Home of Elsie's Yoga Class: Live and Unplugged Podcast, yoga classes at your own time wherever you go, plus a lot more! Now coming to you from Pittsburgh :)
A thrilling week for me in terms of social media connection and the Anusara Kula. In Los Angeles, the shakti filled Advanced Intensive took place, and from what I have read and gleaned from the online kula, John infused it by invoking from each participants a level of commitment to the whole experience that came from a deep sacred space within each individual heart which infused both the space and the kula as a whole. My first love link gives you a bit more insight into this, written by powerful and wise teacher Christina Sell:
“John wrote a letter that was sent out to the participants outlining the protocol for the three days: He wanted everyone to treat the practice space as a temple, or mandir and observe silence while we were in the practice hall. There were some other instructions about not chatting, not leaving the room unnecessarily and he asked people if they could not perform an asana to simply stand in tadasana or sit quietly doing japa.”
Just discovered Bay Shakti! A blog dedicated to Anusara ™Yoga in the San Francisco area! It’s a great source of inspiration. It has awesome interviews with Anusara ™ teachers both in video and in transcription (MY FAVORITE!!!! I absolutely ♥ that they do this) Plus awesome insights by the writers.
These next 2 posts are of a series and they all have to do with John Friend himself Not to be missed!
Interview with John Friend: Founder of Anusara Yoga
These next 2 posts are really fun. Do you guys know that I have a gazillion yoga asana pictures over in Flickr? They are all the pics that I use in the posts. Did you know that you can use them in your blogs if you want? All you need to do it just give me attribution (a link back to me!) In the following posts they did just that. Love them!
Did you all know that I have another podcast? Yep. It has been a while since our last posting. It’s called Mudra Moments and it’s aimed specifically at yoga teachers, yoga teacher trainees and yoga teacher wanna bees My friend Hillary and I basically have candid conversations pertaining to the life of a yoga instructor and the realities behind being a yoga teacher. In our latest episode we have our first ‘guest’ call in! She is a Mudra Moments listener and relatively new yoga teacher. We chat all about what it means to change careers, identities or perhaps titles in your life and work. Check it out. It’s really great conversation
In my dreams I had planned on going to the 2010 Anusara ™ Advanced Intensive in LA. The last time that I was able to gather with the kula was in February 2008 for this same event. During that Intensive I intuited that I was pregnant, and I was, 3 weeks pregnant to be exact. It has been the blessing of my daughter and new family (plus all sorts of other *cough-finances* logistics) that has kept me from traveling. The reality of my life now is that I simply cannot fly across the country to study. I can barely make it to a public yoga class in town!
And gosh darn it, it’s crazy frustrating.
I cannot say that I was not disappointed that I was unable to attend the Advanced Intensive. I also cannot say that I didn’t have feelings of jealousy and *gulp* guilt, yep, I said it, guilt, for not being able to make it. I felt within me that I had let myself down and John down. I know that there are plenty of members of the kula that travel with their babies and family and I seriously wonder “how in God’s name are they able to do that?”. These feelings of jealousy and guilt are unfounded, I know that, and of course this was an opportunity to be a ‘grown up’ and embody the teachings and so I hunkered down, looked at myself square in the Heart and addressed these feelings. And lo and behold, sweetness flowed.
3 Ways to be Anusara when Away from the Kula
Adhikara (studentship) ★ I can step wholeheartedly into my studies *again*, all my past teacher training notes, the Anusara ™ Teacher Manual, handouts that John has passed out during past workshops, etc. I have a lot of inspiration and teachings. It’s just easier to step into all of that when you have hundreds of like hearted and like minded folks blasting off energy to each other! Part of this studying is also observing the expression of the kula via social media. There are plenty of teeny bits of wisdom being tweeted and Facebooked and blogged and Twitpicd. In fact a hashtag has been created just for the Intensive #AdvLa and #AdvINT
Honor ★ I can honor my kula, all my teachers that have inspired me in this path, especially John by teaching in a way that reflects the clarity and authenticity of my heart and the larger vision. I can choose to continue to always do my best and be my best in any and all circumstances. I may not be able to see my teacher face to face. I may not be able to even contact him in a way that shows him who I am as a teacher. I can continue to cultivate goodness and authenticity and enhance life. I hope that this energy may travel through time and space and perhaps tap my teacher on his shoulder The rest of this week’s classes will be in honor of the beautiful gathering happening in the West Coast right now!
