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| body mind gifts news
| april 2008 |
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Spring Greetings!
As the grasses,
blooms, and tree's leaves press their way towards the rays of longer
days, we hope this newsletter
finds you enjoying the art of nature in Spring. May you find
time to dust the cob webs from within and around your life, and like
the flora, absorb some of these fabulous rays of spring delight.
In
this issue:
1. FEATURED
PRODUCTS
2. EVENTS
& WORKSHOPS
3. YOGA
CLASSES
4. HEALTH
TIPS & UPDATES
5. WAZ
UP ASTROLOGICALLY
6. FUN
THINGS TO DO ABOUT TOWN
7. MEDIA
BITES
As
always, pass this information on to those who may benefit
from
receiving it. If you are receiving this as a forwarded message you may
subscribe to our newsletter here.
Wishing
you many meditative moments, & winter blessings!
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If there is Light in the soul, there will be beauty in the person.
If there is beauty in the person, there will be harmony in the house.
If there is harmony in the house, there will be order in the nation.
If there is order in the nation, there will be peace in the World .
-- Chinese
Proverb
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| FEATURED
PRODUCTS |
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 BODY MIND GIFTS BOUTIQUE
As
we eagerly await the launch of our new website with eCommerce,
we wanted to let you know that you may also shop the Body Mind Gifts
Boutique by phone or appointment, Mondays,
Wednesdays, Fridays, & some weekends.
A percentage of your purchases will directly
support charities that are  working to keep our blue
green planet healthy for us and our children.
Gift
baskets can be
ordered
at a 10% discount,
in quantities of 5 or more.
phone:
(646) 205-4138
or email for
more
information!
- Inspiring
gifts for you and someone
you love.
- Organic
and natural fiber clothing for men & women
- Springtime
colors + shorts, tanks, & headbands
- Organic
cotton baby clothing (soooo
cute!)
- Natural
cleaning products for
your home
- Yoga
mats and other tools
- Books,
CDs, DVDs, VHS
- Natural
shampoos, lotions, and essential
oils
- FREE
Gift Wrap and Basket options!!
- Wellness
gift recommendations
& gift certificates.
- 100%
organic cotton, good for your health, good for the planet.
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| EVENTS &
WORKSHOPS |
We are taking this
year off from hosting our annual Mystic Passover Celebration. We hope
you and your family have a beautiful celebration of freedom, and we
look forward to seeing you next year!
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SPRING CLEANSING
WORKSHOPS
Three Workshops with
Vanessa Kudrat
Let
May be a month of cleansing and re-education for your body. Go deeper
into your practice. Sweat out some of the slowness of winter and wake
your body up to the freshness spring foods have in store for you. Bring
your kids, bring your best friend, bring someone who needs this as much
as you do.
Saturday May 3rd, 1-4pm
Vinyasa Yoga
Alignment Spring Cleansing Intensive
Holsome – 27 Witherspoon St., Princeton, NJ 08542
With a focus on
cleansing the body for Spring, go deeper into your Yoga practice than
you can in a 60-90 minute class to receive this full body tune up. Come
prepared to sweat and release the tensions you stored up over this past
winter, or this past life time. Some Yoga mats will be provided, please
bring your own if you can. Some Yoga experience recommended.
Spring Cleansing
& Healthy Foods Prep Class
32 Mercer St. Princeton, NJ 08540
Eating healthy foods
can be fun and taste good. With a focus on the freshness of eating in
season learn how to nurture your body to wholeness through the foods
that you eat. You will receive delicious recipes and health tips that
you and your family can enjoy plus information on how to do a simply
gentle 7-40 day cleanse. Class includes a tasting meal.
Kundalini Yoga for
Cleansing
Holsome – 27 Witherspoon St., Princeton, NJ 08542
Learn Yoga &
Meditation techniques that cleanse the body and mind plus activate your
metabolism. This workshop is an excellent companion to a 40 day healthy
foods cleanse. Learn techniques that can be practiced daily to help you
feel healthier, stronger, and more in tune with your body. All ages and
experience levels are welcome.
Call now (609)
497-7545 to reserve your spot!
$65 for one
afternoon, $120 for two sessions,
$165 for all three
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| HEALTH
TIPS & UPDATES |
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Yoga, Reflexology,
Body Toning for Athletes & Cross Trainers,
Aquatic Strengthening, Pre & Post Natal Yoga and more!
Offered in
Princeton, NJ & New York City
call: 646.205.4138
to make an appointment.
Treat yourself or
someone you love to a private wellness session. This gift could change
your life.
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| WAZ
UP ASTROLOGICALLY |
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April 16 St Benedict
Joseph Labre
This itinerant pilgrim is the patron saint of the homeless. After
having been rejected as a candidate by several monastic orders, he left
his hometown of Boulogne for a pilgrimage to Rome which took over four
years. When he reached Rome, he slept in the Colosseum, along with
other homeless people and spent his days in various churches praying.
