Although you appear in earthly form
Your essence is pure Consciousness.
You are the fearless guardian of Divine Light.
So come, return to the root of the root of your own Soul.
 - Rumi

 

Post- Memorial Day Musings :: Class Updates :: Thai Yoga Therapy
 
Dear Friends and Yogis,
 
May this email find you in happiness and sukham, or good, sweet space.  Indeed, many wisdom traditions -- including Yoga --  teach us that we are inseparable from the vast, spacious and delightful goodness that permeates this sacred world in which we live.  Oftentimes, however, amidst life's daily vicissitudes, we forget that we are made of the very same indescribable goodness that  permeates the sublime beauty of the pheonomenal world.  Yet, when wakefu l, with senses open, we may marvel at the strength, vibrancy and delicacy of spring's fresh blossoms; relish the cool, refreshing water of a spring-fed pond as it touches our warm skin; savor the flavors of fresh cut herbs, the calming scent of blossoming lilacs, and the melody of a bird's song.  Do we dare to delight, for a moment, in the contours and colors that compose the face of a loved one?
 
For most Americans, Memorial Day means a long weekend, an outdoor social event, good food, and, perhaps, a good sale on a much-desired item.  For others, including yogis and all pilgrims of spirit, it can be a time of remembrance.   In sanskrit, the word smaran describes this notion of touching  upon and remembering our true, or essential nature.  Smaran gently challenges us to remember that we are beings of light, of spirit, of raw, living, spacious, limitless energy.  To me, how we name that omnipotent, omnipresent source of all life seems less juicy than the pure, unfettered experience of it.  On our mat, we can access and feel this open and limitless space in each uninhibited breath, and in each dymamic, yet still, opening of our physical (energetic) architecture.  In all aspects of life, we experience it when we love and when we allow ourselves to be tender, open and generous to ourselves and others.  We experience it when we lift our gaze from the TV or computer screen and expand into a moment of openness.
 
This spring and summer, may you embrace the gift of Yoga, meditation, and Thai Yoga Therapy, and allow it to be a skillfull means in experiencing smaran, or remembrance of your ever-present beauty. 
 
Breathe and let go.
Engage and be present.
Relax and smile a lot.
Enjoy the basic goodness of your precious life.
 
In peace,
Robert
 
Poetic Inspiration
(on connecting with the ever-present space that is you)
 
Charles Bukowski - It's Ours

 

there is always that space there 
just before they get to us 
that space 
that fine relaxer 
the breather 
while say 
flopping on a bed 
thinking of nothing 
or say 
pouring a glass of water from the 
spigot 
while entranced by 
nothing 

that 
gentle pure 
space 

it's worth 

centuries of 
existence 

say 

just to scratch your neck 
while looking out the window at 
a bare branch 

that space 
there 
before they get to us 
ensures 
that 
when they do 
they won't 
get it all 

ever.