Kula Magazine Issue #26

kula Desa Seni, A Village Resort Volume # 26 · April · May · June

2017

Percaya = Trust “The dictionary defines trust as being able to rely on others - their actions, abilities and character.

When you trust, you are placing yourself in someone else’s hands.

You are vulnerable, often emotionally as much as physically. Nothing stings quite so much as feeling someone has betrayed your trust.

On the other hand nothing unites people - in marriage, friendship, teamwork - as much as trust.

Tell the Truth This is harder than it sounds. Most of us like to think of ourselves as truth-tellers. But it’s easy to round the numbers up, spin the facts, or conveniently leave out the evidence that doesn’t support our position.

Keep Your Word This is where it starts. People have to learn that they can count on you to deliver on your promises.

Be There People may not need you every moment, but when they do, they need all of you.

Choose Your Attitude How do you respond? How do you deal with disagreements?

Make Their Day Notice people for who they are and thank them for what they do. Ask people what they think and really listen to their ideas. Encourage people.

Play It’s impossible to have a playful, enthusiastic culture without trust.

Be Transparent People will not trust you unless you learn to share yourself, warts and all.

Give Without Any Strings Attached Nothing builds trust like love.

Namaste MAHA DEVI YOGA MERAPU SVAASTHYA FOOD / MAKANAN DEWI ORGANIC DHARMA / COMMUNITY ART & CULTURE I LAB

“To be trusted is a greater compliment than being loved”

George MacDonald

* Cover: The passion tool of the gardners!

The Magic of Tantra: Bodhisattvas Life is inherently magical

This may seem like rather grand, sweeping statement to make, and I’m very aware of that fact. I do so love to make grand, sweeping statements.

Silliness aside, and in all seriousness, life really is inherently magical. Every single moment holds within it a very special seed of pure beauty, joy, and love. We can see this very easily when we witness a spellbinding sunset over a sweeping landscape, or we fall deeply in love, or we take a bite of the most delicious piece of cake we have thus far encountered. However, it is not just in those moments that the magic can be found; we find it also in the dreary, cloudy, rainy suburban wasteland, in the moments of heartbreak, in the taste of cake that turns out to have been rather a little too old and dry for our liking.

If we really look, really feel our way through life exactly as it is, without all of our impositions and habitual patterns, every single moment unfolds for us, and we see beauty everywhere. Even in those moments that in terms of the everyday world are considered undesirable. If we see with a heart that is open and willing to truly see what’s right in front of us, nothing is unwanted, and every single moment of our lives is seen to be, yes, inherently magical.

If this seems to you like a state of being that is about as impossible to reach as the farthest ends of the universe, you are probably right. With one big qualifier. One

little word changes everything: IF. IF we undertake the training to truly see, to really allow our hearts to see the unique, individual glory each moment presents.

IF we begin to actively change our allegiance from our dreary, humdrum view presented us by our usual patterns of thinking, to the always new, alive, and vibrant reality seen by our somatic reality, in other words what’s actually happening in our hearts rather than our thinking minds.

IF we are willing to stop every now and again, not leap to conclusions, and just see what truly lies in front of us.

In other words, if we embark on the journey required of us, the world opens. The hard little oyster opens to reveal the pearl.

By this point, you may find yourself wondering what this has to do with the Bodhisattva. Hold on to your hats: The Bodhisattva (“being with a fully awakened heart”) has seen this reality for what it is, has seen the unutterable beauty present in every single moment, bar none. And she doesn’t stop there, in fact simply cannot stop there. Realizing how much all the rest of us is enmeshed in our false of view of life as constantly painful and boring and good and bad and sometimes ugly and sometimes beautiful, he is moved with a feeling borne on the winds of intensity and love; moved to help all be-

by Bernd windhofer

ings everywhere wake up to this reality we are each of us blind to.

The Bodhisattva makes a vow to never entirely leave this world behind until all beings everywhere are free from suffering, and are able to enter into the never ending joy that heralds a true experience of life.

There are many types of Bodhisattva, at many different levels of development, all the way from the humble being who has made a vow to do one’s best to be of service to all beings everywhere, in the best way one can, to what is called the transcendental Bodhisattva, a being who is practically a Buddha already, but continues to work in the world for the good of all.

Angela and I are thrilled to offer a weeklong exploration of five of these transcendental Bodhisattvas and five powerful Goddesses, diving into intensive practice of many different shapes and sizes, including not only all the usual suspects of yoga asana (posture work), pranayama (working with the breath to liberate energy), and meditation, but all manner of other techniques and explorations. Life is magical. The techniques of tantra are also magical, insofar as they help us to at least make a beginning into opening the gateway to the true world hidden just within this one, the world of infinite joy, beauty and love.

MAHA DEVI YOGA

Yoga and Forgiveness Learning to Let go

By Carlotta Castangia

Forgive means to let go, although not necessarily remove or forget. John Kennedy used to say forgive your enemies but don’t forget their names. In the ideal life it is good to forgive and forget. In practical life there are cases where it is good to forget, others where you can forgive but not forget. In any case, forgiveness is a sacred form of generosity.

Letting go is something that consciously and unconsciously you learn by practicing yoga. The gesture of forgiveness is included in the act of exhaling. The expiration is the time when you let go, no worries about the future because after exhalation is the inspiration. The expiration is the moment when you pull the sight of relief. To practice forgiveness, there is no better discipline of Pranayama. The classic slow exhalation is a simple exercise that improves our ability to let go. Breath in for a count of 1,2,3,4,5 exhaling counting one and half or double of that same time. I start with a low count, I do every day 6-12 breathing cycle and increase that count slowly, with the practice. After each exercise, you will feel more relaxed and more willing to forgive yourself and others.

Why Forgive!

Through practice, self reflection, and letting go, yoga help us move past hold hurts that threaten to derail us. How can you forgive someone who’s hurt you that much!

Lets not confuse forgiveness with acceptance, you don’t have to condone someone’s behavior to forgive.

Forgiveness simply allows us to let go of the hold that person has on us. Forgiving is not the same as forgetting. Not forgetting, honors our feelings and helps create proper boundaries, so we don’t keep putting ourselves in situations that are out of alignment with our true nature. Not forgiving however can make us sick. Meditation is another great way to learn to let go, as it provides a direct route to forgiveness of all kinds. It helps to soften your heart. However when you are angry is not easy to sit and let your thoughts bubble to the surface and then dissipate. We are human beings and we have feelings when we get hurt and we suffer, this is when we need to Practice.

So when you try to seat and Meditate on Letting go ... first notice what your feelings really are, see where you are, that will help you to conceptualize what happened. And then drop it.

Don’t focus on the story, but when the story does come up, simply pause, let it go on, exhale, and return to that part of the body where sensation lives. Try to discover and focus on the places in your body where you feel anger, sadness, or hurt most strongly.

Let yourself fully inhabit the feelings of hurt, anger, grief, or whatever else arises. Say out loud that what happened was wrong. Breath

as you do this and remember that your aim is to feel the feelings, not to act them out.

Forgiveness is an act that has to do with the brain, but it is important that you act with your Heart as well. The Heart Chakra Anahata, through which we open ourselves and establish a contact with the harmony and peace by strengthening the quality and the power of our lives. The element that characterizes the heart chakra is in the air, pranayama helps to tone it up.

Usually when I teach yoga I always put an intention of Let Go to the practice to set my students more concentrated on something, and when they practice towards this intention I see them easily letting go.

I will be honest, is not an easy process, it requires time, practice of yoga asana, Pranayama and Meditation, and mostly we must be ready to let go. Write down any positive insights you gain during this process. Notice and honor your noble intention to forgive. Don’t expect instant result. You may have to do these practice several times.

But understand that the process is working inwardly on a much deeper level than the mind. Rituals go to limbic brain, shifting the patterns held there and changing the memories of grievance to stored experiences of forgiveness.

A Coffee and a Fight It was a glittery night. The stars shone their sparkles through the silhouette of leaves and branches among pretty hanging colorful lanterns. Chill out music was playing on that relaxing weekend night. Four of us were on a double date, sitting under the moonlight tossing our glasses of cocktails enjoying the serenity and fabulousity of life and blah-blahing about everything, until I was asked by one of the opposite couple, “Hey Diaz, do you normally have breakfast in the morning?”

“Yeah, I have toast or granola with a coffee. Why?” “That’s nice. I usually just have a coffee and a fight.”

My partner and I suddenly felt uncomfortable ‘smelling’ a hint of dirty laundry from this couple. Oh no, here we go again… I don’t know if it was the cocktails that finally made him reach that level of openness, or was it that Andy just thought he could stir up the calm evening with his little drama?

The bottom line was, we knew there was something wrong between them, and perhaps the night could have been the night when we would have to listen to all their problems and must act as marriage counselors.

Andy and Joelly have been together six years. Andy is calm, a lover and a full time dedicated husband, while Joelly is a vibrant, energetic and full on young-at-heart woman. Somehow I sensed their sensitivity and emotions could easily spark World War III when they meet their differences. For the past three years I have heard more wars than peace from them, and I am always curious why they’re still together.

Relationship is a spiritual journey. Some of us are still in search for it, some get lost in it, and some are trapped in it! They require deeper levels of comprehension, compas-

By Diaz Chairullah

sion and compromise between two parties.

And I must say it is a work too! –only you don’t get paid in cash for that. How can we not see them as a creative compositions when the motives behind them are limitlessly varied beyond true love? Many couples are in relationships without realizing that they’re not meant to be with each other and have nothing in common. Observe them typically in a restaurant, expressionlessly eating at one table but with no interaction, like there’s an invisible wall between them.

Others use relationships as a means to survive, for the heck of having a status or a roof. And others keep relationships because they’re so used to being together after a long while and it’s hard to break the chains even though there’s no more flame.

A “senior relationship citizen” friend of mine taught me about the 3 different levels of difficulties in a relationship. This is becoming to sounds like the level of challenge in your yoga classes!

Basic is ‘the Plate Level’ between 3 to 6 years when sometimes you’ll find ceramic UFOs (which can be China plates, bottles or jars) flying around your house smashing innocent walls and floors while you fight in a high pitch notes.

Then the Intermediate is “the Microwave level” between 6 to 9 years when you and your partner don’t find it amusing playing catcher and pitcher with plates and glasses anymore, and aim for heavier ovens or microwaves to throw.

And finally, the Advance is “the Dessert Level” for 9 years and above, when you can take your partner’s angry voice like a classical instrument to inspire you to bake a fabulous chocolate cake during the whole argument process.

Of course, it can be extremely difficult to

synchronize two different people in a very personal collaboration. Many couples get uneasy when they disagree on things they want to do, foods they want to eat, or places they want to visit. In some cases when one partner is not feeling like doing something, they’d rather cancel the whole thing instead of going separate ways.

Having a relationship makes an individual become less independent, and means we have to direct ourselves to some extent according to “the law of togetherness”. No matter what, the feeling of dragging on each other’s feet will never be a beneficial thing.

The best notion in a relationship should be asymmetry, where it’s actually a balance division but not necessarily equal on both sides. Compromising in a relationship sometimes requires dominance rather than forever likeness. Pushing similarity in an unnatural way can result either constant fights or couples growing in different directions.

So be it when your interest in natural adventures clashes with your partner’s preference for bar hopping, or when your craving for a pork chops is demotivated by your partner’s choice of healthy greens. Just go separately, so what? Aren’t the differences between two people that complement each other the ingredients of good harmony?

Imagine if a song consisted only do-re-mi notes. It’s going to be a death chant! If your partner likes to sing do-re-mi, you’d better be a maestro in fa-so-la-ti to create wider choices of songs. And even if you accidentally create a heavy metal or blues sound from time to time, it will add melody to your long term arrangement.

One thing for sure, I’d still prefer to have my coffee with toast or granola than a fight.

How about you? When you love someone, don’t let them go, just let them be, but don’t lose yourself.

What makes the ‘perfect’ Yoga pose?

By Amy Leonard-King

“The success of Yoga does not lie in the ability to perform postures but in how it positively changes the way we live our life and our relationships.” - T.K.V. Desikachar Ever wonder why it is that we make these different shapes and what alignment is all about in your Yoga practice? Do you find yourself scrolling through your Instagram feed seeing only fit, tanned bodies in Yoga ‘poses’ that seem to you impossible or super-human? Or perhaps you’re in class and out of the corner of your eye you catch a glimpse of someone sailing through a series of movements that look amazingly beautiful and effortless but look nothing like what the teacher guided you to do?

How does that make you feel? Excited, inspired and inquisitive? Or is there a hint of jealousy, perhaps insecurity creeps in, and you catch yourself thinking ‘I could never do that, that’s impossible’? In today’s world of image-based promotion, marketing, and social media, resulting in constant and often critical self-comparison, let’s remember the real wisdom behind the practice of Yoga and in particular, the practice of ‘asana’.

Asana means ‘seat’ or ‘connection to the earth’, and thus we find ourselves in Yoga class making shapes with our bodies that are always connected to the earth (or Yoga mat) in some way, whether feet or hands, forearms or spine, almost every posture will have a connection to the earth. In Patanjali’s Yoga Sutras he writes:

YS II.46 sthira sukham asanam = ‘The connection to the earth should be steady and joyful’ So perhaps what we need to see here, is advice moving away from the external aesthetic of the posture, and a deeper look inwards into our subtler experience of practicing these postures or ‘asana’. In each shape that we make in Yoga class, the names that are called out by the teacher are more often than not animals, objects from the natural world, and other human characters. ‘Tree pose’ (Vrkshasana), ‘Mountain Pose’ (Tadasana), ‘Cobra’ (Bhujangasana), ‘Warrior’ (Virabhadrasana). Through the practice of asana we are looking to embody these beings on a vibrational level, becoming the tree, mountain, cobra, and warrior, and resonating with each of them, growing our own awareness and understanding of who we are along the way. Notice the connection the next time you step onto the mat – can you feel strong and steady in your Warrior poses; do you feel the energy of the dancer in ‘Natarajasana’; does it connect you more deeply to think of ‘saluting the sun’ during your opening Surya Namaskar? If this doesn’t work for you, simply keep Patanjali’s sutra in mind – an intention to remain steady and joyful through your practice. Can you begin to take that teaching off the mat and into your life as well? How would remaining steady and joyful in all that you do help to change the relationships you have with friends, family and colleagues?

The depth of your asana practice does not need to be measured by how you look in any certain pose, whether you can grab your foot behind your head, or stand balancing on one hand, but rather by your ability to finely tune your awareness to the present moment and begin to realize the interconnectedness of all – ‘Yoga’ = ‘Union’. Can you be steady in your breath and joyful in your heart whilst sitting in ‘Chair’ pose (Utkatasana) for 5 long breaths? Can you keep your mind dedicated to an intention of enlightenment whilst flowing through smooth, linking Vinyasa? Can you completely let go of any attachment to your body and mind, and set your spirit truly free in Savasana?

Next time you catch yourself comparing your Warrior 2 with your neighboring Yogi, or begin worrying about the ‘advancement’ of your practice, stop and take a deep breath. Dive inwards to witness the rich landscape of learnings you can eek out of every moment in your practice. Remember also that asana is just one lonesome limb of the eight-limbed path of ‘Ashtanga’ Yoga, a lineage over 2000 years old, and there’s a lot more to our practice than making pretty shapes and sharing them across cyberspace via a quick click, filter, tag and post.

Happy practicing yogis xx

“First we create our habits, then the habits create you” .

By Guru Want Kaur Yogi Bhajan

Trying to start a meditation practice but the days just keep flipping and it is still on your to do list for tomorrow?

