Paris Bound!

I am like a kid before Christmas, can't sleep, so excited to go on this adventure. This will be my first time in Europe, the longest flight I have been on so far and I am sharing this experience with Marty, which I know will make it even better. The main reason for his trip is to study with my beloved teacher John Friend. It starts off with a weekend workshop then 5 days of teacher training with him focusing on Shiva-Shakti Tantra. I am positive that I will return with some great stuff and can't wait to share it with you. Thank you everyone that has been supporting me on this journey toward certification. I will be blogging while in Paris so keep checking my blog for updates.

Au revoir mon ami...
Bonjour Paris :D

light,
Mindy

The Passing of a Yogi

I just found out some sad news, the passing of one of our community's yogi teachers, Calvin Hawn
Calvin passed due to a car accident early on Tuesday morning. Sadly I found out last night and instantly felt deeply saddened to hear about the end of this man's life. I started to see Calvin around at The Lotus Centre, in 2004 and have ran into him many times over the last few years. He always had a big bright smile and was always beaming with positivity. He started a Daily Gratitude that many people in our community followed on his facebook.
I realized that I have been very fortunate since I have not been affected personally with news like this for a while now, in fact since my grandfather passed in 2002. The end of his life is really just a new beginning. This past week I have been teaching my students about Karuna, the emotion of sadness. When we go beyond our own sadness, we move toward compassion. Compassion allows us to heal and to let go. The rasa of sadness, deserves it's place in our mind-body, but I take comfort in knowing this is all part of a pulsation, that joy will replace the sadness and then the sadness will return. If we understand our human experience so full of emotions, such a wild ride sometime,then we can remember the place within us that never changes, never dies, the place of pure, auspicious light, of peace, deep in our hearts. Every time I do yoga I connect to that place inside of me and through compassion to those around me. Sending love and light to Calvin Hawn, a wonderful yogi in our community that left a trail of light behind him, in order to remind us of our own light.

Veerya Rasa

This week I am teaching classes that remind us of our courageous nature. Each person will expereince Veerya Rasa - Courage in their own way. For some people it will be to taste a new food for others bungee jumping is just not enough so these rasa's are relative to one's personal life experience. You will be facing what you fear on your yoga mat, you may see or feel things coming up that are not pleasant but be courageous because you will uncover so much good stuff about yourself, you will touch a part of yourself that is a fearless warrior.

Roar today......

om
min

Abhuta Rasa

I had such a great time last week teaching about Abhuta Rasa. When we can just be in the unknown, present in the moment we are filled with awe, but as soon as we understand the how and why that feeling disappears. I believe it is important to acknowledge your feelings and emotions in the moment, to sit with them, to taste them, to be okay with them. If you give emotions space and acknowledgment then they can happily move through your body and they don't get stuck or ignored and because you are acknowledging them they will dissipate.

in awe,
Mindy