Joy & Jams of Juicing + Live Food at Gray Bear Lodge

My two week stint in the wilds of Tennessee at Diann and Adam’s Gray Bear Lodge is now one of the spots I have earmarked for those inner revolutions.

And it has inspired me to blow the dust off my neglected blog whilst I have been undergoing change, or rather owning more of who I am.

Ingredients: Gather together a group from all walks of life for a 8 day culinary retreat and inner experience which challenges and inspires you to re-examine your attitude to how food can either uplift/regenerate you or simply kill you.

Now there is something real about this food deal.

If the people advocating it look crap, then it would be easy to turn your cheek but when they look fantastic well, it makes you stop and ponder some.

More to come.

Summer yoga and bathing with Diann & Martha

As my terrible twin is back on island for the 5th year running, Diann and i are co-hosting a lazy, easeful yoga & full moon bathing event on Sunday 5th July.

As it is being held on a Sunday we are holding the option that ladies can arrive early at 3m before the yoga at 5. This means you can whizz down to the pools, sink into the relaxing waters of the warm sulphur water whilst gazing at the rush of the river and float back up and find yourself gliding into yoga poses like you never have before. Check out Diann’s new kaftan, part of new our LoveLines label.

So come at 3 or 5pm and stay until when the moon glistens down on you as you let your bones melt in the glistening pools. RSVP martha (at)natureisleyoga.com.

• 40ECD.

• Women only.
• Bring a dish and some laughter to share.
• Invite a girlfriend who needs to learn what it is to nurture yourself.
• All moods welcome, both your Jekyll and your Hyde. The day will transform you.

See you there….

Jump into June with a Full Moon Bath – June 6

Ladies,

Buff your body, butts and soul by coming along to the next full moon yoga and bathing event.

Where? Rainforest Shangri-La, Wotten Waven

When? Sat 6th June, 5pm

What? Bring a dish to share, clothes 4 yoga and bathing number 4 the enticing sulphur pools.

Why? You want to come home to you, delight in the re-discovery and leave beaming.

How much? Less than the cost to do only your toes. 40 ECD.

Who? Janet and I are co-hosts. Email me martha (at) natureisleyoga.com to register.

I’m waiting!

Walk Your Life in a Labyrinth

As a child I went to France and visited Chatres Cathedral. Inside lies one of the most famous labyrinths, upon which pilgrims who, unable to afford the camel fare, would walk on their knees instead of going to Jerusalem. This trip must have planted a seed…

For many years later I found myself walking around another labyrinth at the ecological Schumacher College, Totnes, Devon. There I got the book by Tchenka Jane Sutherland, who has designed a few magnificent labyrinths in her time.

Just what is a labyrinth?

Liverpool Cathedral by Tchenka Jane Sutherland

It is not a maze. It is an ancient symbol that relates to wholeness. Labyrinths have been an important part of many cultures spiritually for thousands of years, and have also been used to create decorative art.

Walking through a labyrinth is usually intended to be a meditative and contemplative act, and many religions, including Christianity, integrate walking meditation in labyrinths into their spiritual practices.

It combines the imagery of the circle and the spiral into a meandering but purposeful path. The Labyrinth represents a journey to our own centre and back again out into the world. Labyrinths have long been used as meditation and prayer tools.

We can have a direct experience. We can walk it. It is a metaphor for life’s journey. It is a symbol that creates a sacred space and place and takes us out of our ego to “That Which Is Within.”

How do you use it?

It can be used in many ways. If you have something bothering you, are looking for some breathing space, walk it. Allow yourself to find your natural pace, balance. Have no expectations, as this tripped up someone recently who was trying to figure out what I intended.

Jem Winston, owner of Rosalie Eco-Forest agreed to have one below made for the “Yoga as a Path to Wellness and Wholeness Day” at Eco-Fest. Here are some of my group going through their paces. Just imagine how expansive your life can feel amidst this setting.

A big thanks to the hardy student of Dominica’s State College who, in the pouring rain, provided the muscle work, as well as some of my Nature Isle Retreat participants.

Come along to the Eco-Fest Yoga Day Tues 5th May 09.30 onwards

Hi,

A quick reminder to those who have been asking me about the International Eco-Fest Yoga Day. Some of you may have already experienced yoga with me through the Full Moon events of the Health and Wellness Directory launch that happened on Friday.

There will be more yoga to experience – walking a stone labyrinth and connecting with nature, and even some voice work which brings you in touch with  different level of yourself and brings out your confidence – you don’t have to be a good singer!.
BUSES TO EVENT
There is a shuttle bus available for those who wish to attend the “Yoga as a Path to Wellness and Wholeness Programme”.

BUS Location: Digicel Office, Bayfront Roseau.

Departure Times:
OUT – Roseau to Rosalie:
8.30am
12pm (if attending afternoon session only)
3pm (if you wish to have a head massage and attend talk by herbalist and owner of an organic herb farm)

RETURN
Rosalie to Roseau:
11am
3pm and
7pm (last one to coincide with end of talk by herbalist).

