Journal
The Bodha Journal is a carefully curated selection of stories, interviews, inspiration and new ideas that relate to our world.
Blush Pink Inspiration
The inspiration behind our Blush Pink Ritual Oil Diffuser.
I feel like Margot Tenenbaum would have this in her bathroom. It’s just the right pink - not too sweet - more a muse’s pink, a quiet shade you can love for a lifetime.
This soft blush pink glaze was developed by New Zealand ceramic artist Gidon Bing who describes it as ‘dead salmon’ :).
Creative Rituals
On today’s creative rituals we chat with internationally acclaimed director Christopher Riggert.
Currently working on his first feature in Los Angeles as well as his latest photography project, his perceptive cinematic eye is always working.
‘My creative ritual to figuring a solution is to het all the information and then just stall for as long as possible. I let all the possibilities float around me until I absolutely have to so something. And then it all just spills out, and all the things that weren’t interesting enough, or not quite right just don’t make it onto the page.’
French Green inspiration
The natural colors behind our French green diffuser.
The soft speckled color of our Ritual Oil Diffuser in French Green reminds me of milky habour seas, artichokes and pale forest moss.
This beautiful glaze, developed by ceramic artist Gidon Bing will bring a little bit of nature into your home.
Creative Rituals
Today’s creative ritual with Sophie Carew of Carew Kitchen
New Zealand’s best almond milk is made by Sophie Carew of Carew Kitchen. Hand-pressed raw unpasteurised almonds, filtered water, dates, cinnamon and a little Himalayan salt. This stuff is seriously good and good for you!
We asked Sophie what she does to get the creative energy flowing….’I love to step outdoors and take a walk to our top paddock where there’s an amazing view of the countryside. Then I get out all my favorite things - my best pen and notebook, candle and Calm incense, and finally I make a cup of my favorite Green Rose Tea in my best china cup of course!’
For more information on Sophie and Carew Kitchen you can find them on instagram @carew_kitchen and facebook carew.kitchen
Home
I’m so grateful to call New Zealand home.
Visiting family and friends, swimming in rivers and waterfalls and eating as much fish & chips as humanely possible.
Create a sense of inner quiet.
Reconnect with the intuitive space inside you with our Calm incense.
An aromatherapeutic blend featuring the herbal noes of Lavender, Geranium and Rosewood, designed to soothe body, mind & spirit.
Wellness tips with
Lauren Davidson
How the owner of one of Sydney’s favourite boutiques take care of her body, mind & soul.
What’s the best piece of wellness advice you ever got?
To stop worrying what other people think about my decisions. I was surprised at how often I was making choices based on other people’s real and imagined opinions! I’m still letting go of this habit but I’m already a happier healthier person for it.
How do you take care of your body?
Cook! I love to shop at the farmers markets, experiment with different cuisines (with varying degrees of success) and to sit down to a thoughtfully prepared meal as often as I possibly can.
How do you take care of your mind?
Daydream. I like to give myself space to do nothing at all, to allow my desires, worries and wishes to arise naturally so that they can be acknowledged or resolved in a peaceful way.
How do you take care of your soul?
Laugh. Thankfully my family and friends are quite funny people, so spending time with them always guarantees lots of laughs.
What’s your favourite wellness product?
Oh this is a tough one! I really love my Dr Hauschka skincare products, they smell so lush and green and they make my skin glow. Of course my Bodha eye-pillow is my best friend when I’m having trouble sleeping - the smell of lavender is guaranteed to have me drifting off in no time.
Nana’s Lemon Curd
My Nana’s lemon curd is like eating sunshine.
Lemons are a winter fruit full of Vitamin C so they’re perfect for the cold and flu season. Nana’s recipe makes a really lemony curd because she adds the grated skins of the lemons to the mixture while it cooks. This means you need unwaxed lemons so try your local growers market (or check your neighbours trees). And if you can get your hands on the slightly creamy and sweeter Meyer lemon variety even better!
Recipe
4 unwaxed lemons
200g sugar
100g butter
3 eggs + 1 egg yolk
Grate the lemons on a think grate, juice the lemons and cut the butter into cubes.
Put the grated lemon skin, juice, sugar and butter into a heatproof bowl over a pan of simmering water (making sure the bottom of the bowl doesn’t touch the water) and stir until the butter has melted.
