Links presented without comment

Biomimicry

A priori

Paul Stamets: TED Talks

Video posted by SKoss

Emika, my current favorite song

Reb Anderson

San Francisco Zen Center

Telepathic TV

A fresh start

The Oldest Trees on the Planet. Love ancient wisdom.

What do modern philosophers, people who think for a living, believe? via IntelligentLife.com

Sherwood Design Engineers: I really like some of the projects they've worked on, especially Catalina Island and the Santa Lucia Preserve.

Wikipedia of the day: Information Architecture

Serve all, Love all

Astronomy happenings: The Leonid Meteor shower is happening until Nov. 21, but it already peaked on the 17th. Mercury joins Jupiter in the evenings on Nov. 22. The phenomenon of the Northern Lights takes place throughout the year, but the lights can be observed only against a night sky. Look for faint vertical bars of light in the northern sky.

One of my new favorite djs, dj mar mar, click to listen to tunes and mixtapes.

Cool website for travelers, Lonely Planet.

One of my new favorite periodicals EnlightenNext. (I may have mentioned this magazine before...but I've been reading it more lately and falling in love.)

An artist performing at the 930 club on Monday, and whom I also read an article about in the Sky magazine on the plane: Bebel Gilberto. The daughter of Joao Gilberto, the "father of Bossa Nova".

Ayurveda + Fall

Ayurveda is beginning to blossom in the West because of its practical approach to self care. At it's foundation, Ayurveda is logical, accessible, and truly holistic. With a few basic concepts we are able to maintain and restore balance physically, mentally, and emotionally.
In Fall the air element is dominant. In Ayurveda we call this the Vata time of year. Imagine a windy Autumn day. The air is dry, cool and moving. Vata, like the wind, cannot be sensed directly--its expression is more subtle. We experience Vata by the way it colors our physical, mental and emotional experience. As these qualities in nature increase during the fall and winter seasons these qualities increase in our nature as well.

General Guidelines for Balancing Vata:
Follow a regular daily routine
Keep calm, meditate, listen to calming music, breathe, relax
Keep warm, avoid extreme cold. Take warm showers and baths
Do gentle exercises like yoga, tai chi, take walks
Massage the body daily with warm sesame oil
Go to bed early, rest when tired, take naps
Follow creative and artistic passions

Diet:
Foods that are in season such as root vegetables and winter squash will help nourish and balance the body. Try carrots, beets, sweet potatoes, pumpkin, acorn, butternut, and delicata squashes. These have the qualities of sweet, heavy, smooth, dense and moist and are the most balancing for vata. Casseroles, soups, and stews are easily digested and can be very nourishing for Vata, warming the body from the inside out.

Eat warm nourishing, fresh cooked foods and warming spices
Favor foods with sweet, sour and salty tastes
Limit foods with bitter, pungent and astringent tastes
Eat warming spices like ginger, cumin, coriander, cardamom, black pepper, and cinnamon
Incorporate ghee, sesame oil, and other healthful oils in the diet
Avoid ice cold drinks, particularly taken with meals or immediately after
Limit raw, cold foods such as salads and raw vegetables

via the Seventh Heaven Yoga Studio newsletter

Blissful

I spent the past weekend at SevenOaks, a beautiful retreat center, in Madison, VA. The energy of the Journey Inward retreat was indescribable and many thanks to Ashley of Deep Green Wellness for organizing the event and bringing us all together. It was great to be at this very sacred place for spiritual growth surrounded by nature, with the cool crisp air, the mountains, walking trails, and the river all so close to us. At the retreat we did yoga, ate healthy vegetarian meals, listened to a very enlightening speaker, Jonathan Evatt. I also received a chakra cleansing (my first) from Sanjivani, which I am very grateful for. Ashely led the yoga classes and also an herb walk around SevenOaks. I have much more to write (and pictures too) but I just wanted to post a brief note here while I am still beaming with the pure bliss I felt at the retreat :) Now, onto hatha yoga here at yogaville, and a guest speaker, Dr. Sullivan, tomorrow morning who will be speaking about Ayurveda (he owns an Ayurvedic spa) which I am so looking forward to!! It just feels as if everything is starting to fall into place.
xoKatie

Autumn Winds

Some thoughts on fall, with inspiration from natasha's pureprana newsletter:
October is my favorite month, really the heart of the Fall season. The abundant days, cool autumn winds, vibrant colors of the changing leaves, and majestic beauty embody this season of change. In this busy season it's important to remember to stay connected with your true divine nature (deep stillness and ecstatic bliss) and your breath. Cherish the abundance, rich colors, and crisp air...and find gratitude with every step you take. You will elevate and radiate total truth in all you do!

Thoughts on Early Morning Sadhana (via the pureprana website):
Here's how Yogi Bhajan explained sadhana: http://www.3ho.org/lifestyle/yogapractice.html. And here's how to do it:
Eat less for dinner the night before, and get to bed by 10pm.
Awake at 4am & take a shower, cold at least in part.
Put on white warm ups and a head covering, such as a bandana or ripped TShirt
(if you don't have white, no problem). If you're late, even by an hour, still show up - you'll still get the benefit.

