News from the Centre – August 2015
Hello everyone,
When this month’s newsletter arrives in your inbox (if you subscribe), we will be in the midst of our Annual Community Yoga Retreat (July 30 – August 3), our 41st consecutive retreat. The first one, in 1975, was at a rented camp in White Rock, BC. After that there were a few in the interior of BC. Eventually we bought this beautiful piece of land, and the Salt Spring Centre of Yoga was born. We still offer many of the same classes and activities we did back in the early days: pranayama & meditation, asana, kirtan, stick dancing, talent shows. Styles change, but the foundation remains the same.
Soon after ACYR the second portion of YTT will begin, and on the 19th of August another excellent group of YTT students will graduate. One of this year’s YTT students is an avid birder and photographer. He took some great shots of a couple of Barred Owls that were hanging out by the school playground.
Our summer group of karma yogis in the YSSI program will be here till the end of August. They bring so much to the community, and we will be sorry to see them go.
Meanwhile some additional karma yogis from Mount Madonna Centre have driven up to help create a fabulous Ramayana performance on the Saturday evening of the retreat.
The garden has been producing abundantly, and our farm stand is up and running. We’ve been eating wonderful salads greens, zucchini, cucumber and chard. It won’t be long before fresh tomatoes from the garden will be added to the list.
In this month’s newsletter
I invite you to get to know another yogi in the Centre’s community. Jules Higginson did YTT at the Centre the first year we offered it and, fortunately for us, decided to stick around. Although she lives in Victoria, she remains actively involved, mostly behind the scenes. I’m sure you will enjoy her sweet and quirky story, Coming Home.
In her ongoing Ayurveda, Yoga and You series, Pratibha offers us Maintaining an Even Keel – Understanding our Mental Temperament. This month she talks about understanding our mental makeup from an Ayurvedic perspective, and finding balance in our lives.
Having had the great good fortune to live at the Centre all these years, I continue to appreciate the blessing of living amongst others who are committed to living a virtuous life based on spiritual teachings and practice. Whatever situation you’re in, you might find it helpful to read The Company We Keep.
The comments function is once again working, so please share your comments on any of the articles you read. We love reading them, and often write back. It’s a simple way to stay in touch – that and comments on our Facebook page.
May we all find peace and joy in our lives.
Love,
Sharada