Infinite Bliss Yoga

july 2008

this summer, celebrate what you've accomplished.
maybe a degree of higher education,
completion of some relationship,
release of some or other cycle of your life.
as you hold these celebrations dear,
enjoy these sweet summer moments of play and creativity
even as you look forward to
the unforseen possibilities of growth this fall.
will your studentship take you into the seat of the teacher?
will you make room for a new friend?
will you, with all of your uncertainty, step into an unknown role?

june 2008

it's easy to remember when you're standing and holding a block which way the head of the arm bone goes.
maybe not so easy when you're upside-down and backwards?
what does it take to learn these principles,
to make them so ingrained that
in a moment where the stakes are higher, where we might stand to lose
a moment of bliss,
a relationship,
our breath,
we can in an instant
access
the clarity of our own hearts.
we may act and speak from what we've learned there.
that's called wisdom.

every heart longs to see itself in reflection.
how are we ensured that we're getting the full,
true
picture?
we see ourselves reflected back by our kula,
the company that our heart chooses to keep.
and every heart in the kula
stands affirmed in her place of power and
recognition.
the company of your choice is all the many ways you access the vision of your self,
and it's all the many ways you are
(and i'll quote Mary Oliver here:)
over and over announcing your place
in the family of things.

april 2008

vimarsha.
this is an invitation to
reflect.
back, on what you received.
with gratitude.
what is the taste of the
experience of your experience?
what has it been like for you?
what did you get?
kula? a pose? a seat? a practice?
and reflect forward,
towards what you'd like to get.
what would you want more of?
how much?
contemplate these three:
what do you want?
how much do you want it?
what are you willing to do about it?
the way in which you answer the above
shapes the way we go forward.
as a yoga, and as a kula.
(yes! I do want to read/hear your vimarshas.)

in any position, there is
potential
for optimal alignment and health.
simultaneously, wherever you are,
you are already
full, purna, perfect.
imagine for yourself an energetic twin,
who holds you in all your fullness and perfection.
when we make
conscious efforts
to synchronize with that blueprint
our body senses that we're meeting our potential.
it becomes stronger, more resilient.
everything flows with more ease.

vinyasa -
a sequence of poses held for a short amount of time
without interruption or resting
it's about swimming to match the current,
not
getting swept away.
more about placing ourselves, our bodies, our kula
in a special way,
moving within the rhythm (tala) of our breath

niralambaya tejase
this last line of the Anusara Invocation literally means
a light not supported by anything else
a light that doesn't depend on anything else will endure.
when we connect to this radiant, ever-burning, heat-building light,
we connect to a certain power.
a certain kind of stamina and strength
to hold ourselves in our choices with integrity.