Open To Grace ★ Being the 1st principle of Anusara Yoga ™ I say this all the time. This teaching has shifted and changed for me since I began my studies 9 years ago. Now it’s about letting go of expectations, and especially any limitations that I place on myself in a different way. It’s all about softening to feel me, as a mother and the yoga that is my daily life with my daughter. I am not *just* me. I am my family as much as I am myself. Before I choose to act, before I ‘make plans’ I must soften and align with the Divine energy that is now embodied clearly in my family. If I soften I can see the abundance, if I harden and choose in disconnection, I will be disappointed and will cultivate dis-ease in my Heart. I will continue to work toward studying with John again as soon as I can, but at the same time I must stay open and ebb and flow with the currents of embodied Grace of my family.
I do believe that my longing to be near the kula and study with my teacher is not an isolated feeling that only I have. I think that there may be quite a few of you that feel the same way that I do. In what ways do you, that are unable to travel and connect with your teachers or teachings, take action with respect to this issue? In what way are you shifting yourself to make your actions exemplary?
Please share!!! Add light and it will help us all become brighter
PS
These 3 things are not something you do only when the Advanced Intensive is going on *duh* But we are certainly forced to bring more meaning and more value to them when we feel disconnected
I decided to share with all of you some of the awesome links that have been posted to the page as way to grow the community and to stay inspired!
From now on I hope to do this little post weekly, so that we can all refer to these empowering bits of wisdom as we go through the week, and also come back to these posts as a way to remember. I know that there is plenty of inspiration for class themes to keep me going for a while!
Therefore, what is considered to be fortuitous is actually an ability to spot the breaks in the woven fabric of a quilted clover field. Perhaps there’s luck involved. But I see it as an empowering skill to see changes in patterns and shifts in perspective, so that the full spectrum of life can become favorable. This is the alchemizing foundation of the tantric philosophy of Anusara Yoga.
♥ Yoga Therapy: Yoga For Movement Disorders- Yoga Therapy is my first love and this article gives a great overview of an awesome resource for folks that have a harder time being in their bodies, whether it be because of some physical condition, disease or simple lack of every day activity. I would venture to say that the book that is mentioned in this post is fantastic for yoga beginners of all shapes and sizes.
♥ The Teachings of Money Trees- From one of my buddies from the LA Kula that I so adore. Kris Nelson is fantastically wise and deeply talented as a teacher of life (and business). Here is a bit of it:
The darkness is the past, pain, indulgence, unsacred, sacrileges, excessive, and unconscious. In our attempt to turn towards the light, the darkness is often rejected, hidden, obscured, and denied. This leads to all sorts of issues, challenges, and future pain. Like the Money Trees teach, the darkness can never be abandoned – it’s a part of life, and one half of the paradox of light, of seeking. Resolving the darkness and resting in the darkness is one side of the ladder of spiritual growth.
For years I’ve taught Anusara yoga, always finding ways to express, explore and unearth the richness and relevance of these two aspects of our practice, but never explicitly felt comfortable saying the words, even though I felt their meaning and the prosperity in my body when I set my attention on them. Somehow, this job of representing an enormous fitness conglomerate has brought me so much closer to the space of my heart, and yours, and every student and teacher with whom I’ll have the honor of sharing what I’ve come to understand. And here in my heart I’ve found nothing but gratitude.
Hope you all enjoy these great inspiring yoga links
Hello and welcome to episode number 4 of Elsie’s Yoga Kula the special series of Elsie’s Yoga Class: Live and Unplugged Podcast, that’s all about you and all sorts of extra exclusive information about yoga and culture. As always this podcast is brought to you by the Elsie’s Yoga Class Podcast App for the iPhone and iPod Touch available in the iTunes app store for $3.99. Why not have your yoga in your pocket!
