Hello everyone,

Spring is here for real now, and planting has begun! Meanwhile we continue to share in the bounty of greens the garden has produced all winter -and, of course, the nettles that grow wild in many places on the land. Happy spring to you!

The Centre’s program season has begun, starting with a Yoga Getaway in March. Currently the first of Sandra Shotten’s Ayurvedic Yoga Therapy Apprenticeship sessions is underway.

Interviews of applicants to the YSSI program (Yoga Service and Study Immersion) are continuing. There is still room in the program, which runs from June 1 – August 31, so please pass this on to anyone you know who would like to experience the richness of learning, practicing and living yoga in a spiritual community. Details and online application forms are on the Centre’s website.

Wednesday evening kirtan with Vikash and Claire has resumed. All are welcome to come and sing. Unlike satsang (which, of course, still continues on Sunday afternoons), everyone sits in a circle. Vikash passes a peacock feather around the circle, and each person receiving the feather has the option to lead a kirtan or some other spiritual song or pass the feather to the next person.

The Bhagavad Gita study group has also resumed, on Tuesday evenings in the library. If you’re on the island and have an interest in the Gita, please come and join us. We all share in the reading of the text and the ensuing discussion. The Asian Religions classes continue on Saturday afternoons with Dr. Martin Adam. We completed our study on Hinduism and are in the midst of the study of Buddhism now, to be followed by Chinese Religions. If you would like more information about these classes, please contact me (sharada@saltspring centre) or call the Centre office.

Dharma Sara’s AGM is scheduled for Saturday, May 3 from 1:00 – 3:00. Even if you haven’t yet become a member of Dharma Sara Satsang Society, you are welcome to join us and take part in the AGM discussions. Please mark the date on your calendars. If you want to become a Dharma Sara member, here’s a simple way to do it: Simply click the ‘join’ button at the bottom right of our website’s home page. That will take you to a page with information about Dharma Sara Satsang Society as well as a place to apply for membership.

In this month’s Newsletter

In this newsletter are many articles I think you will enjoy. This month, “Our Satsang Community” features SeanCrabtree. As Lakshmi‘s son, he grew up in the satsang, having attended our very first retreat in White Rock with his mom when he was a toddler. Zooming forward several years to September 2012, he and Melinda got married under the big maple tree on the mound at the Centre. I trust you’ll enjoy reading about his adventures.

Pratibha has shared with us more of her wisdom about Ayurveda in her article, “Eat What You Can Digest“. Eating what you can digest sounds simple, doesn’t it? The difficulty is that we don’t always know what we can digest and what we can’t – or what would be good for us. Sometimes we do know but don’t pay attention. In this article Pratibha, in her gentle way, provides clear guidelines for healthy eating, something we can all benefit from.

April’s Asana of the Month, Utthita Parsvkonasana / Extended Side angle, has been contributed by Chetna Tracy Boyd, one of our key YTT teachers. She describes this pose as”a full experience for body, breath and mind,” a pose with many benefits. Try it out. Please note that Chetna will also be teaching a “Yoga for Cancer” workshop at the Centre in October, a yoga therapy training for yoga teachers. You can find more information about this workshop on the Centre’s website.

I’m happy to include a special offering this month from Cristina Goia, a former karma yogi at the Centre, a Salt Spring Island resident and a very gifted artist. Her article – and exquisite drawing – come directly from her connection with nature, specifically the trail on this land. I invite you to enjoy her art and writing in “Healing and Regeneration.”

Recently, I dug out Dharma Sara’s first publication, circa 1975, a magazine called “Dharma Sara: a Journal of Yoga Sadhana”. Back then we referred to it as Dharma Sara 1, anticipating that it would be the first edition of an ongoing series. As it turns out, it was the only one. However, it is still a gem. In this edition, I share a story from the magazine, called “The Treasure is at Home.”

OM
May you find the treasure in your own heart.

Love,
Sharada

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Nettles image by Thomas Dahmas