I was in for a bit of a shock because I discovered the distributor of a new organic preservative called "Bitter Orange Extract" had fraudulently diluted the product before selling it….the consequences are just beginning to unravel. What prompts someone to take such a thoughtless action? I suspect it was greed. I had used the natural and totally organic preservative in 3 of my new baby skin products. It means the products could go off sooner than they're meant to; their lifespan should have been at least year and half. It shows just how fresh and natural they are...however it has meant I have been busy recalling the products and trying to contact people who bought them. I feel so sad that the products I have made with love have been affected this way, through no fault of my own or my supplier who had bought it in good faith. As a journalist I would often come across many cases where greed had ended in tragedy. I remember investigating Mad Cow Disease and the devastating effect of eating contaminated meat had on too many innocent people. There had been attempts to cover up the number of humans who had died from CJD (Creutzfeldt Jacobs Disease). One brave family opened up their hearts to me and I hope that their sad story and subsequent campaign following the untimely death of their beautiful son would change things for the better. It certainly put the matter on the political agenda and improved safety regulations governing the sale of meat in the UK and Europe. I believe the root cause was profit and greed were put before human welfare – animals were cannibalised and fed their own species or other animal carcases to fatten them up quicker and the problems were compounded by unscrupulous farmers and traders who sold the diseased meat to the unsuspecting public. The actions of a few greedy people led to death and the devastation of many livelihoods – such as the hard working decent farmers who cared for their animals or the honest people in the industry who were just trying to make a living. How can you compensate for the loss of your loved one is such an unnecessary way? I guess when you put your own individual interests above all else, “I’m alright Jack”, “Why should I care about anybody else?” is where the trouble starts. No thoughts are given for how your actions could affect others. This brings me on to Yoga because Yoga is about so much more than postures – the perpetrators of the crimes above would not have done what they did if they practised yoga. Yoga is all about of way of living, a philosophy or code of conduct. Last year I told you a bit about the history of yoga and how it means a union with our higher self or God (whatever you want to call it.). Yoga is all about showing us ways of how we can live a life free from pain and suffering. Imagine asking God for an end to suffering – a pretty tall order! According to Yoga, there are eight paths that lead us towards this great goal. (I will go in to them in more depth over the coming weeks, but for now the ones that are at the forefront of my mind :) The first is Yama – which outlines what good behaviour is all about or the code of conduct for living in a harmonious way with yourself and others; then there is Niyama, which is about the disciplines you need in order to be a better person. The Yamas and Niyama go hand in hand in daily life and are basically highlighting the importance of social and ethical discipline - our individual responsibility. I guess they are sort of Yoga’s Ten Commandments for a healthy and responsible life. Put simply, there are five Yamas: 1. Ahimsa - Non-violence 2. Satya – Telling the truth 3. Asteya – Not stealing from others 4. Bramacharaya – Self control 5. Aparigraha – Non greediness There are also five Niyamas: 1. Saucha – Cleanliness 2. Santosha – Contentment 3. Tapas – Doing your very best at all times; 100% effort and nothing less. 4. Svadhyaya – Self study/Reflection 5. Ishvara pranidhana – Devotion Each one of these paths has its own stories to illustrate their importance to our happiness and wellbeing; I shall share them with you over the coming weeks. Basically if we lived by these codes of conduct set out in the philosophy of Yoga, there would be much less suffering in the world. Children in poor countries like Africa would not be dying from starvation and lack of basic human rights. We would not be faced with global warming, horrible acts of terrorism and terrible acts of cruelty that we witness on our daily News reports; and there certainly would not be the desire to make a quick buck at the expense of safety and care. Thankfully the situation has been resolved. Our lovely customers supported us and were delighted to get their replacement products and a thank you gift to show how much we care about them and how sorry we are that this unfortunate incident happened.