Mother's Day Brunch: The Menu

Mothers' Day Brunch

 I had my family over for Mother's Day, three generations sitting in the garden, it was wonderful.  I picked a latin theme mixing a little old world into the new world.  I wanted there to be delicious vegan options and a little decadence to please everyone.  The food turned out great, and just the way I like it, all the dishes coming to completion at the same time.  I was probably a zombie all afternoon!  I will use this menu to guide my first recipe blog posts.  So stay tuned if you want to find out how to make some of this delicious and healthy food!

The Menu

Chile Relleno de Polenta

Tortilla Espanola

Andouille Sausage

Mexican Rolls

Fruit Plate

Green Salad

Mexican Rolls

Tortilla Espanola and Andouille Sausage

Fruit Plate

Delicious!

Who are the Sikhs?

After the terrible shooting at the Sikh Gurdwara (what they call their church) in Wisconsin, I feel a need to tell my own experiences with the Sikh people.  Originally I became interested in the kundalini yoga movement started by Yogi Bhajan.  In this yoga practice they use music and chanting and I first discovered this music at a Snatam Kaur concert.  The kundalini yoga followers often become Sikhs an after a few years learning about the Sikh religion from American converts, I discovered the Indian Sikh temples here in San Diego.  I even performed with the congregation earlier this year at a 9-11 memorial concert.  The Sikh religion is the fifth most widely practiced religion on Earth with its beginnings in fifteenth century India with the first Sikh Guru, Guru Nanak. A fairly recent world religion with about five hundred years of history.  This religion comes out of a time of powerful struggles and subjugations of people by the predominant religious forces, the Muslims and the Hindus.  In both of these religions there was an exclusion of certain segments of society, perhaps because they were not permitted to learn to read or were not born in the proper caste to enter a temple.  The Sikh faith is a egalitarian religion that peaches the equality of all people, a rebellious thought in times of rigid caste systems in India.  The Sikh came up with there own language, Gurmukhi, and worship above all other things the words of their Gurus and the book in which these words are written, the Siri Guru Granth Sahib.  A Sikh temple is a place open to all people, with the simple request that you cover your head and remove your shoes.  The Golden Temple in Amritsar, India, the most important of all Sikh temples, has four entrances in all four directions welcoming all to enter.  Sikh temples always include a kitchen because the Sikhs believe in feeding all people.  Langar is the name of this free vegetarian meal served after a worship service.  The food is acquired by donation and prepared and served by volunteers.  These concepts of service and sharing of one's bounty are core beliefs of the Sikhs.  They also believe that everyone must work for their living, contributing to society.  They beleive in compassion and respect for all people.  And most importantly they believe in the remembrance of God in all that they do.  A Sikh tries to remain consciously aware of God's prsence in every moment of their life.  A Sikh wears five items at all time, like a uniform, to remind them to remember God and be a good Sikh.  The turban and long hair hidden beneath are one of these five items reminding a Sikh each moment they are in society to treat others with compassion, to work hard and share of their bounty, and to remember God's presence in every moment of their life.  All though it is for a sad occasion, a candle vigil for the six Sikhs shot down as they prepared for their Sunday service, I look forward tonight to bowing my head to the Guru and immersing myself in the beautiful music that comprises most of the Sikh worship.  Join me at the San Diego Sikh Gurdwara tonight, Wednesday August 8 from 7:30 8:30 at 12269 Oak Knoll Road in Poway.  Wahe Guru!

Private Yoga Lessons

Private Yoga Lessons are available at The Robin's Nest or in your home.  It is an amazingly effective way to go deep into your yoga practice quickly and safely.  Most often those who choose to take private lessons are needing some special assistance that isn't available in large studio or gym classes.  Some examples of therapeutic needs that can be addressed in private lesson include shyness, pregnancy, cancer, obesity or injury to name a few.  At your class you decide what's important.  Do you need to improve flexibility or strength?  Maybe life has been pretty tough and what you need is some positivity and some deep relaxation.  Whatever the life situation, there is a yoga exercise or meditation that will uplift you and strengthen your energy field.

Touch for Health

I am excited to now offer Touch for Health at The Robin's Nest.  Touch for Health is a healing modality that combines applied kinesiology with acupressure massage to bring greater balance and vitality to the individual. I personally received enormous health benefits from the Touch for Health sessions I have been receiving from my chiropractor, Dr. William Lerner, over the last few years.  I wanted to learn how to work with people in the effective, diagnostic way he had worked with me and he pointed me in the direction of Touch for Health.  I am fortunate that the system was developed by a chiropractor in Los Angeles, Dr. John Thie.  His son, Matthew Thie, now runs the organization and I have had the tremendous honor to study Touch for Health from Matthew directly.

A Touch for Health session can range from 30-90 minutes.  It is not so much of a massage but more of a series of interactive exercises.  Each exercise will isolate a particular muscle and determine the relative flow of energy to that muscle and it's coordinating organ meridian.  Based upon the pattern discovered in the body, acupressure points are massaged to bring greater balanced and then the deficient muscles are retested to see if a positive change has taken place.  The session is most effective when are particular goal or intention is created at he beginning of the session.  In this way the blanching becomes specific to an aspect of our life, and can be an effective tool for goal setting and enhancing wellness.

