Hanging out in Bali after a photo shoot with some new friends. Yoga allows each of us to experience our true nature. Who are you at the center of your Self?
You are the experience of awareness experiencing itself. You are not the witness, but the experience of witnessing. You are not the lover, but the experience of loving. You are not compassionate, but the experience of compassion. You are not kind, but the experience of kindness.
Expansive. Beyond time and space. You are everywhere and nowhere. You are pure love. Separation exists only in your mind, and because of your ego.
Imagine, for moment, it’s as if there’s no you and no me. Just for a moment, there’s no separation.
We are travelers on a journey —home, to experience who we really are, underneath all the layers of who we thought we were.
If you can control your breath...
One of the things I love about teaching with a translator is how it slows everything down.
Slowly moving with the breath is really where it’s at in a flowing practice. If you can control your breath, you can control your mind.
Let the breath lead the movement and let the breath wrap around the movement. The breath starts and then the movement starts. The movement finishes and then the breath finishes. This way there’s always going to be pauses. There’s always going to be control. Who’s driving your car? You are. Enjoy the dance between the movement and the stillness. Holding these opposites at the same time is the paradox that allows us to have a deeper, transformational experience. Concentrate but also surrender.
Practicing a slow flow that is connected to the breath will help you stay calm and keep you out of the default network of your brain - where it will be hard for you to not react and get caught up in everything that is coming up for you and just trying to process. Think of the four parts of the breath. There’s a little moment of stillness where the inhale meets the exhale, and another little moment of stillness where the exhale meets the inhale.
I love flowing with my students! I always practice a little bit with my students in every class. I find it helps me to connect with the group energy. I also think it reminds the students that I’m just walking the path with them. I’m not on a pedestal. I don’t want to be on a pedestal. We are all just walking home together.