Gently whisk the eggs and egg yolk with a fork and then stir into the lemon mixture. Stir regularly until the mixture is thick (around 10 minutes).
Remove from the heat, strain through a sieve to remove the lemon skins and pour into jars.
Enjoy on toast, crumpets or straight from the jar!
Wellness tips with
Gwynne Jones
How this incredible yoga teacher takes care of her body, mind & soul…
How do you take care of your body?
Without fail my daily home practice of yoga informs, nourishes and inspires me. I also regularly have acupuncture.
How do you take care of your mind?
The first thing I do when I awake each morning is to stand up and take a big stretch - I smile into my body and embody gratitude for the gift of a new day full of potential. Then I meditate, twice a day.
How do you take care of your soul?
A daily walk is time to take in the bigger aspects of the world around me. As often as possible I do this with my partner Martin and our dogs. Time together in nature, all weather! The aspects of nature, ocean and the horizon connect me with that which is timeless and endless - the connection of all things, all people. This nourishes my soul.
What’s the best piece of wellness advice you ever got?
To breathe, to learn the art of breath and pranayama - it’s so powerful! Also to learn to listen to my body, to understand my body as the source of my wellness and life balance. With so much advice available to us these days, from so many sources, it seems most people are led by what others are doing for health.
What’s your favourite wellness product?
I love your Japanese brass incense holder! I love to burn Nag Champa incense in my home and meditation space. This holder is an object of simplicity and beauty - it perfectly completes my ritual setting the stage for meditation.
Gwynne Jones is a Level 3 Senior Teacher with Yoga Australia Association She has over 15 years experience of practice and study and teaches across Sydney in open classes, workshops, seasonal intensives and privates. http://www.gwynnejonesyoga.com/
Flourless Dark Chocolate & Cardamom Cake
Emma Galloway of My Darling Lemon Thyme shares a recipe from her new book!
If you’ve got any kind of food allergy, or you just want simple, healthy delicious recipes, My Darling Lemon Thyme is the place! Chef Emma Galloway started her blog to ‘break down the boring, flavourless stigma commonly attached to allergy-free eating’ and share everything she’d learnt from having two children with food intolerances.
A Saveur 'Best Food Blog’ finalist she kindly shares a delicious flourless chocolate & cardamom cake recipe from her brand new book.
Big thanks to my Wellington bestie (and incredible home baker Rachel Barr) who introduced me to My Darling Lemon Thyme after discovering her daughter’s eczema was due to food allergies. I cook from Emma’s blog all the time and I’ve never tried a recipe I didn’t like!
Flourless Dark Chocolate Cardamom Cake
250g dark chocolate roughly chopped
125 butter cubed
50ml strong espresso or orange juice
4 large eggs separated
2/3 cup unrefined raw sugar
2 tbs cocoa powder sifted
seeds from 12 cardamom pods finely ground
whipped cream or whipped coconut cream
Preheat oven to 180C. Grease and line the base and side of a 21cm springform cake tin. Place chocolate, butter, espresso (or orange juice) in a saucepan and heat gently, stirring, until melted and smooth. Remove from the heat and cool slightly. Beat yolks and half the sugar with electric beaters or a balloon whisk for 3-4 mins until thick and pale. Fold in cooked chocolate mixture, cocoa powder and ground cardamom.
Whisk egg whites in a clean bowl until stiff peaks form. Gradually beat in remaining ½ cup of sugar, 1 tablespoon at a time, until you have a thick and glossy meringue mix.
Fold one-third of the meringue into the chocolate batter to loosen it. Add the remaining meringue mixture in one go and gently fold in with a spatula or large metal spoon in a cutting motion, turning the bowl around as you bring your spatula around the edge of the bowl and into the centre. Stop folding the second you no longer see any white lumps of meringue and carefully transfer the batter to the tin, trying hard not to knock out any more air.
Bake for 35 minutes - it will be looking glorious and towering high above the tin, but will still jiggle slightly in the centre.
Remove from the over and leave for 10 minutes, watching the life deflate out of it as it cools. Loosen the side of the tin and leave to cool completely. Serve at room temperature dusted with extra cocoa, or chill in the fridge for a few hours for a more fudge-like consistency. Serve with whipped cream or coconut cream and fresh berries, if you like. Cake will keep, airtight, in the fridge for up to 5 days.