Listen to the Podcast
I am sooooo excited about this episode! Two subjects people, two subjects that I get a ton of email and questions about. The first topic is aimed a bit more toward yoga/fitness/alternative health professionals. I am honored that a lot of you listen to the podcast and am glad that you reach out to me regarding how to grow and supplement your own practices and businesses via new media. I can help you regarding audio stuff, but my video making skills I’m afraid are not as pristine HA! I’m sure you’ve seen at least one of my videos where I cut off my head!
So given that, I had the privilege of interviewing someone that DOES have lots of expertise with a still camera and a video camera, plus even more know how as to how to create, yes, CREATE your own DVD (something I know NOTHING about). You guys will just LOVE this interview, seriously, tons of great conversation and sharing of insights! Which brings me to the next topic of the episode: Yoga and Men!!! I know that most of y’all listening right now are women. To those of you that practice consistently in a studio setting, I’m sure you’ve come to see that the majority of people that come to yoga class are women. That demographic is also true of the listeners to this podcast, BUT I do have some pretty strong and committed male listeners. I also have some wanna be committed male yogis that have stayed away because they are a bit afraid. I don’t blame them, the first time I walked into a yoga studio I also was a bit intimidated. I just happened to have had a bit more experience with dance/movement/bare feet/hard wood floors due to my life as a theater actor, but it was still a bit weird. I get it, especially for the guys, the images that you see out there of peeps in al those yoga shapes, can be a bit intimidating, so I asked my guest, who is also a yoga intructor! In fact, there was a time in his life that he taught yoga INSIDE PRISONS!
Tell me that product doesn’t sound awesome? I know that I want it! So, I have a little surprise, for all of you lovely Kula members, you guys will get 10% off the product for the next month! So basically you guys have until March 23 to get 10% of the how to create your own exercise dvd! You just have to listen to the podcast to get the coupon code! I know how hard it is to gather up information and study and learn from so many different resources. I believe this is one of the most valuable products that I’ve seen come to market, plus it comes from such a genuine guy with so much talent I can’t even take it! Have you seen his photographs and his videos?
I wanna bring it back to the men. So what did you ‘guys’ think about what James had to say? I’m putting out a request for you men, those of you that listen to this podcast. Would you help out your fellow wanna be yogis that are a bit intimidated by this whole yoga thing and send an email or better yet call 310 651 6238 and leave a voice message to give some advice? perhaps share some of your favorite resources? That would be really really cool!
I don’t want to make this episode too long so I’m just gonna share a few emails with you, I’ll share more on the next one.
Feedback
This is a comment regarding EYK Episode 3 Yoga App, Muscular Energy and The Best Yoga Mats
Hi Elsie, thanks for the podcast! So good to hear from you. I wanted to add my two cents worth of advice about the mats. I have always had a lot of problems slipping and sliding on my regular sticky mat especially in downward facing dog. I got a lovely grippy Jade yoga mat which helped but did not solve the problem. About 9 months ago I got a Yogitoes skidless towel. This towel goes on top of the regular sticky mat and there is no more slipping and sliding!! It has really made a huge difference in my practice, I cannot recommend it enough for anyone who is having problems with slipping due to sweaty palms. The only drawback is that it does not work on the Jade mat, you have to put in on the regular cheap kind of mat. On the other hand it is easy to wash, I just pop it in the washing machine and let it air dry, and it has held up really well. Hope this can help someone!
And here’s a lovely little email
Hey Elsie,
I’ve been doing your level 2-3 yoga podcasts almost every morning for the past two months and I’m addicted! I’ve been going to yoga classes on and off for years, but for the first time I feel like someone is actually teachingme. And I can’t even see you! I’m an acrobat and aerial artist so I do a lots of stretching and conditioning to stay in shape, but I have to say that after two months of doing your classes I’m more flexible than I’ve ever been in my life. You should see my backbends now…my shoulders are so much more open now because in one of your podcast you talked about hand placement. It was the tiny adjustment I needed to make to really round out my upper back and push my my chest forward. And also, splits are easier than ever now thanks finally doing to all of those high lunges correctly. I hope one day I can make it out to Pittsburgh and take a class in person. You rock!
