Just the Beginning

Wow what an experience this teacher has been. As I finish up my last weekend of training, I am brought to ponder the journey I have begun. As I was sitting last night listening to Syl, I was overwhelmed with feelings of sadness and loss. I felt as if all I wanted to do was cry, and morn the loss of not having the awakening classes each month. As I sat with these feelings a voice said to me, “Katie, this is not the end but only the beginning.” After I heard these words I realized that they were right. I am now just starting my journey down this wonder path, of awakening, healing, and my new way of life. After each weekend session, I could feel a new part of me awake. However, I must say that weekend four has had a profound effect on me, and has propelled me to want more, more joy, love, happiness, health, power, freedom. All of which I know are obtainable. I have been watching Syl’s Manifesting series. Wow. There really is no more to say about them.

As I sat last night after realizing that the journey is just beginning I thought about all the events that have led up to me being able to do the teacher training. I remember the place I was at last December at this time. I will never forget, the feelings of despair I felt. Day after day, I tried to be happy when all around me was darkness, and despair. I was sick almost every holiday, and three day weekend. I could literally feel my spirit starving for something more, something better. My senior year which I though should have been one of the best times in my life was no less then a struggle everyday to fight for the truths I cherished. As I look back I realize that during this time of complete survival, I was being led and blessed beyond ways I could ever imagine. The march of my junior year I remember going to Syl’s website. I do not know why I was led to go there, but I was. I sat for hours reading about all they trainings she offered. When I saw the Thai Partner Yoga, I felt something inside of me do a little jump like YES, this is what I want to do, even though I knew little about it.. Then I saw the yoga teacher training. Somehow I just knew that I even though I eventually wanted to become to be trained as a TPY, I needed to take this training to become a yoga instructor. I did not know how I would do it but, I knew that I would. Months went, and my senior year started. As I started planning where I wanted to go to school, the YTT was on my mind. I remember making a vision board, and putting the Bodhi Yoga logo on it.

During my senior year I was ASB president, a member of the band, on the honor roll, and held down a job. But I was not happy. Yes I enjoyed the many events that being a senior had to offer, but it felt so meaningless. As the months wore on I forgot about my desire to do yoga., until that January. I remember waking one Saturday morning, and like always going into my mom’s room to talk to her. We were talking and I started to cry. I expressed to her how stuck I felt. As I was explaining this to her, I realized I had had a dream that night. This is the dream: The dream started out with me in the band room at Lakeview High School. I was wearing black leggings and a black shirt. Over this I had my big pink robe that does not flatter my body what so ever. I was arguing with someone about how I knew I could fly, but they would not believe me. I was getting so upset. I just so wanted people to see what I was capable of. Then my dream turned to a nature scene. I was crying when a woman came to me and had me change into more flattering cloths. Then she walked be to the most amazing weeping willow tree. I walked over to the tree and just hugged the rough bark, as the braches that fell down wrapped around me. I started crying even harder for I finally felt safe.

As I was talking to my mom about it I told her I felt like the women in the women in my dream was Syl Carson, and the weeping willow was my Savior, and that Syl would help lead me to him and his healing. I felt so strong about doing the Yoga Certification program that she teaches. My mom trusted my inspiriting about the whole situation, but was not sure how any of it would work out, she wanted me to be wise with my money, and do schooling that would provide me with an income. Despite, her realism, I never gave up hope on being able to do the teacher training,

I had almost three thousand dollars saved. That March I went back to Syl’s site to see how much money it would be to do the training. To my amazement and delight it was almost the exact amount that I had saved up. Plus I was to get a job that summer. Within the next couple of months, I had it all planned to go to massage school in Salt Lake, and travel to Provo to do the trainings.

