Om Shanti

Touching the Heart

This past weekend I had the great opportunity to attend Arturo Peal’s workshop at Lulu Bandhas. Like the rest of the times spent at Lulu’s…it was magical.

Arturo has so much wisdom to share. One of my highlights was the Meridian Massage. He showed us how to access the meridian points at first by lightly touching the yin and yang channels along the body…then the same motions and channels but running your hands in the air some inches away from your body. The feeling I felt afterward can best be described as Airy, Light, and Vibrational. I felt unblocked. Maybe it was the combination of restorative yoga, meditation, and chanting before hand that helped me get there also. But there is definitely something special about these new meridians that have been revealed to me.

I feel that as I dive deeper into the study and practice of yoga…and I begin to bring what I learn into my everyday life..that things start to reveal themselves. It’s like everything that I have ever wanted deep in my mind’s eye starts to unfold in front of me. Not in a materialistic way…but in a true way. Happiness, Peace, Deep Love, Wisdom, Knowledge, and Contentment. They begin to emerge with overflowing generosity.

Acro Yoga

I just returned from a business trip to SLC, Utah for the Outdoor Retailer Tradeshow. It’s a really great event. I was very thankful that Prana creates a space for Yoga classes. So I was able to break away during my lunch to take a class to try ro re-center myself. After class, the teacher, Jason, asked if anyone wanted to try out Acro Yoga. I came back a little later and took him up on it. And what a cool experience it was. 

Basically, he laid on his back and stuck his feet straight up in the air. I then placed my hips onto his feet. we then played around with balance. There is so much trust that you have to place in your partner. You have to relax as well. It was so fun. We played around with Bird(boat with straight legs), Shoulder stand, and Scorpion. I was able to get my toes to my head. I haven’t even done this before by myself. I think that with the support and encouragement given by my partner I was able to experience yoga in a different way. I was able to drop my boundary lines and let myself move forward. It was a very playful experience that I am glad I was able to have. 

I am excited to keep exploring this new dimension of yoga that I have come across. It’s ever evolving. 

Safe Space

I love to practice Yoga at Lulu’s. The moment I step into the studio I feel uplugged. Is this all mental? Or is there more to it?  

I feel so protected and safe near the teachers and my fellow yogi’s and yogini’s. Trust. Willingness to go Deep. Ability to share.

 As an aspiring spiritual yoga teacher..I hope to create a safe space for my students. I look forward to gaining their trust. I would love for my students to connect with their inner self in class and carry that knowledge with them afterwards. But am I striving for too much? I think I need to come to terms

I know that when I come to Lulu’s my higher being is happy. And it’s the kind of happiness that no amount of decadent chocolate, good wine, or other earthly pleasures could ever come to satisfy. It is a true happiness. The deep ancient kind. It is here that I am finding myself searching out more recently. 

I will continue my journey on discovering my higher self. Meanwhile, I will work on creating and establishing a safe space for my students.  

Freedom

My father-in-law, Merlin, spoke today at their Unitarian Universalist fellowship about Freedom. He made many points that have been sitting heavy in my heart today.

Freedom means you are free from what was oppressing you. Free of Fear. Free of Consequences. Free of the Past. Free of Sexual or Racial Opposition. Free of Expectation. 

Most often, it takes courage to gain freedom. You must go into those spots that are not so shimmery. You must face what you are battling. It is so easy to oppress and keep things locked away.

Yoga really helps to confront those sticky, dark places. The peace and breath give me the courage to go into the parts of myself that I am not giving freedom to. My Fear of Change. Fear of Being Alone. Fear of Losing Control. Normally, when my world is spinning too fast I find myself further away from my Mat. Once I get there though it all changes.  

Thich Naht Hanh once said something of the sort:  If you are hammering a nail into wood and you accidentally hit your left hand…then immediately your right hand will come to take care of your left.

There is no thought that goes into it. It is an immediate reaction. There is support and compassion all around. And it starts with myself. If I can be compassionate and courageous within myself then I can be more so with others.

As we sung today….”I’m not going to let my Fear of Failure turn me around. Turn me around. Turn me around. I’m going to keep on a’walkin. Keep on a’talkin. And march to the freedom land.”

Keep a loose grip. Don’t let go and don’t cling. 

Friday Night Class

It’s a bit tough for me to write about what my experience was co-teaching my first class with Amber to a group of our friends last Friday. I have been postponing writing about it for some reason. Maybe just procrastination. But I also have felt blocked. I think it’s hard to face the facts that teaching yoga is going to be really challenging.

It was an interesting class..we had 10 ladies attend. We spread our mats out in the backyard. Amber and I had worked together to compile a sequence. We started out on the floor in Savasana and did the Bee humming vibration that Patricia Sullivan taught. We then gathered in a circle and chanted 3 OM’s and continued with Lokaa Samasta Sukhino Bhavantu. We then went back down for a couple more Yin poses before the sun salutations. We incorporated some lunges in there. Followed by arm balances.

I found it hard to keep the pace moving quick enough. When you are explaining how to move into the pose, breath, and do adjustments it is a bit combobulating. And there was 2 of us there to teach and help. It seems hard to coordinate it all. Amber and I were rotating every pose. When one was teaching the other would adjust. Next time we are going to do it differently. I think we will focus on taking turns teaching the entire class. This will enable us to put our flavor on the class. To help our voice emerge. And most importantly to share the message. This new way of splitting the class is terrifying and yet really exciting. Terrifying that I will be up there all alone and am totally relied on the entire time to be the teacher. Exciting that I can be more creative with it.

It was a wonderful experience. One thing I notice is that when I get in front of the class..I feel a bit more self conscious. I need to try to focus on staying grounded and letting things ebb and flow. My toes are wet. I am ready to dive in. 

a bit of the nerves

My tummy is a bit fluttery recently. There is the opportunity I signed on for to sub in August for my Ashtanga teacher Mysore style. There is also the class this Friday that Amber and I are teaching to a group of our wonderful friends from work. We are going to be in our friends cozy backyard, surrounded by great women, and lots of positivity. So what am I afraid of…? I fear I will go blank. I fear that I won’t be able to bring them to the magical place that yoga can take you. I fear that I won’t be able to communicate effectively the feelings I feel when I am practicing. To me words can sometimes get in the way of that bigger feeling. Those bigger emotions.

A few years back, My love and I, when we were on a hike, decided that we would be silent for it. We experienced a totally different relationship with each other and with nature. It was the coolest experience..without words I felt like I could tune into feelings that normally I don’t pay attention to. I wasn’t distracted by chatter but, was more able to focus on the subtle energies that were going on.

On Friday, as I attmept to teach with Amber our first class, I will try to use minimal words to communicate what I need to from pose to pose. I will try to be comfortable in the silence and pay closer attention to the subtle energies flowing around the backyard. I hope to bring forth inner peace, guidance, and relaxation to better enable myself to share with my friends.