A Lovely Day

Mmmmm.... what a lovely day. After weeks of AT&T phone robots, technical support, and terrible "can you please hold" music, I am finally connected to the internet at home. Connected to the world (wide-web)! Lame, I know... but it feels really good to be connected, and I plan to update the blog more frequently now. So much has transpired these past few months that it almost seems ridiculous to squeeze it into a single blog post, so i'll just continue with my lovely day...

After my AT&T karma was settled... i made it just in time for Paula's Advanced Hatha Yoga class at noon. It was such a yummy class: We started off with a sweet meditation, imagining the Higher Self, as a separate entity, standing before us, with Truth and open arms. Am I ready to receive? If Truth knocked on the door, would we know it?... We moved into a great asana practice with lots of shoulder and hip opening, and did some partner work playing with pincha mayurasana and rabbit pose, ending in a nice long juicy savasana. Mmmmmm. Thank you Paula. Namaste.

Next on the agenda was Religion in America. Today we moved through the timeline to African American religious traditions, and a classmate gave a powerful presentation from within the tradition. It was a great presentation, passionate, and inspired, but it was heavy and very controversial. Without getting into too much detail... the title of the presentation was, "Are we Africans or The Lost Identity of Ancient Hebrews, the Untold Truth" As the title says, the student's presentation was to reveal the "untold truth" of the ancient Hebrew people. Using the Bible as guide, he revealed scriptures (mostly Deuteronomy and Leviticus) which point to a very different story then the one many of us grew up with. The ancient Hebrews, the people of the Tribes of Israel, he claims, are not the Jews of modern Europe/America. The real Hebrews of the Book, are of African descent. After Moses freed his people, they migrated south to Africa, spreading the tradition of Abraham. Eventually in the 1600's, with the Atlantic-Slave trade routes, these captured Hebrews were taken on ship to the New World, to the Americas, bringing us to today. He used Biblical references of plagues and prophecies depicting the real Hebrews. Explaining how the European translation of the image of Jesus, became a blonde haired Caucasian, while scripture describes him as dark-skinned with "woolly" hair.

What I found personally most controversial about the presentation, was the underlying argument that the Jews of Eastern Europe, the Ashkenazi Jews (my direct ancestors) were not the Hebrews of the Book we have believed - they have stolen the identity and tradition of the ancient African Hebrews. Whoa, hold on. So the 6 million Jews which were slaughtered during the Nazi Holocaust of WWII, were not the Hebrews of the Bible? Have they mistaken their own identity as the "chosen people" of God? Are they not the same peoples who have been persecuted and oppressed time and time again for the last few thousand years? Okay, I'll stop myself right here, because clearly I don't know enough of the history, nor have I studied the Hebrew Bible enough to fully understand. But this raises a lot of red flags and I encourage all who are interested, to join me in investigating this further...

This hypotheses stirred up a lot for me, especially as I try and understand my own cultural identity, being born to both Jewish parents, and with grandparents and extended family from Eastern Europe (Ashkenazi Jews). This created a nice bridge to my Geography 304 class, studying ethnicity, race, and human migration. People today ask, what are you? What they really mean, I think, is why does your face look like that? Where does your face come from? What ethnic backgrounds comprise your facial composition? lol...Well... I'm a Polish/Lithuanian/Jew...although I don't know a single Pole or Lithuanian, and I don't go to Temple.... Identity is a strange thing, living in the United States in 2009. I feel I'm striving to find this balance between understanding the past, knowing where I came from, while at the same time not allowing "my" story to draw lines, to divide and separate me from the rest of humanity. Maybe, being proud without having pride. Honoring my ancestors and our roots, honoring tradition, yet not being stuck or bound by it. Finding new ways of expression, creating tradition which is inclusive to all, universally sacred. Jew? Hebrew? Human? Sometimes I just don't know... At the moment I feel like a Jew-Bu-Sufi-Yogi.

