Hiatus

"He is the inner self of all, Hidden like a little flame in the heart. Only by the stilled mind can He be known. Those who realized him become immortal."  (The Upanishads)

Last week was a busy one. Hence, my blog writing took hiatus. I don't like to be away for long. When my schedule changes I have a tendency to loose my grounding for a bit. Thankfully, I've found my groove again. It's been a good kind of busy, so no complaints.

The previous weekend kicked off four days of Mysore class with Kino Macgregor and Tim Feldman. They make a wonderful team. I had the pleasure of meeting Kino in India last year, however had never taken class from her, and this was the first time I met her husband, Tim. It's easy to tell they both carry a sincere devotion to the practice and to the students they come into contact with through their travels. Right away, they're totally committed to everyone in the room. It's lovely. Kino guided me into Ganda Bherundāsana doing the full bind, feet to the floor, fingers interlaced, resting my chin on top of my hands. She wouldn't settle for anything less. I was thankful for the push. It was just what I needed. A four day kick start delving deeper into Advanced A.

B.K.S. Iyengar in the final stage of Ganda Bherundāsana

Last week, I taught a 5-day Ashtanga yoga intensive at Yogayama  with a group of ALL women.  I took the opportunity to guide practitioners more consciously through the practice, beginning with internal alignment. It also gave a proper kick start for those just coming off of their long summer vacations. We had fun.

I guess every teacher goes through trials of trepidation no matter what the field of expertise. I have my experience with this from time to time. I often feel this before teaching. Wondering beforehand will I have enough to give? Will I simply do a good job? Then, I remind myself no matter what, the practice in itself will do the work required. I'm only a guide in the process. And, for me there is always an element of being firmly committed to assisting a student where they are in the moment. First, coming from a place of acceptance, then opening to their unbounded potential, offering next steps, and continuing to challenge. Going through this with students is highly fulfilling. I had one practitioner share with me how through the practice she was coming into a place of greater self-acceptance and self-love. At the end of the day feeling a layer such as this is what it's all about beyond asana. I love hearing about the discovery, and the insights that are felt when entering into what we experience as yoga. This is why I do what I do.


On top of practicing, and teaching, it always cycles back to the Swedish. I've had to place a fair amount of commitment in this area. I'm learning, not only the language (obviously), but the beautiful diversity from the individuals in my class. It's been a great experience. Gosh, some days I feel as if I'm getting a good handle on the language, and then other days it feels totally hopeless. My classmates who come from various countries, besides the U.S., are often trilingual. A few, even know four and five languages. It's amazing.

I've felt every type of emotion sitting in my Swedish class. One often being frustration. Will I ever get it? Then, I have to remind myself to be patient. Step by step. Learning Swedish grammar really kicks my ass, and takes me back to English grammar. It's been a long time since I've deconstructed a sentence. Seriously, I've had to dust quite a few cobwebs out of my brain. Whew! It's hard work.

photo via