen the power of our inner wisdom and nourish our winter organs for optimal harmony in body, mind and spirit.
Welcome into the New Year with the invoked power of Yin Yoga and Acupuncture. We will examine the nature of practice of energetic work and how they can work together to create a powerful internal shift. Join Danielle Hoogenboom and Registered Acupuncturists for a workshop on theory, followed by yin yoga and community acupuncture. Uplift your spirits, balance your energy and strengthen your sense of community while doing it!
Greetings, I am stoked to finally be sharing these images with you, and some of the sacred projects I have been working on . I have been making my own malas, or prayer beads for a few years. Its a special practice to set intentions, collect resources that empower what you are looking for in your life, (more fire, more balanced wood, clarity, etc) and then meditate on the ways in which you can combine these pieces to create something meaningFULL and powerFULL!
This making with my hands, the beauty of collecting, finding, receiving and reclaiming the materials has been a meditation in action. It calls my mind to come to its still centre, its place of power and the arena in which intention can infuse the pieces with strength and spirit. I take my power back with these handmade/homemade malas, I call back my strength and my abilities as an intuitive being, a natural mystic and capable of creating/ receiving/offering my own forms of spiritual medicine. Jai!
Malas, or Japa Malas are used for the repetition of mantras, prayers, or sacred words. The beads help keep count of the prayers, but more importantly offer a physical act (touching each bead for each word/prayer) that helps steady the mind and charge the centre bead/beads (often called the prayer bead) Mantra has been described to me as mind tool, a way to refine and sharpen this tool in balanced way. I also believe that malas can hold powerful intentions and strength because we infuse with this devotion and appreciation. I think of my malas kind of like a new age blankie ( you know, your sacred blanket as a wee one!). It calms, cools and reminds us of our own inner sanctuary and peace.
The natural progression of making myself charged and special malas for years, calling in and creating that I need in that moment is that I started to receive requests to make malas for others in my life. This is where I am at now! I am making malas by request for friends and students, and also making, making, making and seeing whom they call to them. Its been an amazing, meditative and creative practice that is both fuelling and nourishing, but also an important part of my own devotional yoga practice....gratitude!
Over two-thirds of the world's population employ prayer beads as part of their religious practices. Prayer beads have a variety of forms and meanings, but the basic purpose is the same: to assist the worshiper in reciting and counting specific prayers or incantations. Christianity, Islam, Buddhism, and Hinduism are the major religions that use prayer beads in important ritualistic roles.
Beads have long been linked with the act of prayer. The English word bead is derived from the Anglo-Saxon words bidden ("to pray") and bede ("prayer"). The use of beads in prayer appears to have originated with Hindu religious practices in India , possibly around the 8th century B.C.E. Buddhism, which developed from a sect of Hinduism, retained the use of prayer beads as it became established in China, Korea, Japan, and Tibet. It is thought that Islam adopted prayer beads through contact with Buddhism and Hinduism. Prayer beads, in the form of the Catholic rosary, were common throughout Europe by the late Middle Ages
Hinduism, one of the oldest living religions, is the major religion of the Indian subcontinent. The two main branches of modern Hinduism—Shaivism and Vishnuism—employ different types of prayer beads, or mala. Shaivists, who are devotees of the god Siva, carry strings of 32 to 108 rudrakshabeads made from the seeds of a tree unique to the island of Java in Indonesia. These rough seeds represent the difficult and rigid life required of the worshippers of Siva. Each seed is segmented into five sections, which represent the five faces and personalities of Siva. Vishnu mala consist of carved wooden beads from the sacred basil shrub, or tulsi, and are usually found in strands of 108.
Buddhist mala also typically consist of strands of 108 beads, reflecting the religion's historical connection to Hinduism. In Buddhism, the 108 beads represent the impurities or lies that one must overcome in order to reach Nirvana. Most monks wear 108 beads for use in counteracting their 108 impurities, whereas lay people tend to wear only 30 or 40 beads. The difference in the number of beads used is a result of the spiritual differences in what different people must overcome or how far they have come on the path to enlightenment. Buddhist prayer beads have traditionally been made from the wood or seeds of the sacred Bodhi tree. As Buddhism spread throughout China, Korea, Japan, and Tibet, it was influenced by the various cultures of those areas and a number of new materials such as bone, amber, and semi-precious stones began to be used for prayer beads.
