27 February 2013

Stop the violence against women!


With only a week to go until Women's International Day,  I am saddened by the news of women being abused, mutilated, tortured, punished...

It is so so disturbing. Just in the past 24 hours  I read the story of the Afghan woman Bibi Aisha, http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1319804/Afghan-girl-Bibi-Aisha-nose-ears-hacked-Taliban-rule-gets-new-face.html who endured years of abuse prior to a mutilation;  

I read the story of a British woman Sarah Shields being strangled on the beach while on holiday with her boyfriend, because he saw her receiving a text message from an ex http://news.sky.com/story/1057826/briton-jailed-for-girlfriends-holiday-murder

and I read the story of a girl in the Maldives who was ordered to endure 100 lashes because she was raped by her step father http://news.sky.com/story/1057551/maldives-rape-victim-sentenced-to-100-lashes

What is this world we live in?  Are we not supposed to be more advanced by now? Technology has advanced but not the way humans treat each other and women in particular.  To me violence against women is nothing less than barbaric.  And the most disturbing part of it is that year after year it keeps happening. 

At what point would we stand up and say 'Stop. We don't accept violence against women'.   

Women of the world, men of the world - let us all put an end to violence.  Let us all act with respect and appreciation for women.  Let us all act with zero tolerance to abuse of women. 



♥ (⁀‵⁀) ✫ ✫ ✫.

..`⋎´✫¸.•°*”˜˜”*°•✫
..✫¸.•°*”˜˜”*°•.✫ .ℒℴѵℯ, Bilka….ღ

http://bilkagarden.com/upgrape-beauty


Yellow for Spring


Just arrived from late night yoga class. When I got there I discovered that I had forgotten my yoga outfit so that was the perfect excuse I was waiting for to grab one of the expensive yoga kits they had in their shop. Bright yellow like the grapes on my profile photo, hot pants and bra-like top, stretchy, soft and extremely comfortable. So I put on my new sparkling yellow outfit and my yoga teacher laughed heartily and everyone else in the class laughed - the bright yellow was so surprising, so so much in your face, that people just laughed with eyes full of wonder and amazement. I looked like a daffodil. I laughed my head off too. The yellow was simply exhilarating. It gave us what we wanted most - the feeling of spring, the feeling that spring is now just around the corner.  I had a fantastic class!

I am not passionate about clothes, in fact I hate clothes shopping, but when it comes to fitness no expenses are spared - yoga classes, dance classes, clubbing, massage, sauna, jacuzzi, coconut water, natural oils, fitness wear... these are essentials to me. Because I believe in fitness. I believe in beauty that is real and sustainable, not cosmetic beauty achieved through light reflecting ingredients, powders and concealers. When the body is worked out regularly - circulation is up to speed and the skin is good, there is no need to conceal anything. With modern skincare it is difficult to know the wood from the trees these days. They all promise results, smashing effects. And they achieve them. The question is how?...


Bilka skincare has no light reflecting particles to improve the look cosmetically, no powders, no concealers. It is made with high amounts of grape extract and other goodies such as shea butter, natural oils, and bio-active ingredients. Bilka skincare helps the skin recover its own natural beauty, where it needs it most, when it needs it most. It also helps us create a new shape if that is what we wish, with its anti-cellulite gel, slimming oil, or breast enlarging gel. On my Pyramid of Beauty (see the blog post with the same title) I placed physical fitness at the bottom and skincare on the top. When these two work in combination, they are formidable patrons of our skin.

http://bilkagarden.com/grape-energy/grape-energy-anti-cellulite-gel

♥ (⁀‵⁀) ✫ ✫ ✫.
..`⋎´✫¸.•°*”˜˜”*°•✫
..✫¸.•°*”˜˜”*°•.✫ .ℒℴѵℯ, Bilka….ღ



14 February 2013

Happy Valentine's Day!!!



Happy Valentine Everyone! I wish you lots of love and passion today and in the days ahead! 

This day is very meaningful to me. I didn't know how to love and was lost in the sea of various approaches, and styles, and expectations, and cultural constraints, and all the kind of things that determine how we love. And I wasn't happy. I didn't feel fulfilled from love, there was always something missing. 

And last year, I was fortunate to meet my teacher Bhava Jim, who taught me some pretty good lessons of love (see my blog :) and he introduced me to the teachings of Yogiraj Siddhanath, Kriya Yoga, which teaches how to channel the strength of the Sun into our bodies, minds and souls. And I was enchanted. Not because there was something new and magical I was hearing, but because everything he said resonated deep with my true nature. It was like going to school to learn reading and writing and discovering that you have written a few novels without even knowing. 

