It is hard to imagine personal happiness detached or
separate from the happiness of others.  - The Dalai Lama

NAMASTE, Yogis & Friends 

There is an auspicious quality to this coupling of warmth, sunshine, new blossoms and the celebration by many of resurrection, rebirth and new beginnings.  Millions around the world are celebrating Easter, and here in the Northeast we are witnessing the imminent transition from cold, hard, colorless earth to a topography that is warm, pliable, generous and colorful.  While one form of rebirth, or fresh start, requires a degree of faith, the other asks only that we open our eyes and expose our skin in order to make direct contact with the ineffable energy of reawakening.

 

Each time we sit to meditate or begin our practice of yoga asana, we are invited to touch in on this energy of re-awakening, resurrection and fresh start.  The choice, of course, is ours:  We can accept the call to embrace our wisdom minds, thus putting aside our habitual inner-dialogue of beliefs, judgments and justifications.  We can rejoice in the opportunity to embody pliability, spaciousness, precision and strength through our full-participation in rhythmic breathing, aligned posture, mindful movement, and an awakened spine.  Or, on the other hand, we can opt to reinforce old habits of self-directed aggression, competitiveness and despairing (the energy pattern of crucifixion).  Whether our encounter with ourselves takes place during a demanding vinyasa flow or a mind-challenging restorative practice that requires extended periods of stillness and stability, we have the choice to be here now --  to be steadfast.  In short, to embrace a fresh start at opening up to our dormant and, indeed, bourgeoning, true nature.  This, we are told, is one of the many gifts of the practice – an experience of our ever-present, elusive and indescribable essence..

 

During this fantastic re-emergence of nature’s light-filled magnificence called Spring,  please make time to witness your own magnificent unfolding.  Whether your vehicle is the dynamic equanimity of vinyasa, or the vibrant stillness of meditation and restorative yoga, the spirit of letting go of the old and embracing the new – indeed, the now – is alive in each breath, and pregnant within each decision to stay present, yet relaxed, to whatever arises.