It has been a very busy fall for me in The Berkshires. Thank you to all who participated in many of the offerings.

The most recent program at Kripalu, Respite Time; The Essence of Shabbat and Yoga, was a Sabbath to remember.

Mother Nature participated and was actually a featured event, which showed that we need to be flexible and open to change, and shows us the difference between a need and a desire and the nature of our own minds. The winter storm challenged our minds to be present in each moment and stay in Shabbat mode, trusting that when it was over, we would have generated enough Respite to move with grace and ease into the next moment and task. It was the story of creation unfolding before our eyes and a piece of history being recorded as we lived it. We cannot blame others for not understanding the essence of Shabbat. We must take responsibility for our ability or inability to remain present for our own experience of it, and observe our own process, habitual patterns and reactions.

A big THANK YOU to Rabbi Andrew Hahn and Shoshana Jebward who concluded the program with a heartfelt and harmonious Hebrew Kirtan. You guys were awesome!!!

The New Year marks a change in time and is where our creation and evolution happen.

Whatever ritual you choose to celebrate and acknowledge at this time, you may include the celebration of the space in which it occurs. Take some time to appreciate and honor your body as this space, and your soul as this time. Tuning into the cycles of our body and soul can occur more often than just at the major events that mark the passage of time, such as the New Year. They can be attuned to the cycle of each new moon, each new week, each new day and for some, each new moment. I wish you health throughout the year, happiness throughout the months, inspiration for each week, blessings for each day, and peace in every moment.

Moving forward, I am preparing for a southern trip for most of the winter. Down south I will be offering Programs, Workshops and Ayurvedic Consultations for the National MS Society, Yoga Studios and Yoga Teachers in North Carolina and Florida.

I felt called to this southern tour and was encouraged by a dear friend who is providing me with a place to stay, so that I can make this all happen. As the tour has developed and unfolded, I have learned a lot about all types of relationships, including my relationships with friends, and family, as well as the people with whom I work and their different styles of management. I've also viewed with interest the many different ways in which we all handle interpersonal relationships and the way we are out in the world. There are many people and details involved in making something like this successful, and I thank all those who are participating in the Chaya Surya Tour.

Chaya in Sanskrit means the shadow, and the shadow worships Surya, the Sun G-d. The Sun provides illumination, and this is Chaya’s life force. For Chaya, Surya appears in 3 forms: Upon rising as Brahma, the creator, at mid-day as Visnu, the preserver, and on setting as Siva, the dissolver.

Nara Allsop writes:
Salutations O L-rd in the form of Siva, the L-rd of Beautiful Chaya
O Illuminator of all infinite causes and effects in the world, the L-rd of Siva
One whose effulgent luster has been praised by those of the highest esteem,
the bestower of benefits such as good health, friend to the day lotus, a friend to all,
the most resplendent one, the thousand rayed, the father of Karna, the fire swallowing dreadful sins, whose brilliance has delighted Guruguha, one who is praised by the learned, the auspicious day jewel, crest-jewel to Candra and other planets, worshipped by the energetic, the witness to all actions, one who has the chariot driven by seven divine horses, one whose principal nature is embedded in the eight-syllabled hymn of praise, who is of golden hue, of the nature of Brahma, Visnu and Siva, and who confers material benefits and spiritual emancipation.

Chaya is unique in that she experiences the trinity of attributes of her L-rd Surya. This trinity represents creation, and here it is shown in the nature of each day as revolving around the expressions of the Sun.

We can also see the evolution of creation as each week begins, flows and ends with the marking of the Sabbath, each month with the waxing and waning moon and each new year with the change in the calendar and its festivals. Creation is contained within time and our rituals which celebrate time, help us to mark time and stay connected to our creator and creation itself in order to know how to maintain the gift of life we have been given. When we disregard this, we lose our innate ability and intuition about how to live a life of balance, which results in stress and stress-related illness and the illusion of ourselves as something separate from the world and its creator. Our immunity dissolves, and ultimately so does our ability to love and be loved.

This trinity is the same as the story of creation, which happens each day in each moment, and is also represented in Hebrew by the Tetragramaton. In Hebrew Chaya means living many lives and the Tetragramaton represents a view of G-d as the creator and what we are created from. The gematria (numerical value) of this word is the same as the elements that make up our DNA, which is Hydrogen, Nitrogen, Oxygen and Carbon, which are the same things ancient Jewish and Ayurveda texts say we are made of only using a more ancient language—Ether, Air, Fire, Water and Earth.

It is said in the ancient lore that Chaya (the shadow) has the ability to see the attributes of the elements and how they shape our lives, and she possesses the ability and the dharma to share what she sees with anyone who would like to understand how to live a life of balance.

The original name of Sarah, Abraham’s wife was Chaya Sarai, a matriarch, who is a mother to all.

Chaya~Sharon was named after her Great Grandmothers Chaya Sura (Grandma Lilly’s mother) and Devorah (Grandpa Irvings’s mother) and her middle name, Li holds a dear connection to her Grandmother Lilly who protected her with love, tenderness, understanding and compassion.

As the days grow colder and darker in The Berkshires, I am preparing for my journey to the warmth of the Sun, and as you can see, it is a necessary pilgrimage for me.

While in the south, I will be teaching Ayurveda; Foundations, Applications for Yoga Practice, Wisdom of Nutrition and Digestion, and Adaptive Yoga for People with Multiple Sclerosis and Similar Conditions, as well as Yoga and the Mind. I will be sharing the wisdom of creation, who we are and our relationship to ourselves and our environment as a framework for holistic health and wellness. It is the way to understand how to live in harmony which is the journey of health and happiness and allows us to move forward in space and time with grace and ease.

For a complete itinerary, please visit my website www.chayayoga.com

Please forward this information to anyone who might be interested or who lives along the path of the Chaya Surya Tour.

All of my regularly scheduled classes in the Berkshires will resume March 12, 2008. Please check my website for any further updates www.chayayoga.com.

In the meantime, here are some tips for winter and a recipe for Curry Sweet Potato Soup.

• Avoid cold food and beverages
• Eat warm, moist foods
• Eat your largest meal for lunch around noon
• Cook with ghee (clarified butter) and spices
• Drink warm lemon water
• Drink warm, spicy teas
• Do self-massage with sesame oil daily
• Cover your head and ears when outdoors
• Worship the Sun and offer gratitude for each new day

* Chaya Surya illustration/artwork shown above by Nara Allsop.

Curry Sweet Potato Soup

1/2 Spanish onion, chopped
1 teaspoon curry powder
4 large sweet potatoes, peeled and cubed
1 teaspoon salt, or to taste
1 teaspoon olive oil
1/2 teaspoon cumin powder
4-5 cups water or vegetable stock
1/2 teaspoon ginger powder

• In a large soup pot, sauté onion with the spices until the onion is soft, about 5 minutes.
• Place sweet potatoes or squash in the soup pot with the water and salt.
• Boil gently until the vegetables are soft.
• Puree in a blender in batches.
• Garnish with chopped parsley, or cilantro and or coconut

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Your Success is My Greatest Reward…

My mission at A Life of Balance is to empower people through the practice of Yoga and Ayurveda, so they can find their inner balance and ultimate joy. My vision of health and journey to wellness takes into consideration the total lifestyle and constitution of the whole person to support health and welllness by learning to live again in the most natural way possible, according to nature, to access our hightest intuition and truth, unlocking the human healing potential. Thank you for your committment to a life of balance. Your results are my deepest joy. I am grateful for the opportunity to witness your continued success, unfolding and seeing you live again with ultimate joy and ease of well being.

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