Discovering the Lesson in a Plumb Line.

Posted on February 23, 2012

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There are moments in life that mark a person. Tattoo the soul with an indelible ink that is so deep that it takes time living with the experience to fully appreciate the blossoming it causes in one’s life. I have been blessed with many moments like this – moments threaded together with beauty and learning.

Attending school at Pacifica Graduate Institute was a big one –Watching the seasons change around me and my cohort as we dove into the mysteries of the mind and the body – teasing out epiphany after epiphany. Sitting surrounded by books that Joseph Campbell or Marion Woodman or Marija Gimbutas used to create their great works. Running my fingers over the indentation where one of my gurus pressed in deeply with a pen to mark an idea – tying a thread of knowingness to the page, lacing dreams between the words for others to find and explore. My life has been continually rocked by the lessons I learned at that juncture of my life. I know that as I continue to grow and deepen in thought and action – more of this time will leach up from the currents of my deeper self and bring with it new gifts. Recently – certifying to teach yoga has been a marking moment. I was speaking with a friend about the process of deepening my meditation and asana practice through the training and I became reverent and ignited the more I talked the experience. My ego self peeled away at the edges and allowed small spaces for my unconscious self to crawl through and make me…graceful. It felt wonderful and dichotomous and bittersweet.

Bittersweet because I wanted more time on the mat with my yoga cohort – to continue though it was complete. I wanted to be always full of such energy and intent…though my practice avoids fulfilling the lustful dreams of the awake self.

The grace of this learned practice calls to the hollowing center of my bones. Meditation calls to the cells in the marrow and beyond. Joe C. noted that, “Your sacred space is where you can find yourself again and again” and this was the most intimate experience gained from my time in practice… that of a vessel nestled at my core, holding the potential of the universe within it. A classmate said his vessel was a room and the room was cavernous and learning to sit within that cavern was mind blowing. The spaces inside became central to myself and others in this class.

So – yoga- the true meaning of yoga to me. I learned it in this training and I don’t think that I could have made the connections or developed the ever thickening ties to my practice if it had not been this certification at this point in my life. My friend, she signed up for classes after coming to our final practicum and then coming over to my home to practice with me and see what it’s like to teach from a lens of ignited beauty and peace.

If you have ever given thought to teaching others – to widening your experience to the practice of yoga- look into this training. I know that you are not me and that what opens the gateway to the deeper self differs for each person. But if you look and something thrums deep inside of you calling you to the mat and to the depths of your soul…maybe this is a place for you to find something. A moment in all of these moments that make up our lives. A gift of knowledge or bliss or a taste of a new or old dream.

In my life, the space for these lessons continue grow and grow me as a person. I can only be thankful and remain open….and perhaps create space for others to experience something similar.

Namaste,

Ahimsamaven

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Posted in: ashtanga, health, Inspiration, Lessons, Life, Philosophy, Yoga