February 13th. Galentines Day. What a perfect day to celebrate the Divine Feminine!

Thank you Amy Poehler! (See the clip!) She, I believe, coined the term and I LOVE IT! The clip hearkened me back to gatherings with my Ecologist, Home Birthing, lactavist, goddess circle of girlfriends in the 70′s, most of us questioning the Dogma of our Catholic upbringing and yet still needing to create some ritual in our lives. The glory years for our brand of “feminism”. We appreciated the ones that went before us that opened doors but we came to realize we didn’t need to be men, or for that matter even act like them to find our power and voice.

I love that it is the 13th! The most sacred of feminine numbers. It was back then that I decided it was a lucky and auspicious number.

I started to write this on the last “Friday the 13th” as I was helping daughter Emily soothe her 8 year old who was in a state of despair and fear over the impending visit from all horror that befalls people on this most dreaded of days! The kids at school told her all about it! So, I told her what most science believes now; that the bad rep and irrational fear of the number 13 has more to do with men’s fear of women’s power than with movies, evil or even The Last Supper. The following is from Sia of The Full Circle website, which I Love!!

The 13 Moon Calendar – AKA the Lunar Calendar – is a 28 day calendar that dates from prehistoric times. It dovetails with a woman’s menstrual cycle. The link between women’s blood mysteries, and the moon is held in high esteem among many Neopagans. This calendar was used all over the world for many thousands of years, and is still used in some cultures today. For example, the ancient major holidays celebrated by Muslims, Jews, and many people in Asian and India are all based on a lunar calendar. Native Americans also used a lunar calendar, and some still use it.

The so called “Venus Laussel” image (2) dates back 25,000 years. It is one of the earliest known calendars. The Woman/Goddess figure portrayed in this neolithic carving holds a lunar crescent in her right hand. (1) It has 13 notches, one for each of the 13 moons in the lunar calendar. (Here is a note on her position in the cave and how that relates to God/ess worship of that period.)

The number 13 has long been associated with the moon, women’s mysteries and the Goddess. When patriarchy (usually run by those warrior guys with the pointy spears and the horses) took hold, women were subjugated, enslaved, dehumanized and turned into chattel. Queens, priestesses, artists, healers and leaders became mere breeders who would produce soldiers for the endless wars required by the God/King of that region. Worship of the Goddess in this period was destroyed as far as was possible. Conquerors would then change the rituals, stories and myths to make Her less powerful and subject to their male, solar God. (There are many books that write about this transition, but you can start with The Chalice and the Blade by RianeEisler – see book notes at the bottom of this post). Anything that belonged to Woman and the Goddess (including snakes, cats, the moon and the number 13) was held to be suspect and demonized. Stories were later made up to hide the real reasons why these things were so feared.

(View on the Full Circle website to see all the highlighted links)
Oh, there is tons more. I find it fascinating. So get together with your girlfriends on Galentines Day, February 13 and lets create new fun, funny, joy rising rituals to tap into our divine feminine and share with our daughters and their daughters.

Ahwomen.

Tess

Dear fellow travelers,

My thanks to fellow yogini Elizabeth Taylor for forwarding the following information on treating Alzheimers Disease with pure cold pressed organic coconut oil. Great Information! In addition to ingesting, we also use it at the spa as massage oil. It is highly recommended for Pitta dosha to balance and cool the physiology. (BTW, we sell Dr Bronner’s pure coconut oil in the Boutique and I use in many of our own signature oils and lotions that I concoct in my own kitchen also adding love!)

Interesting how the pharmaceutical companies are trying to isolate and extract the powerful active ingredient keytones, and refine them into white powder because they then are “10 times more powerful”. (‘scuse my soapbox) Are they kidding!! We don’t know how all the compounds work together. When will we begin to understand that the whole is greater than the sum of its parts! Ayurveda says that the body recognizes the energy and information through taste, smell, texture, mass and the combination of our senses. (We can’t measure the energy, yet, only the matter).

