Aligning with Grace

I am reading Love Wins, by Rob Bell, and am drawn in by its stark simplicity and deep truth, that is both thought-provoking and controversial... I do not normally read this kind of book, but a review by Krista Tippett in The Washington Post and an article in Time certainly caught my interest... "God Love us. God offers us everlasting life by grace, freely, through no merit on our part." So affirms the back cover... Here's the thing, there is much in this book that I agree with. And so much that is "tantric" in nature as well. I'm sure that's not something the author might expect to hear! I know, I have much to explain. But I think this book could revolutionize Christianity, and why not? Bell asks: "I have long wondered if there is a massive shift coming in what it meant to be a Christian. Something new is in the air." He also says, "Love demands freedom." I may have to revisit this book. It would be interesting to illustrate the ta...

One of the attributes of the Divine, as recognized in Tantric texts and teachings is "svatantrya" or ultimate freedom. It is also an attribute that we strive to embody and attain as yoga practitioners and mundane mystics. I believe it is something that all humans yearn for, and as we observe the events that are taking Egypt and the Middle East by storm, this becomes even more evident and relevant. In my own classes this week, I explored ultimate freedom as resulting from the interplay between Muscular Energy and Organic Energy - two of the principles in Anusara Yoga's Universal Principles of Alignment . It is in the dance between the two that we experience and come to embody ultimate freedom. But it is also in this dance that we consider and ponder the many questions that arise in our lives and that calls us to honor our process as well. Today, as I reflected on three inter-related issues - the profound insights received during a craniosacral therapy session with a very ...

About four years ago, I self-published a volume of my poetry, titled Dancing in the Divine: More Poems from the Heart of Practice , and this theme of dancing in the Divine is one I chose to re-visit this week as a class theme. On Sunday, Anusara Yoga celebrated its 13th birthday. The word Anusara is often translated as "flowing with grace," or "stepping into the current of grace." Anusara at its essence, is a practice which invites us to "align with the Divine." If we align with something - we pulsate in resonance with it - our energy dances with it. Most of us like to dance - behind closed doors in the privacy of our own company where no one else is watching - or we like to do it with a special someone. When we align - we dance - there is a certain fluidity and freedom of movement that occurs when the energy of the Divine moves through us - and in our practice, the Anusara Universal Principles of Alignment lend their support, enabling us to create th...