May has waived good bye and we welcome June with great enthusiasm. Here in Nevada City, we are enjoying warm weather, beautiful flowers and lots of opportunities to enjoy the local hiking trails. The long days also mean lots of extra time for evening strolls through our historic downtown or beautiful old Victorian neighborhoods. I was recently interviewed on LA TalkLive and the host asked me why I chose to live in Nevada City. I said Nevada City was one of the most beautiful places in the world with a progressive community that is rich in the arts, music, spirituality, and of course healing.
This past month has been very busy for me as I traveled to teach in North Carolina at the Prama Institute, an Ananda Marga community that hosts the Inner Peace Yoga Therapy training program each year. While in North Carolina, I visited the Asheville Yoga Center and founder Stephanie Keech for a day-long program integrating Ayurveda and Yoga. Following that trip, I took a short trip to LA for the TalkLive Internet TV program. When I returned, I spent an evening teaching a new group of soon-to-be Yoga Teachers at the Sivananda Yoga Farm next door to us in Grass Valley. I introduced them to the concepts of prana, tejas and ojas, the subtle energies of the mind that are so important for keeping us emotionally balanced.
Here at the College, we continue to share the knowledge of Ayurveda at an extraordinary pace as we surrender to the Divine currents carrying the knowledge through our school. Another group of Ayurvedic Health Practitioners (AHP) interns began their journey at the start of the month and are now available to see new patients both at the College for our on-site interns, and in their own communities for our off-site interns. Meanwhile, our groups of Clinical Ayurvedic Specialists are mid-way through their internships and completed their study of managing cancer patients this past month. While all of this is going on, our first and second level students continue their studies with Mary Thompson, Ram Rao and Mary-Alice Quinn. Perhaps most exciting of all, however, has been the work happening at the ORGANIC INDIA herbal medicine garden. Under the leadership of Brenda Igler, our Director of Herbalism and her apprentices, the garden is looking spectacular. The plants are abundant and beautiful and fresh bark chip has been added to the garden pathways to give it an elegant look. Laminated labels are being added to the garden to make plant identification easy. All of this is just in time for the official inauguration of the garden June 15th at the graduation and Celebration of Ayurveda. We will be joined by Prashanti Dejager representing ORGANIC INDIA as well as our advisers, Swami Sita Ramananda and Didi Ananda Lalita for both the inauguration and the graduation. Swami Sita will also lead a Dhanvantari Puja the evening before in the Lotus Room. This is a special ceremony to invoke the healing potential within the hearts of everyone. You are all invited to join us and awaken the healer within you.
May each of us open our hearts to the Love that permeates all of creation and in doing so know true peace.
Om Shanti,
Dr. Marc Halpern