Kashi Ashram

These are photos of the beautiful grounds of Kashi Ashram in Sebastian, Florida. (about 3 hours away) This was the location for my Nada Yoga and Ayurveda workshop with Dr. Robert Svoboda and Pundit Mukesh Desai. The grounds are quite magical with little altars and temples around every bend in the charming, winding paths throughout the property. The building for the workshop was under a canopy of mature pine trees and the ground had a natural carpet of aromatic pine needles. There is a lake in the center of the ashram where the ashes of many devotees are scattered. The ashram performs vedic fire ceremonies for holidays (holy days). I am planning a group road trip down again for the fire ceremonies in the spring for Shiva Ratri, the celebration of Shiva, and in the fall for Nava Ratri, the 9 nights of the Goddess.

For more information about Kashi and the resident Guru there, Ma, go to

www.Kashi.org

Tara Rawson's Art Exibition and Reception

More Photos

Tara's show was a huge success! Thank you all for your support.

Graduation Photos

Graduation Day

Today was graduation day for our 2007-2008 200 Hour Yoga Teacher Training class!

Worship is the effort on the part of the upasaka, he who does upasana, or worship, to reach the proximity or presence of God. Upasana literally means "sitting near" God.
Swami Sivananda

The new teachers performed a puja to formally close their 9 month training. Puja is ritual worship of one's chosen Ishta Devata, the personal form given to the formless energy of our Source. In Hindu philosophy (Advaita), there is no one God; there is only God.

God reveals Himself to His devotees in a variety of ways. He assumes the very form which the devotee has chosen for his worship. If you worship Him as Lord Hari with four hands, He will come to you as Hari. If you adore Him as Siva, He will give you darshan as Siva. If you worship Him as Christ or Allah, He will come to you as Christ or Allah.
Swami Sivananda

The puja is "God coming for a visit", much like an honored guest in one's home. The Ishta Devata is offered incense, food, water, flowers and prayers.
In the puja, the teachers offered up prayers of gratitude for the gift of the instruction they received and paid homage to the root gurus of our lineage. They asked for assistance and guidance in teaching Yoga. They received their new spiritual names and asked for support in integrating this new energy into their lives. Finally, they sent blessings to their dharma sisters and formally closed the ritual.
Our celebration moved to Treaty Park, home of one of the most amazing trees in all of Jacksonville. The Treaty Oak is massive and full of shakti. We took our class photo there- the tree was a beautiful reminder that the teachers will be anchored by the teachings of the root gurus and will, like the tree, continue to grow and flourish.
We broke our fasts together at 3 Layers, a new coffee shop in Springfield. The "Jeff Squares" rock!
Pranams to:
Erica Devi McLaughlin
Dawne Kumari Dowell
Sonja Tarini Reynolds
Stephanie Vimala Shieldhouse
Jayne Tara Parker
Natalie Prajna Lord
Mary Sivani Cobb
Bethany Uma Crawley
Rachel Suci Burney
Shannon Srila Kelly
Tru Vani Leverette