Homemade Almond Milk Chai
Make a batch of this chai spice mix and have a delicious warming drink anytime.
This centuries old blend of traditional Indian spices is full of natural antioxidants and great for your immune system. It’s also considered a ‘sattvic’ or calming drink so if you’re feeling stressed out swap your coffee for a chai.
You can use any kind of milk you like and if you want a caffeine free version just leave out the tea.
Almond Milk
1 cup raw almonds
4 cups water
Soak raw almonds for a few hours or overnight to activate and soften. Drain, rinse and blend with water. Strain through a sieve and pour into bottles. Makes around 6 cups.
Chai Spice Mix
1 tbs freshly ground cardamom
1 tbs ground cinnamon
1 tbs ground ginger
1 tbs freshly ground pepper
½ tsp freshly ground nutmeg
½ tsp freshly ground star ainse
½ cup loose leaf black tea
Mix all ingredients together and store in an airtight container.
To make chai gently warm 1 cup of milk with 1 tsp of chai spice mix for each person. Sweeten to taste with honey or sugar.
The Benefits of Dinacharya
Starting with a small morning ritual can make a huge difference to the rest of your day.
Dinacharya (or daily routine) is an important part of the Ayurvedic approach to holistic wellness. Designed to cleanse the body, prevent the build up of toxins and keep the senses and mind clear it involves a a range of practices done in the same order every morning.
You can do as few or as many as you like, the important thing is to do the same ones in the same order so your subconscious knows it’s time to prepare for the day ahead.
Create your own morning ritual from these common practices and start your day feeling clear, calm and grounded:
- tongue scraping
- nasal cleansing
- drinking a big glass of warm water
- body brushing
- a few stretches/yoga
- meditation
- journaling
- oil pulling.
The latest in wellness
from L.A.
Salt saunas, activated charcoal lemonade, sound baths and colloidal silver smoothies…
If it’s new in health & wellness there’s a good chance you can get in in L.A. After a week trying out the very latest, we bring you our favourites.
Salt saunas
Salt therapy (or halotherapy) is the growing practice of breathing in air saturated with salt particles to relieve congestion, inflammation and allergies.
Salt’s a natural anti-inflammatory and the use of salt for medicinal purposes dates back to the ancient Greeks who frequented salt caves for respiratory and skin conditions.
Today halotherapy consists of sitting in a room made of salt blocks while minute particles of salt are dispersed into the air by a machine called a Halogenerator.
Salt saunas are popping up all over the place, so if you think you’d like to try it check out your local spas.
Activated charcoal
Activated charcoal has long been used in water and air purification systems as well as emergency rooms to treat overdoses and poisonings.
Because activated charcoal particles attract a range of chemicals and have an incredibly large surface area they’re great at absorbing and filtering out toxins.
A reported miracle hang-over cure, activated charcoal drinks, like this lemonade by ‘Juice Served Here’, are becoming a popular way to assist elimination and detoxify the liver.
If you want to try activated charcoal you can also buy it in powder and tablet form online and from health shops.
Sound baths
Given sound is simply energy vibration it’s no surprise we can feel as well as hear it.
All sounds vibrate at different frequencies and research shows certain sounds affect us on a cellular level and can literally alter our energetic state.
During a sound bath you lie in a room while crystal quartz bowls are played in a particular sequence designed to tap into energy centres in the body. Sessions usually take an hour and participants report deep feelings of calm, bliss and relaxation.
Colloidal silver
Before the development of antibiotics silver was regularly used topically and orally for its antimicrobial and antibacterial properties.
Colloidal silver is miniscule particles of silver suspended in liquid. You can find it in creams for eczema and psoriasis where there’s often a bacterial or fungal component, and burns, which are prone to infection.
Now it’s popping up in drinks as a cold and flu remedy, like our favourite Moon Juice 'the Silver Strawberry’!
How to grow clean air
When NASA needed a way to clean the air in their space station they looked to the plant world.
Back in the 70’s the team building the NASA Skylab found that the air inside the space station was toxic. In their research to create a breathable space environment for humans, NASA discovered that houseplants are the best filters of common pollutants such as ammonia, formaldehyde and benzene.