Thank you for everything,
JD
This is an event that I was asked to help promote from one of my ex students in LA. Please go to the FB event’s page to find out all about it! If you live in LA and want something fun to do about checking out some dance?
Rune Dance Theatre, a community-based contemporary dance theatre company presents RADIO LUNA, a performance installation opening February 25, 26, and 27 at THE FOUNTAIN ROOM, 4903 Fountain Ave., Los Angeles, CA, 90029. Created by choreographer/artistic director, Diana Cummins in collaboration with video artist, Allison Stewart, RADIO LUNA draws upon myths, music and our continued fascination with the Moon, its powers and influence over our lives. The show begins at 8:00 pm. Tickets are $15 pre sale and $20 at the door. For reservation information, call 323-934-3336 or visit the PROJECT page at www.dianacummins.com and www.indiegogo.com/RadioLuna and www.allison-stewart.com
2 worthy causes are honored with this event: one is for www.unembraced.org and the other is for www.thesolisfoundation.org which helps women in Kenya start their own businesses
One of the cutest T-shirts ever ever ever from the Phyzz Yoga Blog! A little product that I just found soooo cute I can barely take it.
Thank you so much for those of you that have joined the Elsie’s Yoga Kula FB page, located at http://facebook.com/elsiesyogakula. It’s really rockin’ over there! I’m doing my best to post great content for you guys there, both personal and lots of great articles and information to supplement your practice. Whenever I do any sort of giveaways I’m gonna be doing it via the FB page, so come on and join up! There is a little section over there for Reviews, it would be so cool if you guys could review me there. It’s a really powerful tool for me as an indie business owner. It’s absolutely appreciated! I’ve also started a discussion asking you guys to share a bit about yourselves, and who you are so that you get a chance to get to know each other.
There are soooo many of you listening to the podcast. Let’s connect even more and help each other grow! Please leave me feedback on the FB page, email me at eyogaclass (at) gmail (dot)com call me at 310 651 6238 follow me on twitter at twitter.com/yogeek and if you have a moment, please review me! either in iTunes and the FB fan page! Love you guys tons! I’ve got sooo much more great content coming up!
Upon learning about and delving into the earthquake in Haiti, and specifically the lack of infrastructure within the area where the earthquake hit, and the lack of foundation to receive help, it forced me to look at what was going on in my ‘home’, my heart, my surroundings so that I could help create clarity HERE and NOW.
Why HERE and NOW?
I donated money. In fact, how could you not? It was made so easy to give, so very easy to give. You saw how fast the human heart can open up and offer. You all experienced a sense of unity did you not? It’s amazing how open our hearts are. I have so much faith in the human race and our ability to open our hearts. I have no doubt.
Now, our ability to keep the hearts open and sensitive, to work daily to make choices that will optimize our well being and that of those around us is a different story. I can speak from personal experience as I say that I’m lazy when it comes to that stuff. I often times choose to ‘fix’ what’s broken in the house later. It’s too much of a pain now. I’ll eat healthier later. This pound of ice-cream isn’t gonna hurt me now. I’ll discipline and engage with my daughter later, she’s only 16 months old, there’s plenty of time….and on and on and on. That later, turns into years (or at minimum months). Those every day things are the infrastructure:
If we don’t tend to that, regardless of how open our hearts are, how willing we are to give, how much we want to work, the delivery of that love, support, resources will not get there easily. At least that’s how I see it. The foundation will not be set when push comes to shove. Infrastructure is not exotic, it’s not exciting, it’s very grounded, methodical, and I guess you could say boring? Our job as yogis is to make these every day choices, these mundane often boring and at times, may I say annoying tasks sacred, valuable and full of meaning. It is in those every day ways that we build our foundation, our underlying system within our household, within our relationships, within our BODIES that we create the optimal way for us to share that wealth of heart and spirit with which we are all blessed.