I know how it goes, we think today will be the day we make it happen: we will set aside the time. But then life happens, situations arise, life’s distractions and administrative chores abound. Life has a way of inviting us to remember how precious time is, and how it waits for no one! So with the keeping up with life, how do we find the time to go into stillness to really embrace the totality of the moment, of ourselves, of life, and bring the practice of meditation into an established a habit as say… brushing our teeth? ** Start small. The process of actualizing a goal, or even instilling a good habit, is a culmination of several small decisions. If your ideal is to establish a daily 20 - 30 minute meditation practice, for example, and you just don’t seem to find the time to make it happen, zero in on a system of steps to get yourself there. Start with something so manageable that you can’t find an excuse not to do it: Start forming the habit of meditating by sitting for just 3 minutes each day. ** One of the best ways to instill a new habit (other than through meditation ☺) is to sneakily link the new habit in a chain of already established habits.

We each have habits that are already implemented in our daily lives; sequenced actions that need no conscious reminder.

For example, it may be a very unquestioned sequence of habits for you that you wake up

in the morning, brush your teeth and shower to start your day. Then you get dressed, and go to the kitchen to make your morning beverage and check your emails. That is a morning routine that is the culmination of 6 established habits in a row. A great way to instill another habit is to add one into this chain of already routine behaviors. You can decide to put in the following: between getting dressed and going to the kitchen to make your morning beverage, you will stretch your body for a minute, and then sit down for, to begin with, 2 to 3 minutes in silence, focusing on your breath. (You may even want to put a nice reminder note for you in your closet!) That’s it. Then you get up, go to the kitchen and make your morning drink as usual. The bigger goal may be to meditate for 20 minutes, but, again, start by creating the habit for a shorter time, to instill the behavior pattern. Motivation is what gets us started, but it is our habits that keep us going!!

And soon it will just start feeling so good that you will start to sit a little bit longer over the course of the days to come, and before you know it, you will have instilled that 20 -30 minute meditation practice you have been longing for. ** Mindfulness and meditation can also be built into any situation. After all, the practice of sitting meditation is to build our capacity to move through life with meditative awareness / consciousness. When you are sitting in the dentist’s office or at the bank, waiting for your number to be called,

for example, and it feels like it is going so slow, one can get anxious or impatient, thinking of the multitude of other things you could be doing, and then to quell that feeling, dive into the smart phone to keep you busy or entertained. We all know and see that one all the time! But these situations are actually a beautiful opportunity to pause, to shift your perspective, and recognize the gift: in this busy fast paced life, you have been given the gift of time to sit and breathe in mindful presence with yourself! So decide to use these situations to reinforce the new habit even further, even if only for 3 minutes! Close your eyes, listen to your breath, and immediately your body and mind will relax inward and the mind will become more still. Add a mantra to your breath (or not) and boom! You turned some idle time, or undesired circumstance, into an opportunity to sit with yourself in mindful presence. The monkey mind may struggle with you a bit in the beginning, or on occasion indeed. Don’t take the bait.

Stay present within.

“First we create our habits, and then the habits create you” – Yogi Bhajan.

Soon you can recognize the choice you have with every breath, in any situation.

Go into the stillness that is waiting for you inside. Relate to the flow of your true essence. That is meditation! And that will have a beautiful impact on you and on your life!

Meditate. Cleanse and quiet the mind, so your Soul can shine through.

MAHA DEVI YOGA

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“The sea washes away the ills of all mankind” ~ Euripides (420 BC)

THE UNION OF BREATH AND OCEAN

by Maite

Have you ever felt hypnotized by the motion of the waves? That expansive moment that feels like eternity… That moment in which you feel you could spend countless hours getting lost in thoughts or meditating in front of the Sea. The mass element that pervades the most surface of the Earth with its powerful energy and flowy liquid matter.

What we call breeze, is the fascinating breath of the ocean, and observing it naturally induces us in a state of calmness, equal only to intense, focused Dristhi yoga practice.

On a deeper level, immersing into the ocean also has the ability to systematically push into a gentle state of mind in connection with the elements. This is diving in all forms: while scuba diving allows to stay longer underwater, free diving is a sort of active meditation in confrontation with testing ourselves and the immensity of the ocean. Both disciplines have striking similarities to the essence and purpose of yoga practice. That is to connect inward to the timeless, limitless nature of the spirit or the “true self”.

The deeper and longer one dives, the darker the surroundings and the stronger the pressure on the body and on the mind. The same happens during yoga and meditation practice. While Yin or Hatha practice strikes a chord in one’s deepest self, Vipassana meditation confronts with the sounds of the abyss of the soul. Accomplishments on the mat as well as under the water amplify as we tune in with our breath and with our deepest nature.

Yoga and diving are both associated to motion and change: while the air element is regarded as the point where consciousness takes on a particular direction or goal, the water element is considered the river upon

which life flows, the healing force that unites different entities and that brings about waves of emotion. This is why filling the lungs with ocean air to balance the mind and spirit as we practice makes a massive difference, compared with practicing yoga elsewhere.

Scientific research has shown that sea air is charged with negative ions, which allows our body to absorb more oxygen. This is why we feel rejuvenated when in contact with the sea and one of the reasons why practicing yoga in front of the ocean is particularly beneficial.

Other factors that adds up to a beach front yoga session are the healing effect the sound and the view of the crashing sea waves have on our mind. Also, the proximity to water, which makes up 60% of our body and covers 70% of the earth surface.

We belong to the Ocean, the Ocean is part of us.

This belief is the driving concept behind the idea of yoga in Mandalablue. Born in 2014 as a partnership with Blue Marine Dive Resort, this seafront studio in Gili Air helps divers and free divers to improve their performance and yogis from all over the world to get a better connection with the depths of their soul and spirit. In this way, diving, free diving and yoga – despite of standing each one by itself – influence and feed each other in a very powerful way. Like the much sought after state of mind that can be achieved in the water through meditation in kumbhaka (free diving) and in active contemplation (scuba diving).

Mandalablue Yoga is wordplay which reflects this combination: “circle” in Sanskrit, mandalas are symbols representing the universe and wholeness and are used as spiritual guidance tools to induce meditation and trance. With their intricate geometrical

patterns and interconnected shapes and colours, mandalas are used as a form of deep concentration and meditation aimed at reminding us of our relation with infinity, which exists within and beyond our being. When we meditate concentrating on a mandala, it is common to feel a gradual fall into its colours and patterns and experience intuitive thoughts. A bit like when we dive deeper than 20mt and we observe the water turning into darker and darker shades of blue and our mind gets clearer and clearer as we experience the effects of breath-holding on our mind.

The word Blue is a tribute to the ocean, to the Big Blue that covers all and is the essential energy that makes all this possible.

The sea allows us to plunge in the Earth’s energy that surrounds us and is part of us, even to our deepest chemical and DNA level of our energetic and physical essence. And this manifests as soon as we take a couple of strokes or gaze the horizon.

Mandalablue Yoga is currently the only yoga studio on the three Gili islands (Lombok) that is located right on the beach. A space to connect with ourselves and with nature at the same time, Mandalablue is more a concept than just a specific place; it is an approach that focuses on finding rhythm within you while you practice in tune with the motion, changes and unpredictability of the ocean and encourages you to explore the water element within yourself.

Just like in life, waves come and go and you never know in which way the wind will blow again. But this external aspect is not important; what matters is how open we are to receive the waves when they come and how we hold ourselves in stillness and bliss when there is quietness.

The Uniting Power of Silence. Kumbhaka.

By Antonio Albagli

Yoga is a universe, just as music. The traditions of Raja, Bhakti, Karma, and Hatha Yoga are as distinct as the sounds of Classical, Jazz, Rock, Salsa, Punk, and Afrobeat. These are worlds apart, and just as in Yoga, even within every style, what makes the musical or yogic journey worth taking is the varied number of artists and teachers found.

And so, as in anything you set your mind to, there is an increasing number of distinctions as the journey deepens. These can contribute greatly to your health and sense of wellbeing if geared towards tailoring a practice coherent with your needs.

And while all of that is truly great! … there also an all pervasive phenomena in nowadays on-steroids version of the Yoga world propelled by the advent of social media and the increasing need for self promotion… the ole’ “distinguishing factor”… something as puzzling when it comes to the philosophy of Yoga as Olbers’ paradox is to the night sky.

In 1823, Heinrich Wilhelm Olbers puzzled the scientific community with his paradoxical affirmation, stating that in an infinite universe, the night sky should be absolutely bright and have no dark areas, but glowing with an all-permeating light. Needles to say, this is not a scientific article, yet the image provided by Olbers’ paradox is a quite useful one when it comes to understanding the paradox between on one hand, the ongoing attempts among yoga practitioners and teachers to distinguish themselves from the next, and on another, the sense of belonging and communion that is (or should be) sought through practice. Everyone wants to be a star. Well, we all already are anyway, yet in our attempts the social media “sky” does

indeed end up looking quite washed and indistinct. The question arises then, how can we make the image gain back it’s power, social and personal significance? As with Music and Yoga go, the right place to start might be stillness, absolute and democratic SILENCE. “YOGA CHITTA VRITTI NIRODHA” … enter KUMBHAKA Grab a blanket, roll it tightly into a firm and solid volume the length of your spine.

Place it on the floor and lie on it legs extended, making sure your spine and the blanket align. Use a block as pillow under your head and bring your arms open to either side into cactus arms. This is VERY IMPORTANT. CACTUS ARMS PLEASE! Relax completely and close your eyes.

Listen to your breath and your heart. Listen with your skin. Feel your heart reverberate within the contours of your body. As your arms fall a fraction of an inch with every breath you can feel lines of tension emerge between your shoulder blades, from your spine to your ribcage, ribcage to shoulders, shoulders to arms, chest, neck, even to your face.

Now feel your diaphragm oscillate with every breath, synched with your abdomen and ribcage, up and down, endlessly, caressing your soul. Count how many heartbeats it takes for you to inhale, and how many to exhale. Once you got a good sense, then try matching whichever is shorter to be the same length of the longest one. So, now inhale and exhale are the same number of heartbeats long.

Once that rhythm has settled and feels natural try lengthening your exhale somewhere

between 2 to 4 heartbeats. Don’t restrict nor force your ribcage, abdomen or diaphragm to do so. If strain is felt at anytime, then reduce the number of extra heartbeats on the exhale.

At the end of the following exhale, hold all the air out, keeping your throat completely shut, yet your ribcage, abdomen and diaphragm completely loose.

Let your belly and ribcage pop out a bit.

Notice how if you manage to do this while keeping your throat absolutely shut, then the diaphragm itself, wanting to expand again exerts a pulling action though all tissues inside of your ribcage.

Your diaphragm is stretching the very inside of your torso. No other pose does this!!!

Hold your breath out as long as you can.

Then let the air come back in, and back out, in and out, for several cycles. Repeat the process several times until you can hold the air out for about 25 to 30 seconds. The difficulty is not to speed-up the count not tense your torso. Just focus on your throat remaining shut.

Beyond the fear of choking, commit to stillness and to holding the air out no matter what. Feel your metabolism slowing down as gears shifting down in a car, sinking in through your body, an effervescent substance radiating through your arms, soda water through your skin.

The space inside of your mind goes darker and darker, to the point where the only thing left glowing is your spine. See the miracle of your glowing spine laying silent on the blanket.

Try getting that with a camera.

DEVISTUDIO YOGA YOGA TRIMURTI THE 10 AMAZING TANTRICMAHA COSMIC POWERS or The Mahavidyas

By Angela Perez

The name Mahavidyas comes from the sanskrit roots Maha meaning ‘great’ and Vidya meaning ‘revelation, manifestation, knowledge, or wisdom”.

Mahavidyas or The Great Wisdoms or cosmic powers are a group of ten aspects of the Devi Parvati or Goddess Shakti.

Many tantras (classical tantric texts) speak of these ten major aspects of the goddess, the Mahavidyas, like for example in “Todala Tantra”.

These 10 Mahavidyas are Wisdom Goddesses showing us different aspects of the goddess Parvati, who represents a spectrum of the feminine divinity. From horrific goddesses at one end, to the gentle at the other.

The development of Mahavidyas represents an important turning point in Tantra as it marks the rise of Devotional aspect for the Shakti, which reached its zenith in 1700 CE. First sprung forth around 6th century C.E., it was a new theistic movement in which the supreme being was envisioned as female.

These 10 cosmic Powers are: ~ Kali – The ultimate form of Brahman, “Devourer of Time” ~ Tara – The Goddess as Guide and Protector, or Who Saves. ~ Tripura Sundari (Shodashi) – The Goddess Who is “Beautiful in the Three Worlds” ~ Bhuvaneshvari – The Goddess as World Mother, or Whose Body is the Cosmos ~ Bhairavi – The Fierce Goddess ~ Chhinnamasta – The self-decapitated

Goddess ~ Dhumavati – The Widow Goddess, or the Goddess of death. ~ Bagalamukhi – The Goddess Who Paralyzes Enemies ~ Matangi – the Prime Minister of Lalita ~ Kamala – The Lotus Goddess; the “Tantric Lakshmi” We are going to find numerous different legends to explain the origin of the 10 cosmic powers. One of the most famous ones is the follow one: “Sati, the consort of Shiva was the daughter of Daksha Prajapati, a descendant of Brahma. Sati had married Shiva against the wishes of her father. The vain Daksha performed a great yagna (Fire ceremony), to which he invited all of the gods and goddesses except his son-in- law, Lord Shiva.

Sati learned about her father’s yajna from Narad Muni. She asked Shiva’s permission to attend the yajna, saying that a daughter did not need an invitation from her father.

Shiva said that Daksha was trying to insult him, and so even if Sati attended the yajna, the fruit of the sacrifice would not be auspicious. Therefore he forbade Sati not to attend the yajna.

Sati became furious – She thought that Shiva was treating her like an ignorant lady and not as the mother of Universe. So to show Shiva who she really was, she assumed a different form – the one of the Divine Mother. The oceans raged, the mountains shook, and the atmosphere was filled with the wonder of her form.

Shiva began to shake and tried to flee. But inn every direction that he tried to flee, the Divine mother stopped him. The Divine Mother had multiplied herself into ten different forms, guarding each of the ten directions, and try as Shiva might, he could not escape from her, as she had blocked every escape route.

These ten forms of Divine Mother are known as the Das Mahavidyas. Each Wisdom Goddess has her own name, story, quality, and mantras.”

There are many techniques and levels of awareness in the use of those, to worship the Cosmic Powers and tune in with the specific Powers that they embody.

A few examples: ~ the use of a specific Mantra (Mantra is a sound, a syllable, word or phonemes, or group of words in Sanskrit believed to have psychological and spiritual powers. ~ the use of a specific Yantra (Yantra is the Sanskrit word for a mystical diagram or mandala, especially from the Tantra Tradition) for each one of the goddess. ~ the use of a Music Meditation with specific music with resonance with one of the goddess.

During the month of April (9th -16th) I’m have the pleasure to offer a 50h training with Bernd Windhofer, “The Magic of Tantra; Goddesses and Bodhisattvas), where we will dive deeper into these powers and learn how to use them! More information on Desa Seni website or ask us directly!

Parampara: The Heart of Tradition.

By Octavio Salvado

Parampara means ‘from one to another’ and speaks to an essential aspect of the Yogic path: Tradition. These days there are many new innovations within the field of Yoga and although innovation has its place, it cannot, it must not drive the chariot. We are evolving as a species, no denying that and therefore certain elements of spiritual practice must likewise evolve, however, when innovation usurps lineage-based knowledge the wheels fall off the chariot.

We rely on the evolution of knowledge for all of our sciences, why should it be different for the science of Yoga, the science of awakening? To cut away from the wisdom gained over thousands of years of data-driven enquiry is akin to throwing ourselves into the ocean minus a life-vest, worse, covered in blood. The situation is that dire.

There are two fundamental reasons why Tradition is indispensable. One is practical and the other, mysterious.

