Allowing for the Process of Acceptance
14 Jul 2011 Leave a Comment
in Consciousness, India 2010, Sattva Yoga, Yoga Classes Jupiter, Yoga Juno Beach, Yoga Meditation, Yoga Palm Beach Gardens, Yoga Philosophies, Yoga Tequesta
The journey of self discovery is a challenging road filled with highs and lows and some eyebrow raising unknowns. We seldom need help with the highs, or even the unknowns, but the lows, well, that can be a problem. We can be crusing along feeling pretty good about our progress, rolling around in the comfort of syncronicity, then without warning, a shift occurs, and we find ourselves sidelined, distressed. We know we can’t make sense of it, yet we try, creating more confusion. The questions of how did this happen, how did I get here, nag at our reason, begging to be answered, but the only answer that really works, or even fits, is pure acceptance of what is.
Swiftly finding our way to acceptance is personal and may not be as swift as we would like. It is useless to try to rationalize our way there because the rational mind has left the building, and we find ourselves keeping company with negative, irrational thoughts that move us in a downward spiral much farther away from acceptance than we ever want to go. So we try to stay in upward spiral. Some may run it out in the park, or work it out in the gym. Others immerse themselves in hobbies, or seek counceling. Meditation and journaling have been helpful for many. How about a good ‘ol cry, or a full on pity party? That works too. Whatever the vehicle, the PROCESS of arriving at acceptance is vital to getting back on track and needs to be respected as a sacred time of transformation and compassion for the self, no matter how undignified you may feel about it, no matter how long it takes.
Acceptance and transformation walk hand in hand and allow us to re-commit to the journey, the highest road within us. Questioning doesn’t work. Seeking wastes energy. Negativity creates a breading ground for fear. As my teacher Anand Mehrotra says “Have more love in your heart than fear. It is too much to ask to not be afraid. Our love can trump the fear.”
India and Beyond
10 Dec 2010 Leave a Comment
in Beachfront Yoga Classes, India 2010, Nisargadatta, Rishikesh, Sattva Yoga, Yoga Classes Jupiter, Yoga Juno Beach, Yoga Palm Beach Gardens, Yoga Philosophies, Yoga Tequesta
“What you have learned here becomes the seed. You may forget it apparently. But it will live and in due season sprout and grow and bring forth flowers and fruits. All will happen by itself. You need not do anything; only not prevent it.” – Nisargadatta
Embracing the wild side of life, leaving what we know to be comfortable and familiar, will almost always create a permanent energetic shift in every direction and facet of our life experience. Even if we are blissfully happy in our routine and not in search of even a sliver of adventure, the road less traveled will find us, defying any logic or reason we try to argue against it with.
I had many reasons to not make this journey to India. I never felt that I needed to travel half way around the world for an experience – not even for yoga. Yet, when I completed my first full certification of 2oo RYT (registered yoga teacher), I felt that something was missing; that it all seemed two-dimensional and I could feel there was more. The thought that maybe I needed to experience yoga in its purest form in the place where it all began 5,000 years ago started pestering my conscience. As quickly and frequently as the idea manifested, I dismissed it with multiple, viable reasons why it was a bad idea to make this journey: money, time, my parents, my husband, my dogs . . . all of that, but still, the idea kept returning. Call it karma, Kismet, whatever, a wild wind was literally blowing one Saturday during a beach yoga class that I was participating in. My teacher encouraged all of us to sometimes embrace our wild side, shake up our lives, asking us what were we waiting for? Within an hour, I registered for a 10 day intensive with Sattva Yoga Center in Rishikesh, India. Shake up my life, I certainly did! I had many opportunities to question my motives, to back out, right up until the day I departed the USA. India kept drawing me to her like a magnate, still unable to really rationalize or make sense of it. Therein lies the lesson – that not everything makes sense in life. The death of a loved one, good fortune, misfortune, the path our lives take, etc. none of these are ever reasoned or explained adequately, if at all. Still, they happen, and mysteriously, are intended to move us forward although sometimes cruelly, transforming us in a metamorphosis type way. We are still “we,” only more informed, more aware, more capable versions of ourselves.
Looking back, I know now that I needed to experience yoga in this sacred and holy place of Rishikesh. It has changed the way I perceive and teach yoga & meditation. More importantly though was the experience of the Indians themselves. Their genuine, often light-hearted, direct, respectful nature was like a comfortable hug of friendship and spirituality combined. They welcomed all of us in our small tribe of yogis sharing their customs, traditions, families and hearts. Just when I thought I knew all there was to know about acceptance and non judgment, this mystical place revealed another opportunity to expand the boundaries of my perception. Just as Sattva Yoga is more of an “experience” rather than a type of yoga, so too is India itself, an experience rather than an exotic destination. What began as me unreasonably embracing my wild side, ended with India unexpectedly embracing me. I have yet to know fully how completely what I learned in and about India has affected me, but as Nisargadatta says it will sprout and grow and bring forth fruit – - and I shall not try to prevent it through reason or explanation.
