BURNiNG iNCENSE — Conscious Living

As Autumn arrives we select a few fragrances to raise your mood, make you feel warm and generally distract you from the fact it’s cold and damp outside.   No.3 SANDALWOOD This soft and creamy scent makes us feel like we're curled up in front of a warm log fire wrapped in a luxurious blanket from Scotland.     No.2 AGARWOOD Looking over the rolling Welsh countryside in the rain always has us philosophical (the Welsh weather often prompting the question; why are we here?).  Burning this cultured fragrance just adds to the Voltaire-ness.   No.1 O.M.G Soft, warm and velvety...

Generally when people found out I was a monk they conjure up the idea that I must have practiced somewhere exotic, away from it all in forests, mountains or ancient temples with their mysticism and spiritual heritage adorning their worn walls. When they find out it was in Cardiff, on a pretty normal street the look of disappointment that appears is hard to hide. I mention this because the life style we led as monks and the lifestyle people expect is pretty similar, just not the locale. We led pretty low impact lives based on a very simple principle of...

Moments of solitude are amazing. As a monk finding time for introspection and contemplation was easy, 2 hours every morning scheduled for it and months away in ashrams's every year dedicated to it. I moved out of the temple that I called home 5 years ago and these moments seem ever more precious yet ever more elusive. Running a business isn't easy and comes with its own unique set of motivational hurdles as some of you may know. For most of us actually, these essential moments are hard to come by and seem to be ill fitting with modern day living. Trying...

The 1st thing that made me question my decision to become a monk way back in 1997 wasn't the celibate lifestyle (I could see the freedom gained from that), it wasn't the early morning meditation schedule  (4am was when I was used to going to bed not getting up but again I could see the benefit), nope it was when I was introduced to the early morning cold shower, I mean why? What has cold bathing got to do with spiritual life?? These days cold water bathing is going through a bit of a craze, with "ice men" and cold...

More from Alo Yoga.