Build the infrastructure and Clear the path to Love
The more that we cultivate our infrastructure, the more that we will be able to share and love each other, support each other in a myriad of ways. We will be ever more effective and clear and raise ourselves and each other to a higher level of consciousness.
So, scroll below to do the yoga class (and check out the corresponding sequence) with this theme, so that you can infuse and strengthen your infrastructure in order to serve more fully!
This week’s class is a variation of the theme that I touched on above. It’s a Level 2 Yoga Class and it was recorded on January 18th 2010 at Yoga Matrika
The Yoga Asana Sequence
Adho Mukha Svanasana
Eka Pada Adho Mukha Svanasana
SpiderMan Deep Lunge
Plank
Chattarunga
Salabasana with arms interlaced behind the back/Cobra
I’m very cerebral. I love the whole brain stimulation.
When I first got bit by the yoga bug, after those first few classes, I went out and got myself some hard core yoga books. I enrolled in a semester of Sanskrit, a course about Samkhya Philosophy and another on Patanjali’s Yoga Sutras. All these courses were taken at LMU, my alma matter. All this BEFORE I EVEN THOUGHT ABOUT DOING TEACHER TRAINING!!!! In my little mind I thought I would learn Sanskrit and read the classical texts in Sanskrit so I could translate them myself….
!!!!!!!?????????
……..yea……
I have no idea WHERE I got that idea, but, it proves my point, I’m a cerebral person ☺
So I got my crazy brain involved with practicing yoga with my baby. I wanted to do it ‘right’. I wanted to do the ‘proper’ experience for her, one that was going to help her develop, and grow strong, and calm down, and relax and, you name it. I kept stopping myself from getting on my mat, because I wanted the time on the mat to be ‘perfect’ and ‘productive’ and…on and on and on with the excuses.
I finally allowed myself to listen to me and to her
I finally allowed myself to truly KNOW from myself.
I finally let go of my BRAIN.
All you have to do is play!
You just have to play. Life is yoga. In life we play. We play to the best of our ability. We choose to participate and question, and deepen and refine simply so that we can offer all that loveliness back out AND so that we can truly enjoy each moment. Motherhood is also play, although at times it’s play with very high stakes!
I got on the mat and played with my daughter. I got on the mat and simply looked at her, felt her, hugged her, kissed her, and we PLAYED. We practiced yoga together, and I’m so excited. Our first practice: 5 blissful minutes. My heart is full. This is why I practice yoga. It had nothing to do with the postures or the mat. It had everything to do with our engagement with each other and our willingness to participate and do the best that we could. That’s yoga.
Wanna watch? Check out the video below
Let me know your thoughts about yoga with your baby and your experiences on the mat. In what ways has practicing with your baby informed your practice?
Oh yea…in Sanskrit play is lila. That’s not just any ‘ol play, it’s divine play, how about that?
Now that I live in Pittsburgh I am just beyond amazed at the wealth of yoga opportunities I had while in LA. At any time of the day, any day of the week I could decide to go take a yoga class, and had plenty of choices. There were also an obscene amount of workshops available to take, with world class yoga masters ALL THE TIME! (In fact I just got wind of one of my most favorite people in the world doing a workshop over at Golden Bridge in LA this month and I just about died…I would have LOVED to go…)
I see how lucky I was now. I didn’t quite recognize it when I was in the midst of it, and I can truly say that I took it for granted.
My dear and mighty friend Hillary Rubin alerted me to the fact that this incredible event is going to be taking place THIS MONTH!!!!
It’s a full blown yoga conference but all virtual! Basically what that means is that you have access to a fantastic array of very talented yoga professionals via your computer.
Crazy.
The majority of the events will be more along the lines of health and wellness lectures. It will involve a lot of tools into how to integrate your yoga into your every day life, the lovely merging of mind and body. Each session will have a unique interactive component with the teacher, plus you will have access to interact with each teacher via private forums and while in each session you can ‘raise your hand’ and address any questions that you may have.