Sadhana starts with a chant of a 15 minute sacred poem whose Sanskrit-like language incorporates
permutations of the mouth that directly stimulate the endocrine system - the guardians of health.
We then practice a 40 minute kriya workout like any typical kundalini yoga class.
For the final hour we sing seven mantras in meditation, reaching an incredibly elevated state.
By adhering to Yogi Bhajan's urging to practice yoga before sunrise, we work on our personal issues
in the most neutral time of the day (called the Ambrosial Hours), and we catch the awakening waves of the earth which sustain us throughout the day.

Practicing nadi shodhana (alternate nostril breathing/channel cleansing) will bring balance to the right and left hemispheres of the brain leaving you well grounded and energized at the same time. The yogis consider this to be the best technique to calm the mind and nervous system.The most important thing to remember is that the breath should never feel forced.

To begin...

• Find a comfortable seat.
• Gently close off the right nostril using the right thumb.
• Inhale through your left nostril to a count of four seconds. Close off the left nostril with the pinky finger and at the same time remove your thumb from the right nostril and exhale for a count of eight.
• This completes one half cycle of nadi shodhana.
• To continue, inhale through the right nostril to a count of four seconds. Close the right nostril with the thumb and exhale through the left nostril to the count of eight seconds. This comepletes one full round nadi shodhana.

Start by doing three rounds, adding one per week until you reach seven rounds. As you advance, add breath retention to the top and bottom of each inhalation and exhalation.

You should not practice alternate nostril breathing if you have a cold or if your nasal passages are blocked in any way. Always be mindful when practicing any pranayama exercises that nothing should ever feel forced.

Fall!!

Washington Area Bicyclist Association 50 States and 13 Colonies Ride this Saturday Sept 26!

"Venus Music and Arts Festival is a three day, two night camping festival featuring over 100 artists from complimenting genres and mixed media of expression! Festival goers will enjoy fire artist competitions, workshops, graffiti paint exhibition, and art market. Van Hoy Farms, in scenic Harmony, NC, features amenities such as a swimming pool, showers, primitive camping, a general store, and 80 RV hook-ups! Come and be a part of this landmark event for the Carolinas!"

Carl Jung: the Holy Grail of the Unconscious

Autumn Leaves: Walks and hikes an easy drive from Washington with splendid foliage

Another list of Good Outdoor Walks for Fall via the Washingtonian

The National Parks :)

The National Parks: Our American Landscape, a breathtaking new coffee table book. Click here for an interview with the photographer, Ian Shive, about his work over the past 4 years. The photos are absolutely breathtaking! Click here for the direct link to his website.

Great Inns only open to those with good hiking shoes :) also via Mother Nature Network

NASA Photos: Cities at night

Yoga mala

How to instantly feel more centered: Sit in a meditation posture, and straighten your spine. Bring your awareness and attention to the breath, and with each in breath feel grounded through your root chakra and let the energy of the inhaled breath rise to the crown of your head. Become aware of the luminous channel connecting you to the earth as well as the heavens. Repeat.

A 108 sun salutation workshop is being offered at Radiance Yoga in Old Town on the solstice, Sunday June 21 . (Also the book club at Radiance Yoga this month will discuss The Four Agreements, one of my favorite books). I was curious to the significance of the number 108, as I am planning to do 108 sun salutations on the Summer Solstice as one way of being mindful of the zenith. I came across this Q&A on the Yoga Journal website, but I will continue researching this further because I am interested in the power in numbers. Here is the Q&A reposted below:

I’ve read of people doing 108 Sun Salutations (Surya Namaskar A) at the time of the spring equinox. What is the significance of the number 108?
— Linda Burkard, Martinez, California

By Shiva Rea

The number’s significance is open to interpretation. But 108 has long been considered a sacred number in Hinduism and yoga. Traditionally, malas, or garlands of prayer beads, come as a string of 108 beads (plus one for the “guru bead,” around which the other 108 beads turn like the planets around the sun). A mala is used for counting as you repeat a mantra—much like the Catholic rosary.

Renowned mathematicians of Vedic culture viewed 108 as a number of the wholeness of existence. This number also connects the Sun, Moon, and Earth: The average distance of the Sun and the Moon to Earth is 108 times their respective diameters. Such phenomena have given rise to many examples of ritual significance.

According to yogic tradition, there are 108 pithas, or sacred sites, throughout India. And there are also 108 Upanishads and 108 marma points, or sacred places of the body.

And, yes, one can offer a yoga mala of 108 Sun Salutations. Please take a moment to visit www.globalmala.org for more information on the power of 108 and joining the “mala around the earth” to be formed by the worldwide yoga community on September 21 and 22 of 2007.

Greenbelt Lake

Pictures from my fieldwork last Monday, which involved checking out the sewers/manholes around Greenbelt Lake in the Buddy Attick Park in Greenbelt, MD.

Quotes of the day: "You know what to do."
"Every recession creates new wealth."

Nature

The Buzz on Bees: Solving the Mystery of the Vanishing Bees

Frogs: The Thin Green line, Can the decline of frog populations around the world be stopped?

Michael Pollan, TED Talks, A Plant's Eye View