It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat.
Theodore Roosevelt
This was a theme we worked with yesterday but I am posting it today. It is kind of a theme for the week so far actually...Throw yourself into the arena of transformation and give yourself to it fully. Assume you are going to make mistakes, assume you are ging to get "off track", assume that it is going to be hard, challenging and difficult. And yet, assume it will be worthwhile, assume you will have the supportof unseen forces, assume that there will be Great Souls to keep you company and assume that no effort is ever wasted and no gain is ever lost.
.
Darren and I are just on fire this week. From the moment I landed in Tucson and got in his car we have been so in a groove about yoga, sadhana, teaching, growth, change, etc. Our teaching has been just like continuing our conversation only a little more, or a lot more, publicly. Like in front of a whole class! We are both in such deep personal processes right now that the energy of that is translating into some of the best teaching I have done in a long time. The chemistry is just so good in the room.
.
I think that one of the reasons is that we just like being together so much. That was one of the main reasons we even wanted to teach the Immersion together was just to spend some time together. I told Darren today that my favorite thing about him as long as I have known him- which is well, like almost ten years now- is that I always feel absolutely free to be myself around him. When I am doubtful, fine. When I am confident fine. Opinionated, fine. Scared, fine. Inspired, fine. I think he actually inspires this in most people. I know that this mood of radical acceptance permeates the walls of Yoga Oasis. It really is an Oasis. And I was telling Darren that because of that level of acceptance, teaching with him and at Yoga Oasis is just this wide open sky. This immersion is a tangible experience of how we can really be greater together than we can be alone. It is so cool.
.
And this is a Part Two Immersion in a week long format and the caliber of student is just so high. There is not one casual student in the room. There is not one person "just checking it out." Everyone is super into Anusara Yoga and super into practice. All the returning students from Part One are in a totally different place than they were a few short months ago and the folks joining our group are so experienced and well-trained that it is like they have been here all along. And it is so cool because the students who have come from other places are generally students of our friends who live in other places that it does feel quite intimate in way. Like an extended family.
.
We worked on visvamitarasana this morning and then into the eka rajakapotasana backbends and then to natrajasana. Our theme was Shiva /Shakti and how we, like Shakti are always in a conversation with Shiva, our Highest Potential. In the afternoon I taught a lotus class in the midst of which I tested everyone on the technicalities of some of the basic principles and their applications. It wasn't so much "open book" as it was "open body."
.
All right then, I must go to bed. I am now regretting the espresso I drank this afternoon as I am wide awake. But it sure was good then!
No comments:
Post a Comment