New Moon-welcome once again

Today is the day of a new beginning. It is the dark moon or new moon of august 2011. Even though the time of the new moon can make me feel physically heavy, as oppose to Full moon when my energy is all over the place and I experience this extreme sense of Lightness,  I like the new moon in the way that it is a new beginning. 

Every month we are naturally given this chance to set out a new beginning within ourselves. Of course we can change our mind, life-intention and begin something anytime, but having this regular rhythm makes it feel more supported. More grounded. It is a reminder to clear and reset the mind. Just by sitting down and taking a couple of minutes to focus on the coming month we can with very small actions honor the rhythms of  Nature and with awareness create a difference in our life. Lets welcome the new moon and this coming month!

Silence by the beach

Yesterday I had some time off. It was a wonderful day with plenty of sunshine and it felt like a day in the middle of the summer! I took my bicycle and went on a small excursion. 

This is where I ended up! I must say it was truly magical. After spending more than five years high up in the mountains it was so refreshing being by the sea, listening to sound of the waves and feeling the breeze. From rock solid Earth-element to fluid   changeable Water-element.

After all, yoga and ayurveda is about finding ways to harmonize and balance the five elements within oneself. Once we have done that we can  begin to experience  the reality beyond the elements. Something which is not dependent on that constantly changing nature of our material world. 

To be able to do so we also have to harmonize with our external environment and with the surrounding elements. We have to realize that we are all co-dependent. What happens on our inside can be a reflection of what happens outside of our body. What happens outside of our physical appearance can be a reflection of what happens on our inside. This way the border between our in- and -outside becomes very vague and begins to fade... 

Being all alone on this wonderful beach made me feel like I lost my "I" for a moment and became one with the nature. It was so peaceful that I lost sense of time and space! Spending time in nature is definitely the greatest healer of all.

Namaste, to you all beautiful Beings!

Roses

When it is rainy and you just can't get yourself out of the house, it can be really nice to cheer up oneself by taking a look at old photos.

I found these wonderful flowers in a park a week or two ago. Aren't they lovely? Just looking at them makes me smile and feel energized! You can almost sense the sweet scent...

Yoga by the Sea

I found this wonderful jetty by the sea. Suddenly it was as if it was calling me; Please come and do Yoga here! I can provide the best space for you! 

What could I do? Yoga of course!

Walking out on the wind- and -weathered jetty with the water clear as crystal, I must say it was very tempting to take a swim! Instead I followed the previous call and dived into my Yoga practice. 

I didn't feel like following any particular system but instead just listen to my inner voice. It all ended up in a blend of Surya Namaskar, Yin-poses, standing asanas- in general it was just a long meditation... 

I love Yoga-improvisation!

Take your practice to a Natural place!

Bring your Heart into your practice...

Do your practice from the Heart!

Bunge Museum- turning back the clock 400 years

Yesterday I decided that I wanted to do something cultural.

The sudden urge to reconnect with the past gave me one easy option- pay a visit at Bunge Museum outside of Fårösund where I am currently residing. I took my bicycle and like all the other days I could never tell if it was going to be sunny and summery-kind-of feeling or if it would begin to rain heavily. Prepared for both I left the fortress where I stay and left for the museum.

The museum is situated along the country-road and consists of collected buildings from 17th and 18th century. They show how people used to live 400 years back and I must say it was impressive. There were so many small houses, all for different purposes. 

This stone house is an old wood-fire Sauna where they used to dry Linen. It was also used as a place for the women to give birth. Maybe this is where the idea of giving birth in a warm bath originates from?

I managed to come just on time for the guided tour. It was only one more couple and me. The guide was very well informed and made the tour fun, interesting and personal. 

We were shown some clocks that they used 400 years ago. Those clocks had only one indicator. Of course that one indicator showed only every hour. The guide made a joke about our time were minutes and seconds are so important. We all laughed and said it would be kind of nice to have only one indicator and that it would feel more relaxed in that way. 

Have you ever heard of Instant karma? That is the Karma that comes back to you immediately after you have thought, said or done something.

Well, I was totally struck by instant karma that same evening!

After finishing a massage-treatment I walked back to my room with my hands filled with things. Suddenly my alarmclock dropped to  the floor . The battery went out and the sound of the crash was pretty bad. Total suicide I thought as I picked up the clock and took a look at it. I was wrong. You can see for yourself:

My clock had lost its minutes-and- seconds indicators. Now it only indicates every hour, just like the clocks used to 400 years ago (the yellow indicator is just for the time to set the alarm).

I have decided to continue using this clock and I must say it works very well in private but still not so well while giving a massage  treatment where the minutes actually do count... 

But honestly, isn't this little happening or coincidence quite weird?

Shalom Hutte

Don't we all need more of this?

Love all - Serve all

  

Written on the wall at Shalom Hutte in Azumino, Nagano- Japan.

Shalom Hutte is a cosy place offering accommodation,  a cafe and a shop all based on an ecological concept. They focus on Natural food and organic farming. For us vegetarians it is a great choice! They sell plenty of Macrobiotic food in the shop and they also have a place for making wood-fire baked bread.

If you have any time off while visiting Nagano it is definitely worth a visit! Enjoy a graincoffe and okara-chocolatecake while reading a book or simply just look out over the rice paddies and listen to the sounds of all the Semi, although they are highly seasonal insects! 
Otherwise there is time and space to contemplate the meaning of Love all, Serve all...

The Nature's Eyes

This morning I took a chanting-walk along the shore in north Gotland.  I go out every morning to have my own time before opening the  Yogaclass or Massage-work. It was before 6am and I was watching the beauty of this creation.

Suddenly I saw some stones laying down by the side of the road.

I took a closer look and found out that somebody had painted eyes on two of them. I couldn't stop smiling and it felt like I discovered a treasure! 

Those eyes made me wake up from my own bubble. It was a reminder about the presence dwelling within any living being. I could feel those eyes looking at me, same as I felt my own existence being looked at from the plants, trees, birds etc. Sometimes we forget that we are all part of the same creation and that we are all living beings with the same right to exist. Same as I watched those wonderful stones I could feel how they were watching or at least sensing me and my existence. Same with the wonderful flowers that I passed by, I noticed them and they me. Very simple and yet so powerful.

Later on at night I witnessed the Moonrise by the sea. When I turned my back to the moon I saw the Sunset  by the forest. That was magical.  Even more magical was the feeling of the Moon and the Sun being right opposite each other and observing one another. Both of them being so full of energy. Both reflecting the same light. Ha and Tha. Yin and Yang. All woven together under the roof of the Universe.