back in town

hello all,

as i slowly getting back into the swing of things after a little ohio vacation, here (above & below) are some upcoming bay area events i whole-heartedly recommend.

bottom of the hill on friday - the botticellis, pickwick, & panther are playing. come and celebrate burton's (botts guitar player) birthday! (and solstice if you want to continue last week's party!) i am planning on going and would love to see you there.

farm on saturday - come to alemany farm & help with never-ending weeding, turning or sifting the compost (perhaps), watering, seed-saving (on special occasions), planting, harvesting, & more. for those who want to help w/ the new medicinal herb garden specifically, please contact me, as we are forming a little team to support the project.

yoga on sunday & tuesdays - let me know if you want to meet up at bernal yoga for a jivamukti class in the evening on sunday. also, i am teaching yoga on most tuesdays at the caretakers house (848 divisadero). read the blog to find out a bit more along with the schedule (will be up there soon), and email me to rsvp.

cafe du nord next thursday - conspiracy of venus, an all women choir that i'm in, is singing with our friends cotillion & still flyin'. the show is $10 in advance, and we would love it if you got tickets ahead of time (here) or just made a giant effort to show up. we go on first, at 9pm, cotillion second, and so on and so forth. i'm gonna try to sing a couple of songs w/ cotillion too, if i can learn them in time.

other happenings - theater of the oppressed workshops in july, the romane event comedy show tonight, potlucks on monday at the caretakers house, civic center victory garden community planting day, an old fashioned ghost cartoon movie night at the yoga loft, and a music benefit with po' girl for the organic farming research foundation.

clothes swap in late july or early august - those of you who have attended in the past, and those of you who would want to attend in the future - let me know what weekend dates would work for you!

over -n- out,
jessie

*if you get bored of the events at my blog, or if you want to find more, you can go to lea's blog at www.theweekintro.blogspot.com

ps - as always, please send me event suggestions (summarized & condensed if possible), and funny stories, when you have them!

in ohio, slightly disconnected

i'm in Ohio right now so apologize for the delay in event updates! i'm sure anyone reading this will survive. please check back in a few days though for some new events. in the meantime, you can go to lea's sf bay events blog - theweekintro.blogspot.com and check out jamie's newly posted songs at http://www.myspace.com/watchtheseabird !
love from cleveland,
jessie

amnesia circus show tonight + solstice + organic farming benefit concert

dear friends,
summer is almost officially upon us... and above is an updated list of music, food, farming, & yoga events for the season. i still have more to add (yoga classes, farm days, & music shows), so please check back for updates!

a few events of note: **criss-cross "eco-punk" circus, stitchcraft, & honey.moon.tree tonight at amnesia. **multiple solstice parties & a retreat, june 20th & 21st! **conspiracy of venus, cotillion, & still flyin' at cafe du nord thursday july 3rd. **benefit concert for the organic farming research foundation on july 30th with po' girl, in santa cruz.

since i'm going to ohio for two weeks, leaving tomorrow, i will miss seeing people around the neighborhood(s). however, i really hope you go to some of the events i will be missing. also, i wish to see you tonight at amnesia to say bye and at cafe du nord july 3rd when i get back. thanks! ~jessie

future yoga class update & recap

dear friends of yoga,

thank you all for your support w/ the yoga classes i've been teaching / sharing over the past few weeks...

classes will resume again on tuesday june 24th. same time same place. 5:45 @ The Caretakers House - 848 Divisadero - thanks so much to them for hosting. the classes will probably be every other week at that point, but i will let you know the schedule for sure when the time nears. (and i'll of course post it here)

i encourage you all to continue your yoga practice throughout the weeks, either by going to other classes or by practicing at home -- let me know if you want some suggestions of some poses or sequences to do. yogajournal.com also is an excellent resource - go to "poses" and "build a sequence" to get help in building a sequence that works for you, or go to "practice" and "home practice" to get more ideas on how to support your personal practice.

if you have time to read on, here's a recap of some things we've gone over in class, for your reference and contemplation:

**some health benefits of yoga:
-increases circulation and efficiency of the heart
-slows respiratory rate
-improves fitness
-lowers blood pressure
-promotes relaxation
-reduces stress (the negative kind that causes ailments)
-allays anxiety
-improves coordination, posture, flexibility, range of motion, concentration, sleep, & digestion
-can be used as supplementary therapy for cancer, diabetes, arthritis, asthma, migraines, etc.
-helps to combat addictions such as smoking by allowing practitioners to become more aware of thought patterns
-and much much more!

**the 8 limbs of yoga:
-yama (discipline/restraint/abstinence)
-niyama (observance)
-asana (pose)
-pranayama (breathing techniques)
-pratyahara (sense withdrawal)
-dharana (concentration)
-dhyana (meditation)
-samadhi (super-conscious)

*hatha yoga is comprised of 3 of the 8 limbs: asana, pranayama, and dhyana.

**chakras:
wheels of spinning energy-light, bridging the physical and spiritual world (oh yeah). there are 7 major chakras, going from the tailbone to the crown of the head, listed w/ some characteristics below. you can chant the bija mantras (seed sound) to activate that chakra.

1. muladhara or root chakra - red - security center - relates to physical will to be & patience - earth - bija mantra is lam ("lam" as in "llama", all the "a"s are pronounced "ah")

2. svadisthana or orange chakra - sacral - sensation center - relates to creative reproduction of being & purity - water - bija mantra is vam

3. manipura or yellow chakra - solar plexus - power center - relates to shaping of being & radiance - fire - bija mantra is ram

4. anahata or green chakra - heart - love center - relates to devotion & contentment - air - bija mantra is yam

5. visuddha or blue chakra - throat - communication center - relates to resonance of being & unity - ether - bija mantra is ham

6. ajna or indigo chakra - third eye - inner conscious center - relates to knowledge of being - bija mantra is om

7. violet / white / many-colored / golden (you choose) - crown - universal conscious center - sahasrara - relates to our connectedness to the universe - bija mantra is aum

**and, last but least, a few quotes (thanks mom, for passing these on):

What is before you is it, utterly whole, complete and perfect. To seek outside is to miss it totally: This is a place you can't get to by going anywhere.

When we let go of all our battles and open our heart to whatever is present, we come to rest fully in the here and now. This is the beginning and end of spiritual practice.

- Jack Kornfield

To action alone are you entitled, never to its fruit.
Let not the fruit of action be your motive.
Neither let there be any attachment to inaction.

Abiding in Yoga, so your work without attachment
and with being balanced in success or failure.
Balance is called Yoga.

Bhagavad Gita

Yearning is a part of the beginning of anybody's practice. You have to yearn to grow. You can't want it one day, but not the next, and expect to make any real progress. You have to begin with some steady, inner hunger.

- Swami Chetanananda

namaste

ommmmm

jessie