I ended the day, teaching Community Yoga at Om Shala. It was one of the best classes I've taught yet, twelve students showed up and the energy was amazing. The almost full moon was shining down, illuminating Chandra room as we breathed and flowed through a beautiful practice. We ended class with 3 deep continuous AUM's, which were so loud they woke up Peacock who was resting on the massage table next door! I have to say, I am fully enjoying this new turning as a yoga instructor - it is the most incredible "job" I've ever had! It's such a pleasure to be able to create sacred space for people to connect to their bodies, connect to their breath - to be an instrument of guidance and to share this special practice of Yoga. I feel so tremendously blessed and honored to be of service, and am so excited as this journey continues to grow and unfold. I am learning and growing more each day than ever before. One student said to me after class a few weeks ago, "Ya know, you're probably half my age... but I'll tell you what, there's not one person on this Earth I can't teach something to, and there's not one person on this Earth who can't teach me something. Thank you." If we can keep this humble attitude, this open-heartedness towards each other throughout the day, I think life becomes a bit lighter, our smiles a bit brighter. Breathing in Ya Shakur, the attitude of gratitude. And exhaling ahhhhhh, melting into stillness.

Aum. Shanti. Shalom. Peace.

Global Mala 2009

This September is National Yoga Month, join millions of yoga and health enthusiasts at hundreds of events nationwide and around the world. Deepen your commitment to a healthy lifestyle by celebrating the transformative power of yoga with friends, family and your global community! Yoga Month invites all styles of yoga to participate in an awareness campaign designed to draw attention to the many benefits of yoga and inspire our fellow citizens to live healthier, happier lives.



The Humboldt Lotus Collective is a club at HSU I co-founded last year with a few other yogis on campus - we hold free yoga and meditation classes every week for students and faculty! On September 19 or 20, in sync with the Fall Equinox, the Lotus Collective will be holding an event to celebrate the Global Mala - an effort to unite the global yoga community, and the bigger human family, to create peace, and raise consciousness through the sacred practice of yoga. To connect the Global Mala thread in Arcata, we'll be leading 108 Sun Salutations, filled with kirtan, chanting, dance, meditation, and more! Stay tuned as I find out more about this incredibly exciting event, I'll be blogging it as it manifests.


For more info, check out:
http://www.globalmala.org
http://www.yogamonth.org

How We Live Our Yoga

While perusing the stacks not so aimlessly in my store the other day, I came across a book I had never seen before, How We Live Our Yoga: teachers and practitioners on how yoga enriches, surprises, and heals us. I began reading it and could not put it down, I flipped through the final pages after just a few shifts at work. It's an incredible collection of unique essays and personal stories shedding important light on the yoga tradition. Unlike most yoga books on the shelves, this book is not filled with asana descriptions and mechanics, it's not another how-to-do-yoga book - but more of a how-to-live-yoga book. The authors provide candid insight on many pressing dilemmas facing modern yoga teachers and practitioners. Pulling from very real life experiences, their stories explore the paradoxes encountered when practicing the ancient art and science of yoga in contemporary America.

In the essay Coming Apart in Pune, Elizabeth Kadetsky shares her Self-destructive and enlightening experience studying yoga in Pune, India with the great master B.K.S. Iyengar. One of the most difficult and controversial dilemmas facing American yogis... sex. In The Meaning of Brahmacharya, Adrian M.S. Piper dives deep into this very personal account, questioning whether it is appropriate and/or necessary for a modern yogi to practice celibacy. And in one of my favorite essays, The Guru Question, Jeff Martens, provides thought provoking insight into the age old question, does one need a personal guru to progress on the spiritual path?

Each of the essays are unique, filled with personality and depth. They are humorous, sad, intriguing, brilliant, and ultimately, very inspiring. I highly recommend this book to anyone who is interested in experiencing yoga beyond the asanas. Through their own courageous explorations, the authors helped me to examine my own personal yoga practice, and to come to know my self a little better. Blessings and happy reading!

