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written March 20, 2011
i was inspired to start this blog by all of the amazing people who continue to ask me where and when i will be teaching yoga again- so, the answer to that question is: for now, here and now!...
in these entries, i'll be exploring themes like i do in my classes- only if you are interested in doing the hatha part of yoga, the physical practice, that will be up to you- which is perfect, because it's always up to you!...to establish right now, i am not a fan of capital letters, so they will be rarely used...i also won't be editing this- just as in class, i will begin with an intention and follow the flow of consciousness from there-
this is an important practice for me- one of my teachers- since i am so used to writing research papers and needing to edit and reference everything, i can find myself even editing my personal journals sometimes- talk about judgment!
to explain the title of this blog- lavender moon: i was brainstorming (or soulstorming as my friend beth and i say- feel free to use it and share :-)) titles and looked down to the altar on my nightstand- right next to me was the card, lavender moon, from one of my oracle decks. perfect!...when i reminded myself of the meaning of the card, i was surprised at how clearly it spoke to my intentions for this blog-
"by nature, seekers search for answers and truth. we seek a closer relationship with the divine. we are always looking for something. there does come a point though...that we have to turn away from more knowledge and sift through what we've gathered...and measure it against our own soul...we all have our unique path. it is up to us to find it...the lavender moon fairy is prepared for spiritual work...she desires illumination. she wants her path to be revealed...she calmly and reverently asks for guidance as she begins her inward journey" *
one of the reasons i am not teaching as much right now is that i'm feeling called to immerse myself in svadyaya- self-study, a deeply important aspect of yoga- and one that has been highlighted in all of the trainings i have been to this year...in shiva rea's thesis, she describes svadyaya as:
'the basic foundation for embodiment...provides the method for becoming aware of interconnectedness of thoughts, emotions, bodily sensations, feelings, images and insights that arise through the practice...objective witnessing of what's happening internally while doing asanas...notice habits of mind that draw awareness away from being present in the body'
in all of the trainings i have been blessed to attend this year, the message was similar- the need to connect with the deeper and holistic meaning of yoga, and that the real teacher is within and is what is reflected to you about yourself through the poses, not the poses themselves.
looking at this from the perspective of my role as a yoga teacher, it is helping me learn that the best way to teach is to embody the teachings myself; it doesn't really matter what order i do the poses or the music- which has its own importance as artistic expression and creating an environment that helps people connect- but it's not the real teacher.
... it is my intention for this blog to offer you inspiration in developing your personal practice...i have talked to so many people about how difficult this is and i completely understand. it took me a long time to evolve my personal practice to a point where i feel i can get as much or more out of it than going to a class, and there are still so many times that i will stare at my mat on my floor, knowing how good it will feel to practice and i just won't do it...thank you for inspiring me to continue to learn!...if there are any themes you'd like me to explore, or things you'd like to see on here that would help you- (questions, sequence ideas, mantras, etc.), please comment or write me privately...
i'll end this with a quote that tias little read in his workshop yesterday:
"not knowing how near the truth is, we seek it far away" - hakuin, the song of zazen
whether or not you are ready to start incorporating a personal practice into your life doesn't matter- don't let be one more thing you judge yourself for!- when you go to class and in every moment off the mat, you have a chance to practice listening to your inner teacher. we seem to think that when we decide we want to make a change that we must transform our entire existence all at once, to become something different than we are- sound familiar? something i always remember from gurmukh's book that helps me with this is that all we need to do is commit to changing in the next moment or day. and then we can make the same commitment again the next day...'om namah shivaya' is a good mantra to help with this too- it calls upon your inner shiva, your highest truth.
namaste
(i bow to and honor the place in you in which the entire universe dwells, which is of peace, love, truth, light and beauty- and when you are in that place in you and when i am in that place in me, we are in the same place)
- in honor of yoga swami and all of the beautiful people i met there who inspired me to share this- and anyone who may be reading this who doesn't know about yoga swami, here is a link to the video cyrus sutton's during our community activism: save the yogic yurt
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