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I grew up in the heart of Washington DC at a time when racial segregation
and blatant racial discrimination were still common practice. In
the spring of 1968, I watched the inner city burn from my bedroom
window; I was 12. The people were in riotous protest of the assassination
of Martin Luther King Jr. The magnitude of this historical moment
drew
me inward to its core. An encampment was established on The Mall
that stretched from the Lincoln Memorial to the Washington Monument;
it was
aptly named “Resurrection City.” About 2500 campers, mostly
African Americans and Native Americans led an ongoing protest against
poverty and inequality even as their conditions at the site became
so dire as to pale next to their real life poverty.
My mother led me through throngs of people offering her support and
friendship, making it so easy for me to feel safe in opening up to
all of these strangers. As she guided me in the art of loving kindness,
I saw how she draped her warmth over everyone and somehow made these
inhospitable conditions feel cozy.
I joined an ashram at 18 practicing Raja Yoga. My days were filled
with meditation, service (I was a potter and helped support the community
with my wares), and nightly satsangs. My first Hatha Yoga teacher
Maha Laksme, taught me that yoga was totally play and fun, youth
and energy
had me flying with her song. I never met another teacher like her
that so expressed the utter joy of yoga until I met Suzie Hurley.
She has
been my loving guide on my journey to fulfill my desire and bliss
to serve as a yoga teacher.
Yoga teaches us self-love and acceptance first, and then moves our
energy powerfully outward, connecting us all together to our true nature. “The
quiet and secret world of the eternal is the soul. When we love and
allow ourselves to be loved, we begin more and more to inhabit the kingdom
of the eternal. Fear changes into courage, emptiness becomes plentitude
and distance becomes intimacy.”
I am grateful to all of my teachers, my mother, Guru Maharajji, my
husband of 29 years, Suzie Hurley, John Friend, and more for giving
me the tools to help support change and growth in my life and the
courage through study and training to share the knowledge of this
ancient art
and science of self-transformation. |
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