GIVERS AND TAKERS
SEPTEMBER 20TH, 2008: We started class going around and sharing why we are here in class today. It was inspiring to say the least! It also set the tone for how important it is to learn to give this time of yoga to ourselves. There is a balance between giving and taking. We all know there are 2 kinds of folks: Givers and Takers. We have been both. We see this pattern in nature. The lungs of the earth are the trees around us. When we breath out we give trees life. Trees then clean the air and provide us the air we breath in. Giving and Taking. When it works like this in balance all is good!
Krishnamacharya said, "Inhale, and God approaches you. Hold the inhalation, and God remains with you. Exhale, and you approach God. Hold the exhalation, and surrender to God."
However, the hardest part of our practice is not to find this balance between giving and taking but to maintain it. Consider if at this point in time are we as human creatures giving back to the Earth as much as we are taking from her? Our lives really depend on the health of Mother Earth you know? Where in your life are you doing too much giving – how do you know? Well are you feeling depleted? Where are you taking too much? How can you feel how each breath guides you back to your center between the give and take? Peace to all beings everywhere! Love, Silvia
WHO'S LIFE IS IT ANYWAY? 2ND CHANCES
JULY 31ST, 2008: When I was in High School we did a play by the name of "Who's Life Is It Anyway" which was later made into a movie. In the movie Richard Dreyfuss plays an unforgettable role as the exuberant and creative sculptor who becomes paralysed from the neck down after a car accident and argues for his right to be discharged from hospital so that he can end his life. Although the movie is about the right to die, it is not at all depressing. It is a movie filled with raw emotion, love and humor.
The title has stuck with me all these years. How I apply this to practice on the MAT is as it relates to responsibility. The most challenging thing when we first start practicing is to take back the responsibility for the way we feel, the way we move, the way we breath. Rather than seeing life being done to us and treating it as a prison sentence with no option for parole - we TAKE CHARGE. Who's Life Is It? It is yours. However in this case it is not about the right to die it is about your RIGHT TO LIVE FULLY!
As I often say in class you have to want it more than I want it for you. However, at first and for a very long time perhaps, I WILL BELIEVE IN YOU MORE THAN YOU BELIEVE IN YOURSELF. Then the coolest thing happens, somewhere along the way there is an internal shift. I love when this happens! This is super important because you then go about authoring your own life (and it will keep you safe on the mat as well so you never get injured). So Who's Life Is It Anyway - YOURS - you have an opportunity today to write your own happily ever after! If in doubt then give yourself a 2nd chance, or a 3rd or 4th until you are living your own life on your terms. LOVE LIFE.
"No One Is Wise By Birth, For Wisdom Results From One's Own Efforts" -Krishnamacharya
To change one's life: Start immediately. Do it flamboyantly. No exceptions. -William James