Saturday, May 26, 2012

Changes 2012

The school / system / organization called Anusara has kicked out the founder John Friend. About half of the teachers have left.  I'm not sure where I stand.  I'm not sure what to do.  I became an "Anusara- Inspired" Teacher in the fall of 2010 and now less than two years later, I feel like all I have worked for is gone.  Yes the teachings I still have, but if it doesn't continue as a school of yoga what do I call my classes?

So what do we do when something we have no control of changes? We hang on.  We hold on to what we know. Yoga feels good. Yoga takes me out of my head, calms me, and inspires me to be a better person. It has healed me.  I used to have trouble sleeping, stress headaces, that is gone.  I used to have intense sciatica-like hip pain, that is gone.  I can more than touch my toes, do cool back bends, handstands (at the wall) and that's all nice.  It just feels good to move with the breath.

Beyond what it's done for me physically - it's connected me to me.  The more I connect to myself less I care about what others say and feel about me.  The more centered I become the less other people's drama gets in.  Conflict, disagreement, arguments, controversy, it's part of life.  We all come from different backgrounds, want different things, have different ideas of how to get there.  Difference is good, challenges are good.  People who see the world in a different way, challenges our view.  This is our "off the mat" yoga, to see the challenge, the annoyance, the other side, and not let it rock our steady foundation.  The word ASANA yes means pose, Trikonasana, Three angles Pose, or Triange Pose. But if we dig deeper we find it means "mastery of sitting still". That is being still when the world around us changes.  To see someone else upset and not let it upset us.

So when it gets challenging this it when to return to the mat over and over.  Keep connecting with that which is always there, your breath (thank god), that for today I can still do downward facing dog, that if things are tough for now, at least we know they will keep changing.

Hang on. Just Breathe.

Namaste,

Alice

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asana