Yoga is more than poses! Yoga is a lifestyle that impart helps the student to align in a way that brings more joy and freedom into their lives. The true teacher of this path is YOU! The yoga teacher is there for guidance and support but ultimately YOU are in charge of your life, your attitude and your actions. Since we are humans we can/do and will make mistakes! It is through mistakes that we learn how to align again and again.
The contrast of what feels good and what feels bad is really a source of direction from our inner teacher. Many of you have heard of the recent allegation of John Friend and Anusara and I want to let my students know that I am not shifting my course here! I am going to stay steadfast in the teachings of Anusara because they have been the most beneficial to me and I also believe to my students that I share the teachings with. In so many ways my heart was shattered into a million pieces, not because of what these accusations imply about John but how the “yoga” community responded to what wasn’t even proven!
So many people were so quick to chirp up and cast judgement on John and Anusara. I still have such a bad taste in my mouth because I realized that so many people practice yoga (poses) but so few of them are really practicing yogis and yoginis and that is saddening because our planet needs conscious, caring, loving people who are holding a high integral standard for themselves and our planet. And YES we screw up, so what, that is part of the deal but how fast we can come back to the path is what I believe to be an accumulation of one’s time spent on the mat and by studying yoga.
So many of John’s teachings that have directly come from his mouth to my ears, have helped me to live my life more fully, to create healthy boundaries, to pulse with expansion and contraction, to HEAL my body, heart and mind, to be in relationships with myself and others, to empower me and most importantly that the true teacher is within in!
Om shanti, and please please please for the love of this planet and all the humans who share it, be mindful of your actions, forgive yourself if/when you screw up and speak and live from the highest place that you can as much as you can.