Monthly Archives: August 2010

Relationship Compatibility in Vedic Astrology

First of all, want to know what your nakshatra is? Try this nakshatra calculator

Now, read this brilliant article on compatibility according to the Jyotisha Hindu astrology system.

In Vedic Astrology, relationship compatibility is based upon the Moon and Nakshatras. The Moon is the mind and feelings of the individual. It is the Jiva, the idea of separate existence and the Ahamkara, the ego. In essence, the Moon is our very identity as opposed to the Western Astrological view that the Sun represents the ego. In Vedic Astrology, the Sun is the Soul, because the Sun is constant. It never stops shining. The Moon, however, takes the light of the Sun, as the mind takes the light of the soul, and waxes and wanes. In other words, the Moon CHANGES. The Sun does not. Therefore, the most appropriate planet to represent the individual is the Moon.

The Vedic compatibility techniques are very simple, yet very profound. Since they are based upon the Nakshatras, these techniques are exceptionally ancient and come directly from the Rishis. Many will say that these techniques are outdated and do not work in modern society because relationships between men and women have changed enormously. While the cultural norms of relationships have changed, the dynamic of two people interacting with each other have not, and these techniques apply just as well today as they did thousands of years ago. What is a relationship? It is two people relating to each other and the needs and emotions of this exchange never change. As you will see as you read further, these techniques are so insightful into the human psyche, their profoundness has not diminished in the least.

A relationship consists of two people relating and for that to happen there must always be masculine energy and feminine energy, whether it is a man and a woman, two women, two men, a teacher and student or a parent and child. There is ALWAYS a male/female dynamic happening. When male/female dynamic is stated, please throw out all concepts of what male/female is. Masculine energy is dynamic, initiating, steadfast energy and feminine energy is receptive, accommodating, changeable energy. Masculine energy wants to be loved for what it does and when it does good, it feels good. Feminine energy wants to be loved for what it is, and when it feels good, it does good. An example would be when one person talks, another must listen, otherwise you have two people talking at the same time, in which case they are not relating, or you have neither one talking, in which case there is no relationship. This is not to say that in a heterosexual couple, the woman is always receptive and the man is always dynamic. I am just explaining what masculine and feminine energy are and how they are always at play in creation and in relationships.

Read more

Laura Barat is a full-time practicing Vedic Astrologer in the Rocky Mountains of Colorado. She is a graduate of the American College of Vedic Astrology and a regional teacher for Dirah Academy International. She has studied under the renowned Vedic Astrologer, Ernst Wilhelm.

You can compare your nakshatra with your sweetheart’s over here.

Yoga Now Poll


Some other answers:
-waiting for netflix to enjoy the view, but not the movie.
-I would not see the movie. Hardly liked the book.
-the book was so bad i can’t imagine wasting my time or money on the movie.


Some other answers:
-what guruji book?
-On my list, but not urgent.
-it was aight. i gave it away.
-ok, but boring


Some other answers:
-really good. will check out the other entries.
-Will read eventually


Some other answers:
-bad branding
-scam


Some other answers:
-Tank-top and leggings from any store. “Yoga clothes”? pffff…
-prana


Some other answers:
-all of the above
-too expensive and time consuming for me

On Eat Pray Love, The Movie

click to watch clip

How Soy Can Kill You and Save Your Life

“Eating soy will kill you!” Scan the media reports and surf the Internet, and you’re bound to come across scary claims that would lead you to believe this is true. You may have heard:

• Soy will give you breast cancer.
• Soy formula is dangerous to babies.
• Genetically modified soy foods may modify you.
• Soy foods block your thyroid function.
• Soy prevents the absorption of minerals and interferes with digestion.
• Tofu causes Alzheimer’s disease.

If you want an excellent, unbiased, scientifically sound review of all the relevant human data on soy, Dr. Hyman recommends reading the 100-page report from the Agency for HealthCare Research and Quality entitled, The Effects of Soy on Health Outcomes, which reviewed thousands of studies based on rigorous criteria for scientific validity. Its conclusion was this: There is no evidence of significant benefit or harm based on the quality of evidence that exists today.

