When putting together my workshop, I, of course, had to limit what its context would be because of the time constraint. However, so many thoughts and feelings inspired by my yoga practice came through.
Looking back, my earliest connection to yoga was all about improving my physical expertise for performing in dance. It proved to be a physical resource, but it subtly became so much more. The path of my thinking and feeling also shifted without my awareness. As I matured, along with familial and work obligations and responsibilities, I noticed a difference in the way I functioned. A beloved yoga teacher’s advice was, “If you don’t know what to do, do an opposite and you’ll get a different response and directive.”
Even though I was satisfied with this growth and consciousness, I also studied the latest western body–mind modalities: ideokinesis, polarity, bioenergetics, and continuum, to validate my deep love and respect for yoga and its benefits.
Yoga is! It cannot be categorized. It is an art, a science, a way of life, and an extensive comprehensive system able to lead one to the source of their own inner light and joy. The state of being happy is an innate part of life that is elusive most of the time because of the difficulties and challenges that this life presents. The practice of yoga offers us the way and means to connect with our own light and joy, and its philosophies show us how unhappiness is optional. Human frailties can be strengthened when we face our fears, make our own choices and decisions, and, with conscious awareness, practice appreciation and self-acceptance and recognize the importance of autonomy for our maturation. We learn from our experiences, whether they are good or bad ones, how we must adapt and adjust.
Yoga has been in existence for thousands of years, developed and refined by the practice of those who were aware of—and closely devoted to—the source of pure cosmic conscious energy. It was very long ago when the intrusions and distractions of life were minimal, and these cosmic connections led them to the direct experience of the energy of pure presence. This was their tutelage and instruction, and today we are able to employ the phenomenon of those teachings through our practice of yoga.
The age old questions “Why am I here? and “Where am I going?” often provoke deep thought when on the path to the higher energies. As a long-term teacher of dance, movement arts, and yoga, my curiosity about these questions is continually arising, leading to awareness on many levels that come from the knowledge contained within the moving body. These are but minute segments of many different aspects in the various depths within that open us to the answers we seek, even as we learn the body’s language, when the technique of communicating is in the form of sensation (pain) or unease (dis-ease). I hope to lead the practice to the deepest places within to discover the highest sources of consciousness and the rich wisdom we possess, enabling us to grow and reach for the light with trusted support from our very own being.
Doing an ongoing practice and increasing my connection to the principles and philosophies that arose as a result of this immersion has been a true blessing for me. I trust myself more, I am less fearful and I am more courageous, knowing that the tried and true wisdom is always available if you trust and seek it with your heart and soul—no ego!
Open yourself to the delight and joy that is always present within. These experiences also added a richness to my teaching abilities, that is still evolving.
My workshop carries this intention and hopefully it will be a gift of inspiration for all.