On the practical front, the ancient Yogis took a lot of care encoding, encrypting and straight-up concealing a lot of the deeper insights and teachings of Yoga, lest it fall into the wrong hands. Yoga is power and power corrupts those who are not yet whole enough to wield it skillfully and in the spirit of Dharma.

What many don’t realize is that of all the knowledge that has come down to us through the sutras and sacred texts, much of the more valuable (and potent) information was held back, communicated orally, from master to student, from one to another. In this way, sacred knowledge was brought forward through time and protected. The bones of the information we can find in books, but bones are lifeless and

useless unless accompanied with heart.

Tradition is the heart. Tradition brings practice to life in a meaningful, time-tested way, a way that we can depend upon for our own personal evolution.

In this morally-degraded time, even Google has become a Guru. Google is not our Guru in the same way that Google is not our doctor and our Facebook friends count for sweet Fanny Apple. If even the information expressed through sacred Sanskrit, Pali or Hindi texts is portioned out, can you imagine the corruptions birthed through the process of translation into English and then further dissected by any Tom, Dick or Harry before being uploaded?

So find out not who your teacher’s teacher is, but their Grand-teacher, their own teacher’s teacher. This will give you insight into your lineage. If you can’t find that information because your teacher doesn’t know or because it does not exist, then perhaps it’s a good idea to question the philosophies, practices and insights being offered to you.

The second reason explaining the value of Tradition is harder to communicate, particularly to a rational mind unversed in the subtle language of the soul. Nevertheless, this is how it is, so take it or leave it. Tradition provides an avenue for transmission to take place. It provides a way for us to ‘plug into’ the energy field of the Ancients who birthed this knowledge into being.

As science now affirms, the nature of reality is vibratory. Life is a play of energy posing as matter and as energy never dies, the field of Yoga, through the connective wire of Tradition can be harnessed. Having this kind of support backing our personal, spiritual endeavors is a gift that cannot be expressed

in words, not only because English does not provide a sufficient word for it, but also because the magnitude of the gift is profound beyond the scope of everyday gratitude.

Only tears can express it, seconded by an indestructible commitment to personal practice.

Why re-invent the wheel when the wheel worked perfectly in the first place? Yoga is a flawless science and the only reason it is no longer fulfilling its promise of waking people up, is because we are no longer practicing or teaching it in a way that’s aligned to its original blueprint. Instead, we are looking to innovation over legacy and trend over true tapas and this is why we are circling instead of spiraling upwards.

Now is the time. We are being called to action - to keep Tradition alive. Are we willing to sacrifice into the blazing fires of spiritual-integrity whatever mod-cons, perks and popularity contests are necessary to ensure that Tradition keeps burning bright as we march forward into the uncertain years ahead?

We are all being asked to wake up, stand up and move to the front lines of the revolution, the battlefield of human evolution, bayonets in hand, ready to do whatever it takes. As Krishna says in the Bhagavad Gita, “Life and death are not nearly as important as how we live. Only dharma gives our life meaning.”

So stand up, Yogis, stand up and fight for this great Tradition. If you do, I promise you, this great Tradition with its vast and inexhaustible etheric armies of Dharma will stand up and fight for you.

Bernd My favourite song changes every day! Anything that just gets me going on an emotional level, with poetic lyrics to boot, fits the bill nicely. An absolute favourite of mine at present is Royksopp’s Running to the Sea, from their album The Inevitable End. Not the cheeriest of albums, or songs for that matter, but the combination of deep beats, heartfelt singing, and intense harmonies…

The lyrics alone will give you an idea of what I’m talking about here: I could hear them howling from afar I saw them rushing to your car In a moment all went screaming wild Until the darkness killed the light I remember running to the sea The burning houses and the trees I remember running to the sea Alone and blinded by the fear And the river flows beneath your skin Like savage horses kept within And all is wasted in the sand Like breaking diamonds with your hand I remember running to the sea Remember falling to my knees I remember gliding off the shore Until I touched the ocean floor And the river flows beneath your skin The savage horses kept within

Diaz Being in the middle of many years in creative industry as a creative director, design instructor, graphic designer and choreographer with my new journey in yoga, often I interlace my flare of ‘drama’ with my flow.

This one particular song “Angelica” is one of my favorites to company my own practice and-or- during my classes. The beautifully haunting piano, which taken from Claire de Lune of the French composer Claude Debussy blend harmoniously with electronic music created by Lamb, a music group from Manchester. It is shooting, dreamy and will take you ‘somewhere’ when you dig into it. A perfect composition to start and close your practice with. It is the fact, “the most asked track” from the song list I played by those who came to my class too!

Angela My favourite song nowadays is to chant the following mantra: PRABHU AAP JAGO, PARMAATMA JAGO, MERE SARVE JAGO, SARVATRA JAGO. The meaning of this mantra is a call for Awaking Love (or God or the Supreme Being).

Literally; Love awaking in me, Love awaking in you, Love Awaking in everywhere, Love awaking in everyone.

This powerful chant asks to awaken the Supreme Being that is within each of us. Prabhu Aap Jago asks that we be connected in love to others and allows for an awakening of our spirits.

So, May Love Awaken in Everywhere!

Carlotta

Antonio

IN THE VALLEY BELOW - Peaches The song is a composition of a feeling.

When listening to the song, the song makes me feel this sort of longing for love and the overall meaning of the song is that one can find the sweetest “peaches” yet even the ripest peach has flaws.

Therefore the song states that one must love another despite their flaws because life is too short for anything but love.

And this is exactly the “ theme “ of my life always. I would never sit and just cry or complaining about something. Life yes can be hard some times, that is 100% but is up to us to make the difference and make it special. Because at the end of the day, it is just our final choice to choose to be Happy.

Daphna

Voodoo Chile Blues by Jimi Hendrix, is by far the most deeply felt spiritual piece of Rock history. At the early age of 13, James Marshall Hendrix looses his mother, a bluesjazz singer, to the excesses of night life. That same year he is given his first electric guitar.

The rest is history. In this slow blues, Hendrix tells of his premonitory birth, the death of his mother, and later ascent to the spiritual heights of nature and the cosmos… “The night I was born, Lord I swear the moon turned on fire red. My poor mother cried out “Lord the gypsy was right” and I see her fall down dead, right on the floor baby, well mountain lions found me there waiting’, and set me on a eagle’s wing, he took me past the outskirts of infinity, and when he brought me back he gave me Venus witch’s ring, and he said fly on, cause I’m a Voodoo Chile, Lord knows I’m a Voodoo Chile”… the guitar cries and squeals in the void of lost motherly love… Historically, Hendrix might have been part of the Blues Rock tradition, but spiritually, he transcends genres, upon listening you can directly experience his belief in the redeeming power of music.

My favorite song… one of those impossible questions to answer. So here goes the impossible: Where is the Love by the Black Eyed Peas.

I remember hearing this song for the first time, and how brilliant it felt in my body, my mind, my soul! Anytime I hear it my body can not help but move to the rhythm, to the beat, to the message. How it moved me; both literally –(in my body) and figuratively (in my heart!) making my body just want to move with the rhythm and the beat.

The message touches both a pain and a delight in my heart, so deeply and soulfully conveying the longing for compassion, love and peace in the world. It’s like a modern prayer, and it so simply sums up the plight of humanity.

And more than just a song, it quickly became our family anthem… which makes me love it even more!

u o v a F

g n o S e t i r

The Art of Sequencing With Carlotta Castangia April 4, 2017

The Magic of Tantra With Angela Perez & Bernd Windhofer April 9 - 16, 2017

Full Moon With Sean Goldberg April 11, 2017

This Workshop is for those who want to develop their practice.

We will learn tools and techniques to develop yoga sequences that are creative, inspirational and safe.

Tantra is the ultimate approach for the modern person; embracing every aspect of ourselves and our situation, we dive into the messiness of life with joy and abandon!

A yogic perspective exploring the relationship between mindfulness and chronicity.

Foundations of Yoga - Fire With Bernd Windhofer June 4, 2017

The 8 Limbs of Yoga With GuruWant Kaur June 5 - 8, 2017

Happy 4 The Happy With Carllota Castangia June 24 - 25, 2017

Fire is life. Through stoking the fire in our bellies via asana, pranayama and meditation, we bring forth determination, energy and drive, on a physical, emotional, mental and energetic level, the aim of which is to birth an entirely new, vibrant way of seeing and being in the world.

Yoga is an attitude, a path of life, that incorporates ethical attitudes and observances, breath, asana, meditation to yoke the elements of our experience into an awakened consciousness. We will study and share our understanding of the limbs, and experience them through the practice of kundalini yoga.

Lets come together and talk about Yoga Life style!!

Come practice Asana and Meditation with a focus on the Yoga Sutras, learning how to apply them to daily life.

Kundalini Yoga Teacher Training With Guru Dass April 15 - May 12, 2017

Awakening Life Energy With Angela Perez May 13 - 14, 2017

Yoga in Your Hands With Carllota Castangia May 15, 2017

The experience of studying Kundalini Yoga with Guru Dass is more than simply a training or acquisition of knowledge. It is a process of healing, of opening the heart to self-acceptance and love.

Learn Tantric techniques that you can take home with you and incorporate into your daily routine for the activation of dormant energies within. We will develop a deeper understanding of ourselves, create space within for improvement and understanding.

In this workshop we will learn to listen more deeply to our subtle and cosmic energy bodies through the use of mudras as gestures, incorporating them into every part of our yoga practice.

Foundations of Yoga - Air With Bernd Windhofer July 16, 2017 Wind brings change and freshness into all the various stagnant aspects of ourselves and our life situations.

Using the body, the breath, and meditative techniques, we spend the day releasing energies and emotions that no longer serve us.

Yin & Yang With Carllota Castangia July 22 - 23, 2017 A perfect balance high energy Yanginspired asana with calming, Yin style restorative. Beginning with an energetic asana will mentally and physically prepare ourselves. The internal warmth we create allows our minds to focus and our bodies to ease into deeper openings.

The Collective Desa Seni School of Yoga October 1 - 29, 2017 Desa Seni, A Village Resort opened to the world on August 8th 2006. From its inception, this village has focused on creating a holistic wellness program providing yoga, dance, music, and organic cuisine, set amidst a beautifully landscaped fully recycled eco friendly resort.

Ancient Remedies for Healthy Modern Times

By Iris Patrizia

Modern life can be exhausting. We’re over-stimulated, over- committed and overwhelmed by world events.

So it’s not surprising that our immune systems can be weak at times and our energy can be low.

Optimum nutrition is a very important choice on the journey to health. Foods with live nutrients nourish our bodies and elevate our energy at all levels. We know that ‘live’ foods like fresh, unprocessed fruit and vegetables carry high vibrations. Dead food like sugar, processed foods, medication and some supplements, on the other hand, can have very low frequencies. So eating wisely is the foundation of health.

The natural ‘alternative’ approach to healing based on ancient knowledge and elixirs was used as medicine long before the now so often questioned allopathic medications became available. So in fact ancient remedies are really mainstream medicine. Since the industrialization of food and medicine, we have all but forgotten how to make quality products that nurture and heal humankind. Before this we ate fresh natural produce and used healing remedies made from fresh plant ingredients, which were not processed, but living.

Jamu Essence, based on the traditional Indonesian herbal medicinal healing tonics called Jamu, brings together a greater understanding of nutrition combined with ancient wisdom regarding plant-based remedies.

Originating from the old kingdoms of central Java, Jamu contains indigenous roots, herbs and spices combined to treat ailments and preserve the natural balance of the human body for optimum health and well being.

This unique and powerful Jamu was developed by researching and experimenting with traditional herbal formulas combined with natural antibiotic and immune-boosting formulas originating from Europe in the Middle Ages. The result is ‘Jamu Essence’, a highly potent and ‘LIVE’ formula.

Jamu Essence not only fights disease but also helps ensure a strong immune system that prevents illness.

It’s packed with powerful healing herbs and spices from both East and West. The main ingredient turmeric (Curcumin) has renowned health benefits validated in hundreds of studies which show its great value in treating a wide range of inflammation-based diseases. To the turmeric base is added ginger, tamarind, lime, cinnamon, garlic and apple cider vinegar. All these ingredients have anti-inflammatory, anti-viral, anti-bacterial, antibiotic and even pro biotic properties as well as containing antioxidants, amino acids, vitamins and minerals.

Jamu Essence also fights viruses, parasites and fungi like Candida and improves blood circulation and lymph flow throughout the body.

Essentially, Jamu Essence is the alchemy of old and new, East and West. The secret is not the individual ingredients, but the recipe and technique of how the elements are prepared and combined.

The result is a very high potency formula that will take you to a whole new level of health. And it’s as easy to drink as a nice warm cup of tea. So drink up and enjoy this delicious, high vibrational health shot and kick start your day!

MERAPU SVAASTHYA

Our time on Earth is Limited Are you using it wisely?

By Smartminds We are the creators of our own reality. Are you happy in yours?

Have you heard of the chaos theory: something as small as the flutter of a butterfly’s wing can ultimately cause a typhoon halfway around the world? You are capable of that kind of change. We believe that people are the assets of change. If we want to transform the world we live in, we are the essential actors of change. Smartminds has been raising awareness in 2016 by teaching how people can become the master of their own reality by simply changing their mindset.

It all starts with the individual. You may not believe what you are capable of achieving.

Smartminds is a values-driven company with a mission of creating a culture of trust and harmonious work environment. We live and share the practices used to raise consciousness and develop growth within individuals for everyone’s well-being. We are and teach a conscious culture to rid the “fear-driven” model of todays world and replace it with a “trust & influence”. Within individuals, teams, organisations and society.

If you had one chance to change everything… Would you take it?

We have been doing this in 2016 by hosting Mindset seminars for the public to help shift the perspective of individual into living with a growth mindset. By understanding that everything is connected to you and bringing awareness to your own personal values, you can begin to create a lifestyle that you really

choose. We strip away the conditions of life and teach people how to master their emotions and cultivate a professional mindset.

As well as our exclusive conference IMPACT : AWAKEN, where we begin to help people realise their true inner potential, guide them to an expansive mindset and learn to cultivate their energy. In the wide range of things we do, we raise awareness to how by awakening consciousness as a collective; individuals, businesses and organisations are the vehicles for change.

There is only one truth that guides us. Are you ready to face it?

Presently in 2017 we have introduced a brand new seminar: Culture Transformation. A seminar to explain what a value driven organisation is and why the future of business needs it. A conscious culture within organisations increases energy, productivity and engagement levels of all employees. Furthering the optimisation of your business, as well as bringing environmental awareness and how your company affects the community supporting you. Businesses all over the world are moving into a new space and developing a strong company culture. We show how by putting values in place at every connection whether it be your business, family, relationships and with yourself, it will lead you to a constant state of innovation. By means of empowering individuals and businesses with workshops, seminars, conferences and group training.

We also are now offering SmartCoach - A One Day Accelerators - for teams and groups. A single or multiple day training sessions tailored for the teams requirements. This will give teams a chance to gain new tools and insights on creating internal cohesion in the business by strengthening connecting and developing the individual’s roles as leaders. Held in a private facility for effective training and material to bring awareness to areas of growth within teams.

Be prepared for increased productivity and engagement levels, a fully optimised engine for your business.

The majority of our seminars take place in Bali. Why? Its powerful transformational energy. We invite you to step foot in one of the most beautiful islands in the world to take part in life-changing training . Bali has a profound spiritual heritage shown throughout its social gatherings, cultural activities and sacredness of their spiritual practices. Named as “The Island of Gods” and considered one of the world’s purification centres, Bali caters a unique space for your self-realisation process.

Our message is to lead self, lead organisation and lead society. We reinforce the importance of balance in all aspects of life; personal and professional. Doing this by energising and tending to the 4 foundational pillars of life; emotional, mental, physical and spiritual well-being.

