When I dragged myself to my first sunrise yoga session to support a friend who was recovering from cancer, I had no idea I had started my own yogic journey. I certainly did not see the path I've been on ever since, toward health and fulfillment. It used to hurt to go up stairs and to sit for long periods-even for centering. This arthritis pain has eased over the years; I attribute this to the yoga classes here.
Until you travel to other cities, one doesn't realize what a jewel we have here at Willow Street with caring, well trained teachers and modern sages who lead discussions and meditations. But on this journey, where will I end up?
From the first classes, my journey continued. In addition to a full time career, with the support of friends and my husband of 41 years, Charlie, I enrolled in the 200 hour and 500 hour YTT. Jenny Otto has been my in home mentor since 2002.
I have been blessed to have been able to assist Jenny in Injuries and Special Conditions classes over the years and to assist her in that area in her teacher training program at her studio--all this because we had a conversation in the hall about my son-in-law with multiple sclerosis. This life is a play of contrasts. It is truly a dance. Where there is suffering, there is also relief. One needs the darkness to appreciate the light. One just has to be open to the endless possibilities. So where will I end up?
When Suzie and Kate offered a yoga and meditation retreat to the Himalayas, I so wanted to go. With the support of my husband, children and grandchildren, they sent me on an adventure, first visiting relatives in Mumbai and Delhi. After the Taj Mahal, I joined Suzie and Kate's group. It was an experience of a lifetime-to swim in the Ganges on my 60th birthday, to be part of another loving kula, to walk in the footsteps of ancient sages in the foothills of the Himalayas and to have Shanti Mayi agree to be a spiritual guide. But where will I end up?
As I work toward John Friend's certification requirements, I find my own practice is becoming a yoga (union) of yogas-meditation, breath and asana all intertwined. In a loving environment, we can each flourish on our own path. I am blessed to have the guidance of Rod Stryker. In Studio 1, I remember chanting at satsang: “Om, mani padme, om”-there is a gem inside of each living being. I have felt that love and light here at Willow Street and welcome each of you to “Sunrise Yoga”. It is the perfect time to practice; just as the Himalayan yogis have done for millennia. My approach is embedded in this play of contrasts and at the same time exploring possibilities, challenging oneself, and accepting where one is here and now! But where will I end up?
We took the picture for this reflection at the half time of a basketball game; my grandsons, Arjun and Anand were willing helpers. As the Tao says: “While nourishing both mind and body, can you keep them joined in unity? While drawing within and following the inner breath, can you retain the flexibility of a child?” We need to remain as flexible as children, returning to our bright inner light.
We all come to yoga for different reasons; each reason is valid. I am committed to the Anusara method-to poses that are safe, playful, loving celebrations of life which glorify the soul.To paraphrase the wife of Eric Erikson, Joan who wrote in her nineties: “May your life be as unfinished as the shoreline along the beach. May you continue to transcend yourself again and again.” In truth, none of us “ends up”, we just continue to evolve. |