Shuttle Bus Price: 5 EC each way.

YOGA DAY PROGRAMME PRICE
Half Day: 25 EC for Nationals, 50 EC Non-Nationals.
Full Day: 50EC Nationals, 100 EC Non-Nationals.

Please let anyone who is interested know.

And to remind you all of the programmme itself, please follow this link.

http://www.rosalieforest.com/ecofest__yoga.php

Terri and I look forward to seeing you there,

Martha

Bodily Delights – Yoga & Full Moon Bathing Sat 11 April ‘09

I am singing out to all the ladies in D/a. Let off some steam and melt your fears away by attending the next Yoga & Full Moon Bathing event, Rainforest Shangri-La Resort, on Saturday 11th April. It will be hosted by Janet and myself.

Time? 5pm.

We start with a yoga class led by yours truly, then a women’s discussion circle led by Janet, we eat (pls bring something to share), then we glide down thru the forest to the warm sulphur pools and mud waiting for us to dive in srcub and rinse off uder the moonlight.

The cost? At less than a manicure at 40EC this is a steal so sign up by emailing me – martha (at)teamarchitects.co.uk and take care of your mind, body and soul under the moonlit river.

See you there!

Carnival with C&C

Ceels and Carol were like a pair of terible twins, except they are sweet . Wearing Love Power t-shirts, they were my jump-up companions and chauffeurettes on Tuesday night, chipping away to the sounds of Swinging Stars after I had mildy flirted with the irritating stop and start of the Triple K float.

I found I can treat anything like a meditation: from aligning my body with the pulsating beat of jouvert (and we did indeed greet the morning sun) or by connecting to the space and energy between me and a random male who though his luck was in- – it was, but only for the dance…

I realise now that I was a sound system afficionado in London back in the day when I attended Carnival but now am brought alive by the live music. Old age…

Talking Tubs – Dominica’s Eco-Fest 1-8 May 2009

Today I was tired and grumpy and did not do the “sensible” thing of continuing to pretend to work but followed my body’s urge to hike a bit up to Ti Kwen Glo Cho where Jem Winston of Rosalie Forest was already tucking into June’s tasty coal-pot cooked lunches eaten out of calabash.

Tempting Tubs at Ti Kwen Glo Cho

Down in the tubs, we got deeper into Jem’s personal story as to why he created the Eco-Fest 1-8 May 2009. He sees it as a celebration of what has been achieved so far in living more sustainably, and to acknowledge all the talent and resources that are right in our own backyard. Dominican reggae artist Free Joseph will be the lead musical act on the opening night, Friday 1^st May.

We then discussed my ideas in creating the “Yoga As A Path to Wellness and Wholeness Day” which I shall be co-leading with my mate Terri Henry. A few of us got into a long discussion about what it means to be a leader and the importance of staying joyous whilst leading otherwise no-one wants to take you place when you drop from exhaustion! I  persuaded Jem, I think,  to build a labyrinth on the grounds as a meditation space that will stay after the Eco-Fest.

So today I ended up taking care of my body and my business. Can’t get better than that.

Valentine Venues – from bush to coastal hideaways

Now that you have cleansed your innards following my Valentine Prep Castor Oil Purge, my attention now turns to interesting spots for a Valentine love-in, in tune with the energy of the island, by bush and sea.

Having a friend stay means you do the rounds on the island and discover new things every time. And I always include a visit to one of Jem’s tree houses at Rosalie Forest. So after a late afternoon dip in the cool waters of the Mermaid Pool (photo in my header), we tucked into fish soup, before hiking up to our tree house Chatagnier.

Unfortunately Linzi left her banana exposed so during the night someone decided to help themselves, only leaving half the skin behind as evidence, should we wish to lodge a complaint with the Agouti Cops.

After she left I checked out Stacey and Gina’s bar Escape and ended up singing my own version of cadence to a guitar-playing George. I was given a tour of some of the Red Rock Haven rooms available, and decided to test out one of the beds.

I felt like Princess and the pea.

Back to Life – reawakening the Sun Worshipper

For the first time in three months I felt like the heat was firmly re-installed in my body and I gleefully broke out of my cocoon. Living in a valley can be a wet dampening affair. And whilst my family froze their proverbials off in the UK, I was being warmed by the afternoon sun, in a bikini, doing a Halle Berry impression. I had not been to a beach for a while and when I experienced the warm sand under my toes, the sunlight passing like a caressing laser down my spine, and my skin warm to the touch, I thought – yes, this is what it is all about.

And this need was satiated further by the fantastic hike on Saturday organized by DABX and Dwivayez along the coastal rocky shore from Cabana to Woodford Hill. It was a perfect day. I felt so at one with myself, the dramatic shoreline and the group. As the full moon was almost upon us, the trail became a bit tricky at times; it wasn’t there as the high tide was creeping in…