Ooh la la! What do we have here?! Shonna and I were in complete joyous Bliss as we were able to visit Cafe Gratitude in San Francisco. This is the sampler plate with a collard wrap and Thai dipping sauce, olive tapenade, almond hummus, seaweed salad and dehydrated crackers. Yum! My friends we were visiting were kind and interested enough to join us for lunch and it was pretty much a hit! More later...Wow! I could stop with that one word as I feel blissful stillness and I am also happy to digest experience through words. We are here at the Esalen Institute for the advanced massage workshop "Touching the Core". Our teacher ended our day by saying "Digestion is the key to Health. Not just the digestion of food, but the digestion of life's experiences." I couldn't agree more.
Here's an example of our day today...
Woke up at 7 am. We are in the sleeping bag space which turns into a meeting room during the day, so we roll up our sleeping pads, zip up our suitcase, stuff them in the closet outside and stroll down to Yoga class. We enjoy breakfast outside with sunshine on our faces as the ocean crashes on the cliffs below...the oranges are divine! I pull an Osho Tarot card, which is Awareness. It speaks of the dissolving of illusion, so I can see reality as it truly is. It speaks of the no-mind rather than living in my mind full of thoughts. Class is 3 hours long beginning with gentle movement followed by hands-on massage techniques. Lunch has an amazing salad bar and the we stroll down to the bath house to soak in the hot springs and nap in the sun on a massage table. Another class begins with restorative yoga for the psoas muscle and pelvic region followed by more hands-on exploration of the deep abdominal muscles. I am expecting an interesting bowel movement in the morning! Back to the baths where conversations include Reiki, healing journey with artwork as a medium of expression and deep Gratitude for the remarkable beauty that surrounds us!
I would love to share more, but I am beat and it is 11 pm already. We plan on rising and shining again at 6:30 am. There is no cell phone reception which is a blessing. Know that I send you my LOOVE and GRATITUDE....xoxo!
Raw Tiramisu!!OMG!!
4 comments:
Your adventure once again sounds heavenly! I love the I am Grateful recipe book, I recognize many of those yummy looking things on your plate from my own kitchen. I would love to make a visit to the restaurant sometime!
Your massage training sounds really amazing too! Here is a link to what i thought was a nice little psoas book that I read during my ytt. http://www.amazon.com/Psoas-Book-Liz-Koch/dp/0965794407. I love having my sister practice the psoas release on me when she gives me massages and I love yoga poses that target the area as well!
Thanks so much for the book tip-we were actually using that during our course. That's inspiring to know the recipes have been working for you well at home- I bought it and am excited to try some! Cafe Gratitude is by far the best raw food restaurant we have checked out so far. Sounds like we have lots in common-sending you blessings and Joy!!xo, Kelly
Yeah! You bought the book! I have tried a lot of recipes out of it and all have been great! My favorites that I have made several times....I am nourished wakame salad, I am enrolled nori rolls with daikon rice and pumpkin seed pate (soo good!), hemp seed ranch dressing, avocado pepper dressing, I am great grawnola and I am authentic soup. YUM!!!!!! (I just typed all those out because I like saying the names :))
Glad you used the psoas book in your class!
sara, Thanks so mech for the tips on whart recipes you have liked-i love the insider info! I just made the coconut cream pie and it is over the top delicious and a big hit with my family! I was eyeing the hemp seed ranch dressing next! Much love, Kelly
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