As I look back on the how I was lead to do the teaching training I am amazed. I had several other dreams confirming my inspiration on taking the training. As I finish up I am once again reminded that this is just the beginning. I know I am being led to the life that I desire to live. Words cannot even describe the thankfulness I feel for the ability to me able to be apart of the Bodhi yoga teacher training. It has changed all aspects of my life in ways that I cannot even describe. It is more than just training about yoga postures, it is a life altering experience that has allowed me to see my own potential. It has nursed my starving spirit back to health. I feel like when I entered the program I was a in a cocoon, being nourished and protected, now I am a beautiful butterfly getting ready to spread her wings and sore.

Getting to know Syl, and seeing her life transform has been an unforgettable experience. Her story has brought me much hope that I can to be alive again. I love Syl and the truth she shares. She has opened herself up for all to see, and I am so grateful for the sacrifices she has made to do this. I will cherish the times I had with my fellow Yoga teacher training trainings, and the experiences we had together.

For any of you out there who are feeling hope, despair, and a true loss, I know where you have been, and I promise you that there is healing for you. I now have a light burning inside of being. I am now soaring with the many possibilities. My todays and tomorrows are bright, and so can yours. Namaste.

Chanting

I would love to have the ability to chant. When I chant a I feel a part of me that is so deep and that has been dormant. I no longer want that person to remain asleep. I want them to arise and join me. Ever since learning how to chant, I crave it in my daily routine. I have Syl's chanting c.d that I chant along with. One particular chant that I do everyday is the Mata Kali chant. it goes like this

"OM MATA KALI, KALI DRUGA MA"

"SRI MA, SRI MA, SRI MA, SIR"

It means:

"Oh Mother Kali, Kali Protective Mother

Beautiful Prosperous, Graceful Mother,

The power of Desire"

This chant means so much to me. When I hear it I feel a powerful energy come up from the earth, move up my feet and circulate my entire body. It is so grounding and comforting. http://gobodhiyoga.com

Weekend Four

What an exceptional weekend I had. My spirit was truly fed. So many things are going on through my head this morning. Now that I have this knowledge I feel like I need to do something with it. I want to know more. I feel like the information that Syl gives me is just the tip of the iceberg. However, I am afraid to go to other places to learn because she teaches with such a sacred spirit, and is able to incorporate and talk about how the church ties into the path of a yogi. I would just love to take the Thai Partner yoga training. My soul just cries out at the thought of knowing such information. I was really struck while on the website when it said, “depending on how dedicated you are in making your gift known to others” I feel as if I have untapped gifts waiting to blossom and be known. For what ever reason I felt so strong in doing the teacher training, and the very first time I went onto Syl’s website I had this feeling that I wanted to become a Thai Partner Therapist. I feel like I could not only make a living off of this, but I would save my body all the extra work of trying to give a traditional Swedish massage. I have not yet figured out how to make that a spiritual and rewarding practice, because right now my client is getting benefits yet I am left exhausted and sore. I know I just began and that I have a long way to go, but my light is dieing out fast. I know that being a LMT is a great tool to have and that I am not by any means wasting neither time nor money by doing it. I was really struck by the conversation we had about Karma and Dharma, Such an interesting and profound idea, also the idea of intention and manifesting. . I come up with so many ideas, and I play situations out in my head hoping that they will come true, however if the power of creation is like unto a spiral, then the power that is in my life is truly limitless. An image keeps coming into my mind of a circle of light trying to move outward but a it is stuck inside a wood box. The wood box is keeping the spiral trapped, however at any moment the box could shatter. If the box were to shatter then the spiral would be freed. I want the box to collapse, but I am afraid at what might happen if it does. The idea of controlling our life and just living with what happens is an idea I have lived with for so long. I would not even know what to expect. When I hear the chant of mata Kalli I feel this warmth and sacred power flow through me. My Heavenly Mother. I am ready for a different way to live. I am ready to co-create a life of joy and happiness right now. I do not know a lot about this but I have the faith to make the leap. If my savior is with me then I know all things are possible and that I need not fear. I do have a worry of Failing, or not “doing” something correctly. Having the tip of information that I do, I feel like I know just enough to start the change, yet not enough to manifest and keep it going. I pray that I may be lead to know what to do how to do it. I am bringing in now that I can learn through the good times. Good things do happen to people. I am open to and receiving what thou has in store. I am letting in faith, hope, and joy as I take the leap in letting the manifest process happen. http://www.gobodhiyoga.com