Whatever a person frequently thinks and reflects on, that will be

By Jack Kornfield come the inclination of their mind Speak and act from unwise thoughts, and sorrow will follow you as surely as the wheel follows the ox who draws the cart. Speak and act from wise thoughts and happiness will follow you as closely as your shadow, unshakable. —The Dhammapada Whatever we regularly think colors our experience—all day, every day.

Once we start to watch these thoughts, we discover that most of them are reruns.

Others are about problems: “I need to call John about the roof again. I hope he can finally fix it.” Some are about our preferences: “I like the way this person talks.” “I really hate this traffic.” Many are self-evaluation: “Oops, I’m messing up again.

How do I get through this?” “Wow, I pulled that off well. I hope they notice!”

“What is thought?” ask the Buddhist texts. “Thought is your friend. Thought is your enemy. No one can harm you as much as unwise thought. No one can help you more than wise thought.

Not even the most loving parent.” Our life is shaped and determined by our thoughts.

Usually we are only half conscious of the way thoughts direct our life; we are lost in thoughts as if they are reality. We take our own mental creations quite seriously, endorsing them without reservation.

Often our fears don’t turn out to be accurate predictions of anything. As Mark Twain put it, “My life has been filled with terrible misfortunes—most of which never

happened!” When we become mindful of fearful thoughts, we see that fear is just a story accompanied by dramatic feelings.

We don’t have to take the story as truth.

As we see the productions of our mind, we

discover radical freedom. The Tibetan lama Khyentse Rinpoche explains, “Mind creates both samsara and nirvana. Yet there is not much to it, it is just thoughts. Once we recognize that thoughts are empty, the mind will no longer have the power to deceive us.”

Yet however much we try, sometimes we’re caught in our repetitive thoughts, and knowing about their emptiness doesn’t help. We can obsess for months about a past relationship or about our fear of failure at work. These difficult patterns of thought can repeat and persist, coloring our consciousness so deeply that we can be tormented by them, unable to see without their distortion.

This is when we need, quite deliberately, to create positive thoughts in order to replace these unskillful patterns of mind. The understanding of these as simply unskillful states means that we can do something about them, as opposed to saying we’re neurotic and there’s no hope.

Buddhists were actually the first cognitive-behavioral therapists. In its current Western form, cognitive-behavioral therapy originates from the work of such figures as Albert Ellis, founder of rational emotive therapy, and psychiatrist Aaron Beck. Modern cognitive therapy grew from behavioral therapy, which rejected the psychoanalytic focus on family history and the unconscious. Instead it looked at what was happening in the here and now.

The behaviorists believed that when we change behaviors, all else follows. Adding the cognitive element—the contents of our ongoing inner dialogue—provided another powerful tool for change.

We can see how this works in a standard cognitive-behavioral approach to panic attacks or phobias. We may be taught to count

how many times the thought “I’m afraid” arises and touch a wristband inscribed with the words “I am strong” to replace our anxious thoughts. Then we can choose to act out of the strength. Sometimes this behavioral approach is coupled with systematic desensitization.

If you are afraid of heights, you practice step by step, going to higher places until you can tolerate them. The same strategy is used to change depressive and fearful thoughts. In cognitive therapy, you see how unskillful behaviors and painful mind states originate from irrational thought patterns. You challenge these panicky, depressive thoughts, telling yourself not to believe them. Then you act positively and do what you are afraid of anyway.

Though there is considerable overlap between Eastern psychology and cognitive therapy, Buddhist training does more than offer purely rational replacement of inaccurate thought patterns. We could call the Buddhist approach “behaviorism with heart.” It enlists the power of a larger, benevolent intention. We begin by using mindfulness to identify the patterns of thought that lead to our suffering. These include thoughts of unworthiness, jealousy and hatred, revenge, anxiety, clinging, and greed.

Then out of compassion we change what is in our minds. We transform our thoughts as a loving protection of ourselves and of others.

The Dalai Lama has said that transforming thought is one of his favorite practices. He instructs, “Let yourself visualize the effects of unskillful thought patterns such as annoyance, anger, self-judgment, and so forth.

Inwardly see how such thoughts affect you: the tension, the raising of your pulse rate, the discomfort. Outwardly see how such

thoughts affect others who hold them, making them upset, rigid, even ugly. Then make the compassionate determination, ‘I will never allow such states to make me lose my peace of mind.’”

We can hope for sudden transformation, but in most cases radically retraining our minds requires steady, patient effort. The power to transform our mental conditioning is now scientifically documented by modern neuroscience’s discovery of neuroplasticity, which shows how our brains can be retrained and reshaped at any age.

This supports the profound hope and understanding built into Buddhist practice.

Like its Western cognitive counterparts, Buddhist training teaches us to look at the thought distortions that create suffering.

For example, we can notice when we generalize from one problem to our whole life.

If we have a loss in business or a setback in our career, we may think, “I’m a loser. I’ll never succeed.”

In cognitive therapy we would recognize the deluded nature of such thought patterns as “false generalizations” and try to notice every time they arise. Immediately we might substitute a wise thought: “I have a good life and a loving family. My life has had many successes.”

The Buddhist perspective takes the process further. We can learn to see that distorted thoughts based on self-hatred, aggression, revenge, and greed are not in our genuine interest. We can actually see that these thoughts do not have our well-being in mind. They are like a bad friend or an approaching mugger, and we can recognize their harmful potential and immediately turn in another direction. Ajahn Chah described this as recognizing bad mangoes.

We’d call them bad apples. “When we

choose a fruit to eat, do we pick up the good mangoes or the rotten ones? It is the same in the mind. Learn to know which are the rotten thoughts and immediately turn from them to fill your basket with ripe beautiful mind states instead.”

When we are depressed, frightened, or angry, cascades of unskillful thoughts will tempt us with their stories: “I can’t possibly get through this.” “It will always be this way.” “I’ll never have a good relationship.”

These thoughts create a painfully limited and false sense of self. Yet through practice, we can feel the pain that these thoughts produce, release them, and substitute a wiser perspective. Ajahn Chah says, “Whatever the mind tells you, don’t fall for it. It’s only a deception. Whatever negative comments and views it offers, just say ‘That’s not my business,’ every time, and let it go.”

More specifically, the Dalai Lama suggests, “With worry and anxiety, repeatedly cultivate the following thought. ‘If the problem can be remedied then there is no need to worry about it. And if there is no solution, there is no point in being worried, because nothing can be done about it anyway.’ Remind yourself of these facts repeatedly.”

Finally, with the letting go of unhealthy thoughts, there arises a space, a calm, an opening to add healthy thoughts of love and self-respect. With all the dignity, courage and tenderness you possess, say from your heart phrases of loving-kindness such as: “May I be filled with compassion for myself and others. May I hold myself with care and respect. May I treasure my life. May I be filled with kindness.” Plant these loving thoughts, these seeds of well-being, over and over until they take root in your heart and mind.

Emotional Release with Branbenberg Crystals

By Anaitis for Anna Michielan

Have you ever thought stones can help you in your every-day life?

know what is about to hit us behind the corner.

Many times the people we meet in our life result as sacred encounters.

They are meaningful “keys” blissfully sent to us to open doors we never thought to unlock, or have never even seen.

When it does most of us are unprepared, at times overwhelmed and often stuck like in a paralysis that allows us to see the surroundings, but doesn’t allow us to take a position in it or to find our place in it.

We are a layer of our previous experiences: everyone we encounter leaves in us their trace and leave with us a lesson, or rather the lesson we choose to embody and to make ours. Places we might have not visited yet or people we haven’t met, could one day become extremely meaningful and at times even life changing in the understanding of our present and past.

What do most decide to do then? Usually we do absolutely nothing…but pretending not to see doesn’t work, you can’t lie to your soul, you can’t deny your purpose.

The outcome of the encounter is so overwhelming we just stand, and feel.

When we meet these people in our life path, we feel like we’ve had the encounter before, and what is happening in the present it’s a recalling experience.

When we have that special encounter, we are not really conscious about it. We will be able further in time, to look at the situation with a different perspective and have what the Japanese Buddhists call “Satori”: a moment of full enlightenment of comprehension and understanding.

After a “Satori” experience, our emotions move and change surprising us, taking new position inside our heart.

Our modern society has raised us in a way that we are expected to know what we want, we spend our lives planning the next future and the furthest one, but truth is we don’t

Well, if we are able to understand what is happening to us in that precise moment, in the vulnerability of being uncomfortable of our own feelings, that moment becomes a transforming experience, through which we grow by learning to know ourselves more.

When a moment of a beautiful connection knocks at our door, may it be after any kind of therapy experience, alone in nature, through guidance of a healer, a yoga teacher, or simply talking with someone, we are given the sacred chance to dig deeper into the layers of our personality and soul.

When I went through a similar experience to embrace this kind of process and empower it, I discovered Branderberg Quartz as incredible tool of emotional release and clarity.

During my research at Anna Michielan’s I was told it’s a crystal sourced from the Branberg Mountain (also known as Fire Moun-

tain) in Namibia, hence his name.

The place of origin itself is one of the most powerful: the world oldest desert, probably once underwater.

Something left me completely astonished: I felt so attracted to it I couldn’t explain. Judy Hall in her “101 Power Crystals” guide says: < The Brandenberg is a master healer, it is the most versatile multidimensional healing tool on the planet>.

I was given a tool of sacred ancient wisdom and then was guided to understand what makes these crystals so special: I started looking at the one I had in my hands and I saw a sudden and happy bubble of water trapped inside the crystal moving up and down as I was turning it around.

The water bubble is one of the feature of this crystal and it has been locked into the stone for millions of years. The water element connects the crystals to the heart and helps by working on the emotions: it release them attuning them to your consciousness.

By placing the crystal on your heart, keeping it in a room, holding it, using it for meditation, the personal transformation is facilitated.

I feel relieved to know that during the process of personal expansion, if I ever feel overwhelmed, I have found a great friend in my Brandenberg, and I cannot imagine my life without it.

Saltiness If we were to call a person salty, what would we be saying about that person? We might say “he’s the salt of the earth” meaning he’s the common man, a man of experience, a real pillar of the community. Or we could say “oh, he’s just an old salt, a real salty dog,” meaning he’s a worldly soul given in to his cravings. Of course, we could say that a person is worth her salt, meaning that she is well seasoned and does a good job, that she earns her ‘salary’, her reward.

Salt is also associated with wounds. To “throw salt in one’s wounds” means to rub it in, just like “to lick one’s wounds”, means to remove the sting. Perhaps the common man, the salt of the earth is one who bears his wounds with dignity, while the salty dog is trying to forget his wounds through indulgence. Salt could be our desire to do a good job, be accepted, and taste life itself. Salt can also be where our fervor lies, where we go to excess, or where we become rigid.

Ayurveda classifies salt as one of the six rasas, or tastes of life. Each taste is associated with different foods and herbs but also with different emotions or experiences of life. The general rule is that a salty substance has the attributes (guna) of hot, moist, heavy and contracted and implies the corresponding effects of heat, dampness, heaviness and contraction when ingested. Therefore, if a person is suffering from too much coldness, dryness, lightness or expansiveness, the salty taste may help.

In terms of the three doshas, or constitutional tendencies, salt is best suited to the vata or air-type person who is naturally cold, dry, light, expansive and perhaps nutritionally deficient in some way. However, the individual qualities of salt can help all people in

By Gary Gran CYT, Day

specific ways if used judiciously. Salt is not very heating, but it can be appetizing and help stimulate the digestive secretions. Salt is very good at retaining moisture. A pinch of salt in a glass of water can help the water absorb into the body instead of running clear through. As a counter-indication, it is well known that too much salt can lead to excessive water retention, bloating and puffiness. The heaviness of salt can help ground a person who is too flighty. It also has a slight laxative or downward-moving effect. A pinch of salt can be added to hot water, honey and lemon juice for a cleansing morning drink. The contraction of salt helps to focus the mind and can counteract the expansive, spacey, empty-calory effect of too much sugar. Perhaps the main benefit of salt however is to counteract nutritional deficiencies.

Salt and salty taste is not limited to table salt which is overused by many people. Salt can be taken to include all mineral salts and even individual minerals. Our physical nutrition comes from the mineral, vegetable and animal kingdoms, but it all starts with the health of the soil. The mineral content of the soil feeds the plants which feed the animals.

We can receive our minerals through mineral supplements, through plants and through animals. However, each method has its disadvantages.

Mineral supplements can be hard to digest. Plants convert minerals from the soil into smaller water soluble particles called colloidal minerals which are easier to assimilate. However, if the soil is deficient, the plants will also be deficient and certain plant compounds like phytates, tannins and oxalic acid can block the absorption of minerals.

These short-comings can be overcome with

proper food preparation, cooking, and food combining techniques. Animal foods being higher on the food chain may themselves be deficient of minerals, or worse, contaminated with heavy metals.

Therefore, ayurveda recommends a well-rounded, diverse diet rich in organic fruits and vegetables, whole grains and beans, supplemented with fresh nuts, seeds, oils and the highest quality animal foods. To these are added small amounts of natural salts, herbs and spices which all contain significant amounts of trace minerals. Let me emphasize here the importance of organic foods. Organic farming is dedicated to preserving and building the quality of our soil.

Traditionally, the best farm-land has been along river banks where the soil is renewed each year with minerals from upstream. In ayurveda, the run-off from high mountain glaciers is known as glacial milk which is high in mineral content. Food that has been irrigated with glacial milk is more nutritious, and, this is very interesting, more tasty!

Table salt is used to enhance the taste of our food. If the food has no taste, or not enough taste, we add more salt. This could be an indication that the food itself is lacking minerals. In the end, salt is said to overpower all the other tastes. We stop noticing the true quality (or lack of quality) of our food.

This is why it is recommended to do a salt fast for ten days every spring to refresh our taste buds.

However, the bigger issue here is the nutritional value of our food supply. Tests have shown that nutrients vary widely from soil in different regions and even different fields within a region. Two plants of the same type grown in the same field may even have dif-

FOOD / MAKANAN

ferent amounts of nutrients. From a practical point of view, what is left to us is our sense of taste to distinguish the true quality of the foods we eat.

Moreover, a craving for table salt may indicate our own mineral deficiency. In fact, an undue craving for any food may indicate an underlying mineral deficiency. For example, a person who craves chocolate may be deficient in the mineral magnesium. It can be helpful to explore our cravings in this way for clues on how to improve our food selection.

Ayurvedic texts recognize many different sources of the salty taste. The three main categories are natural salts, processed salts and mineral salts: 1) Natural Salts: Natural salts are highly favored for everyday use as they are rich in trace minerals. They include rock salt, lake salt and sea salt. Modern practitioners include sea vegetables in this category.

2) Processed Salts: Processed salts include table salt (refined sodium chloride), potassium chloride (a common salt substitute) and enriched salts such as black salt and iodized salt. Refined table salt without additives is recommended for special purposes such as the neti wash, but not for everyday dietary use. Potassium chloride is helpful for those on a reduced sodium diet. Black salt comes in different grades and is noted for the addition of sodium sulphate which gives it itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s characteristic egg smell. These days, vegans like to use black salt as a flavor substitute in recipes calling for eggs. Iodized salt is important as many soils lack iodine which is needed for proper thyroid function. For example, a lack of iodine can cause goiters.

However, many commercial salts containing iodine also contain additives such as an-

ti-caking agents which are not recommended for regular use. Sea vegetables such as kelp are often recommended for their high iodine content.

3) Mineral Salts: Mineral salts include compounds such as potassium carbonate, sal ammoniac, sodium carbonate, calcium carbonate, salt petre, borax, calcium sulphate, sodium bicarbonate, etc. Some of these are naturally formed mineral outcroppings. Others such as potash are formed from the ashes of plant materials. Others can be derived from animal parts.