Lost in Love: An Evening With Krishna Das

While I was in Grass Valley I had the opportunity to go to a live kirtan concert with Krishna Das! It was an amazing night, so powerful and filled with love. There were probably a few hundred people from the local community, and it was so nice to be surrounded by such beautiful loving souls. KD was accompanied on stage by a lovely women on violin, an older man on the "buddha bass" plucking strings that "penetrate through illusion", and a young man on the tabla drums who was amazing! They said they were in Oregon a few days before and decided, hey let's go to India for a couple days. So they flew across the globe, hung out in India for a few days, and just got back to cali in time for the show! What a crazy life... they were pretty jet lagged all over, but still managed to lead an incredible kirtan.

The chanting has quickly becoming one of my favorite practices, it's a way to drop out of the mind, and sink deep into the heart. When we chant in the sacred sanskrit tongue, we are able to tune our consciousness into the ancient vibrations of the Infinite, as the language and words themselves have been spiritualized by the ancient rishis of India. The singing usually starts off slow then picks up real fast and slows back down toward the end. Some of the songs last up to 20 minutes! Sometimes my whole body starts vibrating and I feel really strong sensations around my nose and face, sending me into a deep meditative absorption. After the song ends, my heart melts into the silence, the stillness sends waves of peace through every fiber of being, everything stops......... you just drop in. It is a powerful practice of Bhakti Yoga, the path of devotion, of pure love. We're singin love songs to the Divine Mother. Opening our hearts and allowing light to pour in - it is an incredibly healing practice that left me feelin so so high. Here's the words to one of my favorite chants:

Om Namoh Bhagavate Vaasudevaayaa

Ram Ram Seetaram Ram Ram Seetaram
Seetaram Seetaram Ram Ram Seetaram

KD has such an incredible presence, and I could feel strongly the presence of his guru Maharaji through him. He's also a great story teller and has a beautiful sense of humor, partly from his New York Jewish roots! Another Jew lost and found in the (far) East. There was a more serious story in particular which was so inspiring it set the mood for the rest of the evening. Some years ago, Krishna Das, Ram Das, (all the Das's!) and other westerners were at the ashram in India, when another westerner from Canada came on the scene. He arrived in hopes to learn about meditation. So he went up to Maharaji and asked him, "How do I meditate?" No one had ever seen Maharaji meditate before. He never gave formal teachings or lectures. He was always laying around, throwing food, smiling, loving, very playfully, just BE-ing. When the man asked him how to meditate, he responded, "Meditate like Christ meditates." And sent him to the back of the ashram with the rest of the westerners. "What did he say?" they asked. "Meditate like Christ." "Oh."....... "What the heck does that mean?" They went back and asked Maharaji, "How does Christ meditate?" He started to respond, then suddenly became silent, his eyes closed and he entered into a deep state. Everyone was blown away, they'd never seen him meditate. All of a sudden he started smiling and tears began to pour from his eyes. He returned and said, "Christ didn't die on the cross. He lost himself in love... He lost himself in love." Krishna Das asked us, "How can we do that? How can we love everyone so selflessly. How do we get lost in love?" The music began... as his question melted into my heart, it became a mantra for the rest of the evening. I was lost in love.

Ananda Yoga Teacher Training

Blessings great souls,

I just returned from a month-long Yoga Teacher Training intensive at the Expanding Light, Ananda Village ashram in Nevada City. It was an incredibly powerful, empowering month of self-discovery, tuning deep into the sacred vibrations of Yoga. It was a wonderful experience to live and be a part of the beautiful spiritual community of Ananda, located on 800 acres of sacred land in the foothills of the Sierras. Ananda means Divine Bliss, and the community feels like a bliss bubble of heaven. The outside world seems to melt away, as the high vibrations seep into your consciousness. There are wild animals everywhere including deer, rabbits, squirrels, skunks, all kinds of colorful birds, and even black bears. Because of the yogic/vegetarian/ahimsa energy of the place, the deer are fearless of humans and come so close you can almost pet them!

The members of the community are all disciples of the great master Paramahansa Yogananda, author of the spiritual classic Autobiography of a Yogi - and in just about every room, you'll find photos of all the great masters and saints, watching over the whole scene. It was really wild, many times I'd catch myself during class, daydreaming or thinking some impure thought, and I'd look up and see Paramahansa gazing at me with his Divine eyes, smiling lovingly, telling me, "I know. It's okay. It's all God. All part of the cosmic dance." It was a very humbling experience.

