Introducing MANA Foods & Adi Shakti Ashram
By: Natalie Rae Fuller
There’s a lot going on at the new store off 133, next to Rhumba Girl Liquor and Laundry.
If you drive by, headed towards the Crystal Valley, you’ll see a big forest-green and white sign reading “MANA Foods” on your left. Since the Equinox of March 2018, the store has been filling up with products; something new is there every time you walk in. It’s open Monday through Saturday, 10am to 6pm.
Spirit:
Not only are there a lot to of healthy food and local products to buy, but there’s a whole spiritual side to MANA Foods that the name hints to. Mana translates to “generalized super power, or force that can be concentrated”. MANA foods is operated by the Adi Shakti Ashram, a local non-profit. Adi Shakti Ashram’s mission statement is: To be a creative force in the community, to teach a Sattvic lifestyle providing healthy food and yoga.
Deep roots in the Dandelion Market community
They like to let customers know that the Adi Shakti Ashram has taken up where the Co-Op left off. The Dandelion Market established itself as a foundational corner store to Carbondale by the passion and hard work of our community. It’s products and produce were like flowers to bees. Each member of the Adi Shakti Ashram Board was a member of the Co-Op, volunteered, and deeply appreciated its service. After the beloved Dandelion Market had to close its doors, the Adi Shakti Ashram decided to hold the space for the next Carbondale health food store.
Who We Are
As a member of the Adi Shakti Ashram, I’d like to share about who we are and what we do. Adi Shakti translates to “primal female power”. This is the universal creative energy that flows through all life. Sattvic translates as “balance, harmony, holistic, positive”. We believe we are holding the reins to our own destiny, with the power to heal ourselves. Our planet is a living being– Gaia, Pacha Mama– and we are an extension of her expression. All reality is mirrors; we are reflected what will teach our soul the lessons it needs to develop into its highest form in all moments. We work to have integrity and meet our obstacles, knowing that we each are strong, beautiful beings.
We practice from the lineage of Yogi Bhajan through kundalini yoga and Gurmukhi mantra. Yogi Bhajan came to the United States from India in 1968. He started the foundation, 3HO, “Happy, Healthy, Holy,” believing this is all peoples’ birthright. His teachings for the Aquarian Age are simplified into 5 Sutras, or rules, that are included at the end of this article. One of his great achievements was organizing the International Kundalini Yoga Teachers Association.
We know finding peace is a process, there’s no goal or end, it is a cycle always flowing. To keep our minds and bodies in the best health, we each perform a daily morning practice. We also meet once a week for group practice, and have our 72-hour Equinox Reading bi-annually in the Spring and Fall. We chant Gurmukhi, a sacred text. Similar to Sanskrit, Gurmukhi is not a language, but a vibrational resonance, divinely channeled, to connect to the cosmos. By the way the tongue hits the roof of the mouth, our brain and pineal gland are activated. Gurmukhi comes from the same Reishi region as Sanskrit in India, but was channeled much more recently, 500 years ago, by Guru Nanak. We’ve all heard the Sanskrit sound OM; well, Gurmukhi says ONG. Try saying them out loud; they mean the same thing, but feel differently. Through mantra, we “cut the mind”, and clear the way to oneness. Through chanting, there is a resounding peace that is invited to dwell within. At the beginning, this predictable peaceful experience kept me coming back as I sat, cleared my mind, and chanted. The results were so instant, and visceral, I was astonished. Today, I see it as “exercising my spirit”. Just like my body needs a workout, needs to feel alive, so does my spirit.
At MANA Foods, we provide options that Vitamin Cottage and Whole Foods do not. We provide wholesale orders with only an 18% tax to all shoppers; we allow shoppers to bring in their own containers for bulk (only market in the Valley to do so!); and, we have local products coming from our valley and the North Fork. Having a local market in Carbondale is also integral to our past and future as an agricultural community. Once the Co-Op, now MANA, the non-profit, will always be in the business of local and regional foods, supplying the brick and mortar shop to bring farm products to buyers. We believe in this community, and are so grateful for the support we’ve had starting up!
Now you know more about the Adi Shakti Ashram, we welcome you to stop in MANA Foods, or join us at our weekly kundalini practice. We are excited to share with the community what we do, and help each person help themselves. Come walk in and come take a look at all our epicurious frozen food, healthy snacks, affordable bulk selection (food and cleaning supplies!), select goods and products. You can find us at:
Facebook: Mana Foods Carbondale
Address: 1310 CO-133, Carbondale, CO 81623
Phone: 970.963.1137
The Five Sutras of the Aquarian Age
Recognize that the “other person” is you.
There is a way through every block.
When the time is on you, start, and the pressure will be off.
Understand through compassion or you will misunderstand the times.
Vibrate the Cosmos. The Cosmos shall clear the path.
Natalie Rae Fuller is a 4 year resident of Carbondale. She doesn’t mind if you call her by her first name Natalie, or her middle name Rae, or both. She grew up on potatoes, casseroles and salads (mostly made of whip cream and jello) in Boise, Idaho. She has a passion for writing, is a poet, singer-songwriter and enjoys journalism. Visiting and helping out on farms is a passion of hers. She is a board member of the Adi Shakti Ashram nonprofit. Pictured is the ugly Hairless Peruvian Dog, Taki Pero, whom she met and fell in love with on a journey.