Some processed salts and mineral salts are used in baking. They include table salt, baking soda (sodium bicarbonate), cream of Tartar, calcium phosphate, calcium aluminum phosphate, calcium citrate, potassium bicarbonate, monocalcium phosphate, sodium aluminum sulfate, sodium aluminum phosphate and sodium acid phosphate.

Some people prefer to avoid the ones containing aluminum as aluminum itself is toxic. Others say that the aluminum is bound in the salt and therefore non-toxic. There are non-aluminum baking powders available commercially.

Various salts can be combined in complex formulas with various metals, gemstones and medicinal plants, powdered, cooked, burnt, buried, cooked again, purified and potentized. These alchemical preparations are accompanied by prayers and astrological observances and are called bhasmas or precious pills. These are rarely if ever available in the west. Inauthentic versions are often contaminated with heavy metals or even pharmaceutical drugs so it is buyer beware.

A modern and safe alternative favored by many ayurvedic practitioners is the system

of cell salts or tissue salts called biochemic medicine along with related homeopathic remedies.

The powdered wood ashes from sacred fire ceremonies are sometimes available and used for spiritual healing. The blessed ashes are known as vibhuti. Perhaps some of their healing potency comes from their trace mineral content.

To summarize, ordinary salt is considered appetizing, flavor enhancing, alkalizing and digestive. It stimulates the secretion of saliva, helps maintain water electrolyte balance, enhances absorption of nutrients, is slightly laxative, and can help remove impurities from the body.

The early signs of too much salt in the diet are excessive thirst, dark urine, skin irritation and puffiness (especially under the eyes). The signs progress to include bloodshot eyes, clenched teeth, hair loss, angry outbursts, primitive urges, cravings and a certain rigidity of mind bordering on intense fervor. Think of an overly intense workaholic or crusader.

A prolonged excess of salt can contribute to high blood pressure, arteriosclerosis, bleeding disorders, ulcers, water retention, edema, kidney damage, and calcium deficiency.

Or as stated in the Quintessence Tantra of Tibetan Ayurveda: â&#x20AC;&#x153;Salty taste toughens the body and removes whorls of wind (vata) and blockages (of the channels)...increases digestive heat and improves the appetite.

Partaking of salty things in excess causes falling hair and greying of the hair, increases wrinkles, decreases strength and produces thirst, skin disorders, blood disorders and bile disorders.â&#x20AC;?

Modern Cuisine in the Anthropocene

Whether I base my opinion on scientific data, history books or my Facebook feed, I’m convinced we live in a unique episode of human history. You and I are in this together, the first generation to question whether there is hope for a generation after us and I believe it’s time to own up to the enormity of it. Scientists coined this era the ‘Anthropocene’, simply put, a geological age during which human activity has permanently altered the planet. Since there is no way back, our life’s defining question is, ‘what does it mean to be alive during a mass extinction of life as we know it?’

I dedicated my journey on this planet to exploring this question. As a chef, residing at a silent retreat center in rural Bali, the last 4 years have been a combination of meditative contemplation followed by practical resolution. Head in the clouds, feet in the mud so to speak. Since chia seeds and raw chocolate weren’t going to save humanity, I wanted to come up with a way of eating that would actually give us a chance. I still have more questions than answers.

Sustainability is not about cold showers and lentils for dinner every night. That kind of frugality is an offense to Mother Nature who is inherently abundant, and has seduced mankind with aromatic fruits and stunning floral arrangements since our rise from the cradle. Tapping into that natural abundance, I feel that Bali Silent retreat offers the true luxuries of life: stillness, presence, human warmth and nourishing food.

I’m ready to share my food philosophy with you. By no means do I want to lecture on

By Alex Tsuk how to live your life from here on, I will leave law and legislation to the realms of politics.

In fact, this is an invitation to own up to your own brilliance, the alignment with evolution that is brewing inside you right now.

Voting with every bite we take. The New Earth Food philosophy helps you explore the kind of world you are voting for, and to make things digestible it comes in 5 bite sized chunks, all starting with a P. 1.Place 2.Product 3.Price 4.People 5.Planet Through the next 5 articles I want to explore these aspects and how they apply practically to someone residing in or visiting the island of Bali.

This week we explore Place. Where does this food come from, and what are the consequences? Bali enjoys volcanic soils, year round sunshine and with that come some of the sweetest fruits of nature. What drives expats to load up their trolleys with German gherkins, frozen peas and Australian T-bone steak on their weekly supermarket visit? Are Balinese ingredients really that scary? And what are Balinese ingredients to start with?

Tourism has dictated a radical change in agriculture and we now see farmers up the cool and fertile highlands producing asparagus, broccoli and carrots at increasing rates.

What impact do these hybrid, chemically fertilized and sprayed products have on Bali?

Place goes beyond buying local food. Place questions, what wants to grow here? Spend

time in a rainforest and observe the types of vegetation: Ground covers sprawl and protect the soil against erosion and droughts.

Sweet potato thrives in such a setting. Understory shrubs comfortably sit in the shade of big trees. Bananas, ginger, taro root, pineapple all fit that description. Cassava is a healer, grow it in dense soil without any input and 7 months later a farmer is left with better soil and a bumper crop of beautiful edible roots. Heritage rice varieties are more resilient and don’t rely on chemical protection as much. Passion fruits happily decorate the fence of your local homestay.

Coconut trees dot the landscape without taking up too much space. These are some of the many gifts of the wet tropics that ought to rule our plate breakfast, lunch and dinner.

‘Place’ is an invitation to connect with local surroundings and the ingredients that naturally thrive there, wherever you are in the world. In Bali this means visiting local food markets, street stalls and exploration of ‘tanah tegal’ the dry land areas of food forest that typically back a compound where the land slopes down to the river. By applying this philosophy, you might end up with tastier, healthier food, a bunch of new friends but most of all, an opportunity for a stronger relationship with the natural world.

Taste New Earth Cooking in action at its home called Bali Silent retreat or at WAMM café in Ubud. Follow New Earth Cooking on Facebook to learn more.

What are Macrobiotics by ella boekeman

Applied to multiple areas of life, macrobiotics comes from Greek – ‘macro’ meaning great, and ‘bios’ meaning life. It’s not only a diet but a holistic lifestyle.

Everything on the planet, including our bodies and food are made up of yin (outward moving) and yang (inward moving) energies. Both of these energies are apparent, although either yin or yang will be in excess. Our western diets are generally wildly out of balance, and tend to be acid forming – often leading to illness and disease.

Based on an adaptation of eastern philosophies.

The founder of maco diet was George Oshawa From Macrobiotics for Dummies “ In 1958, macrobiotic philosopher and teacher George, Oshawa met a distant relative of Hufeland and by 1959 began using the term macrobiotic to promote his teachings.

During a New York visit, he took note of Zen’s popularity in America and, in what seemed like a savvy marketing decision at the time, added it to macrobiotics. Oshawa’s book Zen Macrobiotics attempted to capitalize on the popularity of Zen as taught by popular teachers, Alan Watts, and the works of Dr. Daisetz Teitaro Suzuki. Interest in Zen was high among the ’50s “Beatnik” movement, which evolved into what we now know as the hippie generation.”

Back in the 1960’s when the term first started to become known in the west, macrobiotic bookstores in the US and UK were being raided by the FBI as they contained “illegal statements” such as that poor diet could cause cancer, and a healthy diet cure it. Misinformation led to the macrobiotic diet being dubbed ‘the brown rice diet’ by naysayers. In 1966 Prof. Frederick Stare of Harvard University wrote an article in Reader’s Digest calling macrobiotics ‘the hippie

diet that’s killing our kids.’ The term became shrouded in negativity.

Fast forward a few decades and a great deal of research, it’s clear that macrobiotics is not a fad diet but a way to live your healthiest life yet. Emphasizing vegetables and grains - the food groups with the least pronounced yin and yang elements, the diet avoids high levels of sugar, alcohol and processed foods. The premise is simple, and when expanded into other areas of our life overwhelmingly positive for our health and wellbeing.

Macrobiotic principles stem from an ancient Oriental philosophy, which suggests that all of life is a constant balance between yin and yang elements. Neither side is ‘good’ or ‘bad’, but macrobiotic followers aim for a balance of five parts yin to one part yang, in their life and in their diet. Yin foods are made up of vegetables, grains, beans and seaweed. But also, alcohol, sugar, some fruits, soft cheeses, processed breads and honey. In life, expansive, lightweight and airy are elements that indicate yin. Yang foods meanwhile are animals and animal products, including fish, meat and eggs and salt, as well as hard salty cheeses. In life, actions that are condensed, contracting hot, heavy and material are yang. Yin and Yang can be viewed the same as the atom and proton, as well as being equal to the medical terms of anabolic and catabolic reactions.

Cravings are a message the body is sending telling us its not in balance. Drinking cold beer (yin) brings a craving of salty dry foods (yang). There’s a reason those bags of crisps and nuts are available behind the bar! Any extreme yin or extreme yang is considered excess.

Every front has a back, and everything exists in opposition to each other. Actions we take and foods we eat have opposing and

complementary aspects. Macrobiotics does suggest that extremes should be avoided, which is why sugar, extremely yin, and meat, extremely yang, are often shunned in the diet.

As well as diet, there are a few universal life principals that are observed by those wanting to adopt a macrobiotic lifestyle.

- The Principle of Opposites: Everything exists in opposition - The Principle of Change: Nothing is static - The Principle of Cycles: All beginnings have an end - The Principle of Non-Identity: Nothing is identical - The Principle of Front and Back: Every front has a back – the greater the front the greater the back - All things are differentiations of One Infinity A macrobiotic diet isn’t just about your weight – it’s about achieving balance in your life. It requires a change in thinking from a static view of life to a dynamic and flexible one.

Macrobiotics as it is known today is the result of the tireless work and vision of George Oshawa (1893-1966). The two main figures who sprouted from Oshawa were Michio Kushi and Herman Aihara, who founded the Vega center in California.

Michio Kushi was one of Oshawa’s students and one of the most well-known contemporary macrobiotic teachers, helping introduce it to the United States in the early 1950’s. Through the 1970’s he and Aihara were the key individuals to bring it to the west and teach it through residential study centers, lectures and books. Mr. Kushi died in 2014, but his teachings continue to be spread through the Kushi institute and his numerous followers.

Everyone Loves (Raw) Chocolate

By Rolf Gibbs Even though conventionally roasted chocolate possesses only a hint of the many benefits of raw cacao, most humans are quite aware of its friendly and supportive role. But it is the uncooked cacao bean, which completely outshines the happy chocolate buzz that so much of the world adores.

Raw cacao has been dubbed the world’s greatest superfood. The health benefits of raw cacao seem to know no limits. Ingesting raw cacao is said to surge antioxidants, increase blood flow, combat depression, boost magnesium and iron levels, lower blood pressure, and even reduce the risk of diabetes and heart disease. The list stretches onwards towards the infinite. However, what really matters is how raw cacao makes you feel. Cacao is known to offer an experience of open-hearted appreciation, heightened sensory awareness, and uplifting positivity. Chemists point towards interesting compounds such as theobromine and anadamide. Theobromine acts as a very mild stimulant, similar to its powerful cousin, caffeine. However, Theo focuses much more specifically on the heart, promoting vascular health by increasing heart flow. Anandamide was named for the Sanskrit work for bliss, ananda. This compound works upon the brain to promote feelings of wellbeing and mild euphoria. It is also rumored that MAO-inhibitors in cacao can help one stay blissed out longer, before needing to return to a reality of facts, figures and bills to pay.

Another popular way to achieve this neurological effect is to fall in love. This similarity is a likely reason that longing for love may

lead one towards a chocolate bar. If this sounds like some kind of heavy drug use, don’t panic. It’s only chocolate, after all. The experience is certain to be mild, kind, freeing and playful.

Cacao’s ancient ceremonial usage deeply influenced the spirituality of the societies that first revered the magic bean. Cacao was first enjoyed as a sacred medicine by the indigenous peoples of Central America, who drank cacao during ceremonies to celebrate important community events, and to consult with when important decisions needed to be made.

These days, in Ubud, the progressive and spiritual center of Bali, and perhaps of all Asia, there are cacao ceremonies happening almost every night of the week. The focus of each circle may vary, depending on who is leading, but generally raw cacao is dissolved into a potent liquid form and ingested collectively and mindfully, sometimes with a little sweetener or other medicinal herbs or tinctures, and sometimes just as pure, bitter liquid cacao. The event may include dancing, singing, meditating, speaking intentions, perhaps even eye-gazing or conscious physical touch. Participants often describe feeling ecstatic, inspired and heart-centered, or energized and grounded at the same time.

From the sacred to the profane: party animals in nightclubs from Amsterdam to Berlin are increasingly snorting powdered raw cacao like they once did with cocaine.

Snorting causes a much faster onset of effect than ingestion, as the cacao is ab-

sorbed quickly into the bloodstream via the soft tissue in the nasal cavity. Raw cacao is completely legal, but clubbers claim it gets them high nevertheless, and that they feel energized enough to dance all night, and they feel more connected, both to themselves, and to people around them.

Eating raw chocolate is also a much healthier alternative to conventional “candy” chocolate, because raw chocolate is often made with natural ingredients and fewer commercial additives. Cheap and refined white sugar, made from GMO beet or cane, is replaced with organic coconut palm sugar, for example, which has a wonderful taste profile, and also boasts the lowest glycemic index of any natural sugar. Palm nectar is another popular sweetener, as are stevia, and the polyalcohol known as zylotol. For milk chocolates, unsustainable animal products such as powder made from cow milk, used to make European chocolates more creamy, can be replaced with healthy plant-based coconut, almond or cashew milks.

The main belief behind raw food is that cooking destroys nutrients and natural enzymes, which boost digestion and fight chronic disease. But there is some controversy in the raw food community about raw chocolate, with critics pointing to the physical difficulties of fermenting, drying and grinding cacao beans without inducing high temperatures. Some say the temperatures for raw food must always be kept below 42 degrees Celsius, others claim anything up to 50 degrees is cool enough. The good news is that the ORAC scores, used to mea-

sure the high levels of antioxidants in raw cacao, only begin to decrease significantly when roasted at much higher temperatures than these. There may be heated arguments about what is raw, but they remain inconclusive. Despite decades of debate, the there are still no internationally accepted standards or certifications to define rawness.

And my own guess is that cacao beans will require a separate standard from other raw foods.

There is also some controversy about raw chocolate from the traditional chocolate industry, which likes to claim that raw cacao is dangerous, and that only roasting at very high temperatures can ensure the elimination of pathogens such as salmonella.

To give some perspective on this mindset; health food stores in California have, even in recent years, been raided by the FDA (Food and Drug Administration), who have seized organic vegetables and other products, claiming that organic food production is dangerous to humans. Despite these concerns, and despite raw chocolate’s increasing popularity, we have yet to see any actual reports of pathogenic contamination in raw chocolate or cacao.

The world of raw cacao is currently experiencing a massive surge in popularity. We are waking up to the glorious benefits of cacao in its uncooked state, with more and more raw chocolate companies offering a much healthier, guilt-free variations on it’s traditionally over-processed candy predecessor. And here on the island of Bali, we are playing an increasingly important role.

Big Tree Farms have built a successful business model exporting raw cacao products all over the world, providing raw materials for a fast-growing market of raw chocolate producers. In Bali’s local market, Ubud Raw Chocolate Factory has introduced a freshly-made, refrigerated, non-tempered, and fully plant-based raw chocolate with a short shelf-life, which many experts are claiming to be one of the best-tasting and creamiest chocolates available anywhere -- even when compared to traditionally venerated Swiss and Belgian chocolates. Ubud Raw is now expanding into the international market, having just begun its first partnership in the Netherlands. The company also produces organic ceremonial cacao for the local and international community. Blocks of pure cacao mass, sourced directly from local farmers in West Bali, for whom spiritual blessings and ceremonies are an integral part of each stage of the process, from the planting and growing of the cacao fruit, to the fermentation and grinding of the raw beans.