So what’s a confused consumer to do? Give up on soy until we know for sure? Or chow down on soy nuts? Don’t panic. There are some things we do know about soy, both good and bad. Read More

Building in Iceland? Better Clear It With the Elves First

NY Times by Sarah Lyall

HAFNARFJORDUR, Iceland – Do elves exist? Like many Icelanders, Hildur Hakonardottir considers the question to be more complicated than it appears.

“This is a very, very, very delicate question,” Ms. Hakonardottir, a retired museum director, said. “If you ask people if they believe in elves, they will say yes and no. If they say yes, maybe they don’t, and if they say no, maybe they do.”

In Kopavogur, a section of road was narrowed to accommodate elves thought to live in the nearby rock. Pall Stefansson for The New York Times.

Hypothetically speaking, what does she think elves look like?
“Well, my next-door neighbor is an elf woman,” she declared suddenly. “She lives in a cliff in a rock in my garden.”

Despite having seen the elf only once in 15 years – enough time to determine that she was “bigger than life and dressed like my grandmother, in a 1930’s national costume” – Ms. Hakonardottir, 67, has no doubt of her existence. “My daughter once asked me, ‘How do you know where elves live?’ ” she said. “I told her you just know. It’s just a feeling.”

It is a feeling that many people in Iceland apparently share. Polls consistently show that the majority of the population either believes in elves – generally described as humanlike creatures who are fiercely protective of their rocky homes – or is not willing to rule out their existence. But while believing in elves is rooted in Iceland’s culture, it remains a touchy subject. Read more

A Yoga Competition

If you happen to find yourself around Mysore this weekend, why not sign up for a good old fashion yoga competition?  According to the Times of India, the Vishwa Samskruti Yoga Kendra has organized the event for people of all ages in order to promote the health benefits of yoga.

See article

Maybe westerners get ruffled about yoga competitions because they know they’d lose…

Yoga Culture Part 2: Skin Infections

Listen up yoga peeps:

New York Times article revisits the old tale of workout warts galore…  Flip flops in showers, wipe your exercise equipment etc.  But what about completely unregulated yoga environments where a barefoot is mandatory and science project props from 1999 are as ubiquitous as incense and om?  Be sure inner peace is all you get at the…

Be Sure Exercise Is All You Get at the Gym

By JANE E. BRODY NY Times Published: August 2, 2010

When you go to the gym, do you wash your hands before and after using the equipment? Bring your own regularly cleaned mat for floor exercises? Shower with antibacterial soap and put on clean clothes immediately after your workout? Use only your own towels, razors, bar soap, water bottles?

If you answered “no” to any of the above, you could wind up with one of the many skin infections that can spread like wildfire in athletic settings. In June, the National Athletic Trainers’ Association, known as N.A.T.A., issued a position paper on the causes, prevention and treatment of skin diseases in athletes that could just as well apply to anyone who works out in a communal setting, be it a school, commercial gym or Y.

The authors pointed out that “skin infections in athletes are extremely common” and account for more than half the outbreaks of infectious diseases that occur among participants in competitive sports. And if you think skin problems are minor, consider what happened to Kyle Frey, a 21-year-old junior and competitive wrestler at Drexel University in Philadelphia.

Mr. Frey noticed a pimple on his arm last winter but thought little of it. He competed in a match on a Saturday, but by the next morning the pimple had grown to the size of his biceps and had become very painful.

His athletic trainer sent him straight to the emergency room, where the lesion was lanced and cultured. Two days later, he learned he had MRSA, the potentially deadly staphylococcus infection that is resistant to most antibiotics.

Mr. Frey spent five days in the hospital, where the lesion was surgically cleaned and stitched and treated with antibiotics that cleared the infection. He said in an interview that he does not know how he acquired MRSA: “The wrestling mat might have been contaminated, or I wrestled with someone who had the infection.”

If it could happen to Mr. Frey, who said he has always been health-conscious in the gym and careful about not sharing his belongings, it could happen to you.

The Risks

Recreational athletes as well as participants in organized sports are prone to fungal, viral and bacterial skin infections. Sweat, abrasion and direct or indirect contact with the lesions and secretions of others combine to make every athlete’s skin vulnerable to a host of problems. While MRSA may be the most serious skin infection, athlete’s foot, jock itch, boils, impetigo, herpes simplex and ringworm, among others, are not exactly fun or attractive.

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