Yoga = Unity

Last summer I traveled to Europe for an incredible tour through 7 different countries. While in Austria, my host family there was curious about yoga. Since I'd been practicing on and off for many years, I felt there were a few basics I could share.  So one evening just before the sun had set, we were out in the back yard and I led them through a few postures.

In that moment I thought to myself how wonderful it would be if I could actually lead them through a real class. The thought truly inspired me...but was not something  I really thought I could manage to make happen in my life.

Shortly after that thought, another one came. Wouldn't it be great if I had a deeper sense of my own yoga practice so that I could take it with me on the road to help keep me (and those around me) centered and balanced?  While the tour was amazing in almost every way, I had to admit the traveling was taking its toll on my well being.

When I returned back to California in the Fall, I took a class at the Soul of Yoga in Encinitas, excited to try out a new studio.  I walked into The Soul for the first time, and I felt an immediate resonance with the feeling there, the people and the teachings.  I felt at home.

Soon, I was attending class almost every day - sometimes twice a day!

I thought...wouldn't it be wonderful if I could spend all day here...or even a whole week here!?

Then, I discovered their teacher training program and was excited to learn that the structure was an intensive course - perfect for someone like me with such a busy and fluctuating schedule.  That was when the butterflies began tickling my inside...and it seemed they were whispering for me to 'take this yoga training!'

I contemplated this for a few months with questions like...where would the money come from? Is now the right time? How will I use this skill in my life, and will it really be practical?


When the time came to make a decision, I stopped asking myself these questions and just listened to my heart.  It told me that I wanted to do this.  It told me I wanted to learn from these teachers, in this place and I wanted to immerse myself in this practice. It didn't matter how or why.  It told me and reminded me that Spirit would take care of all of that for me.

In January of 2012, I started my 200hr training with 24 of the most incredible souls and four of the most unconditionally loving teachers.

The first part of our training blew my mind - literally! It placed me so in my heart, I couldn't remember so much of who I had 'thought' I was before the immersion started. 

So many limiting beliefs were let go of, so much forgiveness was made, so many judgments were lifted, so many barriers to love were disintegrated, and so much compassion for others grew deeper than I ever though it could reach.

After that first 10 days in January, we had two+ months of practicum and homework.  During this time, I went on tour to the east coast, and though I'd brought my yoga mat with me for the trip, I barely used it.  I had let myself get out of practice and got off balance again while on the road.

Upon my return to California, I decided I needed to get myself back into my practice and to share some of what I had learned with others. So, I began volunteering every Tuesday morning at a Clubhouse in Oceanside that supports people with mental illnesses. 

Through this experience, I met my inner teacher for the first time.

It has been such a blessing each week to greet a handful of the sweetest men and women who are 'showing up' to bring some peace and light into their lives.

When I returned for the second half (8 full days) of the training last week, despite my positive teaching experience, I was still feeling very 'low on my spiritual and yogic ladder.'   Turns out I was not alone. A lot of my fellow yogis and yoginis were feeling the same way.  We had drifted apart from each other and on our break, we'd 'forgotten who we are.'

Yet as we came together, we reminded each other that this is what being human is all about...this is what we are all learning. We are spiritual beings in a human body and we are learning how to live from our heart and our soul.  Of course there are going to be growing pains, and yes, its going to be messy sometimes. 

And that is why community is so important.  That is why support from peers helps keep us on track, and will motivate us to do something not just for ourselves, but for others. 

More than ever on the planet right now, we are finding the importance of community, and we are learning tools to help us stay in our hearts and connect with our divine self.  Yoga is just ONE of the many ways we can do this.  Meditation, other forms of exercise, martial arts, music, art, church, walks in nature, human touch and connection...the list goes on and on.

On Graduation Day, as I sat in the circle of my peers and teachers, so much love was pouring out of me.  Deep healing was happening and I was feeling so much that I didn't know how to contain...so I didn't try to.  I just let my heart explode! It felt so good to feel safe in that vulnerable space.

As I received my certificate, I realized that this experience was so much more than a training.  It was a Rite of Passage, a sacred journey into a higher calling, a Divine pact with Spirit that I will share my light and cultivate my love for myself and others.  It was a deep experience of ONENESS.
 
Yoga means Unity. Unity of breath and body, of mind-body-soul, of heaven and earth, of one soul to another.

Yoga to me is about Love.  Light.  Connection with the Divine inside of all of us.  Its about feeling the connection, and BEING the connection between heaven and earth.

Yoga is healing - its the application of love to places where we've been deeply wounded.  It is a devotion to our higher selves, so that we may cultivate and share more Love with the world.

Yoga is community.  While taking a class, we are all connected through our practice, our breath, our energy.  We are sending out a collective vibration out into the world.

Yoga is a tool. I've been taking yoga for over ten years, and I have never felt the true necessity of it in my life until now. When I'm not practicing...I forget to BE ME.

Yoga is trust and balance. It is finding our center...in postures and in life.

Yoga is like music.  For me, it opens my heart, heals me and connects me to the divine.

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I shared this with you because I want it to be a reminder that NOW is the time to listen to your heart.  It doesn't matter what the obstacles are.  We are being called to heal ourselves, to take seriously our passions no matter how impossible they may seem.

We are all going through a deep change during this powerful transition into the 'New Earth.'  We must learn how to love ourselves, each other and how to share our precious gifts.

I invite you to sit and listen to the whispers in your heart.  To trust that if you leap....the net will appear!!