Wednesday, July 23, 2008

What if practice was play?

Usually we think of practice as a progression--something that we do that leads us up to something. For example, "I will do core work and that core work is going to make me strong so that I can do my inversions better". It could also be like "if I continue to do this in (pose of your choice) then eventually I will be able to do it right or correctly". I will be the first to say that I am all for alignment. Many of you have heard me say the quote "Order creates space for grace to blossom"--so I do think it's important to line up. I also think that energy alignment is important--sometimes even more so than anything else. I think that if we line up from deep within ourselves--with intention and inner body awareness--allowing breath to literally animate muscles and bones-then we have something really interesting happening within our practice.

From Yoga Spandakarika by Danial Odier:

...This is the most difficult thing to attain: accepting the freedom of movement, the creativity of life, understanding that a fixed state, as marvelous as it might be, is not compatible with life.

Think about an Indian musician. He presents the theme of the raga; then subtly and slowly, he explores all the expressive possibilities of the raga, he ventures out, he touches lightly, he penetrates, he withdraws, he allows himself to be taken to ecstatic joy, returns to the most masterful variations, allows the theme to lead him to an expressive climax and, little by little, comes back down to silence. Never will he play that raga in in the same way........

Let us enter the great spherical movement; let us forget the rectilinear pathway that assumes there is a progression and the attainment of a goal. Let us be like a wave that accepts its pathway, its strength, its weakness, its freedom, the absence of choice.

Once we leave the rectilinear behind, we enter naturally into subtlety. Our meandering movement movement in a forward direction, but movement toward the living, the spontaneous, the creative........

What would happen to your practice if it was more about creating movements towards the poses and movements away from them as well. The pose within the pose and everything in between. Finding all the sweet, joyful, playful, interesting, and complexities awaiting to be discovered by you. You just have to be willing to play.

For those who were with me this last week thank you so much for playing and for entering into the spherical. May we all continue to find ways of connecting to the living, spontaneous, and creative life force.

Love Light and Peace to you all!

A2 THIS WEEKEND YMCA

YMCA 4-6 p.m.

Radical Expansion-Preparing The Heart To Open

Connecting to the principle of opening to something bigger--this workshop will give the opportunity to experience deeply in your body this idea of opening up to the universal. From this place of openness you will learn to expand fully and beautifully in backbends. Learn to backbend without pain and explore fun and unique backbends in safe nurturing and enthusiastic setting.

Hope to see you there!

Wednesday, July 16, 2008

Sacred Moment

Thank you to all who gave so beautifully at the noon time class today at Moksha Riverwest. It's classes like that that fill the universe with so much more shakti (creative life energy). You gave your hearts to the practice--you embodied the fire element and lit up my heart and I hope all of your hearts as well. Thank you all so much for bringing more light to the world.

Namaste

Monday, July 14, 2008

Fueling the Fire-Fanning the Flames

Those of you who are regulars to my classes and this blog know how much I like to talk about fire. I invoke the imagery in classes and I reflect on the element daily as my personal practice. I even have fire etched in my skin as a reminder to be conscious of it's energy in me and around me. To be fair I like the other elements too and think of them as well, but fire is for sure my work here and now.

I want to create space for myself and for you to be able to work consciously with this element in our classes and personal practices so that we can learn to be with intensity without trying to control it and stop it. I want to honor this element within us that is capable of creating so much space by burning what needs to be burned--whether it be aspects of ego that no longer serve us--bringing in more humility and surrender, or literally emotional and physical energy that is blocked within us that only fire can burn through. I know that water can move through tough spots too and create space; earth can ground, nurture and support; and air creates great space and freedom--but fire is what I am connecting to as my healer and teacher.

Fire is sometimes seen as too harsh or hard. Like in class if we stay connected to that fire element for a long time--the class gets hot, hard, intense, and really makes us have this choice of how much am I willing to burn? In fact some good questions might be what can I consciously burn and what can I surrender to. What can I make space for? Where can I let this fire energy travel within me?

Fire can be seen as the destroyer--but is that bad? I see fire, even in the sense of when it happens in nature, as a very natural cleansing act. It's not destruction--but the creation of space. In fact it creates space and in nature when there are wild fires it actually is like the phoenix. The aftermath of all the trees burning actually creates space for the new growth to be brought forth. It takes many years for that process but it happens. I am not saying that the destruction is not painful especially when tragic circumstances occur like the loss of lives and property. I am speaking to act in general. The act is very natural within nature, and it is in us as well.

That is why we need to cultivate an understanding of how it works within us, and maybe how we work against building the fire (also paying attention to how we build it--remembering that all good fires take time to build). Learning how to cultivate our strength within this element can go a long way in making us play with it without overcooking ourselves--and again--sometimes we need to get "well done" so there are no rules--only what is necessary and true to our experience and navigation if life. We can only learn from doing. One of my favorite quotes is "If your very very careful, nothing really good, or really bad will happen". Meaning if you never build a fire--sure you may not burn, but also you may never have new growth either. At the same time just as in nature sometimes we don't have a choice--sometimes a wildfire just happens. It's good to just know the element intimately either way.

