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Shobana Cooke Wellness, Colombo (2026)

27/03/2026

It’s that kind of time ~ on the edge of chaos
Sikuru/ Venus goes direct into Mesha rasi ~ stepping out of the frey. Undoing a deep and old knot. Something to consider as Venus is in gandanta. The Gandanta zone is a space of volatility between Water and Fire zodiac signs. Sudden changes to partnerships can occur under this energy. People can suddenly and unexpectedly change old agreements and stagnant collaborations. It’s a transformative moment. The tipping point.
Healing doesn’t always look neat, tidy and pretty. It’s raw, messy and sometimes many versions of you have to die, to integrate the renewal. We have a few more days of this energy to ride.
Keep turning the soil. Patterns are changing and Spring has sprung ~ it’s only in the wet, damp deep darkness of the earth that a seed can sprout.
And one morning, without announcement,
the soil it struggled against, is pushed away and the struggles make way so the seed can meet the sun,not as what it was,but as what the darkness helped it become 🌱

29/01/2026

In Vedic astrology and cosmology, the Navagraha are the nine primary celestial forces that seize, shape, and govern human destiny, karma, and consciousness.
They are not limited to physical planets, but also subtle intelligences that represent karmic patterns, psychological drives, and spiritual lessons.
🌞
Surya (Sun)
Om Hraam Hreem Hraum Saha Suryaya Namaha
Soul, self, vitality, authority influences vitality, confidence, heart, leadership
🌙
Chandra (Moon)
Om Shraam Shreem Shraum Saha Chandraya Namaha

Mind, emotions, mother, memory
impacts emotional balance, peace of mind, mother energy
🔥
Mangala (Mars)
Om Kraam Kreem Kraum Saha Bhaumaya Namaha
Energy, courage, conflict, blood influences courage, protection, blood, strength
🌿
Budha (Mercury)
Om Braam Breem Braum Saha Budhaya Namaha
Intellect, communication, trade governing matters of business and the nervous system
🌼
Guru (Jupiter)
Om Graam Greem Graum Saha Gurave Namaha
wisdom, dharma and expansion. rules over teachers, children and abundance
💎
Shukra (Venus)
Om Draam Dreem Draum Saha Shukraya Namaha
For love, beauty, fertility, creativity, impacts harmony in relationships.
🪐
Shani (Saturn)
Om Praam Preem Praum Saha Shanaye Namaha
For karma, discipline, grief, protection from hardship provides us with endurance.
☊
Rahu
Om Bhraam Bhreem Bhraum Saha Rahave Namaha
For shadow work, obsession, desire, illusion, foreign places and people.
☋
Ketu
Om Sraam Sreem Sraum Saha Ketave Namaha
moksha, detachment, intuition, past-life karmas and knowledge.

14/01/2026

thai pongal 14/1/26

Thai Pongal 14.1.2026, we celebrate the movement of the Sun from Danu Rasi into Makara Rasi ~ promising longer days and more warmth as the Sun begins it move closer to the earth. In our solar system the Sun is the King, ushering in abundance, confidence and strength. Makara Rasi, ruled by Saturn we are called to be disciplined, aware and humble. We begin this cycle this year with Venus in Makara rasi when the Sun enters 9.38am on 14/1.
Prosperity and abundance is the promise of this day, a distinctive blend of dharma, discipline, and refined desire. Makara rasi is ruled by Saturn, calling on both planets to express themselves bound by responsibility, structure, and long-term effort. It’s a period where we must look at the longer term ripples and build on respect over admiration. Structure over spontaneity. Results over recognition. Venus in a mature Makara rasi reminds us about a deeper manifestation of the Venusian qualities seen in simplicity, elegance, and quality. Deeper and meaningful relationships build on longer term visions. The combination of Venus and Sun in Makara rasi bring us abundance in various forms.
In today’s placement Venus and Sun will be so closely placed, beginning this cycle with a combust Venus. This reminds us that it is far from a sensual, superficial romantic dalliance. Instead a call to build meaningful and purposeful alliances. Using our gifts strategically and responsibly. A call to develop a financial sense that is conservative and sustainable. The energy is calling us to build something meaningful and lasting. With duty, purpose and responsibility as the driver led by a refined devotion towards effort.
This is not a time of frivolous abandon. Lean into your discipline, your tenacity and your values. You are ready to take bolder strides.
Sun, Venus and Saturn reminds me that, “The soul learns love through responsibility, and radiance through discipline”