I am currently offering Touch for Health sessions at no charge while I am still in the learning, or student phase of my practice.  These complimentary sessions are available until August 31.  Beginning September 1 I will offer Touch for Health sessions on a donation basis through the end of the 2012 year.  If you would like to schedule a Touch for Health session please click on the following link to use my on-line scheduling system Schedulicity.

LA JOLLA WAVES: Windansea 07.17.12

LA JOLLA WAVES: Windansea 07.17.12: A bottom turn set up a long shoulder ride.

Riyaaz, developing your voice through song.

Harmonium Practice with Snatam Kaur

This summer I was blessed to study music with Snatam Kaur as well as with an Indian man she has studied some with, Professor Paramjeet Singh.  They both emphasized the importance to paractice a series of vocal exercises daily.  They call these exercises Riyaaz, which translates as "practice."

The Riyaaz is similar to Western vocal training, consisting in singing scales to strengthen the voice and expand the vocal range.  In the Classical Indian music tradition, each note of the scale is designated a sound, Sa, Re, Ga, Ma, Pa, Dha, and Ni.  In a typical practice you will begin singing the middle Sa (the note of C) for several minutes.  Next the lower octave is practiced, and for the longest period of time.  Taking a few minute break you then progress to a shorter practice of the middle octave.  After another short break the shortest practice time is at the high octave.  This practice time can increase over time as the voice becomes stronger.

I consider the Riyaaz like Hatha Yoga for your voice.  The systematic exercises practiced daily create a voice that is smooth like cream yet strong like steel.  The aura is polished through the vibrations of your own voice and many emotions locked in the body are processed and released through vocalization and deep vibratory expression.

I will be offering lessons in the Riyaaz technique of voice expansion.  Please contact me to join in the experience!

What's in a Name?

My parents gave me the name Robin Cathleen Oleata. I'm the sixth child in the Oleata brood and I often feel it is a name that carries some weight in the Southern California town I've spent my life in. My siblings have paved my way as someone a bit renegade, creative, and charismatic. "one of the Oleata's" people say upon my introduction. Of course this association is usually crippled by the far greater aknowledgment as "Tim Bessell's girlfriend!" Growing up I had other names too. At girl scout camp every summer they would call me "Twiggy" on account of my long skinny legs, a childhood friend and I had about a dozen play names for each other, some not-so-nice boys had their own play names for me too! When I was confirmed into the Catholic Church as a teenager, I choose the name Adelaide in honor of an ancient queen who had done great acts in her life. As a teen I travelled to South American and began to have my name butchered, "Roe-Bean" is how they like to say it. And ten-thousand times I've had a latino man call me Roe-Bean Hood! or ask me "¿Dónde está Batman?" where's Batman? Later when I was twenty and went to live in Brazil, where no single word ends in the letter N and an R at the beginning of a word sounds like a Yiddish Huh, I thought ahead and gave myself a cute brazilian name based on my middle name, and I became Kaite, Kay-Chee. It was a fun name that I loved being called. Some friends made it extra authentic and started calling me Kaite Maria. I can pinpoint when and where someone entered my life by the name they choose to call me.

Now in my Yoga Journey I have entered a new world of names. Like the chosing of a name for Confirmation into the Church, in Yoga traditions you are given a name by your teacher as a form of initiation into a committed way of life. At this initiation you are also often given a personal mantra, or prayer, to repeat throughout your life. The names are either one of the many names of God from Hindu mythology, or some other word that describes a holy attribute or divine message. I recieved a Spiritual Name and Mantra Initiation as part of my Yoga Teacher Training at the Sivananda Yoga Farm, an Ashram located in Grassvalley, California. Swami Sitaramananda gave me on that date my Mantra and the name Prem or Prema which means love, or specifically love for God and the love you receive from God, Divine Love! What a simply beautiful name! I have not chosen to educate the people around me to call me by this new name, but in the Sivananda community, I am called by this name, and I am happy to answer to it. I just returned from a week at the Yoga Farm and enjoyed the opportunity to live by this name and the message it carries.

I consider Prem to be my Hatha Yoga name, and I received this name in 2005. In the past two years I have been exploring at depth the 3HO community, which includes practitioners of Kundalini Yoga and practitioners of Sikh Dharma. These practices were brought to the West by Yogi Bhajan. As he began to receive followers, he would very often give them a new Spiritual Name from the Sikh Tradition. This Summer I applied for a Sikh Spiritual name, based upon my numerology, meaning the numbers related to my birthdate. Your Sikh name is also based upon divine concepts, and the name reveals to you an important messge about your Dharma, or life's purpose. The Sikh's gave me the name Puranjot Kaur. All women receive the last name Kaur, which means Princess of God, and all men receive the last name Singh, which means Lion of God. My first name is comprised of two words, Puran and Jot. Puran means perfect, complete, full and Jot means light. Together it means that I am completely filled with the perfect light of God. My Dharma is to beam this light out from my Soul, sharing it with all those around me. Yet again another beautiful name that I fell Graced by God to answer to this name, especially within the Sikh community.

If you would like to receive a Sikh Spiritual Name you can apply on-line and your name will be e-mailed to you...directly from God!

http://www.3ho.org