Teaching my first Yoga Class

This evening I thought my first yoga class. It was 35 minuets and included hands on adjustments. I thought my two roommates and a friend of ours. I had a hard time feeling confident, because the group I was teaching were not very serious about yoga. I enjoyed using hands on adjustments, I think it adds a great benefit to a class, and in helping people know how its feels to be in a posture. I know I just need to practice teaching more and not to be afraid to share what I know. I tend to have high expectations on myself and when they are not met I get disappointed. I am determined not to let this experience get me down about my ability to teach. I love yoga so much. I just wish I knew how to articulate how I feel about it others, but I guess if others do not care then it does not matter how much one tries. This was a good experience for me to have. It helped me to realize that no matter what I still love yoga and will continue to practice it despite others ignorance about it.

Ayurveda

I am so intrigued with Ayurveda, which means "science of life" in Sanskrit. Ayurveda is the madictonal medicine from India. The more I read and study Ayurvedic philosophy the more I am blown away by the power and truth that it holds. There is a part of me that would love to get training in this modality so that I could become an Ayurvedic doctor. I am done with massage therapy in March. After that time I have no idea what I am going to do. However I trust that when that date arrives I will have a better understanding. I am keeping all my options open. If I still feel as strong about Ayurveda as I do today then I am most definitely going to consider going into that field of medicine. What I like about it so much is that it treats people as individuals. The idea that each person leads with a specific Dosha, therefore have certain tendency in their bodies, is inspiring. We are all not the same therefore will handle different foods differently. It is also so sacred. For me Ayurveda brings together the best of what I already love: massage, oils, and yoga. I just pray that if I am meant to learn more the opportunity will present itself.
http://gobodhiyoga.com

"The Lightest Touch"

In my last teacher trainer session we were given a poem. This poem is called "The Lightest Touch" from Everything is Waiting for You by David Whyte. When i first read this poem I felt a deep sacredness about it. I do not fully understand all that it means, but I still enjoy the spirit behind it. I know it has to do with hands on adjusting during a yoga practice. I feel that touch is very powerful and needs to be done with respect. This poem for me emphasises that power. Here it is:

Good Poetry begins with

the lightest touch

a breezed arriving from nowhere

a whispered healing arrival

a word in your ear

a settling into things

then, like a hand in the dark it

arrest the whole body

stealing you for revelation

In the Silence that follows a great line

you can feel Lazarus

deep inside

even the laziest, most deathly afraid

part of you,

lift up his hands and walk to the light.

http://gobodhiyoga.com/

Lines of Energy

In "Yoga as Self-Transformation" Joel Kramer talks about Lines of Energy. At this last teacher training I was able to feel what he was talking about. We were discussing a variety of postures and charting where the line of energy moves within each pose. I decided to focus on these energy lines, and adjust my body accordingly in order to get into them. Not only did focusing on these lines help me more accurately reach a pose, but I was able to go deeper in. I did not feel as much discomfort. I felt more at balance, because the energy lines were opposing each other and making me more stable. I feel the knowledge of how the energy works within each pose is so so helpful in deepening my practice. http://www.gobodhiyoga.com

Waking up early

Last time I wrote I said I was going to wake up early and do my own personal practice before school. Out of the four days I only got up two of those days. However, the mornings I did yoga Icould feel such an impact throughout my day. I could feel my body. I was so attuned to the needs of body. We were so connected. I love this feeling. I think so often we are outside of ourselves, thinking about the future, others, anything and everything. But there is such a power in just being in the present moment and feeling the ground beneath your feet, or the way your your cloths sit just right on your body. Or how your tense your muscles feel. Yoga allows me to bring more present and to connect not only to what my body has to say, but to what by spirit has to teach. Yoga is so profound. Every time i do it is different and i learn something different. It may seem hard or a daunting but i tell you not to be afraid to try it. It is literally changing my life. Namaste. http://www.gobodhiyoga,com

