Sat Nam Yoga Spa Blog

NYTimes.com: A Taste of Poland in Arty Brooklyn

2009-09-25T10:14:00.001-07:00

For all of you who know I was born in Poland and for all of you who ARE Polish by birth or in the heart.

This page was sent to you by: buzzroddy@earthlink.net

NEW YORK REGION | September 13, 2009
Local Stop | Greenpoint: A Taste of Poland in Arty Brooklyn
By CARA BUCKLEY
Among the boutiques and bars, Greenpoint, in northern Brooklyn, still has a distinct Old World character.

Adam The story of two strangers, one a little stranger than the other. Starring Hugh Dancy and Rose Byrne. Now Playing in select theaters.
Click here to view trailer



Copyright 2009 The New York Times Company \| Privacy Policy

Catskill Citizens for Safe Energy Update

2009-09-24T13:50:00.001-07:00

News Update

September 23, 2009

Democracy in Action! Support the FRAC Act!

Catskill Citizens for Safe Energy has partnered with Democracy in Action to enable us to easily contact our legislators on the issues that are so important to us. Just sign in with your name and address, and your letter will automatically be routed to the legislators who represent you.

For our first lobbying campaign, we've chosen to focus on the FRAC Act. This important federal bill will subject hydraulic fracturing to the Safe Drinking Water Act and compel drillers to disclose the chemicals they use in their fracking fluids by repealing the "Halliburton Exemption."

Please click here to send a letter supporting the Frac Act!

Status of the FRAC Act Today

To date, the FRAC Act has three sponsors in the Senate, including New York's Charles Schumer and Pennsylvania's Bob Casey. (Senator Gillibrand has promised to vote for the bill but has not said she if will sponsor it.)

Twenty-five members of the House have signed on as cosponsors, including six New Yorkers (Represenatives Arcuri, Hinchey, Maloney, Massa, McHugh and Tonko) and two Representatives from Pennsylvania (Sestak and Murphy). You can track the progress of the FRAC Act here.

EPA Finds Chemicals in Drinking Water

Recent developments in Pavillion, Wyoming, underscore the importance of the FRAC Act. Reports of foul-smelling water, animal deaths, and unusual illnesses led the Environmental Protection Agency to conduct its first analysis of drinking water suspected of being contaminated by drilling. Contaminants,including chemicals commonly used in fracking fluid, were found in 11 of 39 wells. Looking at the evidence, EPA scientist Nathan Wiser said, "It starts to finger point stronger and stronger to the source being somehow related to the gas development…"

This story was first reported by Abram Lustgarten for ProPublica. You can read the entire story here. All of Mr. Lustgarten's investigative articles on gas drilling can be found under "Gas Drilling" on the ProPublica home page.

A Million Gallons a Day from the Delaware?

For the second time this year, the Delaware River Basin Commission delayed acting on Chesapeake Appalachia's request to withdraw a million gallons of water a day from the Special Protection Waters of the Upper Delaware. The Commission was originally expected to approve the withdrawal in July, but delayed action after hearing comments from over 1200 groups and individuals. A second public meeting to consider a revised application was postponed at the request of Chesapeake. A new date for the meeting has not been set.

Drillers and environmentalists alike are paying close attention to how the DRBC handles Chesapeake's request because,in all likelihood, it's only the first of many water withdrawal requests from the gas companies that intend to drill in our area.

Click here to read Chesapeake's application,(called a docket).

More Devastation in Pennsylvania

While New York State and the DRBC continue to put the brakes on drilling in the Catskills, nearby Dimock, Pennsylvania has suffered still more environmental pollution. You may recall that earlier last winter fracking operations contaminated a number of water wells, then in the spring, several gallons of diesel fuel was spilled from an overturned truck. Now, in the latest incident, thousands of gallons off racking fluid contaminated a wetland and stream killing off fish in the area. The spilled fluid contained a proprietary Hallibuton product suspected of causing cancer in humans.