We do know one thing…and that is; one can’t patent a medicinal botanical so there is no big money to be made eating/taking nutrients the way they grew out of the ground!

My personal belief is instead of looking for cures we need to look for causes and change our behavior. Stop warring and battling your own body and begin to allow healing.

Namaste,
Tess

A warm namaste. 

Tess

Begin forwarded message:

I just returned from Chopra Center’s Seduction of Silence in California. This is mind-blowing eight day journey onto the Final Frontier. The inner me. Yes, 8 fun-filled days of 6 hours of meditation and two yoga classes, sprinkled generously with Deepak Chopra! (I love mixing metaphors )

San Diego, actually La Jolla, was a little chilly and I missed all of you but other than that it was bliss!! I highly recommend it if you want to immerse yourself in the science and art of meditation.(Please mention Joyful Yoga if you do!)

The Chopra Center bought out the whole resort so everyone there was of like-mind. Many had never even meditated before and for them I am sure it was a little like drinking out of Niagara Falls! One sweet man, who so loves the course and now volunteers,is a judge (oh the irony….we practiced non-judgement for a week!)

In addition to all the quantum physics, experiential mind blowing exercises, Marianne Williamson talking A Course in Miracles AND having three fabulously delicious Ayurvedic meals expertly prepared each day was beyond amazing!
As many of you know this was the second leg of my Primordial Sound Teacher Training. As an off again/on again, crisis/resort meditator for 35 years, I decided I wanted a practice that I could really make a permanent part of my life and really practice what I believe and preach. I will complete the training in mid May. I am slowly digesting and assimilating all I experienced and I will continue to share the information as it bubbles out of me.

I will leave you with this little gem from Deepak. It is an acronym…he made it up (his words )…..

When you become aware that your physiology is approaching the fight-or-flight response, do the following: S.O.D.A.
S. – Stop (long enough to take a breath)
O. – Observe the body. What do you feel and where do you feel it?
D. – Detach from….
A. – Automatic behavior or response

Reverses the F.O.F. response in seconds.

A warm Namaste,
Tess

The following is cutting edge info on the link between your gut and your brain. Not really surprising and definitely empowering! Love it!

Namaste,
Tess

PROBIOTICS

Can taking probiotics improve your mental health?
July 6, 2011 by Amara D. Angelica

Professor Mark Lyte and associates at Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center have come up with a radical concept: that you may be able to fine-tune your mental and emotional states by the right combination of probiotics!
Probiotics are “good” bacteria that normally reside in your gut and are available OTC in any drug store or health food store. Lyte suggests that they can generate neurochemicals that affect your brain — even improve your psychological health, and that neurochemicals generated by the brain can also affect these bacteria.

We recently reported on evidence that gut microbes do in fact influence neurological function (along with aiding digestion and inhibiting pathogens). But Lyte and associates take it a step further.

“This paper proposes a new field of microbial endocrinology, where microbiology meets neuroscience,” Lyte said. “There is already evidence to suggest that the connection between gut microbes and the nervous system represents a viable route for influencing neurological function. A recent study in mice, for example, showed that the presence of neurochemicals such a serotonin in the bloodstream was due to direct uptake from the gut.”

“Neurochemicals such as GABA may be viewed as a common shared language enabling interkingdom signaling between prokaryotes (e.g., probiotic bacteria) and eukaryotes (e.g., vertebrates),” Lyte said in a BioEssays paper. For example, lactobacilli and bifidobacteria produce GABA, which is known to reduce stress and anxiety (GABA may also reduce inflammation in colitis and intestinal bowel disease), he said.

“GABA is already potentially present in some fermented foods,” Gregor Reid of the Department of Microbiology and Immunology, University of Western Ontario points out. “So should there not be some clinical evidence available already to suggest that eating these foods improves mental health?…. Lactobacillus acidophilus NCFM induce opioid effects, yet there is no evidence that pain relief is associated with ingestion of this organism in any probiotic formulation. This may be because nobody has investigated this formally, or the levels of the molecules necessary are too low.”

