Thursday, April 19, 2012 at 05:55PM Dancing in the light of our shadow workshop in Riverside with Ashley Fiala and Shannon Lynch Saturday May 26th 12:00‐3:00p.m.
Location:
Anahata Movement Arts
3742 TibbeIs St.
Riverside, CA 92506 Suite 202
Sunday, August 28, 2011 at 07:12PM Since coming back from the Anusara teacher gathering in Squaw Valley, the teaching that has most inspired my daily practice is that of deep contentment. Many times we translate the word ananda (with a long a at the beginning, very important or the word becomes without bliss or something of this nature) as "vibration of bliss". You may be familiar with this word, we chant it in the second line of our invocation- "saccidananda murtaye." We were offered another option for looking at this word as "deep contentment". For me, the practice of deep contentment has been incredibly powerful. I find myself not bouncing around in the extremes of emotion, but centering myself in my heart which is always content and at the same time fully rejoicing in it's experience.
The idea that the center of our embodiment is a vibration of bliss (anandamaya kosha) is sometimes hard to wrap our brain around. It just so happens that our mind is always trying to comprehend and understand things. So, when we are in a challenging experience- frustrated, sad, anxious, or even afraid- how is it that we are still vibrating with "bliss"? The tantric perspective says that all of these emotions and even the experiences that trigger these emotions are divine. After all, nothing exists that is not Shiva/Shakti (Consciousness and Bliss). So how do we experience the full spectrum of our human experience in a blissful way?
This is how I understand it at this moment in my life and how I am playing with it. Everything in our experience is energy moving and changing. That means our thoughts, our physical sensations, even our emotions. All energy is Shakti. Shakti is the energy that dances its way into existance. Without that dance, there is no life. The dance requires opposite actions to sustain itself. So we experience pain and pleasure, grief and ecstasy, fear and peace. At the center of the energy is a higher consciousness, this is what we refer to as Shiva. The center is unchanging, eternal, and perfectly at peace. It can be nothing else. That Shiva essence is each and everyone of us.
So back to aaaaaaananda. If we can bring ourselves into the undissolving joy at the center, we can taste the sweetness of any experience as movement of Shakti. Maybe that doesn't mean that we are totally blissed out, dancing around and smiling from ear to ear. However, maybe it means that we are deeply content, taking part joyously in movement of our lives, with a sweet smile, knowing that our nature is divine.
Monday, January 24, 2011 at 05:51PM Wow! I had a very inspiring weekend with a courageous group of yogis in Temecula. Two of my favorite yogini friends and dedicated Anusara yoga instructors teamed up with me to teach an advanced intensive at Living Yoga Center in Temecula.
We spent many hours together planning, practicing, and studying for the event. Just this alone, was absolutely delightful. The three of us expanded our teaching and our friendship. So when the weekend turned out to be so sri-filled, it was "icing on the cake".
Our goal was to help each student expand their boundaries while aligning with the highest. We chose to focus on the goddess. There were many "firsts". It was so cool to be in the seat of the teacher and observe such transformation.
At one point, a memeber of the kula commented on how beautiful the three of us teachers looked. I paused, looked around the room, and it was shimmering. Looking across the illuminated room was breathtaking. To be able to share Anusara yoga with so many people is a blessing. I am so grateful.
I am still buzzing and just wanted to share!
Tuesday, January 4, 2011 at 03:38PM The standard American holidays have come to an end. Just as with all cycles in nature, as one form dissolves a new form is created. So I look toward a new year sure to be full of new experiences and oppurtunities.
As time continues, we continue to evolve as individuals and as we shift and change so does the environment around us. As the environment that surrounds us changes, so do we. My most radical revelation (which may indeed not seem so radical), is that our beliefs are ultimately in control of how we evolve.
Have you ever wondered why the same event can happen to many different people with entirely different results? For example, I recently read somwhere that some of the wealthiest people in America were created during the great depression. So, in the past couple of years, we have had a rough economy. How have you evolved in this financial environment?
One of the most fundamental principles of Anusara® Yoga is to first see the good. When we shift our perspective to first see the positive, we notice more blessings in our lives. When we seem to mainly give energy to the hardships or struggles, it seems the universe offers us more of those. We can all start to simply perceive the environment around us in a postive way. I choose blessings!
We can all practice being more grateful. My idea is to practice being in a state of bliss. My goal is to find something to be grateful for in every offering from the cosmos. So, when my kids scream at the top of their lungs in a tantrum, I will be grateful that they have a voice and they are not afraid to use it. When my husband leaves a mess in the kitchen, I will be grateful that he cooks for me and the kids. When I feel overwhelmed by all that I have to get done, I will be grateful that I can work.
We are being supported in our lives all of the time. My idea is that we pause, recognize where the support is coming in, and pour the gratitude out of our hearts. When we are grateful, the things we have to be grateful for multiply!
So as a community of yogis, let's evolve this way. We change, the environment around us changes. The environment changes, we change. See the good and as John Friend says, "evolve your perfection."
Happy New Year
Monday, November 29, 2010 at 12:56AM Isn't it amazing how many layers there are to each and every one of us? Know that what appears on the surface is simply an expression of a particular moment. The expression depends on the day, the previous weeks, months, and years. Each of us have our samskaras or impressions, patterns. It's as if the energy gets comfortable in it's pattern. We get to create a vessel to hold it, a mind to direct it. That's why it's so important for us to stay connected to the essence of it.
Everything, big and small, is simply energy taking shape. The energy pulses, changes form, expands and contracts. We are energy, a vibration- many vibrations coming together into one being. Many beings come together to create families and communities.
Depending on the circumstance, we may like the vibration we feel in ourselves or in someone else. That's all we know. For me it's really magnificent when I meet someone and like them right away only to find out over long periods of time that we have more in common than we could have guessed.
As yogis, it is our practice to see through the circumstance and the form to the most divine essence in every vibration. When the connection is not so easy, can we still see that auspcious goodness (Shiva)? What are the layers that have created the form that we perceive? How are we being perceived? It's our responsiblity to hold a space not only for ourselves but for each other that is supportive, and safe. When past patterns don't serve us anymore, we trust in the divine pulse, move with it, and unfold an even more beautiful expression of our most perfect selves.