The Five Principles of Water
1. The one who acts makes others act; this is water.
2. The one who seeks their own way and never stops; this is water.
3. The one who meets obstacles and multiplies their power; this is water.
4. The one who is pure and purifies those who are contaminated; this is water.
5. The one who fills the ocean, transforms to cloud, vanishes in fog, and freezes like a mirror but still retains their essential self in any form; this is water.
 ~ from Kuroda Yoshitaka in Masaru Emoto's book Messages from Water and the Universe

Seeds of Joy Village Annual Giving

Dear friends,

Happy Holidays!  As you consider end of year donations, please consider donating to our Seeds of Joy Annual Giving Campaign.  Seeds of Joy is a non-profit 501(c)3 organization. 100% of your donation is tax deductible.

We have some exciting things happening at Seeds of Joy this year.  Our enrollment keeps growing and Parent Toddler now necessitates two classes a week!  We will be starting a second class in February.  

Due to the increased class size, we are in need of additional furniture and supplies.  We are in need of an additional table as well as more chairs.  We will also need more bowls and water glasses.

We would greatly appreciate either in-kind donations for the above or monetary donations to support the operating cost of our programs and/or providing continued education for our teachers. Every February, all Waldorf schools close for one week so that the teachers may recharge and continue to improve upon their craft by attending workshops at the Rudolf Steiner College in Fair Oaks, CA.  We would love to send ours!

If you are considering in-kind donations, our need for one table may be filled here. Our need for 6 more chairs may be filled here.

If you are considering a monetary donation, checks may be made payable to Seeds of Joy and mailed to:

Seeds of Joy
PO Box 7000367
Redondo Beach, CA 90277

Or you may visit our website here to make a donation via credit card.

Thank you so much for your consideration!

Blessings,

Seeds of Joy Village

"Unacceptable Levels" Documentary Screening in the South Bay

This is the first screening of "Unacceptable Levels" that we bring to the South Bay through Seeds of Joy Village! Please click here to reserve your tickets by October 17, 2013 to ensure that this documentary showing occurs. Join us, continue the conversation to inspire change towards a cleaner life for us now, and for our children's' future. 

WHEN: Thursday, October 24, 2013 

7:30 PM with an expert panel Q&A directly after 

WHERE: AMC Del Amo 18

3525 Carson Street, Torrance, California

Remove an Obstacle with Ganesh Mudra

Take a seat, and after settling in a space and in your body, focus on one obstacle or challenge in your life that you could go without. Let it swirl through your thoughts and then let it dissipate. With a soft gaze or eyes closed, bring up the left palm facing away from the heart and the right palm towards, claps your fingers with right thumb up and left thumb down. Bring the mudra to the level of your heart, wrist and elbows in the same plane and elbows pointing away. Take a full breath in, and as you exhale, pull the grasp apart without breaking it. On you inhalation, relax the muscles in the chest, shoulders and arms, but still keep your Ganesh Mudra intact. Repeat the pulling and relaxing with your breath 3 to 6 times. Then rest for a few even breaths with the hands on the sternum, relaxing the elbows down. Afterwards, switch your grip, right palm faces away from heart and left inwards, and repeat the same number of pulling/relaxing of the mudra and all muscles involved with this variation.

Also helpful while practicing the Ganesh Mudra, is to visualize the color red. A mosaic of all shades of red like a mandala, an apple, or a tulip when we look closely through changing light. The warmth and strength of the color red will create courage to open the heart and build confidence. Only repeat this exercise once a day, and try for several days in a row. Has the obstacle in your life been removed?

Rabbit Pose ~ Sasangasana

This intense forward fold and inversion has many benefits, but must be done with gentleness and ease. As the weight is poured into your head, connecting the crow with the earth, curling up into a ball, become the still rabbit awaiting it’s next trail of hops. Let your spine round and reach towards the sky, lifting the hips up while holding onto the heels or lower legs. This shape, massages the lymph nodes and compresses the throat to improve sinus cogestion, colds, and digestion. While the head is below the heart letting blood rush into the head, this stimulates and nourishes the nervous system. The roundness of the spine is stretched to increase mobility and flexibility, and with the slow unwinding back to Virasana, restacts the vertebrae one at a time into proper and optimal posture. Try this posture on a mat or even add a blanket under your self from tops of the feet to the crown.

My Head Be Light

When I feel frazzled or fidgety, a long forward fold is my go-to posture, standing or seated. To fold forward and just breathe is a nice change from our typical uprightness much our awake time. Seated with the legs extended forward, I use several blocks stacked between my legs in this posture. Alleviating tension in the neck by letting my head be held by the props, this, letting go of the physical weight of my hair, skull, brain, muscles and all, takes time, more or less depending on the mental weight holding it up. In the picture, I have two blocks stacked to compensate my tight hamstrings, back and neck. When the skull can release its weight, the relaxation ricochets throughout the rest of the body. This may take many breaths or a few minutes, and may take effort to relax into. Find a mantra to say, counting or not 108 times with beads in this Seated Forward Bend, Paschimottanasana.

Ganesh Mudra

We use our hands for so many tasks, and sometimes our primal instinct knows when and how to grip and release. Have you ever found yourself clasping your hands to hold in excitement? Or alternated pressing finger pads together while thinking or anxious? The Ganesha Mudra is a hand position that signifies strength and eases tension. It also strengthens the heart and muscles around as well as opens the bronchial tubes. Once seated, hold the palm of your right hand facing your chest with the thumb up, grasp the left hand with the thumb down, so that the fingers clasp. As you tug firmly the wrists and elbows away, feel the chest muscles engage. Relax and repeat pulling the hands apart a couple more times while breathing slowly and deeply. Feel your energy surge from the tensing of the finger pads through your wrists, arms, shoulders and into your chest, back shoulders. What is your heart’s response?