04/01/2026

Much gratitude to our friend and .yoga.fallschurch Yoga studio for organizing a fundraiser on the Duruthu Poya, the first full moon of 2026 to practice the Chandra Namaskar sequence together with me on zoom in support of the work by The Women Collaborators Circle (WCC). The WCC is led by Rev. Sister Canice Fernando in Sri Lanka. WCC is a gathering of women interested in empowering community through value education, curriculum, skills training and counseling. WCC is a felt need of the time for raising consciousness of higher socio-political and economic awareness in poor communities by sustainable economic activities and education.
Rev. Sister Canice Fernando’
vision and call has resonated with women from all walks of life.They have gathered with their various capacities to support the efforts of Rev. Sister Canice to empathetically function towards becoming the initiators of change in reducing poverty, justice making, and creating freedom of space for women and children in Sri Lanka.
The vision of the WCC, is to create an environment where women and children are valued for their full human potential and live in equality, freedom and safety.
The mission of WCC, is to Ignite women leaders in rural communities, by providing opportunities to discover their inner resources and developing necessary talents and skills, so that they can lead from their own authentic voice.
🔗https://womencollaboratorscircle.weebly.com/

03/01/2026

On kindness inspired by Swami Satchidananda;
💗Kindness as natural dharma:
“Kindness is not something you practice occasionally; it is your true nature.”Swami Satchidananda often reminded students that when the mind is calm and the heart is open, kindness flows effortlessly. It is not a moral burden but a return to our natural state.
💗Begin where you are:
“Start with kindness to yourself. From there it will naturally extend to others.”
He emphasized that self-acceptance and gentleness toward one’s own limitations are the soil in which compassion for others grows.
💗Kindness as strength, not weakness:
In his Integral Yoga teachings, kindness was linked with inner strength and clarity. A kind response, he said, arises from courage and balance—not from passivity or fear.

💗Universal kindness:
“See yourself in all, and all in yourself.”
Rooted in the Yogic vision of unity, Swamiji taught that kindness expands beyond personal preference to friend, stranger, animal, and even those who challenge us.
💗Simple daily practice:
He encouraged small, consistent acts, a gentle word, patient listening, restraint from harm. These, he said, are powerful spiritual practices equal to any asana or meditation.
Let kindness be your first response, your resting place, and your offering to the world. In being kind, you lose nothing and you remember who you truly are.

31/12/2025

At its deepest level, Guru does not mean a mere teacher of information, but one who dispels darkness (gu = darkness, ru = remover). The Guru points the seeker from the outer form to the inner light.
Guru and place is the same, as we experience in Kataragama.
In places like Kataragama, many pilgrims experience the site itself as guru. Initiation through pilgrimage, vows, austerity, and surrender. Teaching is through ordeal and grace, rather than discourse. This aligns with indigenous Vedda wisdom where the forest, river, and mountain instruct.
Swami Satchidananda spoke about the Guru with great clarity and restraint, consistently demythologizing the personality while honoring the Guru principle. He often said the guru is like a finger pointing at the moon, if you keep staring at the finger, you miss the truth.
“The Guru only points the way. You must walk.”
~ Swami Satchidananda

31/12/2025

Kataragama is on the southeastern coast of Sri Lanka. It is one of the most remarkable multi-faith pilgrimage sites in the country where the wild and the sacred meet.
It draws devotees from Buddhist, Hindu, Muslim, Vedda, and even some Christian communities all venerating the same sacred space in diverse ways. Unlike many religious complexes that belong exclusively to one tradition, Kataragama is structured so that different faiths worship in their own way where coexistence is the focal
point within the rituals. Kataragama is one of Sri Lanka’s most powerful examples of lived interfaith spirituality, where multiple religious traditions converge around a shared sacred landscape rather than a single doctrine. Kataragama is a shared pilgrimage site where people of different religions walk the same forest paths, bathe in the Menik Ganga, and observe similar disciplines of fasting, silence, and austerity. Devotees participate without being asked to abandon their own faith identity. Conversion is never a focus of the rituals in Kataragama.
The Vedda people regard Kataragama as an ancient indigenous sacred land, linked to ancestral spirits and nature-based worship that predates organized religion.
Nearby is the shrine of Sheikh Jabbar, revered by Muslims and also respected by devotees of other faiths, reflecting Sufi-influenced pluralism.
For the Hindus, Kataragama is the abode of Lord Skanda alsp know
as Lord Murugan, the warrior son of Lord Shiva, closely associated with Tamil devotional traditions. Rituals such as kavadi dancing, body piercings, and vow-fulfilment are central during the annual festival.
Buddhists venerate Kataragama Deviyo as a guardian deity of the Buddha Sāsana.
Each religious tradition keeps its symbols and meanings, yet all acknowledge the sanctity of the place.

