bhakti

One of my favorite parts of yoga is that there is something for everyone. In the West most people are only familiar to Hatha Yoga, but sun salutations are not what makes someone a yogi. There are actually many margas (paths)...

• Raja Yoga: Path of Meditation
• Jnana Yoga: Path of Knowledge
• Karma Yoga: Path of Selfless Service
• Bhakti Yoga: Path of Devotion

Of all the different margas, bhakti yoga is what resonates with my heart and soul. I enjoy the rituals, chanting, dancing, japa, pujas and other types of bhakti practices. So I was beyond excitement last weekend when I had the opportunity to spend an entire day with the ultimate bhakti yogis: the Hare Krishnas. The day included a beautiful aarati, a poetic translation of Chapter 5 of the Bhagavad Gita, a blessed feast, and a sweet asana practice.

Between the events I had an opportunity to visit with one of the devotees to learn more about her life at the farm, Krishna consciousness, and her spiritual practices. There are many different rituals and practices they do at the farm, but she says it all revolves around three things:

1. Chanting
2. Dancing
3. Feasting

I thought to myself, I can get down with that :)

It was a beautiful day filled with many lessons. As I drove back home I began to think, what am I devoted to in this lifetime? Is there anything I love as much as they love Krishna? What am I committed to?

The only answer that I can find is to simply grow. I want to grow in every way possible... as a spiritual being, as a sister, a yoga teacher, a daughter, a web designer, an artist, a seer, a tambourine master (haha)... I want to grow in all the directions of my life that bring happiness to me. And that's what happens when I chant, dance, perform pujas, etc... I fan that fire of love and devotion to grow.

Gratitude to Sri Michele Baker, Yogindra and all the other Krishna devotees who organized a very special day in the back woods of Mississippi. Hari bol!!!

om namah shivaya

Om dhyayet nityam mahesham rajata-giri nibham

cara candra-vatamsam ratna kalpo-jvalangam

parashu mrga vayabhiti hastam prasannam

padma-sinam samantat stuta-mam raganair

vyaghra krtim vasanam vishvadyam vishva bijam

nikhala bhaya-haram panca vaktram trinetram

I meditate on the one who shines like white mountains, ornamented by a crescent moon on his head. His body shines like jewels. His left hands hold an axe and the deer mudra while his right hands show mudras of blessing and fearlessness. With beautiful form, and wearing a tiger skin, he sits in full lotus. Celestial beings sing gems of praise on four sides. He is before the universe and the cause of the universe. His five faces and three eyes remove all fears.

One's True Nature

Bliss. Oneness. Nirvana. Heaven.

We have all experienced samadhi (union with the Divine) whether consciously or subconsciously. Sometimes it lasts only a second and other times, when we are truly fortunate, it lasts a few breaths. Many things can bring us to this euphoric state… Hiking to peak and being awestruck by god’s beauty, meditating after a rigorous yoga class, or looking into a loved one’s eyes feeling your heart open and knowing everything is as it should be. In this fleeting moment, we experience our true nature.


So what happens the rest of the time? We lose sight of who we truly are and get caught up in the illusions.

Through yoga, mediation and other spiritual practices I have been blessed to experience different levels of samadhi. It is like nothing I’ve experienced before. To be immersed in cosmic consciousness is indescribable. I know what our true nature is… I have experienced it in the core of my soul.. So how is it I forget it so easily?

This is my current struggle. I feel myself getting caught up in the “stuff”. I know it’s petty and its illusion is creating more samskaras, but I still give it the power to take me away from what is real.

When I feel myself slipping into these unhealthy patterns I’ve started a new practice. I try to remember the other states of consciousness I have experienced to remind myself… There’s more than this. This is simply form… formlessness is who and what we really are. I do not try to recreate the sensations of samadhi, as it is different each time, but I use those experiences as a reference point.

This is the practice… Every day, every hour, every minute and second of our lives… To re-member these precious moments when we feel at One with the Universe/Divine/God.

Only when we recognize and live in recognition of our own true nature, can we truly begin to serve.

"house of cards"

gratitude

"You are forever pure, you are forever true.

And the dream of this world can never touch you.

So give up your attachments, give up your confusion.

Abide in the Truth that's beyond all illusion."

Gratitude to Sri Michele for guiding me through some of the most confusing days of my spiritual path. Her greatest gift is her unconditional love. Thank you for always reminding me of my true nature. Jai ma!

Peace Offering

Dios De Los Muertos

Today we celebrate Dios de Los Muertos - Day of the Dead. Right now the veils between the spirit world and physical world are very thin. It is the perfect time of the year to honor our ancestors and all this who have gone before us. When we tune in to our source/spirit, we can receive lessons from our angels, spirit guides, and ancestors.

This holiday ends with the sun goes down. The day in its entirety is like a breath. The day time is the inhale, and the darkness is the exhale. Sunset is the transitional part of the day, just as the most important part of the breath is the space between the inhale and exhale.

As you watch the sun go down, send love to all of the angles who support and carry you at all times. our breath connects us to Spirit. Follow it and list to the gifts of the dead.

abundance

Abundance has been flowing in my life more than ever before. I used to think abundance was dependent on having a full time job, but the last few months have proven that wrong. I realized I can be abundant by simply letting things flow. Since I left my job in February, I have traveled to Japan, Peru, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Aspen (twice), and Florida. This was all a result of listening to my heart, instead of acting out of fear. Sometimes we just have to get out of our own way and let things flow.