Personal Practice

Next weekend is the third weekend to my yoga training experience. I must say it is going by so fast, even to fast. At this next teacher training I have to teach the other members of my class a Tier from the Bodhi Flow. I am quite nervous. However, I am going to take this next week and really prepare for this opportunity. I am going to wake up at 5:50 a.m for the next four days and practice the Tier i want to teach for at least a half an hour. I want to know for myself how to get into each posture, once I do this then I will put it into a whole flow. I am excited about this task. The more i do yoga the more i realize how my much my body craves it when i do not do it. I will let ya know how this weeks go.

http://www.gobodhiyoga.com/

"Something Borrowed" by Molly M. Ginty

When one starts to take their personal yoga practice and teach it many worries and concerns may arise. One of these concerns is about if they are stealing another instructors moves, or way of teaching. I know as I have practiced teaching yoga i say the same phrases as Syl. This is because it was the way I learned them. I was worried that I was cooping her. However, after reading the article written by Molly Ginty I feel much better. It really brings in the line of when one is coping someones work and not giving them credit, and when one is innocently using material.

To learn more about Syl and the wonderful yoga she is teaching me go to www.gobodhiyoga.com

Yoga as Self-Transformation by Joel Kramer

I recently read "Yoga as a Self-Transformation" by Joel Kramer. This article was published in Yoga Journal May/June 1980. For anyone who is interested in yoga, who want to know more about how to approach yoga, this is a great article. I love how this article covers the mind, body, and spirit in his approach of yoga. Kramer really does a fabulous job of describing the physiological aspects of yoga. This article has given me a profound respect for yoga, and ones own practice.

If you want any information about yoga, or want to take a class go to. www.gobodhiyoga.com

Teaching Yoga

I had the opportunity to teach yoga to my roommates and friends. There were a total of three. Stacey and Kelsey are my roommates, and Jordan is a young man who lives in the apartment below mine. I am grateful for their willingness to participate in me learning to teach yoga. I taught them three basic moves. The sitting pose, the child pose, and Ujjayii yoga breath. Stacey has already been practicing yoga for some time. Jordan served a mission in Korea, so he learned and gained some basic flexibility. Kelsey has taken a few classes so she has some basic knowledge. They did great. While teaching I felt so calm. I really enjoyed teaching them. I know I am on the right path.

If you would like to learn more about yoga go to www.gobodhiyoga.com

The Gunas

The more I study and try to understand Yoga the more I learn how deep it really is. There are so many different levels and understandings of yoga. For some it may just be a way to stretch there body, but for others it can be a deep healing and spiritual experience. Also understanding the deep ideas of yoga are so helpful in ones practice. One such principle of yoga are the Gunas. In sandscrit Prakriti means nature. The idea is that Prakriti has three ways of manifesting herself into the physical whelm, these are the Gunas. There are three Gunas:Rajas, Tamas, and Sattva. Each Gunas has a different expression. They show up in every thing we do, and govern all physical activity.

Rajasic movement is dynamic, insistent, and passionate. When it comes to yoga one who is dominate in Rajas would be seeking power, stimulation, in nailing a posture. On an emotional level Rajas is expressed through anger, willfulness, manipulation.

Tamasic Energy is heaviness or lethargy. In a mental state it would be ignorance or inability to perceive. On the emotional level Tamas shows itself through slothfulness, inattentiveness with low mental activity. An example would be from the Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers, when King Theoden is in that trance like state. In yoga Tamasic energy would be what keeps someone from trying a posture or from participating.

Sattvic Energy is light, delicate, clear and graceful. An example of this would be the sunlight touching a still pond. Sattva means The Source. Sattva is "the pure mind with neither judgment nor self-awareness." Sattva is free from negative thoughts and emotions which in turn creates enlightenment and self-realization. A Sattvic example would be Spock from Star Trek. In yoga Sattva would view a yoga practice as a journey "with each yoga postures as a potential for both steady joy as well as challenge."

