Aligning with Grace

It was a full and rich weekend, of teaching yoga on the other side of the river, and re-connecting with college friends. Many of the moments were filled with grace and offered its own beautiful blessings... As I rode to teach classes yesterday morning - subbing for a wonderful teacher - I marveled at the beauty of the fog lifting all around me, and thought of it as a veil lifting and revealing the manifestation of the Divine in every aspect of creation. The beauty simply took my breath away! I began this Monday morning as I have for some time now - with my wonderful garden of yoginis. My students engaged their core very exuberantly, by working strongly with Kidney Loop. They worked hard, and went into their back bodies - initiating their poses from there - and radiantly expressing them fully - from their hearts. I marveled at what I saw - and felt humbled and honored by the beauty they shared with me. What a gift to walk this journey with others - of opening to grace and aligning bodie...

On this, my 54th birthday, I sleep in a little, listening to the rain, and enjoying the quiet of a late fall morning... I am meditating, in my sacred space, ten minutes after arising... I read these wonderful words from Yogananda's Spiritual Diary : "The Searcher of Hearts wants only your sincere love... When your love for Him is as great as your attachment to your mortal body, He will come to you." What beautiful words to read, first thing, on this, my birthday! I sit for an hour, communing deeply with the Divine, offering deep gratitude for my life, for the little things, for the people in it, and for the challenges as well...I make a special birthday request for all those I know who are currently in pain and suffering - and for a special friend... I go to get coffee and then go down to the river...Several feet of drowned leaves hug the riverbanks. It has rained non-stop for days, but in this moment that I visit this river that has played such a significant role in my l...

Yesterday, I was inspired to write this poem after a friend posted a paraphrased quote from Cyndi Lee, as her status on Facebook. It has been a long, full day, of making wonderful connections with many souls. And so, before I go off to meditate, I leave you with this inspiration that came to me, which I know will incarnate into a theme... Slow, Steady, Opening The body is always a gracious temple of the Divine, and when it offers itself wholeheartedly to the practice, its various sheaths— layers of being, or koshas , come into balance and harmony, in a state of oneness. A gifted and wise teacher deftly instructs her garden of beautiful yoginis, each one a unique blossom and embodiment of grace, to deepen their experience, by releasing their affliction, or klesha — by letting go of their tendency to cling to what does not serve their bodies, minds, or souls: “ Let t...

Yesterday, I spent the day with one of my dearest friends, who came to visit and to celebrate my birthday a few days early. We enjoyed each others presence, went for a walk, and deeply shared matters of the heart, and of our spiritual practices and respective life journeys. She is a soul friend, and those are always very precious. I received beautiful gifts from her - a wonderful chakra banner for my yoga studio, with people doing yoga poses inside of each chakra. She also gave me a wonderful T-shirt, with a kayak in the middle, surrounded by the caption, "Take me to the river!" It captured the role and journey the river has played in my life, and I never would have gone to the river initially, had not this dear soul friend brought me to its riverbanks. Somehow, God divinely inspired her to lead me to a place that would figure so prominently in my journey into healing and greater wholeness. I presented her with gifts of my own, including my latest poetry book, so appropriatel...

I have so much I would like to share here, but it must wait. My heart is filled with good things, and wonderful experiences, but it must wait. One of my students asked me to post the "Invocation" we chant at the beginning of every Anusara Yoga class. It is an ancient and very beautiful mantra. So I reproduce it here, with a translation. OM The Primordial Sound of the Divine OM Namaha Shivaya Gurave I bow to the Presence of the Divine within me - Who is my True Teacher Saccidananda Murtaye Whose Essence inside me, takes on the form of - Truth, Consciousness, and Bliss Nishprapanchaya Shantaya And is always present and full of Peace Niralambaya Tejese Completely free, illuminating all with Divine Light

I began this Monday morning the way I usually do - with my Monday morning garden of beautiful yoginis. Last week we explored the theme of devotion, stories of Hanuman, and culminated class with Hanumanasana - which is the splits. This week we continued working with lengthening and releasing the hamstrings by doing poses like Uttitha Hasta Padangusthasana (extended hand to toe pose), and revisiting Hanumanasana, with the theme of "passion and compassion," woven in throughout the class. After my initial remarks on the theme, I shared this reading from The Radiance Sutras , translated by Lorin Roche, that seemed to illustrate the essence of "passion:" "When possessed by lust, or anger, greed, arrogance, jealousy - Stop! Dive deeper. Throw yourself with wild abandon into the elemental motion of emotion. Witness: Fire burning, illuminating, water gushing, moistening, air inspiring, soothing, earth supporting, holding, space expanding, embracing. Go deeper still and...

It has been days since I last made an entry. The days have been full and busy. I taught 8 yoga classes this week - which is twice the number I usually teach, and I will be teaching every weekend except for one, through the end of December... Life has been busy, but as a friend noted recently - it is a good sort of busy. So many wonderful experiences have occurred, many connections have been made, and life has unselfishly dispensed blessings - some unexpected, and some which were initially hidden... I've been reviewing the book, Falling into the Arms of God: Meditations With Teresa of Avila , by Megan Don, which I read a couple of years ago or so. Here are a number of excerpts from Teresa's writings that have spoken to me once again... "Soul, you must seek yourself in Me and in yourself seek Me... Soul, since you are My room, my house and dwelling, if at any time, through your distracted ways I find the door tightly closed, outside yourself seek Me not... With such skill, s...