OK, it's hard to believe I haven't written a post since December 16th. I felt like I had written a New Year's Message on the True Yoga Blog, but obviously, I haven't. Well, I did send out the True Yoga newsletter last week...so if you don't receive it and would like to, please submit your e-mail address here.

Wow...HAPPY NEW YEAR!

What's been going on over the past month? A lot...but all good changes. Well, I suppose every change is good if we are willing to see the blessing in it. The practice of Anusara Yoga focuses on seeing the goodness in all things. I suppose all spiritual practices or teachings have this focus inherent in them. Life's obstacles and difficulties are our greatest teachers...

Just this past weekend I attended a two-day Yoga workshop in Austin, TX with my beloved teacher, Shiva Rea. She calls herself a river guide, although, if she is not enlightened...she certainly emobdies one of the most powerful connections, I've seen, to the Divine Light/Love...the energetic flow or current of life itself. We all embody this, although some of us are awake in that connection and some of us are not. When Buddha was asked if he was a God or a man, he replied...'I am awake.'

It had been almost two years since I had last studied and practiced Yoga with her. As many of you know, I am in her 200 hour Yoga teacher training program. I have over 250 hours of study with her, all that remains to complete my certification is to finish my book reports and videotape one of my Yoga classes when I am teaching. I hope to complete these last few requirements soon. At that point, I will be able to travel with her and assist her at teacher trainings, workshops and retreats. This has been a dream of mine. When someone asked me if the workshop I attended this past weekend was magical, I responded:

'Very magical. She's amazing. A goddess, for sure. One with the flow/light of love. Amazing to be in her presence. No other place I want to be when I'm with her. It's like heaven on earth. So much love.'

Over the last two years I have wished many times to be able to see her and study with her again. But, it wasn't able to happen because of all that was going on with me, such as the passing of my father. Shiva's mother passed away when Shiva was in her early 30s...so she certainly understand my loss and pain and it is so comforting to feel this connection to her. I feel so blessed to have been guided to be connected to such an amazing teacher as her. She truly lives and is the emobdiment of Yoga. Which, to me, the essence of Yoga is to love God, or Source, with all our body, heart and mind and to love our neighbor as we love ourself. The stretching stuff is nice, but the poses are really meant to connect us to our breath so we can open to the flow of Grace in our life and share that Grace/Love with others. As I've gone through many of these changes I've been healing from recently, the loss of my father, the ending of a relationship, I've struggled many time to find my breath. The hurt and the pain, from both, has often had me live in a resistance to life, rather than an opening. Shiva was talking about how many of us at the workshop were pushing our breath around. She said to not resist the flow of life moving through us. More recently, I had been resisting the flow of energy, or love, from certain people in my life because I had felt hurt by them in some way. Now I'm practicing letting their love flow into me and my love flow out to them, even just energetically. It's amazing what a difference it makes when we are not resistant to the people or experiences in our life. We realize everything is love expressed in infinite forms. The great sufi poet, Hafiz, wrote a poem about this. (and once I get my Hafiz book back, The Gift, I will post that poem here...I accidentally left it at Equinox where I teach.)

Yogarupa Rod Stryker also says to be grateful for all the moments of your life, everything that has happened and everything that is in this very moment. What an amazing way to live life. When we live with this awareness we can realize the blessing in everything, even through life's challenges and struggles. Sometimes we can't see the blessings or trust they are there right away, but the blessings always come and flow if we are faithful and patient.

I had been praying for a while to be able to study with Shiva again and my prayers were answered. It was interesting because a couple of months ago I was talking with a friend saying I hoped and believed Shiva would come to Texas. My friend replied that Shiva wouldn't come to Texas. Two days later, I found out Shiva was going to be in Austin for the workshop I just attended. And, the workshop was such a success...she is planning on returning to Austin next year, as well. WAHE! What a blessing to feel her presence in this state and in our communities. Her healing presence is helping to unify our hearts and minds into the one love, the one breath moving within each of us, interconnecting us all. I have so much more I can write about from my experience and I will share it with you over time.

One thing I wanted to touch on is something she said which was very powerful and expresses what I am writing about here. As many of you know, Ganesha (the expression of the Divine which is the remover of obstalces in our life) is connected to the First Chakra. The first chakra is at the pelvis floor, connected to the organs of elimination, and is our connection to our basic needs for security in the world. So, it involves our relationship to everything, including food, shelter, clothing, etc., and also our relationships with people, friendships, partnerships, etc. The spiritual teachings teach us we are taken care of and provided for and we get to be seated in faith about this reality. The teachings teach us to not worry about the clothes we will wear, or the food we will eat, but to know we will have what we need. Ganesha is the remover of obstalces, that force of the Divine which removes the obstacles from our path. But, one of the things Shiva said, which was so powerful, is Ganesha also puts obstacles in our life to help us to grow. So, once again, we realize there is a blessing in all of the trials we face in life, if we simply surrender to what is, and allow the grace to flow through. When we stop trying to control life, and allow ourselves to live in the deliciously ambiguous unfolding, the miraculous energetic reality of life reveals itself to us, moment-to-moment, breath-by-breath. And, we become awake to our own energetic existence and the energetic reality of existence which is being birthed from us and all around us with every breath we breathe.

I will leave us with this for now. Sankalpa means resolution. In Yoga, we cultivate an intention or Sankalpa in each Yoga practice. As Yogis, we know our positively aligned Sankalpas are already fulfilled for the greater good of ourselves and others. All of the great spiritual masters, teachers and saints teach us to give thanks in advance for our prayers. This doesn't mean we don't need to put forth effort on the path, of course we do. But, as Pattabhi Jois said, we 'practice, and know all is coming.' We allow our hearts and minds to be guided by Divine Light, wisdom and intuitive inspiration and we align our hearts and minds with that Divine guidance or Will. Whatever resolutions we are seeking become reality when our will is yoked with Universal will, and so it is. Iyengar says Yoga is when our individual will is yoked with Universal will. May we rest in the faith of our already realized resolutions as we resolve to evolve in 2010 and beyond.

Om shanti, friends.

Infinite blessings to each and everyone of us.

Oh, also, you gotta download the song, Let Your Heart Be Known by Steve Gold.
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