Amazing Grace

10/20/2011
I will write much more about my dance with Vedic Wisdom... It is my 'language' it is my... Breath. Today I want to write only about a moment... A single moment of coalescence. Unity.

Remarkably... This moment was marked with a photo.

Earlier this month I received/completed my 'Vedic Master' through The Chopra Center. What does that mean? It means I completed 3 separate advanced studies/teacher trainings in Meditation, Ayurveda and Yoga. The Seven Spiritual Laws of Yoga Teacher Training was the third.

I began this journey in 1996. Since then the Wisdom found through the study & experience of Vedanta has informed my life. I interact with my life through the lens of Ayurveda. The Ayurvedic doshas, which to me, are a holistic blueprint of life.

I am also very much an Earth Mother. I have been a watcher of the moon pretty much my entire life, and observed her presence in direct relation to the flow of my experience since my early 20's. And then there is Mama Pacific. Well I could write a book about my relationship with her... Leave it at this: She IS my mother.

The Teacher Training for The Seven Spiritual Laws of Yoga combined home study/practice with 2 residential weeks at the Chopra Center. One in August and one in October. These were 7, 10-12 hour days. There are 60+ people in the class and through this shared experience, we bonded and formed a wonderful community. The last week included 5 tests woven through advanced study so it took a bit more focus and energy.

The photo was from Saturday of week 2, the day before graduation and after all the tests were complete. It was the only time we shared, as a class, yoga and meditation at the beach. This was an expression of celebration for us all. We practiced our yoga class with the ocean to our side, half of the class facing the other half with Claire (our remarkable teacher) in the middle. It was inspiring to look across at the faces & smiles of people I love and share the journey with.

I was also quite aware of and loving the 2 people to my left and the 2 people to my right... They are people I feel a special bond with. Ric, Patte, davidji & Samantha who took the photo.

I breathed & moved with the joyful expression of yoga. I also was very aware of the almost full moon rising from the east on my left and on my right, the sun setting west towards Mama Pacific. And the sand/Earth rooting my feet. At one point I was in parvatasana/mountain pose with one leg reaching to the sky & hip open. A power pose. And because of the angle of the beach and the hug of sand on my foot & hand... I was able to do what I have rarely felt confident enough to do... I allowed my (strong) right arm and (strong) right leg to reach up and out and open... To arch backwards, into a back-bend, hands & feet rooted in sand. Chest. Open. Wide. Heart Flowing. Even writing this, I can feel it.

In The SSL of Yoga, savasana or resting pose, the last pose of a yoga class, is given careful attention. It is considered the most important pose of a class. It needs to be allowed plenty of time. For it is in this place/space/time... that Yoga (Union of Body, Mind, Heart, Spirit, Community, Environment....) Occurs. Is integrated.

The photo below showed up in my friend Samantha's FB photo album of the SSLY Teacher Trainings. My first thought when I saw it was: 'UGH... Crotch shot' (Self-loathing can be so F...ing noisy!) Then I recognized... I have been helping women give birth for 26 years. This is a creation pose. Then I remembered... I remembered exactly what I was thinking/experiencing/surrendering to/embracing/BEING... In THIS moment. 

When we moved into savasana Claire invited us to move or turn any direction we felt drawn to. I wanted to face the ocean. During savasana I was slowly tilting my head back to look at the moon and slowly tilting my head forward to look at the sun and the ocean... From where I lay, the sun was sitting perfectly on the top of my knees. The moment of the photo was at the end of savasana, just before we settled into the silence of meditation. The moment of pause... The perfect moment to plant the seeds of intention. 

I had my arms above my head by choice... To continue that magnificent Heart-Open-Wide feeling. What you can not see are the tears streaming down the sides of my face. Tears of Joy.  I was aware of the beginning of the 'Vedic Master' journey and how much my Beloved, Precious husband Joe supported & loved me on that path. Of my Beloved teacher David Simon, his brilliant guidance, the reason I made the choice to begin & continue my study with The Chopra Center. David, who now moves closer to Last-Breath as his body slows from a brain tumor. I know the moment of Last-Breath in my Soul. I shared Joe's. But my breath... Continues. 

The Moon at my Head. The Sun at my feet. Mama Pacific filling all of my senses. The Earth at my back. The Sky above.

All Around... Beloved Companions-On-The-Journey... Who I Love and Recognize... Who Love and Recognize... Me.

LOVE... All Around. 

It All... Flowing... Meeting... Blending.... Into... Out of... Breathing... Merging...  Within... My HEART.

Divine. Amazing. Grace. God/ess Bless.

I Know Exactly Who-I-Am.

And apparently the Divine Universe nudged Samantha to roll on her side (that is what I see in the shadow) and take a photo. To remind me. Synchronicity.

Be. Alive. Now.

Love. Is. All. Around.

Embrace It.

Choose.

So Be It.

Blessings On Your Journey!

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