(Picture of the waterfall in Chagrin Falls, Ohio)

It's good to be back in Texas. I'm pretty sure that's the first time I've said that in the 8 years I've lived here. I spent the Memorial Day weekend in Chagrin Falls, Ohio, the suburb I grew up in outside of Cleveland. Every year on Memorial Day weekend there is a festival throughout the weekend called Blossom Time. It's the time when high school classes have their reunions, and although it was not a reunion for my class, I did get to see many friends. The trip back home was enlightening, but at moments, painful. It was my first time back since my father's funeral there this past December. He is actully buried there, even though he also lived here in Texas these past 8 years. I'm incredibly grateful I got to go to home to my roots, although now I understand why it took a Yoga studio to fly me up there for the experience. My subconscious mind knew it was going to be difficult and I would not have invested in it myself because some part of me was afraid to confront that which I needed to see about myself. I taught a Yoga class while I was there and that was one of the things I said. Everytime we step on our Yoga mat, it's like coming home to our Self. Well, in life there are real experiences of coming home to our Self in the deepest way possible and this trip back to Ohio was indeed that for me. I'm aware of the courage it took for me to go, to see the things I needed to see in mySelf and I am grateful I was inspired to go now, instead of putting it off for some time.

"The best way out is always through." - Robert Frost

I stayed at the parents of one of my lifelong friends. Her mom is into spirituality and new-thought and so I found a lot of interesting reading material while I was there. One of the materials that really inspired me is a publication called The Sun Magazine.

Here is something I read from the magazine which is awesome.

Who Dies?
By Stephen & Ondrea Levine

Once someone asked a well-known Thai meditation master, "In this world where everything changes, where nothing remains the same, where loss and grief are inherent in our very coming into existence, how can there be any happiness? How can we find security when we see that we can't count on anything being the way we want it to be?" The teacher, looking compassionately at this fellow, held up a drinking glass that had been given to him earlier in the morning and said, "You see this goblet? For me, this glass is already broken. I enjoy it. I drink out of it. It holds my water admirably, sometimes even reflecting the sun in beautiful patterns. If I should tap it, it has a lovely ring to it. But when I put this glass on a shelf and the wind knocks it over, or my elbow brushes it off the table and it falls to the ground and shatters, I say, 'Of course.' When I understand that this glass is already broken, every moment with it is precious. Every moment is just as it is, and nothing need be otherwise.'

When we recognize that, just like the glass, our body is already broken, that indeed we are already dead, then life becomes precious, and we open to it just as it is, in the moment it is occurring. When we understand that all our loved ones are already dead-our children, our mates, our friends-how precious they become. How little fear can interpose; how little doubt can estrange us. When you live your life as though you're already dead, life takes on new meaning. Each moment becomes a whole lifetime, a universe unto itself.

When we realize we are already dead, our priorities change, our heart opens, and our mind begins to clear of the fog of old holdings and pretendings. We watch all life in transit, and what matters becomes instantly apparent: the transmission of love; the letting go of obstacles to understanding; the relinquishment of our grasping, of our hiding from ourselves. Seeing the mercilessness of our self-strangulation, we begin to come gently into the light we share with all beings. If we take each teaching, each loss, each gain, each fear, each joy as it arises and experience it fully, life becomes workable. We are no longer a "victim of life." And then every experience, even the loss of our dearest ones, becomes another opportunity for awakening.

If our only spiritual practice were to live as though we were already dead, relating to all we meet, to all we do, as though it were our final moments in the world, what time would there be for old games or falsehoods or posturing? If we lived our life as though we were already dead, as though our children were already dead, how much time would there be for self-protection and the re-creation of ancient mirages? Only love would be appropriate, only the truth."

Om shanti...this may be one of the most powerful things I have ever read...absorbing these words brings tears to my eyes of relief and release...

