Psyche, spirit, symbol, soul

We are all on an amazing journey of self-discovery toward our highest potential. Yoga provides us with a path toward our abundance, a reflection of the sacred in all of our moments. The sacred may go unnoticed, or it may wake us up in moments where we may be astray or feeling lost.
Yoga magnifies what we may need to see clearer, it wipes the sleep, the dust, and the illusion from our eyes and invites us and elevates us toward healing and transformation.

There are never any guarantees about what might unfold when we arrive on the mat, but what we can be sure about is that the ultimate wisdom of Spirit is with us and she delivers exactly what we need that day. The teachings handed to us by life may not make sense in the moment, but by keeping on the path, despite the obstacles, challenges, and desires (for something else or more), we keep on showing up.

By simply showing up, day after day, we are setting the stage for transformation, we are connecting into that true spirit and immanence residing within our own beings.

We are all spiritual beings, perfect as we already are, and to keep the lens of awareness clear and open to seeing radiance, we must arrive, we must practice, we must stay present to the full range of our experience- whether it is bliss or grit.

Everything is always changing and unfolding, and we are continuously being asked to accept, to embrace, and to be with change. This year so far has been full of beauty for me, but this beauty has not arrived without challenge. The great universe, my teacher, has offered up a number of teaching around loss, letting go, and allowing myself to feel the deep, deep pain of the shifting tides of time and life.

I am currently enjoying the last two weeks of my teacher, Les Leventhal’s, time teaching yoga in San Francisco. After he finishes his last classes here he will be moving away to Bali to teach. Les has been an amazing mentor to me. He has taught me about possibilities in yoga, and there is definitely more that yoga has to offer that he has not yet seen himself, that hopefully one day I will have the opportunity to see through my own eyes. I have learned from him that things that I think I cannot not do as a yoga student, a teacher, or even as a human being, are possible. I have learned the qualities of fire, of compassion, of the integration of opposites, whether through asana, gracefully assisting a student, or perhaps by just simply falling out of a pose. I have learned about abundance, of joy, of sadness. I have been taught how the yoga mat is a true refuge, a true place of healing, of self-study, of purification, and of radical acceptance.

One of my first experiences with Les was early in teacher training where he had me teaching poses while in a handstand. In that moment, I connected into my voice, into myself, into what was truly essential and of spirit in the moment.

I learned how to let the ghosts of the past vanish and the illusions of the future vaporize. I learned presence as a teacher, and heart as a human being. I will miss seeing and being with Les on a regular basis, but will keep my heart open to what I have learned and let that shine through my teaching.

I hope to connect and be with you on the mat soon. Many blessings, love and light to you, may we all be blessed with the healing gifts of yoga and of each other.

Namaste,
John