Even though we’re not living on a space station we spend the majority of our time inside surrounded by things like carpet and furniture which, given modern manufacturing processes, often emit a range of toxic chemicals. These chemicals, combined with dust and fumes, can affect the functioning of our nervous and immune systems.
Fresh air is vital to good health. It helps to purifying our blood, soothes our nerves and aids sleep. Based on NASA’s research try these three air-filtering plants to help you breathe and feel better: Areca Palm, Mother-in-Law’s Tongue and Money Plants. Each one filters different toxins at different times of the day creating the perfect little biosphere.
For more information check out ‘50 House Plants That Purify Your Home or Office’ by NASA researcher Dr B. C. Wolverton
Introduction to Vedic meditation
Maybe you’ve heard of meditation, maybe you’ve tried it, maybe you’d like to try it.
In our chat with Vedic meditation teacher Jacqui Lewis we introduce you to the Vedic style and explain how it’s different, what to expect and how to try it for yourself.
Why did you start meditating?
I started meditating 7-8 years ago. I had a baby who was a nightmare sleeper, but I worked straight through (due to some challenging circumstances), and was pretty much falling apart at the time!
I’d tried so many different types of meditation with the irony being that they were actually stressing me out. I wasn’t having ‘thought free meditations’ nor was I reaching a peaceful calm place within meditations - but I did notice a shift and I generally felt better.
Then I came across and learnt Vedic Meditation and my whole world changed. It was everything I wanted and needed - minimum input (20 mins twice a day) and maximum output.
I felt rested, incredibly driven, dynamic yet calm, and like I could take on the world.
What differences have you noticed in yourself?
So many things! Some small and some big.
I don’t sweat the small stuff as much, and in general I’m calmer around smaller and bigger challenges. My daughter doesn’t drive me banana’s, and I can see the humour in things that I previously would have stewed on for weeks.
The biggest change has probably been a perspective shift. To be clear, it’s not only the meditation, it’s also all the training I did to become a teacher. I view things differently now. I see problems as challenges to be overcome, and needs not being fulfilled as a preference not being met.
In general I’m so much happier. I did a little experiment three years into meditating where I took three months off. At first I didn’t notice much difference and wondered if the whole thing was in my mind, but rather rapidly the wheels fell off, and after three months I came back to meditating twice a day and haven’t stopped since. It was great to run that test, as it truly clarified for me that I am a better person when meditating!
How is Vedic meditation different from other styles of meditation?
It’s a mantra based meditation practice and your mantra is given to you based on your stage of life. There are so many amazing techniques out there, however most of them weren’t for me at this busy stage of my life.
There are lots of differences from other meditative practices, one being that Vedic Meditation is an independent practice - once you’ve learnt under the correct instruction with a qualified teacher, you are 100% independently practising. So you don’t need to listen to anything like in a guided meditation or have anyone present to take you through it.
It’s also short, 20 minutes per meditation (I don’t personally know many people who can spend 1-2 hours meditating in the morning). And you can do it anywhere - in your bed, in a chair at work, on a bus or in your car - and that flexibility is incredible. Anywhere you can sit up, you can meditate.
Thoughts are also no barrier to meditation, you learn all about this when you learn, and this I love, as the 'busy monkey mind’ doesn’t apply here, and you learn the physiology of why you have thoughts in meditation and what they mean.
The best thing about it is that it’s incredibly easy - anyone from 5 to 85 can use this technique. My favourite thing is teaching people that say 'I can’t meditate, seriously, I can’t stop thinking’ and then they learn this technique, and it changes their life.
What would be the one piece of advice you’d give someone about meditation?
If you think you can’t meditate, you absolutely can, so stop putting up barriers and learn to from a great teacher.
The one thing I hear from everyone I teach is that they curse, and wish they had learnt earlier.
About Jacqui and where to learn Vedic meditation
Jacqui Lewis is a Vedic meditation teacher and the founder of The Broad Place - a thoughtful modern approach to conscious living.
To learn Vedic meditation find a teacher in your area and get along to one of their free introductory talks (most teachers offer this). Training usually consists of a one-on-one ceremony followed by three group sessions and in total takes around 6 hours.
The Vedic meditation community is growing and once you’ve completed your training you’re able to attend group meditations for free.