Posts Tagged ‘Spectrum Wellness Center’

Invoke

Tuesday, July 20th, 2010

What a glorious afternoon in Colorado. After record heats the last few days, I awoke to overcast skies and now enjoy mild sunshine with gentle breezes. Oh yes. Glorious indeed.

I wanted to share my morning class with you, as it has sent me smiling into the world and I’m sure will carry with me throughout my day. First off, to “invoke” via dictionary.com:

1. to call for with earnest desire; make supplication or pray for.

2. to call on (a deity, Muse, etc.), as in prayer or supplication.

3. to declare to be binding or in effect: to invoke the law; to invoke a veto.

4. to appeal to, as for confirmation.

5. to petition or call on for help or aid.

6. to call forth or upon (a spirit) by incantation.

7. to cause, call forth, or bring about.

Wow. That’s a lot to take in. Yet, that is exactly what I asked of my students this morning. That they call to heart the word, and ask what it meant for them. I then read them the short definition as presented by good 0l’ webster: to address or call upon in prayer. With that in mind, I expressed my desire as a teacher to share with them that our bodies are our prayers. Whether we hold religion, spirituality, or just a simple faith that we are alive on this Earth, we can all benefit from a moment of prayer, a moment of communion.

I expressed once how Shiva Rea brought me to this realization in my own practice, in my own body. This process changed my practice forever.

So as we sat through our pranayama practice, as we experienced those first movements into our vinyasas, we prayed. We prayed with our bodies. And though some may not have gotten it, I think that as they continue with their practice, they will. Your yoga may start out as something physical. It may start out as something that you do because you have tight hamstrings, or tension in your shoulders. It is my belief, though not imposed, that through a regular asana practice you begin to discover the spirit of yoga. You begin to peel into the layers of your own divine nature.

When you start moving with prayerful awareness; slowly, subtlety, inch by inch… what will you discover? When you feel the ocean currents in your breath, when you reach up to greet the Sun and ground down to touch the Earth, what will you find hidden just beneath the surface?

Let me tell you a secret:

You are Divine. Everything you do, every breath you take, is Sacred.

We all need to be reminded sometime. I think coming to your mat is an excellent way to remember.

say ‘asana’

Thursday, July 1st, 2010

My favorite girl humored me with her camera skills. Check it.

adho mukha svanasana

adho mukha svanasana

trikonasana

trikonasana

trikonasana

trikonasana

utthita tadasana

utthita tadasana

salute!

salute!

utthita tadasana

utthita tadasana

om namah shivaya

om namah shivaya

advadanta sirsasana

advadanta sirsasana

surrender

surrender

balasana

balasana

Just saying hello.

Thursday, July 1st, 2010

It’s been some time since I’ve posted on this blog. I am happy to note that we’ve succeeded (sort of) in growing (some) things. The garden project is a continuing adventure. By next year, we should have it down.

I’ve felt somewhat neglectful of this blog, but then decided that it was okay, being that it’s more important to live my yoga than to write about it.

My public teaching schedule is limited lately. I’ve been kept rather busy in other areas. My 2 classes at Spectrum are going well, the energy has improved there and I feel like I owe that to Rebecca and Alice. I feel so honored that they chose to continue with me from Om and Garden, and it’s like a little bit of that sacred space came with them.

Or it could be that having them there has allowed me to free up the energy I’ve been holding in. Either way, I am so grateful to have them there.

Life and its daily rhythms are carrying on. Each day is filled. Plenty of chaos. Plenty of love.

I keep breathing.

I love my students.

Monday, May 3rd, 2010

I had two phenomenal classes on Friday. Different venues, different students, different atmospheres. Both however, had amazing energy! Jai! I was so elevated from those classes. The experience and sacred sharing that can happen during yoga is endless.

It’s the energy of my students and the energy we build together. They are wonderful. We do not just share as teacher/student and the practice of asana. We share life. We share precious moments of intimacy. We share the blessing of simply being together.

I end every class with a message of gratitude for my students. And I mean it deeply every time.