It was a profound, seismic experience, which felt like blowing up my heart with dynamite and turning it into a bright red lotus with leaves of fire. I discovered my fire within, the strength of my love, the flames of life. And as Yogiraj promised this self awareness made me strong, made me strong to love, made me strong to deal with life's challenges, made me strong in times of adversity. 

It was a time of incredible adversity of the worst kind , and both Bhava Jim and Yogiraj rebuilt my strength and made me stronger than ever! 

So on this day of Love and Passion, I take a bow of gratitude to my teacher James Bhavaji, and to teacher Yogiraj Siddhanath for teaching me how to love, for teaching me the best most profound lessons of Love - Love like a dynamite, nothing less, nothing wimpish, but strong, burning love like the Sun's. This flame is divine and eternal in each and everyone of us.

Blessings for your Valentine ♥ ♥ ♥ 



♥ (⁀‵⁀) ✫ ✫ ✫.
..`⋎´✫¸.•°*”˜˜”*°•✫
..✫¸.•°*”˜˜”*°•.✫ .ℒℴѵℯ, Bilka….ღ

13 February 2013

The Pyramid of Beauty

http://bilkagarden.com/upgrape-beauty/upgrape-beauty-body-oil


Hi All, 
Just thought I'd share my model of Beauty which ensures luminous skin, fantastic figure and a feeling of being invincible.The model is a pyramid. Start reading from the bottom upwards.


Skincare

Professional therapeutic Massage with Natural Oils


Physical Activities: jogging, sports, dancing, yoga, sex (only the good quality one :)


Motivation - You want passionately to achieve the Beauty you desire


Vision and Inspiration - You imagine yourself looking better than ever, better than anyone, You believe in your Beauty


Followed by Relaxation - rest, sleep, meditation, music and anything else that relaxes you

At the base we have Nutrition and Water


Remove one of these factors and the skin will be bad even if the

 other factors are in place. Why? Because each plays a vital role in 


the maintenance of the skin. And skin is our shield against the harsh world -


 weather, pollution, heating and so on. It takes a lot upon itself. And it demands a lot!

So, why don't we make a promise to our skin - that we'll be a bit kinder, a


 bit gentler to it than we have been. 

When was the last time you treated your skin to a good long massage? And


 when was the last time you did some jogging? Circulation is skin's best 

friend. It is essential for the skin. Jogging or massage? 

While sports tone the muscles it is massage that tones the skin. The oils add 


nutrition of the skin through a massage better than if we just slap them on. 

Share your tips with us. What works best for your skin?


My tip today is Marek Handziak - specialist in Swedish massage. For more 


info contact him directly on the link below.

http://www.facebook.com/pages/New-Life-Massage-London/152207398171576


I look forward to receiving some tips from you.

♥ (⁀‵⁀) ✫ ✫ ✫...`⋎´✫¸.•°*”˜˜”*°•✫..✫¸.•°*”˜˜”*°•.✫ .ℒℴѵℯ, Bilka….ღ


http://bilkagarden.com/upgrape-beauty/upgrape-beauty-body-oil



My predictions for the Year of the Water Snake

http://bilkagarden.com/upgrape-beauty/upgrape-beauty-body-butter

Happy New Year of the Water Snake!  


I am a big fan of the Chinese calendar and amazed how many human virtues and faults the chosen animals represent. So this year on 10 February we moved into the year of the Water Snake. Through the years I have been a keen student of the animals of Chinese astrology and have observed how those years have panned out. Based on that I am sharing my predictions below for the year of the Water Snake.  During each year we take on the character of the ruling animal, as it tries to teach us certain lessons. Read below how I envisage the snake year will affect us.

What human characteristics spring to mind when we think of the snake? Sly and devious describe the nature of the snake but of course that is only its style of self-preservation.  It is a vulnerable creature which thrives on love and music, it enchants and is enchanted by music and beauty of the most refined kind. 

It will be a year of playing our cards close to our chests, discretion, secrecy, tact, technique, timing, diplomacy, sensitivity, vulnerability hidden behind self-protection, lots of sex - the snake will not have it any other way - think the primeval, the instinctual, the pre-thought, that is where action will start from - just as it happens when we fall for someone without any reason or against all our reasons. So a lot of clandestine affairs, secrecy, intimacy. This will be the year of getting off our high horses from the professional year of the Dragon, and turning our sights to intimate relationships and matters. The snake is wise instinctively though not analytically so it won't be sitting around contemplating a lot, but if will be active, doing what it knows best - dancing, healing, loving, enchanting or feeling sorry for itself, as it does when the world is too harsh around it. It is the need for self-protection that motivates it to do all the naughty things such as being devious, calculating and sly. And who doesn't want to be preserved. It is just its style. The problem is it does not want to learn anything from those more confident and braver characters who teach us every day that no matter how much we mess up we are protected and invincible, there is no need to be so self-protective, what is the worst that can happen...

