My Spirit Flies to You

Incredible nervous state, trepidation beyond words: to be this much in love is to be sick (and I love to be sick)-

This act was not necessarily random, although it was based on kindness and service

 I was first initially baffled, and then pleasantly surprised to find my Yoga students coming to class earlier and earlier. Some arrive at class 40 minutes early … which, of course, forces me to arrive even earlier to prepare the studio for them. I couldn’t figure out why at first, but then I saw that they liked to check in with each other before class, and as they took off their shoes at the door and hung up their coats, I noticed such a sense of relief in a few as they turned off their cell phones and smart phones — it was a noticeable sense of a technology burden being lifted from their shoulders. Their Yoga practice — in the form of Pratyahara — begins as soon as they touch that “OFF” button. Realizing that made me much happier to come to the studio even earlier to be ready for their arrivals!”

Baseball, Yoga, Life … (and me)

When we act with mindful love? We release the true spirit of those we interact with on a daily basis. Our action(s) and reaction(s) –aka the Law of Karma- begin and end, with how we mindfully care and nurture our own spirit first, and then through embracing Seva, we can bring forth the best in all whom we interact with.

Daily Meditation:

Love – Is feeding and serving others with compassion, kindness and a deep and abiding sense of giving. Through love and Seva, lies true realization.

CultFit Seva


ätman

The love of learning, the sequestered nooks, And all the sweet serenity of books- 

Teachers today often speak, lament – painfully about adjusting their techniques to a student’s learning style. Yet, very few have  evolved to assist students who seek enlightenment, to learn about their essential ätman. The true identity of their soul …

Yet another kind of student, another kind of teacher  A kind of teacher who prefers to approach this enlightenment “thing” through work, and for me there is Karma Yoga.

I would like to share my fave passage from the Bhagavad Gita with you this morning:

Who dares to see action in inaction, and inaction in action,
he is wise, he is a yogi,
he is the man who knows what is work.

And if he works selflessly,
if his actions are made pure in the fire of knowledge,
he will be called wise by the learned.

He abandons greed; he is content;
he is self-sufficient;
he works, yet such a man cannot be said to work.
If he forsakes hope, restrains his mind, and relinquishes reward –
he works yet he does not work.

Daily Meditation:

If you thought this post was about yoga? You would be dead wrong! Cycling, running, being a parent? Warmer. Being you, being authentic, being vulnerable …  The individual, who wishes to attain enlightenment – union through work, must cultivate a particular view of his or hers endeavors Let’s read the last line one more time, together.

CultFit True


Oh look! A dove …

Dreams and restless thoughts came flowing to him from the river, from the twinkling stars at night, from the sun’s melting rays. Dreams and a restlessness of the soul came to him-

During my studies with Rolf Sovik, PsyD this past weekend, I started to-day dream. I could cast blame on the beautifully clear class ceiling, allowing my eyes to wander the crisp blue sky. A handful of doves flying about carelessly to stay warm. To provide further context for this post, we were discussing teaching and learning – What follows are the notes I took detailing my little day dreaming field trip.

We are all subject to the voices in our head, I should know, seeing that I am an expert in this field of study. These inner “voices” tend to amplify our programmed lives, dial cranked to 11 – The old mix tapes that keep us stuck in a consistent loop, playing back the conscious and unconscious sides of our lives.

In the Bhagavad Gita, a conversation between Arjuna and Krishna is narrated by Sanjaya, who is charioteer to the blind king Dhritarashtra and gifted with clairaudience; which is the ability to see and hear the occurrence of events at an immense distance. Sanjaya, to me, represents our inner intuition. Sanjaya is the voice that informs the metaphorical blind of the truth, as it is, rather than as it might be interpreted or distorted.

Daily Meditation:

By listening to our true-selves, rather than reading from a tired distorted script, an old mix tape or worse yet, a “best of the 80’s” power ballads mix tape gifted to you long ago. By listening to our true-selves we experience the authentic “sides” of our lives.

A dove alighting on a tin chimney prompted me to learn myself, anew.

CultFit Rainbow