Consumed by mystery...

The first principle in Anusara Yoga's elegant system is "open to grace." Which could mean anything when you just phrase it as such but broken down and unpacked it means... philosophically you remember something bigger than just yourself, you begin with a students mind open and porous, your inner body gets brighter, you settle, you soften your skin and truly all things come into balance when you relate yourself to the universe and the awe-inspiring potential in each of us.

OTG (open to grace) happens all the time, is threaded through all of the other principles and is essentially what happens when any of the other principles or all of them come into perfect balance. So the first principle is the key to everything and know that the first step is threaded through everything why not treat every moment as the most important first we have ever embarked upon. Everything is a first!

So poor yourself like fuel into the flames of your life and be consumed by mystery.

Room in our hearts...

In order to maintain anything it takes effort. Energy delicately matching our ambition. And if you are like me you don't dream small, everything needs to go to its fullest, its ultimate state and be larger than life. Which is not always the easiest ambition to sustain and to be quite honest, this ambition feels like the undoing to the progression. Just like anything we have to stop and get gas, we can't just blaze through. Actually, I even have hope for us to have natural friction perpetuating technology on day but totally off subject... Regardless, it takes effort to match your ambition, which poses an interesting question... How much?

The variables in this equation are Ambition, Effort and Sustaining that relationship. So first off 'how much' do you want it? Secondly, 'how much' effort do you need to get the ball rolling to the point where your energy and ambition meet? And finally how the heck do you keep it going? We as yogis talk about going deeper all the time but does that mean to "go deeper"? I mean where do we dig? How do we dig? Who's to say that digging would even get us to that deeper place?

I posed this question to my beloved who tends to have a completely different pair of binoculars to look through at the world than I do. He says "Soften". Soften to go deeper and I thought well that sounds a lot like what John Friend would say about melting our hearts but I was looking in the efforting category of tools to go deeper. So a light bulb goes off in my mind! In order to sustain the ambition you need to hug in strong to it but at the same time make room in your heart for all the joys of the world.

Make room in your heart for all the joys of the world.... what's ambition without a little chocolate along the way. Getting there should be just as sweet as all the effort. And make every effort one of JOY!

In our yoga practice we can effort more with the areas of our bodies that don't always join in and then melt open the place where the dreams and ambitions come from to make room for all the joys to flow in.

The Re-charge!

It is auspiciously the New Moon of the New Year and what a great time to re-charge your intentions. After the New Year you feel a super flux of energy super excitement to a super calm and how easy it is to steer off your consistant goals when there is such a tidal wave of energies. So it works out well this year to have a New Moons energies recharge your intentions and vigor to maintain your goals you hold dear to your heart.

Something we all hold dear is our integrity, its the luster you see in yourself when you glance in the mirror, its the confidence and commitment you use to support your friends and its your ability to serve others with fluid grace. Sometimes we need a reminder; that at our essence we are good and that we just do our best just like everyone else does. And I don't know about you but the New Year feels fresh and new with possibilities of new starts. Everything is a new opportunity for make CHIT (awareness) happen!

Give it your best go and keep a consistent flow so that you don't get knocked off course. Happy New Year and many blessings to you and yours! <3>

Brighten the dullness

With the darkest day is behind us... we step into longer and brighter days! So lets pump up the light in our lives and live it with the brightest intentions. The energy after Winter Solstice feels slow moving after the holidays everything is a little less exciting so it is up to us to pump it up. The easiest way to get making "shift happen" is to find the meaning. It is the end of the year where we are as close as it gets to the beginning so be grateful for the journey it took you to get here.

Be ever grateful for every person and experience that happened to make this current moment possible. It has made you who you are and that is always something to be grateful for. No matter if it was the best or worst year of your life be grateful and see the good things. By doing this you send a memo to the universe saying thanks for the "love" and I am ready for more.

"Gratitude is the gateway to love" - JF

The Darkest Day of the Year

Happy Winter Solstice!

Tis' the darkest day of the year... longest night and shortest day. Many things are born in the dark... dreams, seeds and even wishes. We drop wishes into dark wells with hope and belief that they will be heard. This day of the year is where nature aligns at a threshold awakes to all possibilities. All we really ever need to do to make things grow is to align with the natural flow of nature.

Tonight we practiced with our eyes closed for the entire practice. This not only challenges and strengthens our inner practice, senses and connection but it also allows us to practice belief. Belief in ourselves first and foremost, in our dreams or wishes and of course others and the power of the universe.

Dive deep into the darkness and your hearts inner guidance and offer blessings in the form of wishes and dreams out to the universe.

How many yogins does it take to screw in a light bulb?

