Aligning with Grace

Accepting what is - is perhaps the hardest lesson to learn and to embody gracefully. At least, it is for me... On Saturday afternoon, I attended a yoga workshop with Betsey Downing , one of the first Anusara Yoga teachers to be certified, and now a co-chair of the certification committee herself. The theme for the session, which focused on forward bends and pranayama - was: "Accepting What Is." I couldn't help but think of Byron Katie's book - Loving What Is , and of essential Buddhist teachings which tell us - that when we resist what is - we suffer. Wanting situations or others to be what we want them to be invariably leads to pain. Freedom comes in letting go. But of course, that is more easily said than done. And working on this, is nothing more and nothing less than a life-long enterprise! Here are some of the insights from Betsey I managed to record... "Self-acceptance reminds us that we are all part of the same thing. You are born worthy - you don't ...

Yesterday, I spent the day studying with Betsey Downing , one of my first yoga teachers, and one of Anusara Yoga's true gems. It has been both amazing and an honor to have witnessed her evolve both as a yogini and an human being over the course of 15 years. I wanted to share some of her insights from yesterday... In the first session of the day which highlighted backbends, Betsey spoke of the origin of the word "courage," which is derived from the French word "coeur," or heart. Courage invites us to be our most authentic self... "Yoga is living with virtuosity and being your authentic self... Anusara means to be in the flow of your own essence... Courage means you are able to lead with your heart... We need to re-commit to practices that make us grounded and whole... If you consider a golf ball, the outside or exterior is hard - and it is representative of our ego. But the inside is bouncy, and the center is surrounded by rubber bands. Our Light, our essen...

This weekend, I have the wonderful pleasure of studying once again with Betsey Downing , a Master Yogini, whom John Friend has affectionately referred to as the "Grande Dame" of Anusara Yoga. Betsey was one of my first two teachers, and I took my first yoga teacher training with her, back in 1996. And, she was the first person who game a job teaching yoga back in 1997. But here she was, beginning the Friday night session of her weekend workshop, taking the time to honor her whole lineage of teachers - all those who had gone before her and brought her to the place that she is today. I marveled at the fact that here I was, at her feet once again, with my current teacher, Suzie Hurley, who is also a dear friend of hers. In her introduction of Betsey, Suzie expressed gratitude and joy for the opportunity to enjoy Betsey as a student herself this weekend. And as I have noted before, a good teacher is always - first and foremost - a good student! Another one of those present last...

I've spent much time this last week, contemplating and reflecting upon Professor Bill Mahoney's definitions of yoga, particularly this one: "Yoga is seeing the Divine in all beings." As I mentioned in a recent entry, he also defined yoga as a state of being - and as a technique or practice leading to a state of being. So, I chose to focus on this idea of yoga as seeing the Divine - or the good in everything - in my classes this week - challenging my students a little more deeply than I have, and a few had breakthroughs and experiences that they had not had before... Last week, when I studied with John Friend, he reiterated over and over again, that as practitioners and teachers of Anusara Yoga, we must look for the good - and for the highest always. It is one of the distinguishing hallmarks of our system. This is a practice - and a technique that leads us to a state of being and conversely, this state of being enables us to see the Divine in all. This does not mean...

I awaken slowly, still filled with the insights from last week's study with John Friend , the founder of Anusara Yoga , drinking in the sweet singing of the birds outside of my window - as if, they, like Rumi , were instructing me, "Don't go back to sleep!" They urge me to awaken, not only on this day, but from the deep, dark sleep of living unconsciously: "The breeze at dawn has secrets to tell you. Don't go back to sleep. You must ask for what you really want. Don't go back to sleep. People are going back and forth between the door sill where the two worlds touch. The door is round and open. Don't go back to sleep." I arise, in fullness, with greater awareness, drinking in the light of day, and note how in the simple act of rising, and awakening my consciousness more deeply, I have manifested some of the attributes of the Divine! I recall John Friend giving us an overview of the the Nature of Ultimate Reality, of the attributes of the Absolute...

I go for a walk, and drink in the first buds of spring...My soul is deeply enriched and fed after a week spent in the energy of my teacher, John Friend and my Anusara Yoga family... I think of the song, "Blossom," by James Taylor, and the adolescent still very much alive in my heart, sings these lyrics once again... "Blossom, smile some sunshine down my way Lately, I've been lonesome Blossom, its been much too long a day Melt my cares away... Blossom, there's an empty road behind Sit you down beside me Blossom, there's a sweet dream in my mind There's a song inside me Take these chains away..." I am full of insights, gratitude, and awe - for the birthing of spring - for the week I had - and for the many blessings and expressions of love given and received - in so many ways. Truly, love is all there is... My heart aches for eternal union - yet my soul knows there will be a day millions and billions of years in the future when all souls will merge i...

I have concluded a week of sitting at my teacher's feet with about 100 or so students within the Anusara Yoga community. Some of those attending were Certified teachers, some Inspired, and many were fairly new on the path. But that did not matter - for each soul in attendance reflected a unique ray of the Divine's light. Each one of us is simply in a different stage on the path. And, we were all there as students with a beginner's mind... The week was filled with insights, doubts, fears, breakthroughs, inspirations, turning points, revelations - all the typical things that a week spent with John Friend, the founder of Anusara Yoga always seems to elicit. He never says that we should not have doubts or fears - but it is how we use and transmute them that makes a difference in our practice and ultimately in our lives. Every time I study with him, I come away with profound insights and gems that I take and cast in the river of my students' hearts, where the ripples widen...