International leaders of cacao ceremonies, including Matteo Tangi, who was recently visiting from Italy, have commented that Bali cacao may be among the most potent available for a ceremonial high and deep heart connection experience.

Everyone loves chocolate. And with raw cacao, perhaps we can finally let go of our guilt, and love it unconditionally.

Awake the senses outdoors

by Cynthia Gran

D

uring the summer when days are long and warm, many people enjoy spending time outside.

Whether walking, biking or doing yoga, being in Nature is a rich experience, and with a little conscious effort, it becomes even richer. Here’s how you can bring your practice of meditation and mindfulness outside to experience Nature more fully, and awaken your senses.

“Come forth into the light of things, Let Nature be your Teacher…

Come forth, and bring with you a heart That watches and receives.”

The Table Turned, William Wordsworth We respond to the world through our senses. We understand the senses are tools through which we gain information when seeing, tasting, touching, smelling, and hearing. Yoga explains that this information from the senses can either cloud our consciousness, or bring us wisdom.

The term used for the incoming senses is jnanendriyas, which means “wisdom or knowing senses.”

In order to activate your wisdom senses it’s important to witness perceptions objectively, without coloring awareness with your opinions. Analyzing sensations with your emotions or thoughts from the mind cloud perceptions. Try to just purely and simply experience them. This way, you watch the world objectively, having no judgment. We gain information unconsciously. We gain wisdom consciously. “…All natural objects make a kindred impression,

DEWI ORGANIC

when the mind is open to their influence. …The lover of Nature is he whose inward and outward senses Are still truly adjusted to each other.”

Nature, Ralph Waldo Emerson By awakening our senses outdoors, fully experiencing Nature while watching the breath, we experience the oneness of all.

We can directly experience that true beauty without is the same true beauty that lies within; and this leads to wisdom.

Emerson continues: “…Within these plantations of God, a decorum and sanctity reign…

In the woods, we return to reason and faith.”

The word “nature” derives from the Latin word for “natura,” meaning “birth.” I certainly feel a rebirth when spending time in Nature! My backyard is my favorite place to commune with it. I also love formal gardens, forested and pastoral settings. In southern France, extensive olive groves are considered Nature’s cathedrals, equally sacred as the Gothic cathedrals of northern France with their tall, interior tree-like columns.

When I’m outside with my dog, he reveals how incredibly in tune he is with Nature. He’s ever attentive, with his senses fully engaged. His nose wiggles as he picks up scents off the breeze. His ears turn in opposite directions to hear people, birds, and cars all at once. I’m far more easily distracted than he is, not paying as much attention to my senses. However, I’m rewarded when I carefully embrace

them. To fully experience Nature through my senses I try to internalize the beauty, seeing it as part of myself, not separate.

The greatest treasure is found within the human heart, and the goal of life is to find this treasure, according to the Katha Upanishads, written circa 500 BCE. The process involves having good intentions, observing sensations, and opening to receive grace. It also involves learning to experience without likes, dislikes, and without judgment, and having a pure, untainted, clear experience. That’s mindfulness.

When was the last time you walked barefoot on the earth? How about lying on the grass? Gazing at the stars, sunrise, or sunset? Make the most of our precious summer, and go outside! “…And we’ve got to get ourselves back to the garden.”

Woodstock, Joni Mitchell Here’s a suggestion to commune deeply with Nature: Find a comfortable place outside. Think of neither past, nor future, rather, be in the present moment. Now connect to your breath, deepen it, and let it become very slow. Continue to keep your body still and relaxed, while breathing slowly.

Look out at the sky and the long view.

Observe the horizon, buildings, and trees. Notice if anything is moving. Watch the clouds. See the various textures and shapes of plants. Study tree leaves against the blue sky.

Listen to bird songs as never before, dis-

tinguishing blue jay from robin; seagull from sparrow. Do you hear cicadas, crickets, or other animals? People? Water?

Lightly caress a flower petal. Hug a tree!

Relish the feeling of the wind blowing across your skin. Rub a leaf or tree bark between your fingers to release its scent.

Smell several flowers, and notice how they differ. As you breathe, notice any other scent in the air.

Taste an herb, or an edible flower. At your next meal, taste a little food on the tip of your tongue only. Then take your first few bites, and chew very slowly with your eyes closed.

Consider trying a walking meditation.

Set your intention and begin very slowly. “…Walk not in order to arrive, but just for walking.” Thich Nhat Hanh Move with full attention, your feet stepping one at a time, carefully onto the ground. Feel each one touch down, then gently release up. Be still between each step. Follow your breath. Become one with the Earth. Open your heart and mind to the influence of Nature! Merge your little self into the greater Self of All. Feel the harmony of Nature without, and let it settle within. “…When you’ve seen beyond yourself, then you may find Peace of mind is waiting there, And the time will come when you see we’re all one, And life flows on within you and without you.” Within You and Without You, George Harrison/The Beatles

Sustainable Tourism

By Julien Goalabre

IDEP and its team dedicated to save Bali’s freshwater are heating toward success in 2017.For Bali, top travel destination; it is a very special year as the United Nation has adopted 2017 as the International Year of Sustainable Tourism for Development.

There will be a focus on three of 30 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) voted by the UN: - SDG 8: Promote sustained, inclusive and sustainable economic growth, full and productive employment and decent work for all; - SDG 12: Sustainable Consumption and Production; - SDG 14: Conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas and marine resources for sustainable development.

In Bali, this is the chance for all tourism actors to help IDEP to play an important part in restoring Bali’s aquifers and protect our rivers from pollution through he Bali Water Protection (BWP) program The time to act is now as more and more tourists visit Bali while freshwater scarcity is real in many areas.

We are lucky to say that there is a growing shift in the tourism industry from ignoring the issue toward participating in the necessary efforts to protect Bali Holy water, Agama Tirtha.

Genuinely committed major players have decided to

support the BWP: Waterboom Bali, Five Elements, Buffalo Tours and Body Shop are now officially water lovers.. Thus, we are extremely confident that BWP will soon be financially viable for implementation, as for the time being the project is still seeking a large amount of seed funding to start.

Therefore, IDEP and its partners need more companies to compensate their use of water and join BWP’s for the sake of protecting the environment but also to protect its economy, another important element of Sustainability because no water = No Tourism.

The increase in media coverage in the negative impact of tourism on the environment coupled with the increasing demand for sustainable tourism from visitors are just few of the signs that should lead to immediate action, but there is very few tourism actors who are ready to take the lead and drive change toward freshwater resilience in Bali.

To adopt sustainable tourism practices will save Bali’s freshwater, an element that is the core of the island’s social and economic stability as 80% of the economy and 28% of the workforce depends on tourism.

2017 is the Year of Sustainable Tourism and we need to take positive action now, for everyone’s future, for everyone’s benefit. We need to seize the moment and make sure that Bali becomes a leader in sustainable development in popular tourism destinations.

Bali Eco

By John Blundstone Accommodation in Bali takes many forms, ranging from a homestay experience offering basic simplicity and authenticity, to the five star resort providing pure luxury and decadence. Somewhere within these extremes, is Bali Eco Stay. What at first distinguishes this resort, is that it will not be found along the well beaten tourist trails - it is a two hour drive from downtown Kuta, or 90 minutes west from Ubud to the central Bali mountains - but itsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; remote location provided a platform for something truly extraordinary in the Bali of today.

Bali Eco Stay is nestled in its very own sweet valley, which is blessed by naturally occurring spring water and crossed by a pure mountain stream, cascading down a twelve meter waterfall to a pool of profound beauty. It is surrounded by towering food forest and sculptured rice terraces, and sits 480 meters above sea level, creating a temperature that is a refreshing 5 degrees cooler than coastal Bali.

It was determined that any development must tread lightly in an effort to preserve these pristine qualities. Hence, Bali Eco Stay was designed following the principles of permaculture: seeking a harmonious integration of landscape and people to provide their food, energy, shelter, and other needs in a sustainable way.

Eight unique bungalows were designed to maximize privacy, natural light and air flow, and to allow guests the opportunity to comfortably connect with, and be nurtured by nature. Some bungalows rest alongside the pristine mountain stream and spring fed fish ponds, some overlook the expansive rice terraces, others offer views across the valley into food forest, and one looks across

DEWI ORGANIC

to the waterfall. These accommodations are complimented by a restaurant, yoga space and massage bale, all of which were handcrafted by local artisans... this is strictly a local operation, with the entire crew living close by in surrounding villages. Staff here are warm and open hearted, their behaviour governed by family honour, karma, spirituality, and a desire to see the humour in everything.

Bali Eco Stays restaurant prepares delicious local and international cuisine, catering for the vegan, raw, gluten free and carnivores exploring this part of Bali. Most of the raw ingredients are produced on site. The abundant food garden grows organically all the salad greens, spinach, kale, radish, beans, cucumber, an extensive array of herbs, heritage rice, tomatoes, bak choy, ginger, galangal, turmeric, coffee, cacao, coconut,limes, jeruk bali, mandarins, mango, star fruit, jack fruit, guava, papaya, avocado, banana, pineapple, sweet potato, chilli, rambutan, kepundung, cinnamon, free range and organic chicken eggs, freshwater fish, coconut oil and palm syrup.

Many of the food trees were established decades ago, thanks to the foresight of the land ownerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s father, Kakek Agung, who initiated a coconut palm polyculture - the Balinese demonstrate a natural flare for establishing abundant food forests. So from a permaculture perspective, this foundation simply needed to be diversified to accommodate the appetiteâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s of travellers.

Critical to their food garden initiative, is a project employing 20 native chickens.

These feathered beings love nothing more than to scratch through kitchen scraps, the weeds and trimmings of 5 acres of tropi-

cal landscaping, dried cacao and bamboo leaves, rice husk, aged cow manure, and food garden waste. They are more than happy to turn and fertilize these ingredients all day long... and every 4 months, the product of their toil is harvested and allowed to sit under a tarpaulin for a further 4 months.

The resulting rich compost is then utilized in a seed raising mix, and again when planting out to return vital nutrients to the ever productive food garden soils.

No chemical fertilisers or insect deterrents are employed. Bees, birds and beneficial insects are encouraged for pollination and pest management; and plantings are very much randomised and interspersed with herbs in an effort to confuse undesirable predators.

Spring water is used to irrigate the food garden, and is available in all bungalows - in the bathrooms, and in filtered spring water dispensers. This is one of the few places in Bali where plastic bottled water is not provided, nor is it available for purchase.

Bali Eco Stay generates up to 60% of their own electricity. After a few failed attempts, a Micro Hydro Cross Flow system was employed to harness the energy generated from the twelve meter waterfall.

With several water courses running through the property, it was essential that all human waste be well managed. The restaurant, laundry and each bungalow all have individual waste water gardens which process and filter waste water, eventually converting the nutrients into stunning flowers that are harvested to brighten room interiors. Further waste materials generated by the resort (such as plastic and glass) are collected by a truck once a month, together with the rub-

bish of 5 surrounding villages and taken to a depot for sorting and recycling.

Guests are encouraged to explore the food garden and extensive trails through surrounding food forest, to frolic in the natural swimming pools, to practice yoga surrounded by a sea of green, play billiards, relax with a book from their extensive library, and find new heights on the giant coconut palm swing. Additionally, you could take a guided food forest tour, learn how to carve, make a bamboo flute or weave, take a cooking class, or a bicycle tour to the ocean, learn the art of preparing Balinese offerings and decorations, or simply indulge in a massage or two in the sublime open-air massage bale surrounded by jungle.

Evidently, Bali Eco Stay takes its ethos of treading lightly upon the earth quite seriously; but remarkably, this has been achieved without compromise to comfort. Come to Bali Eco Stay to indulge in nature at her finest, fresh authentic food, breath-taking scenery, and cooling mountain breezes. Recover your sense of equilibrium and serenity being nurtured by nature.

And the Solemen beat goes on

By Ines Wynn Solemen’s great Outreach program continues unabated. Since 2011, the roving, fast acting Outreach Team of volunteer doctors, nurses, and therapists has been canvassing the remote areas of Bali to find the hidden misery of untreated disease, disability, extreme poverty and destitution. Solemen, the most visible and trusted charity in Bali has made itself a reputation for finding the needy people “who fall through the cracks” and are not helped by any other available programs, private or governmental. Many of them are difficult to find, mostly because Balinese culture dictates that misery, disease, disability and poverty should be hidden from the outside world.

As a result the team’s caseload has mushroomed and its resources are critically strained. They now care for some 930 SoleBuddies, their affectionate term for the people - children and adults alike - they are trying to help. The team operates on a shoestring budget, yet performs miracles by focusing their efforts on where it will have the most impact.

SoleBuddies are children and adults with pernicious diseases, acute and untreated medical problems, severe malnourished or living in abominable and substandard conditions; those who need crucial medical intervention, ongoing therapy or medications not always available in Bali. Solemen funds medical assessments, treatments and interventions. One of the most effective tools in the Solemen arsenal is The Power of Nutrition Program which was especially created to combat severe malnutrition among impoverished communities in Bali.

Indonesia still experiences a staggering poverty rate with 50% of the country’s 260 million people living on $2 or less a day.

Nationwide more than 28% of children are underweight and 44% are facing stunted growth. In Bali, despite its glamorous appeal and prosperous veneer, malnutrition among the poorer communities is rampant.

And in those communities it is the children who suffer most. Insufficient intake of nutrients due to malnourished caused by extreme poverty, untreated allergies and untreated disease stunts a child’s growth and development and that child is at greater risk of illness and disease throughout its lifetime. Poor nutrition and inadequate vitamin, protein and micro nutrient intake in children result in poor brain development, weak muscle growth and impaired coordination. This affects a child’s mental, physical, emotional and social health and is the leading cause of degenerative disease in adulthood. It is therefore imperative to promote optimal growth during this critical period of children’s lives.

The Power of Nutrition is a nutritional supplement program which distributes a wide range of high potency pharmaceutical grade multivitamins and supplements, including Pediasure, Ensure and Moringa to poor Balinese communities. These supplements help promote healthy vitamin levels, stronger bone health, necessary digestive enzymes and support memory function and cognition.

Thanks to this nutrition program the Solemen Outreach Team has been able to help children like Miantika and Kadek, both severely malnourished due to poverty. Ni Luh Putu Miantika is a four year old little girl in Karangasem who is delayed developmentally and malnourished. She was born in a family so desperately poor there was never enough food for anyone. When the team visited the family, this little girl was crying from hunger

yet her mom had no food suitable to eat.

Kadek Aditya is a four year old boy in Sanur who suffers from Cerebral Palsy and is severely malnourished and weak. He lives with his grandparents and his older sister as they have been abandoned by their birth parents.

Both of these malnourished children are now on a steady supply of Pediasure, a nutritious milk food supplement which has become the mainstay of their diet.

Solemen wants to reach many more malnourished children because investing in nutrition is key to stopping the cycle of sickness amongst the affected communities in Bali.

Good nutrition can progress these kids from weak and skinny to stronger, allowing them to achieve critical development milestones, albeit delayed, but not too late.

“There are so many worthwhile cases and we want to do so much more” says Solemen founder Robert Epstone, “but our work is restricted due to lack of sustainable funding.