Gunas are so fascinating. The more I dive into my practice the more I hope to realized how each Gunas effects what I am doing.

**The information presented from this post comes form Syl Carson and Bodhi Yoga. If you would like to learn more about Syl Carson or Bodhi Yoga go to www.gobodhiyoga.com **

My first week.

Besides taking time out of my daily life to do a yoga session, I am finding that yoga is helping me throughout the day. When I start to get upset or stressed I have found that using the Ujjayi Pranayama takes away the edge I am feeling. Ujjayi Pranayama is achieved when one touches the tip of their tounge to the top of their mouth, with the lips turned up like a smile. The inhalation and exhalation should sound like the ocean. UD means extreme, while JAYI means conquering, subduing. Through deep breathing, energy is diffused in the body*. I find I can use this breathing anywhere. I can feel it subduing the stress I may be having as it calms me down.
Another great move that I have been using through out my day is the Viparita Karani. Viparita means inverted while Karani means a particular type of practice. This is a restful practice where the body is inverted without effect*. I use this posture when my head starts to feel over whelmed. After doing this I feel calmer and my head quiets down. This posture is achieved when one has their back on the ground and hips on a bolster and legs flat against the wall with the heals out. When i do this I can feel energy moving from my feet and lower body into my upper body, which helps me relax and become balanced.
I am thoroughly enjoying my yoga experience. If anyone wants to know more about yoga go to www.gobodhiyoga.com until I write again Namaste!

*"Yoga the Iyengar Way" by Silva Mira & Shyam Mehta

My new way of life- First weekend of Bodhi Yoga Teacher Training

I started my first class of my yoga teacher training certification class thursday night from http://www.gobodhiyoga.com/ Wow. There are so many thoughts in my head I do not even know where to start, so I guess I will just start from the moment I walked into the room. To get into Syl’s studio you walk up these large dark wood stairs which lead you to large doors which happened to be open when I walked up to them. The door led to a large studio type room with textured yellow walls. As soon as I walk in Syl is there to meet me. Syl. Besides being taken aback by how tall she, her spirit just seemed to move through me in a wave of love and expectance. She already knew my name. I went and took my place on the floor with a mat and little yoga chair. As each member of our group walked in Syl was there to hug and invite them.

Our group consists of three ladies and a Man.

Once everyone was seated we started. We first introduced ourselves and explained how we learned of Bodhi yoga. I explained that a couple of Christmases ago that my mom got me a White Mountain yoga cd and yoga mat. We were then asked to wright the intention we had for the class. Here is my intention: “My intention for this training is to discover and learn about myself. Knowing myself and my spiritual gifts will allow me to help others who need healing, love, or just my friendship. I want to help my family heal and propel them to a path of enlightenment. I am energetically and spiritually inviting anyone to come along with me on this spiritual journey. I am discovering a new way of life and a new meaning to it.”

After everyone said their intention Syl says that each time she does this training there is a common link and pattern between everyone. Sometimes she sill have a whole class of kids who just graduated high school, or a group of massage therapists. She said that she feels this class is a very deep and knowledgeable class. She then turns to me and said that despite my age I am very wise and will fit right in with the group.

After we established the intention for the class and what each individual person was bringing we did a Kundalini class. At the beginning of each kundalini who start and end with a chant. Syl did the chant and whoever wanted to join in could or you could just listen to her do it. Syl’s chanting is like nothing I have ever heard before. It is so deep and reaches far into your body igniting thoughts and feelings that have been long asleep. I could listen for hours to her chanting. We then did the session of yoga and it was great! I feel like I really moved so much unstuck energy that has been in my organs and body.

After we did the session we got into the history of yoga and being a teacher. It was just so relaxing and nurturing. Until I talk to you again. Namaste.