#globalchange

OCTOBER 15, 2011

POWER TO THE PEOPLE

This is the shift in consciousness we have been waiting for.

People are coming together.

THIS IS A CALL FOR LOVE.

Grace

Yesterday was the three-year anniversary of my dad's death. Although I felt on the verge of tears most of the day, I just kept trying to think about how far we have come since that horrible day.

My sister and I attended Michele's yoga class. Michele is incredibly nurturing and offers a distinct maternal energy, so I felt very comfortable and supported in her presence.

I thought about canceling my class, but I am so happy I showed up. What kind of teacher would I be if I only chose to serve when it was convenient for me? This is what the practice is about - showing up and doing our best. It wasn't until everyone was in Savasana that I felt overwhelmed with sadness. All day I had avoided my broken heart and in that moment, it was inevitable. Without allowing myself to fall apart, I touched the sadness, the loneliness, and the fears that have developed since losing my father. I touched on it, but didn't lose myself in it. If I lose myself in anything these days, I only want it to be love for the Divine.

The highlight of the day was definitely our fire ceremony. I feel so blessed to have open-minded people around me. Throughout the puja I looked around the circle at the beings who had gathered and felt such an intense from of love and gratitude. A couple of them have been in my life for over ten years and there were a couple of new friends in the circle as well, however, I know it wasn't the first time our five souls sat in a circle together.

I wasn't able to to dive super deep, partially because I was concerned with everyone else's experience, but it was still enough to stir up something with me. I don't know how much of it was because of old samskaras, or if it was caused by a deep sense of knowing that this is the beginning of something bigger than all of us.

Tonight as I sit here contemplating lessons from the Hindu scriptures, I am reminded that is is all here to bring me back to the Divine. I feel this sacred Truth all the way into the depth of my bones, yet I have so many moments of ignorance. I keep coming back though. I keep reconnecting to this Truth and I pray for Grace to carry me away.

butterflies

Over the last two weeks there have been butterflies all around me. Every day at least one visits me. Here is what I learned about these beautiful creatures...

Butterfly (new birth)

New love and joy are coming. Transformation is inevitable but it will be easier than expected. Embrace new beginnings.

What a sweet and perfect reminder from the Universe.

Full Moon

Purnam adah purnam idam, purnat purnam adaya, purnam evavashiyate.

(from the Upanishads)

That is perfect and whole. This is perfect and whole.

From the whole and perfect the whole becomes manifest.

From the whole and perfect, even when the whole is negated

seemingly taken away from, what remains is perfect and whole.

I Pray To The Birds

I pray to the birds because I believe they will carry the messages of my heart upward.

I pray to them because I believe in their existence, the way their songs begin and end each day – the invocations and benedictions of earth.

I pray to the birds because
they remind me of what I love
rather than what I fear.
And at the end of my prayers,
they teach me how to listen.

~ Terry Tempest Williams

Bhagavan Nityananda

Today is his 50th Mahasamadhi. Infinite gratitude for all his teachings.

Where I am today is because of the life he lived.

Isvara Pranidhana

Surrender to the Divine

Life is full of ups and downs. Sometimes discomfort is inevitable, but suffering is optional. What causes suffering? Resistance to what is... the present moment. The desire for things to be different. At times we are mistaken - we think we have control over the present moment. If circumstances become "unfavorable", we will fight tooth and nail to change it. Sometimes this works, but other times the more we fight it, the more we suffer. This is no way to live.

Patanjali's Yoga Sutras teach us, "SAMADHI SIDDHIR ISVARA PRANIDHANAT."

Turning the focus to the Self brings about complete absorption in the Divine.

There are many ways to describe isvara pranidhana... "thy will be done", "let go and let God" or even the country song "Jesus take the wheel."

"After one has exhausted one's own resources and still not succeeded, one turns to the Lord for help for he is the Source of all power. The student prays, I do not know what is good for me. Thy will be done." -BKS Iyengar

How does one surrender? Breathe. Accept you don't have control. Trust that when you align with your Highest Self, the Universe will align with you to help you fulfill your dharma - our purpose in life. Surrender your identity and ego. Surrender your sense of otherness. When we completely let go, we melt back in to God... melt back into Cosmic Consciousness.

This doesn't mean life will suddenly be filled with cupcakes and rainbows. Life is still filled with challenges. However, our perception has changed. Instead of being stuck in the small self, we re-member the Universal Self and trust the order of all things.

"sthiram sukham asanam" - patanjali

"The connection to the earth should be steady and joyful." -translated by Sharon Ganon

Sometimes our asana practice is anything BUT steady and joyful... but here Patanjali teaches us where we are headed.

Steady and joyful. The practice begins on the mat. Check in with yourself... am I balanced? Am I loving life even though this revolved half moon is kicking my ass?

It starts on the mat and then eventually carries into our daily lives. As we are preparing dinner for our families, are we calm? Are we sending positive energy and divine love into the food we will be serving our loved ones? Or when we are stuck in traffic... are we cursing beneath our breath, sending negative mantras into the world? Or are we sending the Universe gratitude for slowing us down and reminding us to breath?

Steady and joyful... it could time lifetime to experience, but once we do... every moment will be as sweet as savasana!