Our most fervent wish is to expand the outreach program and set up additional Outreach Teams, each to cover a well-defined area, so that we can increase our caseload and reach more needy people.” To help us towards this goal we created some initiatives such as corporate sponsorship in the form of hotel CSR programs and our SoleMate for SoleMen initiative. With more partnership programs and regular donations, even small change from tourists, our outreach program could rapidly grow much larger and reach more needy people. What is just small pocket change for tourists can represent a lifeline to a better and healthier life for our “SoleBuddies.”

For more information on these programs check the Solemen website. www.solemen.org

DHARMA / COMMUNITY

The Coral goddess

by Celia Gregory

The kula community has supported the Aspara sculpture in Jemeluk Bay and the Coral Goddess in Pemuteran both have now become very successful underwater sculpture parks supporting the local community in restoring and managing their marine Eco-systems.

In 2011 The Coral Goddess was blessed by the local community and sunk in the award winning reef conservation project run by Karang Lesteri. The coral reef in the bay located in the North West of Bali close to Menjangan Island has been brought back to life using an innovative coral restoration technique call bio-rock.

This uses a gentle electrical current to enhance coral growth and survival rates.

The Coral Goddess was not only the first artistic sculpture to be sunk. It was also the first to be powered by alternative energy and the Kula donation went towards the purchase of the wind and solar unit.

Inspired by this artwork, the community has added over 20 new bio-rock artworks in the shapes of seahorses, Ganesha, panthers and other elaborate designs, to name but a few.

Climate change is revealing itself; the world is becoming a windier place. Seasonal winds that have been predictable for a long time are no longer blowing in their anticipated directions or at the right time of year. This is causing unusual weather, and last year Pemuteran was hit by very big waves that came into the usu-

ally protected bay from a peculiar angle.

The coral garden was hit badly and many of the bio-rock structures were damaged.

The weakened reef was then attacked by the predatory crown of thorns it has been a tough year for the corals! During the storm, Bali Dive Academyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s boat broke loose from its anchor and landed treacherously close to the Goddess. She was miraculously unharmed and the locals believe this is because she is blessed and protects their coral garden.

Jemeluk Bay Underwater Sculpture Park situated on the North east near Amed is run by the local community and Reef check Indonesia. They have also struggled with big storms. Apsara and the Mermaid are situated close to each other and we decided last year to ensure their stability by adding stabilising boulders and structures to their base. This will not only ensure that they do not move or roll down the slope but also provide added habitat for fish and corals. This will be done by local fishermen turn divers and reef conservationists in February when hopefully the waters will be calm.

Local artists have been inspired and the Jemeluk underwater Gallery is also growing. I asked Derta of Reef Check if they viewed this project as a success, he indicated that several of their targets have been met: the fishermen declared the area as a â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;No Take Zoneâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; which means they have stop fishing. This commitment

along with the artificial reef art structures enables two main targets to be set. Firstly, the ability to self fund through Eco tourism. Historically environmental projects are funded by grants which has proven to be unsustainable in the long term.

Reef Check say the community has successful implemented self-finance-funding through voluntary tag donation as well as building a local diving industry; Apneista has their Ahmed free diving school just in front. There has also been good outcomes in terms of reaching conservation goals through monitoring on both the natural and artificial reefs.

The sculptures are constantly changing new life moving through them daily as well as others moving in permanently. The corals we planted on the Coral Goddess thrive and on the Mermaid and Aspara the natural life is settling. This process is slower as layer of algae and natural life needs to settle for the very sensitive babies corals to be able to land and mature.

Coral life on the base of the mermaid is becoming established, she was installed in 2013. The Apsara was sunk in late 2015 and she is surrounded by fish.

I would highly recommended getting out of the hustle and bustle of the Bali South and visit the wonderful underwater sculpture gardens, experience these unique works of Eco art and support the local community in their goals.

Balinese dance is beautiful

ART & CULTURE

Dances are often performed at ceremonies, typically as part of dramas, and most involve the Balinese version of the Hindu Ramayana epic. Traditional Balinese dance forms are passed on to girls and boys at a very young age, and training is often rigorous and disciplined. Travelers are likely to have the chance to see dances if they attend ceremonies, but can also take advantage of the many performances put on for audiences across Bali.

The Ramayana The story of the Ramayana greatly inspires the Balinese. Many of their dances are based on this great story which is often depicted in a ballet.

The Balinese version differs from the Indian Version. It is told that Rama, as the first son in a family, was the heir to the Ayodya kingdom but the king’s second wife, through her treachery forced the king to crown her own son as the King of Ayodya and asked him to send Rama and his wife into exile.

Because he respected his father, Rama went with his wife called Sita and his beloved younger brother, Laksmana into a forest called Dandaka. Usually the first act of the ballet depicts Rama and entourage in the heart of the Dandaka forest.

Rahwana, the evil King of Alengka, enchanted by the beauty of Sita, wanted to have her as his concubine. He sent one of his knights, Marica, to temp Sita by transforming himself into a golden deer. Sita, captivated by her curiosity, asked her husband to catch the golden deer.

The next act explains how Rama succeeds in hunting the golden deer but as his arrow struck the golden deer it transformed back

into Marica. Meanwhile Sita heard a distant cry for help. Laksmana, who had been asked by his brother to look after his sister-in-law, tried to explain to her that the cry sounds very suspicious. But nevertheless, Sita was convinced that someone was in need of help.

So she sent Laksmana to look for this person and to help whoever it is. In his desperate attempt, Laksmana asked Sita, no matter what would happen, to stay inside the guarding circle that he created.

Rahwana, knowing that Sita was protected by the circle transforms himself into an old priest. He approaches Sita and asks her for a drink. Sita, without hesitation, extends her hands beyond the circle to hand him the water. Rahwana takes the advantage, snatches her hand and takes her to his palace in Alengka.

On the way, Rahwana encounters a mighty eagle Jatayu. By every means possible, Jatayu tries to rescue Sita from the evil king but fails and is killed by Rahwana.

Rama and Laksmana find the dying Jatayu who tells them the whole story of what had happened to Sita.

In his attempt to release his wife, Rama seeks the help from Hanoman and his monkey soldiers. Hanoman finds Sita in the palace’s garden. She had been asked by Rahwana to marry him but she would rather die.

Hanoman convinces Sita that he is Rama’s messenger and talks of a plan.

Rahwana catches Hanoman and burns his tail but in so doing, set fire to the palace’s’ gardens. The pyrotechnics can be very impressive.

In the last act, Rama and his troops are depicted attacking Rakhwana’s palace. Finally

Rama manages to kill Rahwana and therefore takes his wife back to his country.

The abridged version ends here but if you see paintings in Kamasan style based on the Ramayana story, you would notice that in the last of serialised paintings, Sita had to prove she was still pure, and had not been tainted

by Rahwana, by plunging herself into a fire.

Because of her faith in her husband, God saved her from the fire and she lived happily ever after with Rama.

The Welcome Dance - Tari Panyembrama The Panyembrama is probably the most popular Balinese social dance. In keeping with its meaning in the Balinese Language, Panymebrama is frequently staged to welcome guests of honour who are making a visit to this islands of the Gods.

Four or eight young girls bearing a bokor, a heavily engraved bowl made from silver or aluminum, laden with flowers, dance expressively to the accompaniment of vibrant gamelan music.

During the dance, the flowers are scattered over the guest or audience as an expression of welcome. The Panymebrama has taken many of its movements from temple dances, such as the Rejang Dance, Pendet and Gabor, which are considered sacred and performed exclusively for God. There is an analogy between the secular Panymebrama and the religious temple dances, as all these dances are welcoming dances, the difference being in the place in which they are stage.

The Tari Panymebrama comes under the Balinese classification of Legong (individual dances), because it has no connection with other dances, has no story and was specif-

ART & CULTURE

"connected to religious rituals"

ically created for welcoming and entertainment purposes.

The hospitality and friendliness conveyed through the smiles of the Panymebrama girls, charms the audience and so is very fitting as an opening for a show, etc.

The Yudapati Dance Yudapati is a dance which depicts a male character but is performed by female dancers. The word Yudapati is derived from Yuda which means war and Pati which means death. The dance represents the kamikaze warrior in defending the truth. The dance was created in 1987. It is based on the Baris dance.

The dancer wears typical male attire, headcloth, shirt, carved leather belt and other jewelery. The reason for a male being performed by a female is that the choreographer wishes to reveal all the subtle gestures and movements in the dance by using the flexibility of a womanâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s body.

Male dance performed by females is called Bebancihan. A number of other dances have been created in the s style, such as Margapati, Trunajaya, Prawireng Puti, Wiranata and Danur Dara. They require masculine interpretation and expression which is quite hard for female dancers. Yudapati dance was originally performed for religious purposes but nowadays is performed regularly as a tourist attraction in some restaurants.

The Ghopala Dance This dance provides the audience with an interesting insight into the lives of people who live in a simple and pure manner in an environment of blissful tranquility. This

dance originated in 1984 and usually performed by five boy dancers. The characters of the Ghopala dance are especially funny and will draw laughter from the audience.

The Ghopala theme depicts the world of children herdsmen who gleefully meet and play along the boundaries of rice fields while tending their cows. Their lives are filled with happiness as they dance and play in a way which highlights their individual characters.

They never tire of their duties as herdsmen, faithfully defending the lives of their cattle.

Thus the audience are transported to a distant time when people lived in peace and contentment, an age which had not yet become influenced by the bustle of business which now constantly steals our time.

The Semarayana Dance The Semarayana dance developed in 1994 as a subject for a thesis submitted by Ms Ni Nyoman Sri Armita to the Indonesian Arts Academy of Denpasar for her graduation.

The main character is Dewi Chandra Kirana, a princess from the kingdom of Daha who disguised herself as a male youth so she could venture out and seek her beloved who had disappeared without a trace.

With shoulder length hair, commonly used centuries ago throughout Java and Bali, the princess was unrecognizable as a female.

The symbol of manhood which fooled people she met on the road, was the use of the Balinese male headgear called the Destar.

It is made from material that wraps around the head and has an artistic formation of bunched material at the front.

Balinese males still use the destar when attending ceremonies. The feature of the de-

star is the decorative use of gold lines.

Dewi meets her beloved but due to her disguise and the fact that he is partly obscured when they meet, a fight develops. In the ensuing melee, the princessâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s destar is knocked from her head and her sweetheart, Raden Inu Kertapati, recognizes her and rushes to her side to embrace her.

And, of course, they lived happily ever after.

The Barong Dance The are several versions of the Barong Dance, as Bali has an abundance of myths and legends. There is Barong Ket, Barong Asu (Dog Barong), Barong Macan (Tiger Barong), Barong Bangkal (Pig Barong), Barong Gajah (Elephant Barong) and others.

One of the well known stories on which the Barong Dance is based, is the Kunti Seraya.

The plot is very intriguing, showing the effect of the Gods intervention upon the people through supernatural powers.

It is told that Dewi Kunti, from the royal family of Hastinapura, was very ill. As a devotee of the Goddess Durga, she seeks help, however, the Goddess tells her that the price of health is her own son, Sahadewa. It seems that the Goddess fancied Sahadewa’s young and luscious flesh for her dinner.

Dewi Kunta recovers from her illness and it is time to pay the price. She regrets her decision to pay the price but a promise is a promise. One of the Goddess’s followers put her into a trance and enters her body. She becomes a terrifying creature and unconsciously beats Sahadewa mercilessly. She then takes him to an impenetrable jungle and ties him to a tree. Later Sahadewa is given immortality by God and she overcomes the wrath of the Goddess and she is able to release her son.

The Sanghyang Jaran Dance The unique feature of the Sanghyang Jaran dance is the courage of the dancers who in a state of Kesurupan or trance, calmly step and trample on red hot coals just as if they were walking in cold water.

This dance is believed to have the power to invite the gods or sacred spirits to enter the body of the dancers and put them in a state of trance. It dates back to the ancient Pre-Hindu culture, a time when the Balinese people strongly believed that a dance could

eliminate sickness and disease. The is dance is usually performed in the fifth or sixth month of the Balinese traditional calendar as it is believe that during these particular months, the Balinese are vulnerable to all kinds of illnesses.

The War Dance - Gebug Ende The Gebug Ende is a combination of dance and trial of prowess. It is usually performed by two to sixty male dancers who dance and fight on stage in pairs. Each dancer/ fighter carries a one and a half meter long rattan stick as a weapon and a shield called an ende. During the performance the two men try to beat one another with the stick while using the ende to protect themselves.

The dance is called Gebug Ende as it literally means beating the ende or shield. One cannot afford to make mistakes in this dance as otherwise injury results.

The Gebug Ende is quite unique as it has certain rules that have to be followed by the participants. Led by a jury, this dance starts with two dancers, while the rest sit in a circle, cracking jokes and singing, while waiting their turn. The jury decide which of the two contestants loses the game and has to leave the stage. Then they will call the next men to the stage. This continues until all have had a turn. Sometimes the fight becomes very fierce and the dancers get thrown of the stage from the blows of the rattan stick.

Bruises and wounds are common in this ritual. Legong Trunajaya - The dance of love and emotions The Trunajaya dance describes the emotions of a young man through love and passion. The dance movements reflect the theme of courtship and love.

Truna meaning ‘single’ and jaya meaning ‘to win’ immediately gives an understanding of the dance. Ironically, the dancer are young women who take on the role of young men.

The women wear a ‘destar’ normally worn by men and an unusual loin-cloth called a ‘kancut’. The Trunajaya is normally danced by a single female but sometimes two, dancing together in synchronous movements and to the mesmorotic sounds of the ‘Gong Kebyar’, a fast, rhythmic beat which goes in harmony to the dance. The dance was created

by Wayan Wandres, from Singaraja, Northern Bali.

Indonesian Agriculture Riches

By Eko & Putri

Negeri Indonesia sangatlah kaya. Dari ujung Sumatera hingga ujung Papua, tersebar daerah-daerah penghasil kebutuhan pangan yang kualitasnya diakui dunia. Biji kopi, misalnya. Kopi asal Indonesia sudah menjadi â&#x20AC;&#x2122;selebâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; diluar negeri karena nikmatnya.

Indonesia sendiri adalah negara maritim terbesar di dunia. Perairan Indonesia luasnya 93 ribu km2 dengan panjang pantai sekitar 81 ribu km2 atau 25% panjang pantai di dunia. Belum lagi negara ini memiliki terumbu karang (coral reef) sejumlah 18% dari total dunia dan species ikan hiu terbanyak di dunia, yaitu 150 species. Tidak hanya itu saja, Indonesia ada di peringkat pertama dalam produk pertanian yaitu cengkeh dan pala.

Untuk kekayaan karet alam dan minyak sawit mentah, Indonesia ada di peringkat kedua setelah Malaysia. Dan Indonesia juga merupakan pengekspor terbesar kayu lapis dan menguasai 80% pasar kayu lapis di dunia.

Tiap pulau dan kepulauan di Indonesia masing-masing memiliki kekayaan tersendiri. Pulau Jawa, yang dikenal sebagai pulau tersubur di dunia. Sebabnya, di pulau Jawa konsentrasi gunung berapi sangat tinggi.

Banyak gunung berapi aktif di Pulau Jawa.

Gunung-gunung tersebut yang membuat tanah di pulau Jawa menjadi subur, karena kandungan nutrisinya dibutuhkan oleh tanaman. Buku â&#x20AC;&#x153;The History of Javaâ&#x20AC;? karangan Raffles bahkan pernah menuliskan kekagumannya pada tanah Jawa. Tidak ada wilayah di dunia ini yang bisa mengalahkan kuantitas, kualitas dan variasi tanaman yang dihasilkan pulau Jawa. Pulau Jawa memasok 53% kebutuhan pangan Indonesia. Tidak

heran jika pertanian padi terdapat banyak di Jawa karena kesuburan tanahnya.