Fracking fluid is also suspected of destroying a 38-mile stretch of Dunkard Creek, which runs along the Pennsylvania-West Virginia border. The creek had been one of the most ecologically diverse streams in the area, with over 160 species if aquatic life; today it is virtually lifeless. Authorities are investigating the possibility that the massive kill off was caused by the illegal dumping of drilling wastewater.

What's Going on with the Sierra Club???

In a policy about-face, the national Sierra Club now seems ready to embrace drilling in the Marcellus Shale. A draft document by the club states that "…shale gas impacts, if properly managed, are somewhat less severe than those other fuels which might otherwise be used, and… natural gas should retain its transitional role." Let the Sierra Club know what you think of this policy flip-flop. One question we'd like to see answered: How much money has the Sierra Club accepted from the natural gas industry?

Two Ways to Benefit Catskill Citizens

1. On Sunday, October 11^th (Columbus Day weekend), we'll be holding our second annual fundraiser at the North Branch Inn in North Branch, New York. The event will get underway at 5 P.M. A donation of $20 will be requested at the door, hearty snacks will be provided, and there'll be a cash bar. For more information, call (845) 468-7063 or email info@catskillcitizens.org.

2. On Saturday October 17th at 3:30P.M., renowned sommelier Karen King will host a wine-tasting in a private home in Narrowsburg. The event will cost $40 and attendance is limited. To make a reservation please email Photi Giovanis at info@callicoonfinearts.com or call 845-887-4202.

If you can't attend either event and would like to make a donation, please send a check to:

Catskill Citizens for Safe Energy
P.O. Box 103
Fremont Center, NY 12736

I am your friend - a poem

2009-08-24T19:00:00.000-07:00

I am simply happy to be your friend.

The true master isn't a person.

It is our Self, the Self of all beings.

Surrender to it, love only it, be interested in nothing but it.

I feel its presence vibrating in those who come to me with the pure intention of knowing it, and they recognize this presence in me.

One could say that this presence recognizes itself in the apparent other by a kind of sympathetic resonance.

The divine in me recognizes the divine in you in the same instant and by the same movement through which the divine in you recognizes the divine in me.

Under these conditions, who is the master and who is
the disciple?

Who is you and who is me?

Summer of 2009 Workshop for Women at Sat nam Yoga Spa

2009-08-12T18:20:00.000-07:00

Can you think of a better way to spend a hot and humid summer weekend than coming to Cool and very green Catskill Mountains to take a Yoga Retreat at Sat Nam Yoga Spa. It's just perfect. Beautiful surroundings, relaxed atmosphere and lots of Yoga, Breath Work and Meditation. It private, it's small but quaint. There is so much to do around here but you can easily do nothing and just simply be. There are lots of classes and workshops to take. One, major workshop is coming up on August 29 & 30 for women only. The 21st Century needs high caliber women in order to make the transition into the Aquarian Age....

This workshop, A Sacred Circle of Women, is a program designed to take women on a journey of personal transformation. The curriculum is a combination of ancient wisdom and modern truth based on Kundalini Yoga and the teachings of Yogi Bhajan for women.

Women have been gathering and communing in sacred circles since the dawn of the recorded world, a sacred tradition that holds the same power today as it did then. Each woman who is part of the circle carries the power of this experience out to her family, her community and the world.
Yogi Bhajan began a movement to uplift women to their rightful status of dignity and divinity. He believed in the fundamental power of women to impact change, starting with herself, sharing it with her family and creating a consciousness shift for the entire world. He created a tradition of gathering women, to support one another on a journey to bring peace and awareness within and to the world around.

"The nucleus of strength in the entire creativity of the universe is woman.
Woman is called `Prakirti'. She is the center of creativity of everything."

- Yogi Bhajan

This workshop will profoundly change your life, improve your health, elevate your relationships and bring greater joy and awareness. If you would like to read more about it or just to register please click on this link http://www.satnamyogaspa.com/specialevent.html or call me at 845-866-3063. Marilyn Gitanjali Valant

ACT NOW Don't miss this. These workshops are very popular. Register early to save!!
Please forward this information to other people, to your friends. Thank you.