The training into Ananda Yoga was incredible throughout the month. The love and energy put forth by all the teachers and staff was inspiring, for they truly live the teachings of Yogananda, and are great yogis themselves. It was quite difficult at times however, because this style of Hatha Yoga is unique and different than my own personal practice prior to coming. The asana pratice moves at a much slower pace, holding each pose longer, enabling the practitioner to go "deeper" not necessarily stretching "further". The whole practice is aimed at preparing the body and mind for meditation, as is traditional in Raja or Patanjali Yoga. In fact, the asanas are seen as "meditation in action." As it is a level-1 200 hr training, we were learning how to teach yoga to beginners with little or no experience, how to teach to seniors, people with osteoporosis, high blood pressure, hip replacements, etc. We moved slowly through each pose, breaking down the components of the asanas so that we can modify them for any body. I am very thankful for the knowledge, however, it was challenging at times to stay in "Beginner's Mind"- I found myself craving more advanced poses, and we'd often sneak off after class to practice inversions...

Ananda Yoga can be summed up in 3 words "In and Up" - the whole practice focuses on bringing energy into the body, and directing it up the spine toward the brain. On a more subtle level, we are receiving prana/life-force and raising it up the sushumna central channel to our spiritual eye-center, the ajna chakra point between the eyebrows. In this way we are working to raise our consciousness, to move toward superconsciousness. When we can begin to tune into to the subtle energy flowing through our practice, then we can really go deep. One of my favorite classes of the month was a Chakra Asana practice led by Gyandev, the director of the program. We started at the root chakra, the muladara and worked our way all the way up to the crown, practicing asanas specific to awakening each energy center. It was a powerful experience, where I was able to touch deep into the subtle body, experiencing the swirling energy of the chakras fully for the first time within. Noting where energy flowed more fluidly, and where there were blockages. This subtle energy is working all the time, however, when we begin to consciously direct our awareness towards the centers, we can begin to really work with the energy flow, leading to powerful awakenings. It was very inspiring, and I'm excited to study chakras further and integrate them into my own practice and teaching.

The thoroughness of the training was excellent. We studied asanas, pranayama, chanting, philosophy, anatomy, diet, and much much more. I feel that I received an incredible foundational yoga training that will serve me greatly in whatever direction yoga takes me. However, the best part of the experience was the people, the teachers, the staff, the community, and mostly the other students in the group, the family - the tribe. Interestingly enough, I was the only male in the group, amongst 13 other women, which was an experience in and of it itself! I feel like I was also receiving a degree in Women's Studies as well as yoga training lol... But they all quickly became my soul mommas and sisters and the group came together really tight. So many laughs (thank you Meadow for your beautifully contagious laughter), many cries (we couldn't sit down for sharing circle without the kleenex making rounds as well), ups and downs - we all were there to support each other, and created such a safe space to learn and grow. Thank you all so much for your love and kindness, I miss you already. Jai guru!

The last week we split into four groups and did team teaching. We really got to put everything we learned into practice as we led two classes with our groups. It was an awesomegasana experience and so much fun to feed off each other as we flowed through the classes. The classes were open and free to all so we had some folks who were on personal retreat attend, which was a lot of fun - we got to modify a lot of asanas, bust out some chairs, and really get in there with the adjustments.

Before I knew it, the month was coming to a close. I am still in awe at how quickly the month flew by - Ananda is seriously on another plane... The last night we had a closing circle filled with lots of laughs and tears. I looked around the room at all these beautiful people I spent so much time with these past weeks, I could not believe I would not be seeing them every morning for sadhana. My heart was filled with an incredible sensation of blessedness. So thankful for the opportunity and time we all shared. Once again I was blown away at the thought of the ancient lineage of Indian masters, who's teachings and practices have been handed down over years, brought to life in this moment. This sacred current of Yoga, the thread still being weaved, the sutra we are all forming. All the teacher trainings around the country - we were brought HERE, right NOW. Breathe.
Thank you great souls. We performed a sacred Vedic ritual by chanting the Gayatri and Mahamrityunjaya Mantras seven times over candle flame, followed by making an offering, writing a blessing/prayer and releasing it into the burning flame, the smoke sending our prayers into the universe.