I'm drawn to fire because naturally I tend to be more comfortable in air/water like movements. I know though that for my growth and evolution that I need more fire. I'm not naturally that way. I know that might be a surprise to some, but really being in the fire is work for me. It's challenging, hard, tough, etc--at all levels of my being. Teaching the fire then is equally hard--but I know it's what I am supposed to do because it's where I have gone and where I am going within my own life and practice.

I am inspired by Rumi who often refers to fire within his own spiritual practice-

Set your life on fire.
Seek those who fan your flames.
~Rumi

"Thinking gives off smoke to prove the existence of fire. A mystic sits inside the burning. There are wonderful shapes in rising smoke that imagination loves to watch. But it's a mistake to leave the fire for that filmy sight. Stay here at the flame's core."

If your knowledge of fire has been turned to certainty by words alone, then seek to be cooked by the fire itself. Don't abide in borrowed certainty. There is no real certainty until you burn; if you wish for this, sit down in the fire.
~ Mevlana Rumi Quotes from Rumi Daylight: A Daybook of Spiritual Guidance


May you all continue to burn and burn brightly seeking those who fan your flames. As I travel on into my next journey I hope that each of you continues to spread fire throughout the city here so that all of us burn through what separates us from being fully vibrant radiant expressions of grace and love to each other and the world around us.

Peace Peace Peace!

Friday, July 11, 2008

Moving from inside out

It's real easy to allow our practice to become mechanical--especially if we have a strong alignment based practice. I like to remind myself that even when I have a strong focus on alignment that I have to align from the inside out. Attitude before alignment, and it's comes from within the heart. When we get quiet within our meditation, or beginning centering to class it's a great time to check out what's happening with our inner body--that which animates the muscles and bones and draws forth our life force. That inner body is also connected and enhanced by our thoughts and emotions and intentions. If we can connect to our poses from this place and move from the inside out, the poses take on a powerful meaning moving beyond just mere physical expression and beauty, but a depth of expansion that sparks a momentous creative act. You are celebrating, you are creating art, you are honoring that animating and energy and taking ownership of your abundant nature.

You will find that as you begin to explore this is in such poses as backbends for example (which we are working on this week) that if you cultivate this inner body awareness and move from outside in, to inside out, your poses will become so full and all pain associated with backbends will cease. I can't tell you how many of you this week have found new freedom in your backbends--how cool is that! It can keep on happening too! You don't have to have freedom some of the time--you can always to it. Remember it's about opening up to something bigger and then hugging in to that remembrance, and then expanding from the depth of that connection--moving from inside out.

What do you hug into? At given point there are three main places to hug in these are called focal points:

FOCAL POINT A localized power spot within the body. Muscular Energy draws into it, and Organic Energy extends out from it. There are three possible locations for the Focal Point: the core of the pelvis, the bottom of the heart, and the upper palate. In any given pose, only one Focal Point is active. The active Focal Point is the one nearest the most weight-bearing part of the pose. When the three possible Focal Points are equally weight-bearing, the pelvic Focal Point becomes the active one by default.

So for example in Backbends the focal point is the pelvis.

What are we hugging in and expanding out?

Muscle Energy The second Principle organizes and steadies the body, stabilizing the wild periphery of the body to move into the stillness and power of the core. Embrace your intrinsic goodness. Be steadfast like the earth.

Organic Energy The fifth Principle extends the radiant power of the core, aligned through the first four Principles, through the rest of the pose in the culmination of its expression. This expression is the result of the intention of the first Principle – Opening to Grace to align with the Universal. Shine – extend freely like air.




I hope this gives you some tools to have expansions in your practice this week!

Namaste!

Monday, July 7, 2008

The gift of change

I want to express my deepest gratitude to all of you who have been my students here in Chicago, as well as Ann Arbor. You all have been amazing to work with and have allowed my teaching to expand to new heights, and my heart to open in new and profound ways.

It is with sadness and excitement that I share the news with you that I am moving at the end of the month to San Diego, CA.

Moving to me is one of those things that always is hard, but then again change is always hard. When I first moved to Chicago just about a year ago I thought I would never be able to create what I had in Ann Arbor. I was right..but the gift of change is that it brings us what we need, not what was or what we want even. Somehow though the change always transforms us powerfully into who we need to be. Life is larger than my individualism and when I accept that and know that my greatest purpose is to serve--I cannot dictate where and how I serve.

When I opened up to what it was I was supposed to do here in Chicago--it all worked out as it always does. Now in my groove here in Chicago--a deep heart felt longing in addition to a great opportunity for my partner has lead me once again to follow the larger life and expand from what I want to opening up to change.

I am not sure what this current incarnation will bring. Already I feel myself shying away from anything fixed in terms of planning the next few months when I move there. I have a sense that something way better than my planning mind can come up with will be presented to me in all good time. I am just listening, getting online so to speak and connecting to what the universe is saying.

What I do know for sure is that all of you have touched me in countless ways. You have inspired me to be a better teacher and a better human being. Thank you for letting me serve you in this way. The light in me honors and adores the light that shines so brightly inside of you!

Peace!