Also, I wanted to mention something awesome happening this July 24-29 in Squaw Valley, California. It's called Wanderlust. The three-day event will bring together the world’s leading yoga teachers and the best performers in rock & roll, all in a setting of breathtaking natural beauty. It's a feast for both the body and the senses.

Music by Michael Franti & Spearhead, Spoon, Andrew Bird, Jenny Lewis, Gillian Welch, Broken Social Scene, Kaki King, Rouge Wave, Sharon Jones & the Dap Kings, Girl Talk and many others.

Yoga taught by John Friend, Shiva Rea, Duncan Wong, Sianna Sherman, Elena Brower, Schuyler Grant, Janet Stone, Rusty Wells and more.

I'm hoping to get to attend...it sounds amazing. I will be back shortly with more to share...until then, enjoy being both gratefully alive and dead. :)

"I'll never see myself in the mirror with my eyes closed." - Dead, They Might Be Giants
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One of the greatest Yoga Masters on the planet, Sri K Pattabhi Jois, made his transition today. Pattabhi Jois is responsible for the Ashtanga Vinyasa system of Yoga, which is one of the most widespread systems of Yoga on the planet with hundreds of thousands of practitioners. Almost all modern day styles of Yoga, including Vinyasa and Power Yoga have been inspired by the Ashtanga system. Basically, anyone who has appreciated the gift of Yoga can offer thanks to Pattabhi Jois for his devotion and commitment to sharing and living the techniques and teachings of Yoga, so that we can benefit and grow in a positive way, thanks to his wisdom and knowledge. I said in class tonight, that it's my understanding he was not suffering from any disease, only from the effects of the human body aging and growing tired, which, even Yogis at some point retire this vessel. I also said that once a person has encircled the globe several times, learned how to do every Yoga pose, and inspired hundreds of thousands of people on the planet to practice Yoga to align with their highest Self, really what else is there to fulfill here? He probably just realized his mission was complete. I love some of these quotes of his:

"If we practice the science of yoga, which is useful to the entire human community and which yields happiness both here and hereafter - if we practice it without fail, we will then attain physical, mental and spiritual happiness, and our minds will flood towards the Self."

"Do your practice and all is coming."

I never had the chance to meet Pattabhi Jois, although I hoped I might at some point. But, I am grateful for his incredible teaching which has inspired me in so many ways. Thank you, guruji, for being a true Yogi and sharing your inspired wisdom with us.

This weekend I'm going back to the homeland, Chagrin Falls, Ohio, to visit with family and friends. There is a festival in my hometown every Memorial Day called Blossom Time, and it's the weekend when all of the reunions happen so I'm looking forward to seeing many dear friends. It's a blessing to get to return. I'll also be offering a class at a local Yoga studio there called Nishkama Yoga. I'm looking forward to connecting with the Yoga community there, as well. Other than that, thank goodness for the sunny, clear skies we've been enjoying in Dallas the past couple of days. It's been beautiful! If I'm not back before I go, I'll be back to write more when I return. Happy Memorial Day weekend...enjoy much rest and relaxation with family, friends and yourSelf...

Om shanti...

And, go Cavs!

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Happy May!

The Yoga workshop with Dharma Mittra was incredible. I, and the world around me, have been growing through many positive changes since then, including the birth of two new baby pigeons on my patio! The eggs were there for just over two weeks, in fact, I believe they were laid Easter weekend...which is beautifully symbolic of birth and rebirth. This past Tuesday, I noticed two new baby pigeons had hatched, from the mother and father who sat so diligently, keeping watch over their nest for two weeks, without ever sleeping. (while on duty, at least)...

Anytime I turn my head to the left, from where I sit at my computer, there they are. It's been amazing to watch the babies come into being over the past few days, growing noticeably stronger, even hour to hour. It's also awesome to watch the mother and father feeding them and how cautious and caring they are with their newborns. I feel so blessed to have this experience of getting to watch Mother Nature's miracle firsthand. Of course it's all around us all the time, but how often do we take the time to slow down and notice. Talking to a friend yesterday about this very thing, reminded me of a quote from the movie, Ferris Bueller's Day Off, when Ferris says, at the end:

"Life moves pretty fast. If you don't stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it."

