Find us on Facebook




june 2011


IN THIS ISSUE
AMMA
BEGINNER MEDITATION
UPCOMING EVENTS
ROSE HYDROSOL
IN MEMORIAM
QUICK LINKS
Amma:  The Hugging Saint

 

If you haven't heard of Amma before, it's time you did!  She's considered a living saint, recognized by the UN for her humanitarian efforts and featured in a piece on "60 Minutes".  Although her base is in southern India, she travels the world hugging people and raising money for her humanitarian causes.  She supports schools, hospitals, housing, etc. in India but also wherever in the world there's a need (most recently, Japan and Haiti).  To date, she's hugged almost 30 million people and she's currently touring North America.  She'll be in Chicago on June 28 and 29.  She'll then head to the east coast and Canada.  Information about the tour, Amma's humanitarian efforts and an online store are all on her site

 

There's a great documentary about her called Darshan The Embrace (see the trailer  here).  "Darshan" comes from the Sanskrit word "to see" or "to glimpse".  In Hinduism, the concept of darshana means seeing or being seen by a diety, a guru, a saint, a religious object or some such thing or person of a holy nature. It's a form of interaction that calls to the consciousness of the devotee.

 

Receiving a hug from Amma is a form of darshana that can be deeply healing. 

 

 


 

You don't have to be Hindu or know anything about Hinduism to see Amma.  They won't ask you for money so there's none of that discomfort.   

 

Her organization sets up in a hotel and there are booths selling clothing, books, herbs, beauty products, jewelry, food, etc. There are usually musicians playing or singing devotional music. Her devotees all wear white.  Amma enters and the vibration in the room immediately changes in a palpable way.  (I've experienced this twice.  I was glad that some unknown person had their arms around my waist the first time because I felt "ungrounded" immediately.  I feel like my nervous system can't quite handle the frequency and am always close to tears in her presence.  It make me think of the film footage of the Beatles arriving in the US!)   

 

If you want a hug, her people will give you a number.  Tell them if you've never seen her before because you'll have a shorter wait.  Even though there are often many people and lots going on, my experience is that her organization is very well managed.  Amma stays until the last person is hugged--even if it's all night long.  Depending on the day or time you go, the wait can be as short as half an hour or as long as 8 hours.   

 

Even if you don't want a hug, just go and take it all in.  At the most superficial level, it's a happening.  Go shop, eat, hang out and watch the people.  For those looking for deeper meaning, this can be a profoundly healing event.   


 


 

Nataraj
Books
Discount! 

My friends at Nataraj Books have added a special category to their
website called, "KK Ayurveda Recommended".  It has all the books I
recommend most often and they also carry my Conscious Relaxation CD!

Go to NATARAJBOOKS.COM  and use the code below when checking out for a discount on all purchases made on the site!

 

Use code KKAYURVEDA for 5% off your order.



Meditation Ideas

 

Starting a meditation practice isn't easy.  So many books, articles, doctors and other people say it's good for you and that you should do it but they never tell you how!

 

Ultimately, it's highly rewarding and likely the most profound healing tool I know but in the beginning it takes both instruction and discipline.  If you think your mind is too active for meditation, you're right!  It's the human condition.  It's a problem all of us have at first.

 

Here are two good places to start:

�  Dr. John Douillard is a well-known ayurvedic practitioner in Boulder, CO.  He has a One-Minute Meditation technique on YouTube.  It's very good and very easy. 

 

�  One of my clients recommended Buddhist meditation class at the Bodhi Path on Ravenswood in Chicago.  They have centers in other cities as well.  I haven't been there but it sounds like a terrific place to learn. 

 


 
Upcoming Events

Many of you know that I teach guided meditation and breathing at Gilda's Club the first Wednesday evening of each month.  This event is free and open to the public.  You do not have to be a Gilda's Club member to attend.  (Please see my Events page for upcoming dates.)

 

Here's what's new:

Once a month, I'll be leading an hour-long session focused on breathing and guided meditation at Northwestern Memorial Hospital's Maggie Daley Center for Women's Cancer Care at Prentice on the 5th floor.  This is for people currently undergoing treatment, their friends and family.  The session is free of charge and takes place at 10:30 am on the third Thursday of the month.  Thursday, June 16 will be the first session.  Please call Gilda's Club at 312.464.9900 for more information. 

 

 

------------- 

 
CONSCIOUS RELAXATION: Serenity Now!
Sunday, June 19, from 1 pm to 2 pm
Yoga Now Gold Coast
742 North LaSalle Street
Chicago, IL

For more info, click here.  

  

Rose Hydrosol: Nature's Air Conditioner

In ayurveda, rose is considered a cooling substance.  KK Ayurveda Rose Hydrosol or rose water can be used as a cooling body spray, linen spray, facial toner, eye soother and, best of all, a refreshing addition to your drinking water or other beverages.  It smells and tastes delicious!

Buy it here

 

 

 

In Memoriam

This week, Lola, my best little friend, my dominatrix, my teeny tiny "super model" of a dog passed away at the age of fourteen.  Apart from acting like a celebrity and being treated as such wherever she went, she moved to Albuquerque with me for ayurveda school and most assuredly knew more yoga, ayurveda and sanskrit than most dogs (and people).  

   

I was told that in a former life I was a Canadian trapper and she was my hound--hard to imagine in both of our cases.  I'll be so happy to meet her again in whatever form she takes!

 

I loved her dearly. 

 



meLove,
Karen Klutznick



  


312.445.8532

KK AYURVEDA
[email protected]