A good day to talk to a homeless person or make a contribution to an
organization that provides shelter.
April 20 Mounichion
The Athenians celebrated Artemis on the full moon of Mounichion, both
as goddess of wild things (the foundation myth mentions a bear and a
bejewelled goat) and as the Moon Goddess. According to Parke, "special
cakes called amphiphontes [shining all round] were carried in the
procession…they had lighted candles stuck in a circle."
April 20 Passover
The first day of the eight-day Jewish holiday which commemorates the
Exodus, the freedom of the Israelites from their bondage in Egypt.
Before the holiday begins, houses are thoroughly cleaned, recalling the
"house-shaking" of No-Ruz (see March 20). All traces of leaven
(alcohol, bread, grain, cereal, vinegar, cornstarch) are removed. A
palm branch or feather is often used to brush the last crumbs out of
the door, with the following words: "All leaven I have not seen or
removed or that I don't know about is hereby null and void and
ownerless as the dust of the earth."
SophieTrupin writing about how her family celebrated Passover while
homesteading in North Dakota at the start of the twentieth century,
describes how her mother whitewashed all the walls and scoured the
floors, scalded the cooking pots with hot water, and carried every
piece of furniture down to the slew where she scrubbed them and left
them to dry in the air.
At the ceremonial meal of the Seder, every food that is eaten is
symbolic. The unleavened bread represents the hasty departure of the
Jews
from Egypt--they had to leave so quickly the dough didn't have time to
rise. The bitter herbs (usually parsley, radish, onion or horseradish)
represent the bitterness of slavery and are dipped in salt water so
they taste of tears. A special dessert made of chopped apple, nuts,
cinnamon and wine is said to stand for the bricks the Jews made in
captivity. Eggs symbolize fertility. Each participant drinks four cups
of wine during the ritual meal. A special glass is set aside for the
prophet Elijah.
There are many Haggadahs, liturgies which structure the Seder. The
ritual usually begins with the lighting the festival candles,
hand-washing, eating the bitter herbs dipped in salt water and breaking
one matzah. Other traditional parts include asking and answering
questions, re-telling of the Exodus story, singing psalms, eating the
ritual food items, eating the regular meal and after the meal, the
recitation of grace, more psalms and closing songs and prayers.
April 21 Counting
the Omer
On the second day of Passover, Jews begin counting the omer, the fifty
days until Shavuot. In ancient times, the Israelites brought a measure
(an omer) of freshly cut barley to the Temple every day during this
time. Since then it has become a time of sadness and mourning rituals.
Jews do not attend plays, concerts or other public entertainments.
Weddings are forbidden.
Waskow speculates that the solemnity of this period mirrors the anxiety
about the upcoming wheat. Passover coincides with the barley-harvest
and about 50 days later, the wheat will be ready for harvest, unless
spoiled by bad weather or pests.
The Kabalists attributed to each of the seven weeks of the Counting of
the Omer an aspect of God and worked on strengthening the virtue
associated with each. The qualities of God and their corresponding
virtues and vices are:
Chesed: loving-kindness, love, lust
Gevurah: serenity, respect, fear
Tiferet: beauty, compassion, indulgence
Netzach: victory, efficiency, pedantry
Hod: glory, aesthetics, vanity
Yesod: intimacy, loyalty, promiscuity
Malchut: majesty, leadership, stubbornness
These qualities can also be combined so that you can study the
different paths on the Kabalistic tree during each of the 49 days,
beginning with Chesed-Chesed, continuing through Gevurah-Chesed,
Tiferet-Chesed, etc. for the first week. The second week begins with
Gevurah-Chesed, then Gevurah-Gevurah, then Gevurah-Tiferet and so forth.
Waskow has suggestions for other meditations for the seven weeks if
this seems too Kabalistic to you. For instance, he suggests getting to
know a different flower (or herb) each week, or getting to know a new
person, or reading a chapter a week of the Song of Songs. Or giving
away increasing sums of money, 25 cents a day the first week, 50 cents
a day the second week, 75 cents a day the third week, working your way
up to $1.75 the seventh week, for a total of $49.
Any set of seven items might provide food for thought during the seven
weeks. The seven deadly sins? The seven directions?
April 21/22 Lyrid
Meteor Showers
This meteor shower appears to radiate from the area around the star
Vega, the brightest star in the sky above Cygnus, the Northern Cross.
The show should begin around 9 PM at night but this meteor shower is
not known for quantity, with about 10 meteors visible per
hour.
April 22 Earth Day
A fairly new holiday which was first celebrated in 1970 as a way of
calling attention to the perils of the environment. It is appropriate
that this holiday which reminds us to care for Mother Earth, falls
during a month dotted with festivals to the goddess as garden guardian
(see Apr 1 and Apr 258) and earth mother (see April 3, 12 and 15).