9 times 12: Both of these numbers have been said to have spiritual significance in many traditions. 9 times 12 is 108. Also, 1 plus 8 equals 9. That 9 times 12 equals 108.
Powers of 1, 2, and 3 in math: 1 to 1st power=1; 2 to 2nd power=4 (2x2); 3 to 3rd power=27 (3x3x3). 1x4x27=108
Harshad number: 108 is a Harshad number, which is an integer divisible by the sum of its digits (Harshad is from Sanskrit, and means "great joy")
Desires: There are said to be 108 earthly desires in mortals.
Lies: There are said to be 108 lies that humans tell.
Delusions: There are said to be 108 human delusions or forms of ignorance.
Heart Chakra: The chakras are the intersections of energy lines, and there are said to be a total of 108 energy lines converging to form the heart chakra. One of them, sushumna leads to the crown chakra, and is said to be the path to Self-realization.
Sanskrit alphabet: There are 54 letters in the Sanskrit alphabet. Each has masculine and feminine, shiva and shakti. 54 times 2 is 108.
Pranayama: If one is able to be so calm in meditation as to have only 108 breaths in a day, enlightenment will come.
Upanishads: Some say there are 108 Upanishads, texts of the wisdom of the ancient sages.
Sri Yantra: On the Sri Yantra there are marmas where three lines intersect, and there are 54 such intersections. Each intersections has masculine and feminine, shiva and shakti qualities. 54 times 2 equals 108. Thus, there are 108 points that define the Sri Yantra as well as the human body.
Pentagon: The angle formed by two adjacent lines in a pentagon equals 108 degrees.
Marmas: Marmas or marmasthanas are like energy intersections called chakras, except have fewer energy lines converging to form them. There are said to be 108 marmas in the subtle body.
Time: Some say there are 108 feelings, with 36 related to the past, 36 related to the present, and 36 related to the future.
8 extra beads: In doing a practice of counting the number of repetitions of the mala, 100 are counted as completed. The remaining are said to cover errors or omissions. The 8 are also said to be an offering to God and Guru.
Chemistry: Interestingly, there are about 115 elements known on the periodic table of the elements. Most of those, around or higher than the number 100 only exist in the laboratory, and some for only thousandths of a second. The number that naturally exist on Earth is around 100.
Astrology: There are 12 constellations, and 9 arc segments called namshas or chandrakalas. 9 times 12 equals 108. Chandra is moon, and kalas are the divisions within a whole.
River Ganga: The sacred River Ganga spans a longitude of 12 degrees (79 to 91), and a latitude of 9 degrees (22 to 31). 12 times 9 equals 108.
Planets and Houses: In astrology, there are 12 houses and 9 planets. 12 times 9 equals 108.
Goddess names: There are said to be 108 Indian goddess names.
Gopis of Krishna: In the Krishna tradition, there were said to be 108 gopis or maid servants of Krishna.
1, 0, and 8: Some say that 1 stands for God or higher Truth, 0 stands for emptiness or completeness in spiritual practice, and 8 stands for infinity or eternity.
Sun and Earth: The diameter of the Sun is 108 times the diameter of the Earth. The distance from the Sun to the Earth is 108 times the diameter of the Sun.
Moon and Earth: The average distance of the Moon from the Earth is 108 times the diameter of the Moon.
Silver and the moon: In astrology, the metal silver is said to represent the moon. The atomic weight of silver is 108.
Numerical scale: The 1 of 108, and the 8 of 108, when added together equals 9, which is the number of the numerical scale, i.e. 1, 2, 3 ... 10, etc., where 0 is not a number.
Meditations: Some say there are 108 styles of meditation.
Breath: Tantra estimates the average number of breaths per day at 21,600, of which 10,800 are solar energy, and 10,800 are lunar energy. Multiplying 108 by 100 is 10,800. Multiplying 2 x 10,800 equals 21,600.
Paths to God: Some suggest that there are 108 paths to God.
Smaller divisions: The number 108 is divided, such as in half, third, quarter, or twelfth, so that some malas have 54, 36, 27, or 9 beads.
