Something Terrific

I have become my own version of an optimist.
If I can't make it through one door,
I'll go through another door - or I'll make a door.
Something terrific will come
no matter how dark the present.

~ Rabindranath Tagore

These last several months have been intense. During other times of my life, I might have called them hard or even painful, but I have become my own unique version of an optimist. One thing that Yoga has taught me is that nothing remains the same in this world; life is constantly changing. If there is sadness or pain, it will arise and dissolve. If there is awe, wonder, happiness, and joy, it will come and it will go. 

If I can remember this, detachment is easier and I am more likely to find another door or if I'm feeling a wave of creativity, I might make a unique pathway through whatever is happening. Of course, it is never as easy as the words sound. The pain and the darkness are very real, even when they are hauntings from the past.

This is when the breath takes front and center stage. Yoga is all about the breath. Returning again and again to each inhale, each exhale, each pause, brings me gently to my center. Resting back into the breath, my core being connects me to all of life, to oneness.  

It is then I know beyond any shadow of doubt, something terrific will come...

It Is Lovely

I am the spirit within the earth.
The feet of the earth are my feet.
The legs of the earth are my legs.
The strength of the earth is my strength
The thoughts of the earth are my thoughts.
The voice of the earth is my voice.
The feather of the earth is my feather.
All that belongs to the earth belongs to me.
All that surrounds the earth surrounds me.
I am the sacred works of the earth.
It is lovely indeed, it is lovely indeed.
                                 ~ Navajo Song of the Earth Spirit

I attended a Yoga Immersion weekend in St. Louis and the teacher, Saul David Raye, weaving beautiful teachings from the Mayan and Native American cultures into our practices created a space for amazing and deep connection. There are a couple of thoughts that continue to resonate for me. 

First, he reminds us Mother Earth is in peril. She needs for each of us to not only connect with her, but to change the many ways we hurt her. For we all are contributing to her cruel suffering and she will die if enough of us don't wake up.

As well, it is so very important for us to live each moment fully present, fully grounded. He suggests we go outside and touch the earth each day ~ to be in nature as much as we can. Just breathing the air and seeing all of nature will help to stay awake.

Of course, Yoga is so intimately connected to the breath, the prana, the life force that being in the breath is absolutely crucial to our survival and to our ability to be in the present moment. There are simple deep breathing techniques to practice every time we notice our breath. Coming back again and again to the breath and letting go into who we truly are.

The Yoga we practice is prana- and heart-centric. It is vital that we open our hearts in each moment ~ to ourselves, to each other, to every living thing in creation. It is through the open heart that we truly flow with life. It is through the open heart that we find our way. It is through the open heart that we connect with our divine purpose.