Good Morning! What a beautiful, sunny day to enjoy. Hope all is well in your world and you are exactly where you are meant to be.

Here is the link to the latest requested music playlist. It was played in the JUICY class @ the blue yesterday, Saturday, 4/11. There are a few tunes that did not post but most made it! Enjoy my dear friends.

http://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewIMix?id=312245252

Thanks for being my sangha!

Love and Light,
-y
xo

Thanks to the blue community

After all was said and done (we received yet another donation check this week!) as a community, we raised just under $5000 for the Nepal House Society during the "blue turns 2" celebration. We had an amazing weekend (check out photos from the event) for such a great cause; many thanks to everyone who participated.

For anyone who has not been to the studio, here's a note from Ashwin:

To the friends, staff and supporters of BLUE LOTUS

On behalf of Nepal House Society (Canada) and our partner Nepal House Kaski, in Pokhara, Nepal, we wanted to say “Dhanibad” (Thank you) so very much for your generous donation. The funds that were raised will allow us to hire for a fourth counselling position to support the traumatized, marginalized and ill children in Nepal. It also allows for us to expand the scope of our work to include children who live in other parts of Nepal.

Nepal is emerging from more than a decade of civil unrest where thousands were killed; many more thousands were left traumatized as a result of the violence that went unchecked. As the country tries to find its way in the new global economy, children are still left to fend for themselves and violence against children, exploitation of children and the ignoring of children continues. Poverty forces many families apart, and parents often have to leave their children as they search for work in Kathmandu, in India or the Middle East. Sometimes the parents return.

Nepal House is emerging as a place where those kids who are on the verge of disappearing can find an ally. Through the use of art therapy, play therapy and a safe relationship with one of our counselors, children are supported to see themselves as more than the trauma or violence that has dominated their lives. At present Nepal House supports children in more than a dozen orphanages and children’s villages.

Thank you Jill Sockman for including us in your thoughts and for taking the time to come to Nepal and Nepal House.

Shanti, Shanti, Shanti…



Ashwin Ganesh Sharma
Nepal House Society

Check it Out!

Read more about the Blue Turns 2 weekend events and fundraiser, here!

Sunday Sadhana Playlist

Namaste,

A few of the YTTers asked for the music from today's Sadhana. Note that it was created for a 2.5 hour class. Whew! 

Enjoy,

Carrington

Click here for playlist

Anniversary Weekend

The blue is turning 2! And we have so much to be grateful for, starting with our wonderful blue community. As has become tradition, we are celebrating with yoga classes by donation to benefit a local or not-so-local non-profit agency that is doing tremendous work to make a positive difference in our world. So, from February 13 through 15, we’re offering 10 yoga classes by donation to benefit The Nepal House in Pokhara, Nepal.

Nepal House Kaski is a therapy center for Nepali children who have been severely abused, neglected, abandoned or traumatized by violence or natural disaster. In a country where there is no word for "therapy" in the native tongue, the work happening there is amazing. Traditional counseling is supplemented with play and art therapies. The primary therapists -- Shiva, Bhima and Basantha -- are making a huge difference in the lives of the children they serve.

Nepal House Kaski is supported financially through the Nepal House Society, a non-profit based in Vancouver, BC. Those who work for Nepal House Society do so on a volunteer basis, so all funds gathered go directly to pay for rent and upkeep of the Kaski center in Pokhara and to pay Nepali staff salaries. Having seen the facility, met the people, and heard the stories about the situation in Nepal, I feel the call to help. And I'm inviting you to be part of the change. (Check out the earlier blog postings from my visit there in December.)

The response to our initial announcement in the newsletter has been amazing, with people offering to donate prizes for the drawings, and one blue student, who is a school teacher, designating our fundraiser as the benefactor for her students’ classroom project. We couldn’t be more pleased and proud. These are the ways in which every single one of you makes the blue community the beautiful place that it is.

blue lotus hopes to raise $2,500, which will pay for one year’s salary (yes, one year) for an administrator or therapist at Nepal House Kaski. We can do it.

Everyone who makes a donation will be entered into prize drawings throughout the weekend. Check our online schedule for details on the 10 classes by donation and the free Veggie Potluck Friday night, Feb 13, that will feature a slide show and stories of my trip to Nepal.

I hope you can make it!

ART at the blue

There's been a lot of interest in the art that is currently gracing the studio. Here's more information on the artist and her work!

Emily Huffman holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from Tulane University in New Orleans. Recently relocated to San Francisco, for the past three years she lived in Raleigh, working out of Bonded Llama Artist Studios and exhibiting work in several spaces in North Carolina. Her paintings are primarily oil on canvas and paper, and her sculptures and installations include materials such as cast metal, resin, fabric, found object, and organic natural materials. Her painting process is intuitive, marks responding to marks, content revealing itself over time. Abstracted images and forms are embedded into fluid, dynamic, gestural fields. Her sculpture and installation work, in contrast, begins with a specific question, curiosity, or material, and then enters a very intentional, repetitive making process that is often tied to specific time tables, rhythms in nature, or people in the community. Emily also explores creative and transformational energy in the healing work she does as a holistic massage therapist.

Currently on display at the blue are two paintings, Boat Magic (2008) and Bear (2007). To view more of her work visit www.emilyhuffman.com.

Boat Magic
2008
60" x 60"
Oil, pencil, clear gesso on canvas
$2500

Bear
2007
40" x 60"
Oil, oil stick, pencil on canvas
$2000

Nepal Photos

So much to see, and so much that is impossible to catch on film. Take a look at photos from Nepal.

Thanks again for coming along for the ride!