• How many Bikram teachers does it take to screw in a light bulb? Three. One to preheat the new bulb, one to screw it in and one to remind the light bulb changer to “Lockyourknees Lockyourknees Lockyourknees!”
• How many Anusara teachers does it take to screw in a light bulb? Four. One to hold the bulb, one to outer-spiral the ladder to screw in the bulb, one to say what a great community light-bulb changing creates and one to clap when it is over.
• How many Iyengar teachers does it take to screw in a light bulb? Three. One to put a block under the bulb, one to wrap a strap around the bulb and one to talk about their personal experience with Mr. Iyengar.
• How many Ashtanga Yoga teachers does it take to screw in a light bulb? Just one, except it is done while ujjayi breathing at 6am holding mula bandha with one leg behind the head.
• How Many Power Yoga Teachers does it take to screw in a lightbulb? Three. One to reach for the bulb in utkattasana, one to sweat profusely and one to turn up the volume on the sound system.
• How many Viniyoga Teachers does it take to screw in a light bulb? Two. One to unscrew the old bulb and one to screw in the new bulb since they ideally only handle one bulb at a time.
• How many Kundalini Yoga Teachers does it take to screw in a light bulb? None – they don’t change it, they just revive the old bulb with ‘breath of fire’.
• How many Yoga Therapy Yoga Teachers does it take to screw in a light bulb? Three. One to screw it in, one to mention all the bones and muscles used in the installation and one to use the word “circumduction”.
• How many Yin Yoga Teachers does it take to screw in a light bulb? Two. One to unscrew the old lightbulb and one to groan as the old lightbulb finally releases.
• How many Restorative Yoga Teachers does it take to screw in a light bulb? Two. One to take the old bulb out and lay it on a bolster and one to wake up the new bulb by turning on the wall switch.
• How many Raja Yogins does it take to screw in a lightbulb? One to just sit and become the light.
• How many Bhakti Yogins does it take to screw in a lightbulb? None. They just learn to love darkness.
• How many Karma Yogins does it take to screw in a light bulb? Two. One to screw the new bulb in and one to help surrender the fruits of the old bulb’s illuminations.
• How many Jnana Yogins does it take to screw in a light bulb? Just one to flick the switch up and down and observe their own continued presence beyond light and darkness.
• How many Tantra Yogins does it take to screw in a light bulb? As many as they consciously desire.
• How many Advaita Yogins does it take to screw in a light bulb? Only One of course. And they were predestined to do it. By Another. Even though there’s only One, of course.
• How many Vichar Yogins does it take to screw in a light bulb? One to stand underneath the lightbulb and ask “Who am I?”, which then causes the light bulb to come on.
• How many Yoga Philosophers does it take to screw in a lighgtbulb? Four. One to debate the reality of the burned out bulb, two to argue if the truth is found better in light or darkness and one to write about it. But the bulb never gets changed.

Talented Negotiators

To find a "Happy Medium" in any situation there needs to be at the basic level a commonality between the two parties. Discover this by seeing the good in each other. This is the easiest way and even more basic at least you both agree to LISTEN.

This applies to our asana practice in that by design we have a "Happy Medium" directly built in to our system. It is the midline of our bodies. Slice the body in half and along the middle runs a channel of energy (shushuna), a bridge between the hemispheres of our brains and a place where we can feel centered and balanced. If we are able to strengthen our own connections between these seemingly opposites sides of our bodies then hopefully we be able to find common ground in any of life's seemingly opposing situations.

How far could a little more listening take us?

What if we tried to gain more understanding before offering our side?

If in fact we were able to perfectly sync up the right and left sides of our bodies, we would have a greater chance for the left and right hemispheres of our brains to communicate to one another thus using our fullest capacity to be brilliant. And they don't call it "Happy Medium" for nothing... :)

...the end

"it's when it's seemingly at the end... that we are called to be our brightest"

As the ending seemingly of Yoga Swami draws nearer, I pause and reflect and am compelled to grow brighter...

... in spirit

... in intelligence

... in compassion

Not gripping the experience but holding it as precious and close to my heart as I can. The experience flows through slower and I feel the fragility of things I may take for granted. I may never practice to the person next to me and I may never practice in this way like I have today but clinging and gripping only makes it worse. Shining brighter actually feels more healthy, life affirming and even eases transitions in and out of postures.

Remain your brightest especially when faced with the moment of dissolving energy it is so precious, sweet and can bring such clarity to our feelings.

Water & Wonder

The way you end one cycle is the way you begin another. The way we go to bed at night and end one day will effect how we wake up the next day. The way we end one posture will transfer to the beginning of the next posture. This Restorative class that I have taught at Yoga Swami for 5 years is being threatened of being its last. So in honoring the possibility I hold the highest regard for the ending of this cycle of classes.

Like water though in a bottle it is contained but when let out it is relentless. It will find a way to be free and fluid. We must be like the water fluid in our transitions and relentless to find new hope. Use the gift of WONDER to melt the minds frustrations and fears into curiosity. Wonder with open hearts and minds how to flow smoothly and grace filled into the next stage of this journey.

Blessings to the entire Yoga Swami Family... and Gratitude for all the beings who have made this Restorative space and class so successful and special. <3

Light the Candle and Purify

When I was little I remember one Holiday season where we light the candles like Jewish practitioners would do and all I can remember is us just going through the motions and never really understanding WHY this is a tradition and is practiced. SO this year I decided to Wikipedia the meaning. I found a great story about how the jewish people had reclaimed a favored temple and needed to purify it. Their theory was in order to purify the temple you had to burn a candle for 8 days however, they only had enough oil for one. Miraculously the oil left the candle burning for 8 days!

This made perfect sense and what a great time of year to light the flame and purify. Fire brings 3 great qualities; heat, light and transformative power. Getting warm enough in ones body you can feel more and sync up your actions better. Lighting your focus with clear and presence only supports a more accurate use of ones abilities. Transforming energy within our own temples to serve us better in the next years sounds perfect and protective as many people get sick during these months of Holi-daze!

Hugging muscle energy in and keeping the inner bright with breath supports a well balanced and even scrubbing of our bodies temples. Even simply holding a posture and just breathing into the form clears the channels of energy as they flow through you. So 8 days of lighting candles can be the perfect metaphor for what we do in our bodies to cleanse our own temples each year.

Happy Chanukah!