Health and Wellness with Allison

Navaratri Celebrating the Goddess October 13 - 21 Navaratri is a Hindu celebration of Devi, Goddess, or "Shakti" the Divine Feminine Energy.  During the 9 nights, three main Goddess forms are worshiped: Durga, Lakshmi, and Sarasvati. October 13 - 15 3 nights for DURGA Durga is the most common, and one of the most fierce forms of Devi or "Shakti" the female energy. She is known as both the preserver and destroyer of life. Durga is depicted as a beautiful yellow woman with ten arms who rides on a tiger. Durga was created out of the flames from the mouths of Brahma, Vishnu, and Shiva and born to kill! Kill demons that is. She was sought after by many different gods to kill demons. She was armed by special weapons from the gods to do battle. One of her most famous victories was over Mahisha, the buffalo demon, who wanted to drive the gods out of the celestial kingdom. Call on Durga Maa to "kill" your demons; to release all that does not

Full Moon & Gratitude My favorite Full Moon Ritual is a Gratitude Practice. I take a few deep breaths, light a candle, pause, and reflect on what am I grateful for. I say my gratitudes out loud to really feel the words in my body. I finish with a silent meditation.  I love this ritual because it is simple yet profound. I enjoy this gratitude practice because it gives me time – time “I don’t have” and time “I need” – to give thanks. I fill-up with gratitude by remembering all the people that I love and all the experiences that enrich my life. I envision myself shining brightly like the full moon in the night sky.  With this practice,  I can find gratitude for every experience. This Full Moon I am grateful for my meditation practice because it  helped me to stay calm and have faith during the most painful and terrifying experience of my life.  On a warm afternoon day, I was hiking in the desert mountains of East San Diego County, when suddenly, I had a gut feeling that I was n

Bound Lotus Kriya: A Personal Journey of Love, Forgiveness and Surrender Written for the Spirit Voyage Blog “Who has never seen the Bound Lotus posture?” Asked Mahan Kirn to the room of yogis. “Me,” I thought as I raised my hand. The only image I could think of was that of the classic yogi sitting in padhmasana (full lotus pose) meditating under a Bodhi Tree. I decided to attend the Maha Bound Lotus workshop at Sat Nam Fest on impulse like many things in life. I had no idea what would unfold from this practice, all I knew was that I had to show up! I was one of the few yogis who had never seen or practiced the Bound Lotus Kriya. “Well if you knew what you were getting into, you probably wouldn’t have come,” Mahan Kirn smiled knowingly. “Yes, very true,” I thought. Actually, if I had known how Sat Nam Fest would change the course of my life or of the pain and trauma that I would re-live in the Bound Lotus Kriya, I would have never arrived to the festival or the class

The Power of Mantra: Remembering How to Love Tuning - In at Sat Nam Fest West The first time I “tuned in” was with almost 1,000 people at Sat Nam Fest West in Joshua Tree, California. I arrived to Sat Nam Fest alone. I had no idea what Kundalini Yoga was and I didn’t know anyone at the festival. I signed up to volunteer & drove from San Francisco on a gut feeling. I didn’t think about what I was doing, I just knew I had to go.  On the first day of the festival, hundreds of people filed in to the main tent. Yogis, adorned in white, rolled out their yoga mats and place their sheep skins down. I had never seen anything like this before - hundreds of people gathered under one roof ready to practice kundalini yoga together - and was in complete awe of scene in front of me. Like a hive of bees, the yogis created a buzz of excited chatter. The teacher walked on stage and her presence cut through the air of anticipation like a hot knife through butter. Without any hesitation sh

Full Moon in Scorpio Moon Magic in Beltane May 3, 2015 A poem inspired from the gratitude I have for the women in my life.  May we always Remember who we truly are. Thank You for the love that you give, for your love brings new life on Earth.  As you share your love,  you light up this world like stars that illuminate the night sky. Your love is our greatest resource. It can travel farther than an Eagle can soar,  and beyond the depths to the Earth’s molten core, Your love is Infinite, Expansive, and Limitless. You are a Goddess in all her glory,  and a human with all her flaws, Perfectly imperfect. It is not easy being the greatest gift to the world,  but you were not born to live an ordinary life.  You are here to live a life that is extra-ordinary, a life to say “Yes!” to, and a life that you love to live and live to love! So in the times when you feel overwhelmed, when there are too many dishes to clean, and too many do