San Luis Obispo (SLO)…..

by Mandeep Gaygoat

After a great time on the moon stone beach. We headed south on Highway 1 (Pacific Coast Highway). State Route 1 (SR 1) is a major north-south state highway that runs along most of the Pacific coastline of the U.S. state of California. Highway 1 has several portions designated as either Pacific Coast Highway (PCH), Cabrillo Highway, Shoreline Highway, or Coast Highway. Its southern terminus is at Interstate 5 (I-5) near Dana Point in Orange County and its northern terminus is at U.S. Highway 101 (US 101) near Leggett in Mendocino County. Highway 1 also at times runs concurrently with US 101, most notably through a 54-mile (87 km) stretch in Ventura and Santa Barbara Counties, and across the Golden Gate Bridge.
The highway is famous for running along some of the most beautiful coastlines in the USA, leading to its designation as an All-American Road. In addition to providing a scenic route to numerous attractions along the coast, the route also serves as a major thoroughfare in the Greater Los Angeles Area, the San Francisco Bay Area, and several other coastal urban areas.
SR 1 was built piecemeal in various stages, with the first section opening in the Big Sur region in the 1930s. However, portions of the route had several names and numbers over the years as more segments opened. It was not until the 1964 state highway renumbering that the entire route was officially designated as Highway 1. Although SR 1 is a popular route for its scenic beauty, frequent landslides and erosion along the coast have caused several segments to be either closed for lengthy periods for repairs, or re-routed further inland.

After around 45 minutes we arrived at a town called San Luis Obispo (SLO)

San Luis Obispo ( Spanish for St. Louis, the Bishop of Toulouse) is a city in California, located roughly midway between Los Angeles and San Francisco on the Central Coast. Founded in 1772 by Spanish Fr. Junípero Serra, San Luis Obispo is one of California’s oldest communities. The city, locally referred to as San Luis, SLO, or SLOw Town (as its county is also referred to as SLO) is the county seat of San Luis Obispo County and is adjacent to California Polytechnic State University. The population was 45,119 at the 2010 census.

We headed to bliss cafe,
1035 Chorro Street,
San Luis Obispo,
California
CA 93401
USA
Tel +1 (805) 547-0108
[email protected]
www.blisscafeslo.com

Renee:

As we entered the restaurant, I asked Renee if they taught Kundalini Yoga in SLO, she said there is a class but some distance away. I am still puzzled as to why I asked this question, I have never asked it before. I told her that Sangeet and I are teachers, Renee got excited and asked “do you live in SLO or nearby, I have been wanting to practice Kundalini yoga and found it difficult to find a teacher close by” We said unfortunately not, we did offer to teach her Sat Kriya.

For information on Kundalini Yoga as taught by Yogi Bhajan:

“Kundalini Yoga as taught by Yogi Bhajan® is considered the most comprehensive of yoga traditions, combining meditation, mantra, physical exercises and breathing techniques; it is a Raj Yog, encompassing the eight limbs of yoga into a singular practice of excellence and ecstasy. “Kundalini” literally means “the curl of the lock of hair of the beloved.” This poetic metaphor alludes to the flow of energy and consciousness that exists within each of us, and enables us to merge with – or “yoke” – the universal Self. Fusing individual and universal consciousness creates a divine union, called “yoga.” The Upanishads, dating back to the fifth century B.C., describe the kundalini, although the oral tradition reaches back even further into history. For thousands of years, this sacred science and technology was veiled in secrecy, passed along verbally from master to chosen disciple.”

Sangeet ordered the Bhakti bowl and I had the burger. The food and service is out of this world! Although the restaurant says vegetarian and vegan….it is so not to scare the vegetarians who have not made the transition to veganism. As we were eating for our lunch the restaurant got busier, so unfortunately we were unable to teach Sat Kriya. I offered to email Renee the details.

We then HAD to try desserts, well we might as well do a proper review!!

Both desserts were gluten free as well as being vegan they tasted fabulous!

Sat Kriya:

Sat Kriya is one of the most powerful kriyas Yogi Bhajan taught. It is an entire Yoga Kriya (set) in one exercise (combining posture, mudra, movement and of course mantra).

Sat Kriya is a key part of Kundalini yoga. Beginners can start by practising it for 3 minutes a day. Its effects are numerous.

I will write more on this and explain how Sat Kriya is performed……

After a great meal, we had a wander around downtown SLO, we first came to this town in 2005 and is has become a lot busier.

As we had only paid for two hour ($1) street parking we decided to head back to the car and continue the journey. We got back onto highway 1 and continued south, now some of highway 1 goes inland, so in order to cover more distance in shorter time we decided to go east and get onto the interstate 101 (later, interstate 101 and highway 1 merge and hug the coastline.) There are a number of vista points, which have fantastic views of the ocean.

We were looking out of the vista point and could see dolphins playing, it was a fantastic sight.

Right back onto highway 1……

We went through a town called Pismo, which made me chuckle, I kept saying it whilst driving all the way through town!