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Being Mighty

By Julia Jonson Cohn

12/9/10

 Sure yoga’s a “feel good” kind of discipline, but anyone who practices regularly will tell you it goes so much deeper than that. As I go through teacher training I feel as if am drinking yoga by the gallon-ful… gulping down more classes and home practice, pouring over books, exploring places to observe classes and consuming web casts and DVD’s about yoga. I can best describe my current state of studentship by declaring I feel mighty!

I dusted off my circa 1985, three-inch thick, Webster’s Dictionary and looked up the word. It defines mighty as “great and powerful.” Another definition I found read “having or showing great power, skill, strength, or force.” Yes! I feel all of these things. But I’ve discovered that it is okay to feel weak and have obstacles that need to be conquered in order to keep feeling strong.

Our teacher Silvia had big things planned for last weekend‘s training. On Friday we would tackle handstands and Saturday would be all about arm balances. The sessions were challenging, fun and -- at for me at times -- frustrating. In my own practice, I had shied away from such poses… yet, I found I was being hard on myself for not being able to execute them. As I struggled to pull my feet off the ground in Astavakrasana (Eight Angle Pose) and sweat dripped from my brow, I muttered under my breath in irritation. My fellow classmate LeAnn Lockhart says she also experienced self doubt, but “(I learned to) just let go and realize some things take time, that I just needed to love myself for trying.”

As I scanned the room watching my classmates in, what seemed to be, slow motion -- it hit me that my inner strife had the potential to bring them down. Another reminder of how yoga reveals the effects our actions can have on one another. Then I watched in amazement at other students flying and felt exhilarated to watch them soar. Especially Ric Saguil who says “Through Silvia’s guidance I was able to reach a spiritual and physical place I only envisioned previously.”

So for me, being mighty means always remembering that every challenge I face represents a choice to either shine or wilt. I choose to shine and in doing so, have a subtly good impact on others by diligently practicing what scares me. For now I am taking baby steps by working on Bakasana (Crow or Crane), Parsva Bakasana and Pincha Mayurasana (Forearm Balance). Guess what? I’m almost there. And I really do love myself for trying.

Right Here, Right Now

By Julia Jonson Cohn

11/26/10 

Remember the lyrics to that 90‘s tune by Jesus Jones? “Right here, right now, there is no other place I wanna be.” That has been my mantra lately as I’m experiencing an abundance of “now” moments. I’m certain that delving deeper into yoga through teacher training has everything to do with helping me to remain present. I am consistently able to fully accept every moment as fulfilling -- and neither cling to the past nor stress about the future -- even when my “now” seems unsatisfying. I guess you could say I’ve become more accepting of whatever the Universe dishes out.

Don’t get me wrong. I’m certainly not exempt from having days when I feel bad, down or angry. I’m just constantly reminded that spending more time practicing and learning about yoga gives me what I need to pull out of a slump -- or, more importantly, to accept those slumps in life and learn from them. God knows I’ve had my fair share!

A recent physical slump involved a major bout with lower back pain. And if I wasn’t already a firm believer in the power of yoga to awaken the body’s own healing process, I certainly am after last weekend’s training with our guru, Silvia. We spent the better part of a day perfecting Ustrasana (camel), Dhanurasana (bow), Urdhva Dhanurasana (wheel) and other backbends. My back pain is not only gone, but I feel freer to experience even deeper backbends.

 The physical openness I’ve been experiencing has led me to a greater understanding of the spiritual benefits of the heart-opening backbends and many other poses we‘ve been studying. I guess my “right here, right now” mantra comes from aligning with Grace and experiencing my True Nature. Author Tim Hansel says it best: “Life becomes precious and more special to us when we look for the little everyday miracles and get excited about the privileges of simply being human.”