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Thank you for being with us, reading us, encouraging us, giving us feedback. Thank you for the opportunity we had through you to grow as human beings.

Thank you to all our clients for all the special moments we shared in 2004.

May you and your loved ones experience gratitude and peace during this holiday season. May you enjoy a blessed beginning to the year 2005.

 

Contents of Nalanda Ayurvedic Centre Newsletter  8  - December  2004
  • Nalanda News
  • Gratitude in this time of giving and receiving
  • Ayurvedic Gifts to make
  • Stir-fried veggies in coconut milk
  • Miraculous mustard seeds 
Nalanda News

See our new and very enticing Ayurveda Wellness Retreat packages by clicking on them to be linked to our website for more details and prices:

We are now offering Children's massage at Nalanda Ayurvedic Centre. Children with special needs, disabilities and learning difficulties are all welcome. Marina Merkel recently joined our team, she is highly qualified and has 8 years of experience working and playing with children in education and therapy, including Ayurvedic Massage, pre-school teaching, Waldorf education and Sensory Integration. Click here for a link to our page on Ayurveda for Children for more details.

We have added a testimonial page to our website, so please visit it if you would like to know what others have experienced on our retreats.

Seed of peace: One of our retreat clients has pledged to donate a monthly sum of money as a bursary for those who cannot otherwise afford our activities. We have named this fund Ayurveda for Africa. Our idea is to create an outreach branch of Nalanda Ayurvedic Centre which will spread this ancient wisdom into the wider community. As this is only a seed at this stage, we welcome your input in the form of ideas on how to grow it, money, or any other contributions.

 
 Our first workshop of the new year will be: Ayurvedic Massage - Give & Receive on 21 - 23rd January 2005. This weekend workshop, which also feels like a mini retreat,  is designed to help you to re-inhabit your body and thus heal and restore yourself.
 
Did you see our group retreat on Free Spirit on SABC 3 last month? Our next Rejuvenating Ayurvedic Retreat at Pringle Bay will be from 9 - 13 February 2005. Breathe the sea air and fynbos fragrances of Pringle Bay, while enjoying a nurturing daily routine.
 
Our first Practical Ayurveda Evening of 2005 will be the 17th January and thereafter, the first Monday of every month from 5.45 - 9.30pm. This is an evening to catch up with yourself through gentle Yoga, massage and a nourishing ayurvedic meal for only R90. Please book your space and confirm with payment as early as possible as we accept only a limited number of participants.
 
New team members:
We are happy that Marina Merkel joined us in November and Zinhle Nene in August this year. We wish them a fulfilling career being part of our team.
 

    

 
Gratitude in this time of giving and receiving
 
The ritual of giving and receiving gifts is important for many people at this time of year. The gift need not be a material object - caring, listening, appreciation, giving a blessing or a compliment, or just being there for the other person are some of the most precious gifts, from the heart.

We receive so many little gifts every day, and one of the best, funnily enough, is simply the feeling of being grateful, the feeling that "I have enough, I am enough."

Another gift idea is to write a poem of gratitude on a beautiful piece of paper as a gift of appreciation to a friend, family member, a pet, a tree or any other living thing:

 
I gratefully
acknowledge
the wind and rain
the snow, the sun
each and every one
of the trees, the water
singing under the
ice of frozen
rivers, the
mountains
and valleys, the
cold ground and the
warm grass, the
light and the
darkness, the
creatures,
poetry, music,
family, friends
the gift and
mystery of my
life, the eternal
Tao.                                                                            Brian Browne Walker
                                                                                    The Tao Te Ching of Lao Tzu
 
 
"The more you give, the more you will receive, because you will keep the abundance of the universe circulating in your life. If, through the act of giving, you feel you have lost something, then the gift is not truly given and will not cause increase."                  
                                                                                                        The Seven Spiritual Laws of Success
                                                                                                         Deepak  Chopra

And lastly, remember that even when we fake it, a sense of gratitude is making our bodies healthier and stronger by increasing ojas, or cellular bliss.

  

Ayurvedic Gifts to make

The skin is our body's largest organ and extremely sensitive. Whatever we put on our skin travels through the pores into our blood stream. Therefore, the products we apply need to be literally good enough to eat! Here are a couple of  ideas for simple skin products for you to make. Put into a pretty container, and give the gift of self-nurturing!

Chick pea cleanser: Mix equal parts chickpea flour and powdered milk, add coarse mielie meal, rolled oats, ground almonds and or/sea salt for a 'scrub' effect. To apply, add water to a handful of the dry mixture to make a thin paste, and rub lightly over wet skin, standing in the bath. Rinse off and soak in the bath for a while, then shower.

Nourishing and moisturising body oil: Make a body oil by adding 10 - 15 drops essential oil to a small bottle of almond or sesame oil. Decant into a dark glass bottle with a dropper. A few drops of this can be massaged onto wet skin after the shower. Essential oils: use nutmeg, jasmine or geranium for dry skin types, sandalwood, ylang-ylang or mint for sensitive fair skin types and patchouli, eucalyptus or lavender for oily skin types. 
  
 Stir-fried veggies in coconut milk

2 T sesame oil

Heat, and add

1 t cumin seeds                                 

and

1 t mustard seeds

when seeds start to pop, add

1 onion, cut into thick sliced 

when translucent, add

6 carrots cut lengthwise

and

6 zucchini, cut lengthwise

and

1 red and/or yellow pepper

when the vegetables start to brown, add

1 tin coconut milk

simmer for 15 mins, add

Salt and pepper, to taste

 

 Serve over basmati or brown rice, garnished with a few fresh coriander leaves and enjoy.

Miraculous mustard seeds

If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain, Remove hence to yonder place; and it shall remove; and nothing shall be impossible unto you. Matthew 17:19-20

Mustard seeds are pungent, nutty, slightly bitter and aromatic. They are heating in their effect. Mustard oil massaged into the scalp is thought to promote abundance of hair growth. Mustard oil helps to relieve muscular and arthritic pain. Watch out as mustard oil stains.

The mustard plant in flower bears clusters of bright yellow flowers, the sight of which banishes sadness. In fact, Indian women hold a handful of the seeds over their children to give a protective blessing, warding off any negativity.
 

On that bright and warm note, we wish everyone a season of peace and abundance.

Namaste 

With love and gratitude,

Margit, Marina, Xolisile, Zinhle, and Samantha

Please note: Our centre will be closed from 24th December 2004 to Monday 3rd January 2005

 

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