Mrs Sharp (an alter ego of Sarah Ban Breathnachk) takes advantage of
this holiday to inventory garden tools and supplies. She makes presents
of gardening gloves and other accessories. Each of her children has a
tree, and they clean around their own tree and tie a ribbon on the
trunk to honor it.
April 23 Vinalia
There are two Roman Vinalias (wine festivals), this one in spring and
another in summer (Aug 19). On this day, tThe first draught of wine
stored the previous autumn was poured in honor of Jupiter.
April 23 Secretaries
Day
The whole month of April has now been designated as National
Administrative Professional/Support Staff Week, expanding from the
earlier definition of the Wednesday of the last full week in April as
designated as Secretaries Day, perhaps to provide secretaries with a
welcome day off during a month with no other paid holidays. Having
spent a large portion of my working life as a secretary, I always
advocate for the honoring of this often overlooked and underestimated
profession. Secretaries will get another chance to celebrate on August
25th, the feast day of their patron saint, St Genesius of Arles.
April 24 Sumarmal
The Thursday between the 20th and the 26th (originally between the 9th
and 15th of April Old Style) was considered the start of summer in
Iceland and was marked by a week of feasts and religious rituals.
Vikings who had been cooped up all winter burst forth.
April 25 St Mark's
Day
In Hungary on this day people go to the wheat fields to bless the
future bread and carry home a sheaf of wheat.
In Spain, young men used to go out on the eve of St Mark's to look for
a wild bull who becomes very mild and obedient when called Marco.
April 25 Arbor Day
The last Friday in April was set aside for the honoring and planting of
trees. This holiday seems to have been displaced by Earth Day.
April 27 St Zita
If you frequently misplace your keys, you probably need to know about
St Zita, who is invoked for help finding keys, apparently because she
was a sanctimonious Italian serving girl who frequently gave away her
master's bread (and even his fur cloak) to beggars. Apparently she also
misplaced his keys from time to time. During her ecstasies, angels
baked her bread, so she is also the patron of bakers, housewives and
servants.
April 28 Maimuna
At the end of the eight days of Passover, after a separation ceremony
which marks the end of the holiday, Jews can go out and eat Chametz,
the leavened food items which were forbidden during Passover, like ice
cream and bread, or beer and pizza.
In North Africa, this holiday is called Maimuna. The evening meal
features dairy foods symbolizing birth and fertility: milk, figs, ears
of wheat, pancakes with butter or honey. The table is decorated with a
live fish in a bowl or
Nawruz and a bowl of flour containing golden rings. The
following day is devoted to picnics at beaches, fields and in
cemeteries.
The striking similarity of Maimuna to No Rooz (celebrated on Spring
Equinox in Persia) and its geographic location suggest that this is a
hybrid holiday, an integration of the old Zoroastrian New Year
celebration with the rituals of Passover.
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| YOGA CLASSES WITH
VANESSA KUDRAT |
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Classes are open
to all levels of experience!
VINYASA
April 16
+ May 7, 21
With a focus on
alignment, learn and practice postures that were
created over 4,000 years ago to maximize your health in this life time.
This form of Yoga is what is most familiar in the general public.
KUNDALINI*
April 30
+ May 14, 28
Similar
to martial arts this practice focuses on breathing techniques,
chanting, postures and meditations which increase your capacity for
joy, healthy metabolism, and youthful vigor.
*This
month’s focus is bound lotus, basic training for getting into
and practicing this maha mudra, all healing, Yoga posture. This is a
set of
tools you can take any where on the road of life.
Vinyasa Alignment
9:45am - 10:30am
Tuesday
Aqua Cardio
Strength & Tone
6:00pm - 7:00pm
Tuesday Kundalini
Yoga & Meditation
7:15pm - 8:30pm
Thursday Kundalini
Yoga & Meditation
12:00pm - 1:15pm
Friday Intensive Cardio
Aquatic Strengthening
10:30am - 11:30pm
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Enjoy this month's
featured media bites & remember to turn ON your SOUND.
THE STORY OF STUFF a 20-minute,
fast-paced, fact-filled look at the underside of our production and
consumption patterns. Worth your time!
We invite
you to support these charities with us, through out the year:
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| FUN THINGS TO DO
ABOUT TOWN |
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GREENDRINKS
- NYC,
NJ
Every month New
Yorkers & New Jersians from many different backgrounds come
together to mix it up! Its a great way to jump right into
what's green in the city (and beyond) plus meet incredible people.
FRI
4.18.08, 8pm
Yoga Soundscape w/ Aarona
Pichinson and DJ
HAJ
Atmananda Yoga
Center , NYC
324 Lafayette, btwn Bleecker & Houston, $20
It's Spring, and it's time to fly. Journey into the many layers of your
body & expose your exquisite self.
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Privacy
Policy: We are committed to protecting your
privacy and will never share, rent or sell your personal information to
third parties.
Body Mind Gifts: P.O. Box 1184, Princeton, NJ
08542-1184 |
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