30/12/2025

“When you go deep enough into your own religion, you meet everyone there.”
—Swami Satchidananda
Swami Satchidananda (1914–2002), the founder of Integral Yoga, was a pioneer of lived interfaith harmony. His core teaching was simple and radical,”Truth is one, paths are many.”At Yogaville (USA), he famously consecrated the Light Of Truth Universal Shrine (LOTUS)—a space honoring Hinduism, Buddhism, Christianity, Islam, Judaism, Taoism, Sikhism, and Indigenous traditions equally.
He taught that lasting peace begins within the individual and naturally extends to families, communities, nations, and religions. Swami Satchidananda’ philosophy guided his disciples to be aware that it is from the true source of conflict is the ego. Personal ego leads to anger and fear. Collective ego becomes nationalism, religious supremacy, and war.
Swami Satchidananda frames peace work as inner ego-dissolution, not merely social activism. He reminded the his students ajd disciples that Truthfulness, non-violence, and moderation are very important virtues to safeguard in one’s journey to peace. Self-observation and restraint of the senses through Meditation, prayer, and selfless service will keep one of the steady path to peace. Interfaith harmony arises naturally when ego dissolves. Spiritual practice is the most radical form of peace work.
Peace is a daily practice, not an abstract ideal. Peace is a choice.

📸photo of Swami Divyanada Ma, at the Interfaith Graduation service at Ayuwanna for the new Intergral Yoga teachers in Colombo, Sri Lanka 2025

16/12/2025

The Strength card is associated with Sinha Rasi and the Sun. Illustrating the principle of “I am.”When the Sun energy within us is balanced, it gives dignity, courage, clarity and moral strength. When it is imbalanced, it can becomes pride, domination, or play out as a fragile ego. This reflection is a call to look at gentle mastery of this Solar energy ~ that plays out in how we walk in the world. The quality of our ego. A quiet confidence can arise when the heart leads and the ego softens.
In the image, we see that the woman does not battle the lion, she tames it with grace and presence. The Strength card reminds us that true power flows from patience, kindness, and inner alignment. It is the courage to trust oneself, to act without aggression, and to move forward without needing control. This is the bravery of autonomy, the ability to recognize and choosing how we want to walk in the world.
journal prompt ✏️..
Gaze your eye over the Strength card and journal on the prompt below;
“Where in my life am I being asked to soften rather than push and how might gentleness be my greatest strength?”

10/12/2025

Post cyclone Ditwah, has given us a week when our hearts on this island have bled, been shattered into a million pieces and then in the same week we have also been soothed by the kindness extended by strangers. The dedication of relief workers, volunteers pouring love into preparing meals and carrying people, pets and things to safety. Strangers who mended our broken roads and homes, earth angels who appear before us to just be helpful and lend a hand and a heart. We bow down in deep gratitude to all those souls who bravely stepped in to save, help and hold space for each other.
We need to take a moment to bow down to the power of nature and the elements that hold us here on earth. The five elements that manifest the “world” are the same elements that animate us humans. May the elements, the panchabhuta flow in harmony.
May we dedicate more time in our lives to lift the frequency and vibration for all with our chants, prayers and meditations.
May we meditate on the Divine radiance of the Supreme Light that illuminates the physical, mental, and spiritual worlds. May that Light guide and inspire our intellect.
Om Bhur Bhuvaḥ Swaḥ
Tat Savitur Vareṇyaṃ
Bhargo Devasya Dhīmahi
Dhiyo Yo Naḥ Prachodayāt
~ Gayathri Mantra

23/11/2025

Tying a cot/ baby cradle at a Hindu temple is a symbolic offering made by couples praying for progeny. The ritual often works through sankalpa, setting a clear, focused intention before the Divine.
Tying a cradle gives physical form to that prayer, making it concrete and emotionally resonant.
A cot represents the future baby. Offering or tying a small wooden or cloth cradle expresses the devotee’s heartfelt intention and aligns their mind with the blessing they seek. The cradle symbolizes the child you are praying for.
Devotees tie the cradle as a vow and often return with an offering when their wish is fulfilled.
Some of the temples in Sri Lanka you see this practice at;
• Koneshwaram Temple, Trincomalee. Lord Shiva and Goddess Parvati, the cosmic parents
• Kataragama in Sri Lanka,the abode of Lord Murugan.

18/11/2025

A vow is a living part of Tamil Hindu devotional culture. It blends bhakti, folk ritual, and Dravidian temple tradition. A vow is a sacred promise made to a specific deity in exchange for;
help in a crisis, healing, protection, success in an exam or job, resolving family issues, obtaining progeny and/ or fulfilling a pilgrimage. A vow is less a “bargain” and more a “surrender”, a sentiment where the wish maybe as follows;
“please lift me out of this difficulty, and I will come back in gratitude.”
Sankalpa;setting an intention. The devotee mentally states their purpose and what they promise to offer. This can be done silently, with a simple prayer, or in front of a priest.
The idea is expanded within your heart. This brings emotional relief and spiritual grounding.
“I give the burden of my problem to you.”
When the wish is fulfilled, the devotee returns honouring reciprocity, often with symbolic offerings to show gratitude and humility.

📸

Shobana Cooke Wellness

27/03/2026

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14/01/2026

04/01/2026

03/01/2026

31/12/2025

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