Our final graduation ceremony was held in the beautiful Hansa Temple. It was a festive morning, after much anticipation, I couldn't believe we were here. The ceremony was very beautiful. Gyandev gave a talk on what makes a good yoga teacher. He reminded us that this is a service gig - we are carrying this light, this wisdom as a gift to share with others, to awaken and heal. What makes a good teacher is not necessarily knowing every asana mechanic or alignment, every benefit or modification, etc. That knowledge is all great, but... what really makes a great yogi is being able to tune to the great Masters, to Yogananda, attune yourself to the Infinite. Allow yourself to be an instrument through which to share the sacred practice of Yoga. His partner Diksha played the harmonium one last time as we chanted and sang, one by one sitting before the altar, praying before the masters, the great yogis, to guide our practice, to guide our teaching as we move through this life. We then walked up to the altar and received a powerful blessing from Gyandev, before receiving our certificates. It was such a beautiful scene, and I walked away feeling very high.

I am now back in Arcata, once again surrounded by the redwood rishis of the Northcoast. It's good to be home, transitioning back to waking life. However, I miss everyone so much. Ananda already feels like a dream, a beautiful bliss dream... I am so grateful for the time I spent there and the teachings I received. I am very excited to put this wisdom into action and start teaching yoga here in the community. Thank you all great souls! Jai guru jai!

Namaste.

Strokes of ink on an empty white

A Cup of Tea

Can you taste the universe in a cup of tea?
Dance in rain as drops fall from the sky,
Nourishing the Earth,
Cleansing the soul,
The water slips down from mountain to stream,
Flowing directly to the cup of tea.

The drink of enlightenment,
Tastes so pure.
Sipped by Buddhist monks in ancient China
To sustain lasting periods of Vipassana
To clear the mind,
To discover the way things inter-be.

When the cup is empty,
It is full.


The Nature of a Poem

If poetry is the language of the heart.
Then Nature is the poetry of the soul.
The essence of which we have manifested.

Man.
Woman.
Manzanita.
Sparrow.

Strokes of ink on an empty white.
Alone they are incomplete.
Combined with others,
They become whole.
Sentences form,
Images are born.
Webs spun,
Relationships woven.
Deeply interconnected.
Magic reveals,
A poem is born.

Nature is the poetry of the soul.
Can you read?


Baby Blue

Six weeks of walking along the Pacific,
Highway 1 cuts inland to Legget.
Time to say goodbye to good ol’ Baby Blue,
For a while.

Sitting down with her one last time.
Breathing in the cool ocean air,
I am refreshed.

Reflecting on the time we have shared.
She has taught me what it means to be free,
To live and just be.

Her waves crashing, pounding rocks and shore.
Shaping, chiseling, refining the coast.
A sculptor, creating the line.
Eternally dancing, playing, changing, molding, breaking,
and changing some more.
Always changing.
Volatile yet still.
This massive body of water,
This ancient teacher.
I am blessed.

Searching to find where the vision ends,
Where the sky begins,
My heart is lost in the abyss between.

A mysterious, unknown world,
Exists underneath it’s surface.
Above it,
I stand alone.

Life after pilgrimage

The pilgrimage has ended, yet the journey has only begun. As I have re-entered back into society, I now must use the strength and wisdom I gained on the road, and turn it into practice. I have found a beautiful 4 bedroom house here in Arcata, which is beginning to feel like home, and I am quickly making friends in the community. I am anxiously awaiting the start of the Fall semester here at Humboldt State University where I will begin my studies. I'm planning to create my own major integrating the teachings of Eastern Religion, Native Americans, and Environmental Science. As I continue on the journey, on the path of peace, I plan to share my experiences with you all.

Namaste.

"The resting place of the mind is the heart."