On computers and life...

2009-04-16T17:27:00.000-07:00

Hi, I am getting up my courage to write on my blog.
As you know the day I got back from India my computer crashed and no one could fix it or get my data back, so I bought a new computer and started from scratch. In the mean time I took my computer to Chinatown a little over a week ago to a place where 12 years ago some fantastic guys fixed my computer. The building on Broadway and Walker was all locked up and no sign of any tenants. It was raining and I was wondering around asking people if they know of any good computer service here in Chinatown, but all I was getting were tourists....

I went to a coffee/deli shop across the street and got something to eat while I was waiting for my husband to call me back with some info he was looking up on the Internet in his uptown office. I have noticed a nice gentleman sitting behind me who looked like a local guy not a tourist. I asked him if he knows anybody reliable around here to fix my computer. He said, "No, I am sorry, I don't know anybody here". He had a slight accent ....but not like mine. I thought maybe Greek. I smiled and sat down to eat my food. Two or three minutes later, the man handed me his phone and said "speak". It turns out it was a man named Paul, who is a great computer fixer but he is in NJ and will not be in NYC till late evening. I thank him and said "no, I have to be upstate NY this evening to teach a yoga class." I hang up and handed the phone back to the man behind me. His name was Peter. He was just as much disappointed as me. "Wait a minute" he screamed out, "I forgot, Paul has a restaurant on 46th Street and you can leave your computer there and he will pick it up tonight and I am sure he will be able to help you". I hesitated, computer man from NJ owns a restaurant on W46th St, yeah.....I may end up loosing my computer to some stranger, I thought. But then, what I've got to lose?? My computer seems worthless at this point anyway. Okay, I agreed to go to Viva Brasilia on W 46th St and to leave my computer with Tony, the bartender.

It was still raining and I had to hide my computer under my coat. As soon as I got off the subway at Rockefeller Cnt. and onto the street, my phone rang. It was Peter. He was telling me that he call the restaurant and Tony is expecting me and agreed to hold my computer behind the bar till Paul gets there. Peter assured me, as if he sensed that I was worried, that Tony is very responsible and reliable person. Few minutes later I dropped off my computer and I was heading back to Roosevelt Island to get my car and drive upstate. By the time I got to the Island, it stopped raining and I was walking to the garage along the river's edge. Oh my God, Peter and Paul.....God sent me Peter and Paul to help me out. That evening I got a call from Paul. He got my computer and will work on it tomorrow...... Few days later I had my computer back with a new hard disk and all the recovered data on it!!! I was happy. That reminds me, I have to call Peter tonight and thank him. I did once before, but that was before I got my computer back. He is such a nice man....Brazilian.

At the time I did not know what a chore it will be to get that data back onto my new computer and to combine it with all the new programs and new set ups I now have. I spent the last three days moving the date with a memory stick, which I thought was pretty big. I had to do it in parts. I think it took 8-9 times, moving the stick back and forth and finally by last night it was all moved. Wow!!

Today I am fiddling around with the contacts and the address book and I can't open them, after I moved them and now I cannot organize them.....I end up with two sets of Inbox in my Outlook and another day spent at the computer. I am learning a lot but at the same time I feel, I could be doing so many other things, like preparing workshops, or doing a mailing or work in my gardens.....well I hope my computer saga will be all finished by this weekend. So that's it for today....now, you know why I was not very communicative lately or why Sat Nam Yoga Spa website was not updated.
Good night. Sat Nam, Marilyn

Marilyn is back from India!

2009-04-07T08:42:00.000-07:00

Hi Everyone, I'm back from India, and took lots of great photos that unfortunately perished in the computer mishap of 09! Now I also lost your email addresses... please email me with your contact info!

Sat Nam,
Marilyn

Welcome to the Sat Nam Yoga Spa Blog!

2008-08-25T10:29:00.001-07:00

Welcome to our new blog, an information hub for the Sat Nam Yoga Studio and Inn. We will be updating it regularly with anything relating to our property, yoga, healing and wellbeing. Check back soon!