 So there will be clashes of philosophies and values - Tigers, Monkeys, Horses and all of those who like acting impulsively and indulge in risk taking behaviours, will end up being worse off, or at least not as rewarded as in other years. The snake does not like those who win every time, this year there may be some punishments, or frustrations, obstacles when the direct course of action does not materialise and calls for a more refined, more technical, or convoluted plan. Just after we've gathered momentum in the Dragon year when we learnt how to bulldoze to our goals and smash obstacles along the way, we now have to slow down and get technical, and may not be as productive this year, but we will achieve higher quality results in the end. 

Happy New Year of the Water Snake! ♥ 

♥ (⁀‵⁀) ✫ ✫ ✫.
..`⋎´✫¸.•°*”˜˜”*°•✫
..✫¸.•°*”˜˜”*°•.✫ .ℒℴѵℯ, Louise….ღ

http://bilkagarden.com/upgrape-beauty-body-butter

9 February 2013

Why is grapes good for the skin?



Why does your skin love grapes? The antioxidants in the grapes mop out free radicals and pump the skin with oxygen, revitalising regenerating the skin texture. 

Grapes = Oxygen = Vitality








♥ (⁀‵⁀) ✫ ✫ ✫.

           ..`⋎´✫¸.•°*”˜˜”*°•✫
..✫¸.•°*”˜˜”*°•.✫ .ℒℴѵℯ, Bilka….ღ




3 February 2013

Africa!


Hi All! How is your weekend? 
What an awesome weekend I am having! After several recommendations I am now watching Africa on iplayerhttp://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/p010jc6r/Africa_Kalahari/the latest programme by Sir David Attenborough, that is sweeping me off my feet with the love it was made for animals and the glorious continent! I have been in Africa once (for 1 month), and I fell in love at first sight with the people and the sensory richness of colours, sounds, flavours. I fell in love with the joy and the dignity of the people, the Goddesslike nature and looks of the women, so dignified and proud, walking like supermodels, dressed like queens, and smiling like children. And I took to it like a duck to water. Never have I been so natural, so truthful to my core essence, in the way when I was in Africa. Africa taught me how to be a human, and how to be a woman. Relax ♥ Don't worry ♥ Laugh ♥ Enjoy the magical journey of your life ♥ Respect others ♥ Know who you are ♥ Respect yourself ♥ Stay close to your heart ♥ Be brave ♥ Don't shy away from a fight when you are right ♥ Be real ♥ Be truthful ♥ Be free ♥ These are the lessons Africa taught me and I bow in gratitude and awe to her Majesty Africa! ♥
One day as I was walking in the shallow bit of the ocean, a massive wave grabbed me and drew me in, taking my blouse off. I never saw that blouse again, it happened so fast, within a second it swam far into the deep. That ocean stole my blouse and my heart. There is a piece of my heart that belongs to Africa forever.

♥ (⁀‵⁀) ✫ ✫ ✫.
             ..`⋎´✫¸.•°*”˜˜”*°•✫
..✫¸.•°*”˜˜”*°•.✫ .ℒℴѵℯ, Bilka….ღ

Know who you are 
Remember your story 
Remember the Invincible You 

http://bilkagarden.com/upgrape-beauty

2 February 2013

February 2013 - time to celebrate yourself!

http://bilkagarden.com/


Wrapping up the first month of this year with some new year resolutions achieved - training, dancing, meditating, cleaning, being truthful and authentic, staying centred and focussed, communicating my goals to the powers that be and getting their blessings (that was a massive massive step forward but only got it right when I opened my heart and spoke from the heart).

This was a good month at Bilka despite some very stressful moments. Made some awesome discoveries about stress management - express express express needs, thoughts, fears, anxieties, worries... and that plummets the stress levels dramatically.

How are your new year resolutions coming along? What did you achieve this month? What do you still wish to achieve? Share your success or difficulties with us, celebrate your story with us, don't be shy!
♥ (⁀‵⁀) ✫ ✫ ✫.
..`⋎´✫¸.•°*”˜˜”*°•✫
..✫¸.•°*”˜˜”*°•.✫ .ℒℴѵℯ, Bilka….ღ

Know who you are ♥ Remember your story ♥ 

Remember the invincible you ♥




http://bilkagarden.com/anti-aging-firming-skincare