In the paper, Lyle lists several neurochemicals (normally produced by the brain) that are also produced by various probiotics in the gut:
Lactobacillus, Bifidobacterium GABA
Escherichia, Bacillus, Saccharomyces Norepinephrine
Candida, Streptococcus, Escherichia, Enterococcus Serotonin
Bacillus, Serratia Dopamine
Lactobacillus Acetylcholine

If Lyte’s hypothesis is confirmed, microbial endocrinology may emerge as an exciting new approach to treating patients with psychological problems.

So do physical gastrointestinal problems have psychological counterparts? (Gives new meaning to “gut feeling.”) Also, what is the role of the “second brain” (neurons embedded in the walls of the long tube of our gut, or alimentary canal, contains some 100 million neurons) in this?

And will we see a new class of “psychohackers” experimenting with creating their own treatments and modifying their own neurochemicals to reduce depression and anxiety or induce happiness?

Ref.: M. Lyte, Probiotics function mechanistically as delivery vehicles for neuroactive compounds: Microbial Endocrinology in the design and use of probiotics, BioEssays, 2011; [DOI: 10.1002/bies.201100024]
Ref.: G. Reid, Neuroactive probiotics, BioEssays, 2011; [DOI: 10.1002/bies.201100074]

I am happy to report that I am now on day 73 of consistent meditation. I am going to do the Chopra center 21 day challenge which begins on the 15th. If you would like to join me and create this new “habit” please check out below.

A warm Namaste,

Tess

Dear Tess,
The start of the summer Chopra Center 21-Day Meditation Challenge™ is just a few days away, and I want to take a moment together to reflect on our intentions for this incredible experience we are about to share.

What do you wish to manifest in your life? What would make your heart sing? How will it feel to have harnessed the power of coincidence and achieve what Deepak calls, SynchroDestiny (https://chopra.infusionsoft.com/link/5423592e60/1dd99a0)?

I encourage you to ask yourself these questions in the coming days as we approach the beginning of the summer meditation challenge. To help you connect to the co-creative energy that powers the manifestation of your deepest desires, I have included a link to a visual meditation that is very close to my heart. This meditation was created during our SynchroDestiny workshop (https://chopra.infusionsoft.com/link/5423592e60/1e0a6e0) in Sedona, Arizona with the intention of assisting you in tapping into the calmness and stillness that is all around us. In this place of calmness and stillness, dreams are made manifest.

I hope you enjoy the meditation. And– I encourage you to share this experience with your friends and invite them to join in the summer challenge collective before it begins on August 15 (https://chopra.infusionsoft.com/link/5423592e60/1e3b420). We are going to rock this world!

Don’t hold back. Reach for the stars. We’re in this together.

I’ll see you in the gap . . .
davidji

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I just returned from beautiful Commerce Township, Michigan. The weather was delightful, as were my adorable grandkids! My daughter and son-in-law (love) surprised me with Paul McCartney in concert @ Tigers Stadium. In Row 17. It was beyond…..!!!!! Three hours of traveling through the soundtrack of my youth. I was amazed at his boyish appearance (still @ 69) and tremendous energy. I was tired just standing for 3 hours!

I must attribute at least some of it to meditation. I know he spent a month with the Maharishi Mahesh Yogi in India in 1968, immersing himself into Transcendental meditation and yoga.

As a huge Beatles fan, this truly was the impetus to my journey which has brought me here. Paul made the statement then that what he learned from the Maharishi he could do anywhere. They wrote lots of songs while there. One of my faves…”Come on is such a joy, come on is such a joy. Come on and take it easy, come on and take it easy….everybody’s got something to hide ‘xept for me and my monkey”. Rock n Roll for sure. White album. Remember?