If for some reason you do not have the time to sit down for those 3 days in front of your computer..HA! you have access to the recorded material, plus any extra material that each teacher offers.
There will be a handful of teachers that WILL BE TEACHING ASANA CLASSES and those will not only be accessible via audio, but will have a video component to them!
And PLEASE check out Hillary’s session HERE. I am sooooo excited to that she’s doing this! You can learn all about how powerful she is
Oh,
and because she’s my dear friend she has shared with me her fancy pants CODE so y’all can SAVE $100!!!!!! That’s over 50% savings…pretty darn awesome
When you decide to attend the virtual world yoga conference use coupon code HLR219 to get your savings
I’m pretty darn excited about this.
I know that it’s ‘virtual’. I’m fully aware that yoga conferences, or classes or workshops are better ‘in person’. I absolutely understand! I work with energy and know in the deepest part of myself that there’s something about ‘being there’ that you can’t get ‘virtually’, but, when your own desire is there to deepen your own practice, and at the moment the options that you have available to you are limited, this is a great way to step into your yoga.
I have been toying with providing you guys with more video. My dream is to be able to get some good videos without in any way intruding in the yoga class itself. For the moment I’ve found that the least intrusive way to get the video is to video tape my intro, as it’s just me and I don’t have to put anyone else on the spot. I place the camera on the side, that way it also does not call any attention.
This specific video was shot at my public yoga class on Monday nights at 6pm at Yoga Matrika in Point Breeze. The entire class is available via audio here.
Those of you that live in Pittsburgh and especially in Point Breeze, why not come on by? You can even listen to the class to listen to my teaching style so you already know what to expect
There were two main catalysts to the creation of Elsie’s Yoga Kula and Elsie’s Yoga Class: Live and Unplugged Podcast. One was my desire to offer my students greater accessibility to practice yoga asana classes without having to go to a studio, either because they were out of town or unable to afford a class. The other was my own need to express myself and have my own ‘way’ of presenting myself to the world as a yoga teacher.
The greatest reason I teach is because of my students. It’s because of y’all people! You all offer so much back to me, simply by your dedication and your desire to become more of yourselves. There have been countless times that I may not have been inspired to go teach a yoga class, but as soon as I saw one of your faces all fired up and committed to the class, it lit me up There have also been times when I question whether or not I should continue to record my live classes and continue to podcast them, and sure enough, the moment that thought comes into my head, one of you fabulous virtual kula members will write to me and share some powerful way in which the classes have helped you, once again lighting up my heart.
Beginning this yoga site as way to express myself, sprinkled with information and a podcast was absolutely self serving at first, and as I delved into it I realized how much more it had become. I’ve gotten the chance to connect with many of you in such incredible ways. I’ve been able to step into the creation of a new way to take the practice of yoga to folks who may or may not have a class nor a teacher available. It’s also kept me accountable as a yoga teacher. I’ve had to stay mindful and true to myself every step of the way.
During the past three and a half years of Elsie’s Yoga Kula, there have been times when I had the desire to write and post and be connected almost daily and there have been times when I haven’t even been able nor willing to log on to the site. At first I reprimanded myself for not keeping up with some predefined way in which you are supposed to run a podcast/blog, and then I realized that every word that I put up, every time that I choose to post something it comes from a deep truth, which honors all of you and myself.
Act From Your Highest Always
If I were to inspire you to commit to something in 2010 it would be to let go of any predefined expectations or limitations in whatever you choose to endeavor. Who says anyhow? Take action from your highest self, choose to engage from your most authentic place, even if it takes longer than you thought, even if it’s not the way you thought it would be, even if it’s not ‘perfect’. Again, who says anyhow? Do it your way, and do it truthfully. Remember that every action that you take will at once serve to fuel you and those that happen to come in contact with your expression. Everything that you do matters, and it matters greatly, so be your best and be yourself
This whole post came about because of a recent humbling post featuring me in one of my most favorite sites, written by a magical woman that I ‘met’ via social media (twitter/my podcast/facebook). It’s all about resolutions, (what with the new year and all that jazz and well, we do take stock of what we desire, what we want to do and be, become, etc.) and so my podcast was offered as a way to step into your ‘yoga resolutions’. This just made me realize how important it is to adhere to your own authenticity and truth, so that whatever you put out into the world is truly a reflection of the best that you can be at any given moment.