Kopi Java yang terkenal di dunia pun, berasal dari pulau Jawa. Curah hujan dan tingkat keasaman tanah sangat cocok untuk budidaya kopi. Kopi Luwak yang menjadi kopi termahal dan ternikmat diproduksi di kepulauan Sumatera, Jawa, Bali dan Sulawesi. Selain itu rempah-rempah banyak terdapat di pulau Maluku. Pulau Maluku dikenal sebagai penghasil cengkeh dan pala. Ini yang pernah menjadi sasaran pada jaman penjajahan Eropa dulu. Harga cengkeh dulu sempat melebihi harga emas dan biji pala sempat menjadi barang dagangan penting di jaman Romawi.

Logika yang paling sederhana, yakni jika negara memiliki kekayaan yang melimpah, maka aktivitas eskpor akan menjadi banyak.

Petani dan pedagang di Indonesia menjadi produktif karena banyaknya permintaan pasar. Tetapi kenyataannya Indonesia menjadi mengimpor bahan pangan. Sebagai negara maritim, Indonesia merupakan produsen perikanan terbesar ketiga di bawah China dan Peru, tetapi bahan baku pakan ikan seperti tepung ikan masih impor dari Cile dan Peru. Dengan garis pantai 90.000 km dan terletak di daerah khatulistiwa yang waktu panasnya lebih lama, Indonesia masih mengimpor garam dari India dan Australia.

Hal tersebut cukup aneh. Impor udang juga terjadi di Indonesia, jelas hal tersebut dapat mengganggu petambak udang di negeri ini.

Indonesia juga merupakan produsen ubi kayu atau singkong. Tetapi anehnya masih juga mengimpor tepung tapioka (produk olahan ubi kayu). Indonesia mengimpor

tepung tapioka dari China, Italia, Thailand dan Vietnam.

Sangat merugikan jika kita tidak dapat memaksimalkan apa yang Indonesia punya. Sudah cukup Indonesia pernah dijajah akibat sumber daya alamnya. Impor bahan pangan mungkin akan terus terjadi. Sistem yang tidak memihak rakyat tidak mudah untuk diubah. Tetapi kita dapat melakukan sesuatu.

Tanamkan di pikiran masing-masing diri kita bahwa produk dan bahan pangan Indonesia itu sangat bagus dan membuat bangga.

Jangan ragu untuk menggunakan dan memanfaatkan kekayaan alam negeri sendiri.

Selain itu kita dapat melakukan sesuatu agar pertanian dan industri dalam negeri lebih maju yaitu dengan berbelanja atau membeli bahan pangan di pasar tradisional. Manfaatkan sumber daya alam kita dengan percaya untuk memakainya. Dimulai dari lingkungan kecil di rumah, ajak keluarga untuk membeli kebutuhan pangan asli Indonesia. Ada yang patut dibanggakan dari Indonesia, salah satunya kekayaan bahan pangan. Kebanggaan ini tidak sepenuhnya membuat kita makmur, terutama para pekerja dan produsen pangan.

Masuknya barang-barang impor dapat membuat mati kehidupan petani pangan. Oleh sebab itu tidak berlebihan jika isu ini sangatlah penting. Indonesia harus maju. Salah satunya adalah dengan cara memanfaatkan secara maksimal dan bijaksana terhadap sumber bahan pangan. Sangat disayangkan jika banyaknya kekayaan alam Indonesia di sia-siakan atau dimanfaatkan oleh pihak-pihak tertentu. Mulai lah dari diri sendiri, meskipun kecil namum memiliki arti.

Egar = Happy

Surya = Sun

Matur Suksma = Thank You Jegeg = Beautiful

Dewa Ratu = Oh My God

Niskala = Spiritual

Sekala = Manifest

Suksma Mewali = Your Very Welcome Tutur = Advise

Pangasih = Loving

Ajeg = Keep

Meraki = Passion

Mekenyem = Smile Satua = Story

Prasida = Can

Rahajeng Semeng = Good Morning

Krama = Society Mebhakti = Praying

Astungkara = Amen Dueg = Clover

Megending = Singing

Acep = Hope

Tresna = Love

Ambara = Sky

Iraga = I am

Liang = Happiness

I LAB

Sukma = Soul

Manah = Feeling Rahayu = Peace

Puput = Finish

Idep = Mind

Sementon = Brotherhood Wikan = Smart

Atma = Spirit

Sekar = Flower Sesangi = Promise

Yadnya = Offering

Tirta = Holy Water

Rahajeng Wengi = Good Evening

Bayu = Power

Rahayu = Peace

Artha = Treasure Becik = Good

Shanti = Peace Utame = The Number One

Mimpi = Dream

Sareng Sami = Together

Candra = Moon

Patut = Right

Tunangan = Sweet Heart

Soroh = Group or Clan

Kula

Friends

Eco friendly Avani www.avanieco.com

Bali Eco Stay www.baliecostay.com Balian Water www.balianwater.com

Sarinbuana Eco Lodge www.baliecolodge.com

Habitual Quench & Feed www.facebook.com/HabitualQuenchFeed

Stranded Villa Ubud www.faceebook.com/strandedvillas

Happy Kombucha

Uluwatu Surf Villas www.uluwatusurfvillas.com

House of Remedies

Villa Beji Indah www.villabejiindahbali.com

Kafe www.balispirit.com/kafe/

Food & Beverages

www.facebook.com/happykombu chasecretlab

www.facebook.com/HouseofRemediesBali/

Kajin Japanese Fusion www.kajinbali.com Milk & Madu Cafe www.milkandmadu.com

Bali Recycling www.balirecycling.com

Alchemy Vegan Cafe www.alchemybali.com

Be Organic facebook.com/beorganicbali

Bali Buda www.balibuda.com

Book Greener www.bookgreener.com

Bungalow Cafe www.bungalowlivingbali.com

Bloo Lagoon Village www.bloolagoon.com

Butter Cake & Coffee Shop www.butterbali.com

Canggu Garden and Seed Network canggu.seeds@gmail.com

Campur Asia www.campurasia.com

Eco Bali Recycling www.eco-bali.com

Earth Cafe www.dtebali.com

Komunitas Organic Indonesia www.komonitasorganicindonesia.org

Elephant Cafe www.elephantbali.com

WAMM www.facebook.com/wammbali

Koa Dâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; Surfer www.koasurferhotel.com

Fortune Cookie www.fortunecookiebali.com

Warung Bumi Jalan Batubolong , Canggu

OGHE www.ogheypo.com

Green Ginger Noodle House www.elephantbali.com/green-ginger

Warung Kayun www.resto.kayun-bali.com

Prana Dewi Resort www.balipranaresort.com

Gusto Gelato Cafe www.gusto-gelateria.com

Warung Kzu www.kzu.me

Monsieur Spoon www.monsieurspoon.com Nude www.facebook.com/nude Peloton Vegan Cafe www.pelotonsupershop.com Plaga Wine www.plagawine.com Roemah Rempah rempahroemah@gmail.com +62 817 587 232

Watercress Cafe Restaurant www.watercressbali.com

Yayasan Bali Peduli www.balipeduli.org

Maru Jewellery www.marubali.com

Non Profit Organization

Yayasan Kemanusia Ibu Pertiwi www.ykip.org

Maidenlove www.maidenlove.net

Ayo Kita Bicara HIV AIDS www.facebook.com/pages/AyoUbud/200509349960951

Yayasan Kasih Peduli Anak www.ykpa.org

Moenka www.moenka.com

Yayasan Kerti Praja www.kertiprajafoundation.com

Nagicia www.nagicia.com

Yayasan Rama Sesana www.yrsbali.org

Namu www.namustore.com

Shopping

Natasha Clothing Store www.natasha.net.au

Bali Children Foundation www.balichildrenfoundation.org Bali Rainbow Community www.balirainbowcommunity.org Bawa Bali www.bawabali.com

Oishii www.oishiibali.com

Holly’s Queue www.hollysqueue.com

Anna Michielan www.annamichielan.com

I Love Bali Dogs www.Ilovebalidogs.org

Bungalow Home www.bungalowlivingbali.com

Jodie O’Shea Orphanage www.careforkidsbali.com

Blu www.bluborninitaly.com

Matahari Terbit Center www.mtcbali.com

Bali Pura www.bali-pura.com

Rotary Club of Canggu www.rotarycanggu.org

Dare 2 Wear www.dare2wear.com

Sacred Childhood Foundation www.sacredchildhood.com

Drifter Surf Shop & cafe www.driftersurf.com

Solemen www.solemen.org

Folkart Gallery www.jujuartjewelry.com

The Marine Foundation www.themarinefoundation.org

Kharisma Antiques & Furniture www.kharismabali.com

Anand Ashram Foundation www.anandashram.asia

Threads of Life www.threadsoflife.com

Sailors Falls Finery www.sailorsfalls.com

Bali Usada Meditation www.baliusada.com

Puravida www.puravidafashion.com Quarzia www.quarzia.it Sea Gypsy www.seagypsyjewelry.com ToYoga www.toyoga.co We’ar www.wearyogaclothing.com

Yoga

Blissology + Eoin Finn Yoga www.blissology.com Byron Yoga www.byronyoga.com Embodied FlowTM www.tarajudelle.com Guru Dass www.kundaliniyogainbali.com Jiwa Bikram Yoga www.jiwabikram.com Mandala Blue Yoga www.mandalablueyoga.com Morning Light Yoga www.uluwatusurfvillas.com Namaste Festival www.namastefestival.com Passion Compass www.passioncompass.net Power of Now Oasis www.powerofnowoasis.com The Practice www.thepracticebali.com Radiantly Alive Yoga www.radiantlyalive.com Samadi Bali www.samadibali.com The Yoga Barn www.theyogabarn.com Yoga Yojana www.yogayojana.com

Wellbeing Aqua Health www.aquahealth.com.au 1giantmind www.1giantmind.org Bali Silent Retreat www.balisilentretreat.com Berawa Art House www.bahbali.com

Sound Medicine - Shervin Boloorian www.soundhealingbali.com Surf Life - Retreat www.isurflife.com Villa Gaia www.villagaiabali.com X- Fat Challenge www.xfatchallenge.com/cart/

Miscelaneous

Choisces Retreats www.choicesretreats.com

Bali Advertiser Info@baliadvertiser.biz

Essential Retreat Organizer www.retreatorganizer.com

Bali Indigo Biru Accomodation www.indigohousebali.com

Gaya Ceramic www.gayaceramic.com

Bali Land Office www.balilandoffice.com

Holistic Bali Living the good Life www.holisticbali.com

Bali Spirit www.balispirit.com

Jari Menari - Dancing Fingers www.jarimenari.com

Bali Starz www.balistarz.com

Mod Lov Spa Salon Offerings www.facebook.com/ModLovSalon/

Inital F Graphic Design - Printing ferrytrijata@yahoo.com

Moving Ventures www.movingventures.org

Inspiral Architects www.inspiralarchitects.com

Rob Peetoom Hair + Make Up www.robpeetoom.nl

Intermedia Press Indo www.intermediapressindo.com

Smartminds www.smartminds.io

La Gazette www.lagazettedebali.info

Soulshine Bali www.soulshinebali.com

Pro-Motion Events & Marketing www.promotionevents.com

Royal London College Bali www.royallondoncollege.com Sourcing Bali www.sourcing-bali.com

Kula Distribution Points Sanur Jazz Café Agung Stay/Watering Hole Manik Organik Billy’s Café Art Café Fortune Cookie Kopi Bali Batu Jimbar Zen Bali Yoga Billys’s Café Soya Restaurant Blue Café El Comedor The Caesar Casa Colonial Casa Luna Red Mana The Paon Bali Bunda Seminyak Zula Jari Menari Café Mocha Pura Vida Ryoshi Bintang Supermarket Winehouse Bali Deli Bale Bali Ahimsa Villas Chat café Global Extreme Little Green Café La Beaute Watercress Batubelig Hotel Bali Sani Suites Hotel

Danoya Villa Petitenget Coconut Suites Metis Restaurant Warung Bonita Jemme Biku Namu Sentosa Spa/Hotel La Lucciola Rob Peetom Nafsu Oberoi Hotel Folk Art Ahimsa Oberoi Drifter Junction Press Ban Trattoria Earth Café Rumors Zukhini We Are yoga shop Bali Bunda Monsieur Spoon Habitual Canggu Butter Bakery Betelnut Deus Restaurnat/Gallery Green Ginger Café Legong Keraton Saba Villas Villa Biru Peloton Bungalow Café Asian Delicatesen ODD Original Design Delight Milk & Madu Nude Tugu Hotel Chill House Fresh Organic Monsieur Spoon Canggu Canteen Echo Beach House Dandoline ModLov Salon

Horn Old Mans Peoples Restaurant Asmara Kartel Osteria Warung Heboh Rasio Baracca Ubud Café Bali Spirit Ubud Fitness Batan Waru Jus Jah Warung Murni Fly Café Yoga Shop Café Moca Bali Pesto Café Wayan Ary’s Warung Yoga Barn Clear Restaurant Ananda Cottages Intuitive Flow Yoga Bali Bunda Jakarta Yoga Union Colour Yoga Ashtanga Yoga Shala Rumah Yoga Dini Yoga Jakarta Doyoga Thailand Wild Rose Yoga - Chiang Mai Singapore Pure Yoga True Yoga Hom Yoga Updog Studio The Yoga Room Hong Kong Pure Yoga The Pulse Sydney In Yoga

Toyoga is available @ Rumah Candi, Desa Seniâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s gift shop

The Collective Desa Seni School of Yoga 200 hour Teacher Training

Oct 1th - 29th 2017 Bali - Indonesia Angela Perez, Bernd Windhofer, Daphna Dor, Carlotta Castangia

Awaken the teacher within by diving deep into the resources of the rich traditions that are the foundations of yoga as we know it: Classical Hatha, Tantra, Kundalini, Buddhist meditation and both traditional and modern styles of Vinyasa, sound and vibration, plus experiential anatomy. Our intention is to guide each individual student towards their unique true expression as a practitioner or a teacher of this personal evolutionary path.

Early Bird - Before July 1st $ 3,500 USD Non Residential $ 5,490 USD Residential Twin Share p/p $ 4,990 USD Residential Triple Share p/p After July 1st $ 3,950 USD Non Residential $ 5,880 USD Residential Twin Share p/p $ 5,380 USD Residential Triple Share p/p

All options include: - Breakfasts & Lunches (6 days a week) - Balinese Cleansing Ceremony - Opening & Closing Dinners - Training Manual & All Course Materials - Yoga Alliance Teacher CertiďŹ cation

To reserve your spot or more information, write to info@desaseni.com

EARTHCAFE & MARKET Organic Vegetarian

Poniente

SPRING | SUMMER 16 COLLECTION

WE’AR AN ISLAND LOVE STORY Designed on Waiheke and handmade with love in Bali WE’AR crafting garments in eco luxury textiles to take you from the mat to the street and back again, without compromising your sartorial instinct or higher principles.

Organic where possible and always ethical. We make the clothes you need for your extraordinary life.

www.we-ar.it wearyoga @wearyoga wearyoga

For Yoga Retreats Weddings and Celebrations Jalan Nyuh Bulan, Banjar Nyuh Kuning, Ubud, Bali Tel: +623619740603, +6281339720603 Email: aniek@villabejiindahbali.com

Desa Seni A Village Resort Sustainable

Contemporary Accommodations Artisan Gift Shop

Yoga - Community Center

Classes, Retreats, Field Trips Privates,Teacher Training

Svaasthya Wellness Holistic Spa Day Spa Packages

Organic Restaurant - Farm to Table Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner

Jl. Subak Sari # 13, Canggu, Bali Tel + 62 361 8446392 www.desaseni.com - info@desaseni.com For up to date information & Happenings: www.facebook.com/desaseni instagram.com/desaseni/ twitter.com/DesaSeni

100% Recycled Paper