To the point….Here we are now with over 1500 impeccable studies from the most brilliant minds, reputable universities and medical institutions on the benefits of meditation and yoga, it truly is time to begin a practice that can change your life. You are only one meditation away from this practice.

Need more evidence? Nobel prize winner, Dr. Elizabeth Blackburn recently published a study on new meditators who practiced 30 minutes, once daily. She concluded that after only 4 weeks there was a 30% increase in the production of telomerase, the enzyme responsible for keeping the DNA strands from breaking down, increasing teleomere length, immune response, slowing aging and improving homeostasis (self healing).

A warm namaste,
Tess

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Love love love.

Re/ Woundology

Your biography becomes our biology… Our biological selves don’t just form from nutrients and food…. It forms from our life experiences, from our emotions, from everything about our lives, and how we invest our energy into our past and what we do with the investments effect our body.

If we invest our energy into our negative past, first of all, it’s like trying to keep a corpse alive because your past is over with. It’s trying to keep the dead alive… What you are really trying to have happen is that this dead past is going to provide your body with life force!!! It’s just not gonna happen… And at some point you literally are going to drain yourself of the life force by keeping the dead past alive…

In essence, you can understand the incredible power that wounds have over us, and the incredible price it costs us to keep wounds alive. How painful it is to our systems, even though socially feels good.

We like to communicate with our wounds… it’s intimate… In a nutshel,l we like speaking wounds…

In getting to know someone and talking to them, we should really try to NOT lead with our wounded history; and we DO lead with our wounded history because we feel so safe doing it. But it’s costing us a great deal… And we start the pattern of “using our wounds as a way to control a situation.”

To consider: the shadow side of healing is that we produce a language that is also what it means to use wounds in a way NOT to heal. Are you involving yourself in any way that you are clinging to your wounds? Ask yourself that question…

Think about it…

Carolyn Myss

Namaste’, Tess

I have just completed a month long teacher training program where I witnessed the evolution of 24 yoga students transform into yoga teachers! What an amazing experience! Over the course of the month I came to realize the biggest challenges in my teaching career, of managing 24 different personalities, levels of maturity, age and physical ability and trying my best to offer each of them what they came to learn. What I came to recognize by the end is that I cannot do the work for them, they have to be willing to step outside of their comfort zone, have faith and take a leap. I am simply providing a map for them to follow, based on my experience with the practice and teaching of yoga. I had to set my ego aside and allow the knowledge to flow through me and surrender the outcome. This whole experience has been eye opening, a great opportunity to learn more about my strengths and weaknesses as a human being and as a guide for others. The past few days I have been recharging my batteries at a quaint little beachside resort, Ylang Ylang Resort, in Costa Rica….the only way into the resort is by walking on the beach about 20 minutes from town, as I type these words I am on my balcony about 100 feet from the waves crashing upong the shore…the power of the Pacific is humbling.

I plan on hosting a yoga retreat here, next year, May 2012…stay tuned! more exciting yoga adventures in the jungle to come!
Filming for the Chakra experience is well underway, 7 hour long dvds will be completed by October 2011, with breathtaking footage of the Costa Rican and Peruvian earth energies as the backdrop. As a last minute call from the universe, I am being pulled back to Peru, departing Costa Rica on 7/7/11, I will be trekking into the Chakra gardens of the sacred valley and pilgrimage to Machu Picchu for a continuation of this yoga adventure! I will return to Costa Rica on 7/14 and head to the Ranch where familiar Joyful faces will meet me to escort me back home to Florida on July 24.

I am living a dream, truly….this is such a gift to be doing this work in this beautiful place. everyday I wake up and excitedly proclaim “Hoy es mejor dia de mi vida!!!” Today is the best day of my life!!

I am sending you all love and joy from the jungle, I am grateful for each and every one of you for your love and support and for being part of the Joyful family of yogis! I am excited to share my adventures with you upon my return in July!

In the light, we are one~

Jacqueline Chiodo