I love that quote. Speaking of that, I've been blessed this week to have a new arrival of my own at my hOMe, with my piano. I've played the piano since I was 4 and this piano has been in my parent's home for 27 years. Like Yoga, playing the piano is a passion of mine. I haven't had it in my space since I moved out after college, and even during college I only got to play it when I went home to my parent's house for Winter and Summer break. And, even then, I was distracted with other things, going out, hanging with friends, and not practicing as much. I haven't been able to spend this much time playing since I was in high school. I would still play when I would go to my parent's house here in Dallas over the past 8 years or so, but even then, I wasn't able to devote the time to deepening my practice because I was there to visit them. So, I would play a little, but I wasn't able to really immerse myself in it.

What inspired me to have my piano moved to my apartment is a dream I had last Friday morning. Actually, I took some time off at the end of last week, as I mentioned in the previous post. On Friday morning, I was resting and lying in bed, in a sort of Savasana state. It was unlike any Savasana dream I had ever experienced, because it felt completely real, so much that it still feels as though it happened on some level. But as I was in Savasana, I had this dream that my piano was at my aparment in the exact place it is in the picture. As the dream continued, it turned into all of my family and my family's friends coming to my apartment for my dad's funeral reception. His longtime friend and business partner of over thirty years, (who actually spoke at his funeral) also came to my apartment. And, at that point, when I saw him in my dream, I came out of Savasana and started crying. I cried because I felt so much love, so much love from him and the love that was between him and my father. And, also so much sadness from missing my dad, but also a deep gratitude for him being in my life. And, I realized at that moment, I needed to have my piano moved to my hOMe. So, last Sunday the movers brought it. My father loved to listen to me play the piano, and it immediately connects me with the most awesome feelings and memories of my dad. It also reminds me of my grandfather, because I played the piano at his funeral when I was 12. He and my grandmother would sit and listen to me play for over an hour, at times, when they would come to visit. Mostly, playing the piano reconnects me with the childlike joy and wonder that I remember feeling as a child, it reconnects me with the positive feeling of the Flow, I was connected to then and am still connected to now. Playing the piano, just like practicing Yoga, helps me to feel the positivity that's flowing within me and all around me. That positivity, or bliss, is natural to who we all are. Yoga teaches our essential nature, is unbounded Consciousness, and this Consciousness is Bliss.

I've also noticed, since practicing this last week, how many similarities there are with playing music and practicing Yoga. I've been noticing how integral the breath is in playing any instrument, to connect deeper to the feeling/vibration of the music to feel it more deeply in the heart. As I've been noticing this, I've remembered that it is our breath which connects us to our heart. This is why we are so in need of Yoga in our present-day world. A student in Yoga class and I were talking about this just the other day. She said her mom and her had attended this talk where the speaker was saying that modern day electronical communication is going to be the death of us. That's a strong way to say it, but really, the toll it is taking on us is significant. All of this electronical communication keeps us in a superficial, cerebral place in our mind, because there is no voice/vibration involved to ground us into our heart chakra, and therefore, we stay distracted and disconnected. How important it is to have a practice of some kind which connects us into our heart. So many people, nowadays, are finding this connection through Yoga, because of their breath. It is reminding us that life is so much more than all of this superficial communication we've been engaging in during more recent years. The real heart of life is in our Union with each other, and, we come to know this Union with each other, as we realize our Union with our own breath/Spirit, Life Force itself.

So, I am grateful that I am taking time to slow down and take a look, at the new family of pigeons on my patio, at the music I love to play, at the incredible people in my life who I'm so blessed to know. I am realizing the truth in the teaching from The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali...one of the obstacles to realizing Yoga definitely is overexertion. Whether it's Ferris Bueller, or The Yoga Sutras, it's wisdom we can all learn from...

Namaste! Read more