Thank you to all my students for keeping me accountable and always striving to be the best teacher/student/mother/human that I can be! And an extra special thanks to my beloved The Green Ox for nurturing me by FIRE
Happy New Decade! and say hello if you get a chance
What do you think of the EYK logo at the top of the page?
A sweetly vibrant house down the street from my home
Casting Light From the Inside Out
I have to be very honest, winter is very challenging for me. I do my best to see all the goodness, I really do, but when winter begins, man does it kick my spiritual booty!
I don’t often have time to sit and meditate on my themes for my classes. I’m working on being more efficient in my themeing and conveying more of the Anusara Principles of Alignment ™ and Philosophy more clearly, but as I’m sure some of you teachers know this requires work, time and study. The clearer and simpler a teacher’s theme is the more skilled and experienced they are (at least that’s my observation). It’s kinda like watching a great dancer, you only see the beauty of the art, you get pulled into the dance itself, not the specifics of the dance, the steps, how many hours the artist had to rehearse in order to make it seamless…
I’m getting more and more adept at allowing nature to guide me into what I teach. This generally happens during my walk to teach my yoga class. I’ve learned to let go of ‘what I have to do’ and simply allow myself to listen and to drink inspiration freely.
Thank God for Christmas lights!
They were so beautiful! They showed me things I hadn’t seen in a while, streets that I walk often shifted and shone in a different way. I was more intrigued by what was going inside the homes that the outside. I saw beautifully decorated houses whose windows shone so bright. I saw shapes and figures all inviting me to step deeper into the homes, into the warmth of the inner dwelling. I realized that the holiday lights where put there in a very strategic way, they weren’t just randomly placed, they weren’t merely thrown out, but carefully thought out and generally speaking, placed in ways that would enhance each individual dwelling. The specificity of the way the light was cast out was a clear reflection of the owners time, thought and commitment. I saw that in order to place these lights optimally the dweller must first be willing to search the closets, the basements, the attics, to get the boxes out and choose what to cast out. What makes this so glorious is that all this beauty wouldn’t be seen if it wasn’t for the shorter and darker days of winter.
The winter serves to take us deeper into the closet of the self so that we may bring out the decorations of light and enhance the world around us by the way in which we choose to cast our own individual light out into the world.
Vasudeva
vasu = dwelling place deva = the light
The nature of the universe is how you choose to pour the light of consciousness into the dwelling place of the self. As you do this oh how it shines brightly all around, showing off those mighty beautiful lights. How do you choose to create a dwelling place of light?
Yes, peeps, this are the thoughts that jump in my head as I walk
Hope you guys enjoy!
If you would like to support this podcast, how about buying the iPhone App? $3.99, not bad
Also, like I mention in the show, Click here to find out a few other options to support the podcast
Love the Feedback!
email me- eyogaclass (at) gmail (dot) com
leave me a message- 310 651 6238 (I’d love to play you guys on the episodes! Plus you can promote your stuff that way!)
or comment on this blog!
Other ways to connect with me:
This week’s class is a reflection of the theme that I touched on above. It’s a Level 2 Yoga Class and it was recorded on November 30th 2009 at Yoga Matrika
My friend Hillary and I basically have candid conversations pertaining to the life of a yoga instructor and the realities behind being a yoga teacher. In our latest episode we have our first ‘guest’ call in! She is a Mudra Moments listener and relatively new yoga teacher. We chat all about what it means to change careers, identities or perhaps titles in your life and work. Check it out. It’s really great conversation 
The rest of this week’s classes will be in honor of the beautiful gathering happening in the West Coast right now!
This whole post came about because of a 
Recent Comments