Hinduism: 108 is said to refer to the number of Hindu deities. Some say that each of the deities has 108 names.
Islam: The number 108 is used in Islam to refer to God.
Jain: In the Jain religion, 108 are the combined virtues of five categories of holy ones, including 12, 8, 36, 25, and 27 virtues respectively.
Sikh: The Sikh tradition has a mala of 108 knots tied in a string of wool, rather than beads.
Buddhism: Some Buddhists carve 108 small Buddhas on a walnut for good luck. Some ring a bell 108 times to celebrate a new year. There are said to be 108 virtues to cultivate and 108 defilements to avoid.
Chinese: The Chinese Buddhists and Taoists use a 108 bead mala, which is called su-chu, and has three dividing beads, so the mala is divided into three parts of 36 each. Chinese astrology says that there are 108 sacred stars.
Stages of the soul: Said that Atman, the human soul or center goes through 108 stages on the journey.
Meru: This is a larger bead, not part of the 108. It is not tied in the sequence of the other beads. It is the quiding bead, the one that marks the beginning and end of the mala.
Dance: There are 108 forms of dance in the Indian traditions.
Praiseworthy souls: There are 108 qualities of praiseworthy souls.
First man in space: The first manned space flight lasted 108 minutes, and was on April 12, 1961 by Yuri Gagarin, a Soviet cosmonaut.
Join your yinnie friends for a cool yin snuggle in under a full moon to recharge, deepen your practice and spark curiosity. Take some time to honour the year your true self while you nourish your energy body and set powerful intentions for 2013. Detoxify the soul, deepen the breath and celebrate the power of yin. We are blessed to also gather together for the last full moon of the 2012. Part practice & part theory/study. Dress warm and bring a notebook. All levels. Catered dinner and snacks included from External Abundance. Come for both days or one.
Limited space.
register: danielle@lovelightyoga.com
So it seems that its fall again for sure...that deep rooted urge to stay home and bake delicious things, while warming my apartment with the glow of a hot oven. I find myself making this recipe weekly, and freezing slices for later. Its originally a muffin recipe, but I am all about making it a dense cake...or cakes...I double the recipe (2 cakes are always better than one)
this recipe is from this site, I bracketed my inserts and variations!
1 flax egg (1 tbsp ground flax + 3 tbsp water)
1 & 1/4 cup lightly packed shredded zucchini, skin left on (or equal amount of grated apple!)
1 & 1/4 cup almond milk
2 tsp apple cider vinegar (or lemon juice)
3 tbsp pure maple syrup
1 tsp vanilla extract ( or mint extract with great with zucchini and chocolate, or I replace the vanilla with cinnamon if adding apple instead)
2 cups whole wheat pastry flour
1/3 cup cocoa powder
1 tbsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp fine grain sea salt
1/2 cup cane sugar
1/3 cup dark chocolate chips (I use cocoa nibs instead)
2/3 cup walnuts, chopped ( I leave them out, and add more chocolate!)
(set aside, two large bowls: one wet, one dry & two smaller bowls, one for vegan egg mix, and one for vegan buttamilk)
1. Preheat oven to 350F and lightly spray muffin with oil or grease with Earth Balance.
2. Mix flax egg in a small bowl and set aside. Grate zucchini using a grater box (regular grate size). Set aside.
3. Mix almond milk and apple cider vinegar (or sub fresh lemon juice) in a small bowl and set aside. It will curdle, but this is the point as we’re making vegan buttermilk.
4. In a large mixing bowl, mix together the dry ingredients (flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and sugar).
5. Mix together the wet ingredients (flax egg, almond milk mixture, maple syrup, and vanilla) and then pour over dry ingredients. Stir until just combined. Fold in the chocolate chips, walnuts, and shredded zucchini.
6. Spoon batter into prepared muffin tin filling each tin 3/4 of the way full. Bake for about 15-17 minutes at 350F, or until muffins slowly spring back when touched. (I bake the cakes for about 30, test with a knife) A toothpick should come out mostly clean. Cool in tin for 5 minutes. With a knife, loosen around the muffin edge and transfer to a cooling rack until completely cool.
