Hanuman, the great mythic figure in Hindu mythology is nothing but YOU! Thats right, the half human,half monkey is your very own reflection!  Hanuman sits in the midline of our experiences between our heart and our mind,our actions and our thoughts our inhale and our exhale. Hanuman’s story is your own story of trial and triumph, of challenges and victory. He is your own consciousness awake and aware of the possibilities of living a more potent life. Hanuman is gifted the ability to shapeshift at will, to become the person who can be received in any given situation not out of compromise but as empowered choice.

Of the many teachings that come out of Hanuman Lore, one of the most potent lessons is one of stepping into our own gifts, knowing who we are and rememebering this as we traverse our lives and relationships. Hanuman will show us that even great beings forget their gifts and will need relationship and diversity to guide him back to his own path, his own gifts and  empowerment. Hanuman will show us  in the end that what we hold dear to our hearts makes all the difference  and that endeavoring relationship is the key to our yoga practice.

Please join me as we explore Hanuman’s gifts, as a means to open you to your own talents and empowerment.

Get ready to open your heart,hamstrings and hips at the Hanuman festival in Boulder, Colo sat June 18 3:30-5:30 PM

See you on the mat!  saprema,Jeanie

Last weekend I spent in lecture with David Crow. David Crow is one of the world’s foremost experts and leading speakers in the field of botanical medicine and grassroots healthcare. He is a master herbalist, aromatherapist  and acupuncturist with over 30 years experience and is an expert in the Ayurvedic and Chinese medical systems. David  is a renowned author, a poet, and is the founding director of Floracopeia Aromatic Treasures and MedicineCrow.com.

Our weekend was titled, “Feast of  Nectar” the human connectivity to sweetness. As a yoga practioner of over 20 years now I found this discussion fascinating in lieu of our yoga practice, What does it mean that we are creatures of nectar, connoisseurs of sweetness?  Our weekend began by tasting our saliva, literally cultivating a mouth full of liquid sweetness, holding it, swishing it around and swallowing. I was aware that at first it was challenging to find the salivia. David proceeded to tell us that we all suffer from “dry mouth” sytndrome.Dry mouth syndrome is caused by sympathetic nervous system overload and over active ego structures, he called “busy Ahamkara’s” ( Busy I maker’s or ego’s) This makes so much sense when I look at the overall stress in a yoga room coming from the upper body  and overactive chest breathing which indicates we are living in fight or flight sympathetic nervous system response versus parasympathetic, calm, relaxed and senstive responses to our lives.

Nectar comes from the Greek word that means overcoming death. Nectar was said to be the food and drink of the Gods and Goddess. Another name for nectar in Sanskrit is” amrit “, The liquid juice of immortality, said to be connected to the moons light (soma) and to the dosha Kapha. Kapha dosha from the Ayurveda system of healing is the slow moving, reflective and receptive attributes we see for example, in a pregnant woman or a calm state after meditation. Kapha dosha thrives on sweetness and in alignment ( non refined sugar) kapha dosha puts us in a state of accessing the seam; the place between our mortal and immortal selves. The place between inhale and exhale. The state we seek in meditation, yoga or a vigorous hike in the woods. It is where our individuality merges into the vastness of the Universal. Kapha dosha is also related to Ojas, the radiant yellow fluid created from sexual juices held in the marrow of our bones and in our cerebral spinal fluids.

This afternoon at our Tigress Cubs Expanding Class, we all tasted local, raw honey and for a few moments enjoyed the rasa, the flavor of a product that comes from a few miles away. Students commented on how they could taste the flowers and one student said I feel centered and calm.  Yes, connecting to the sweetness in our local raw honey has everything to do with our yoga practice. The first principle of Anusara Yoga is to receive your breath,the gift of life, the gift of your life force ( Shakti Prana) that rides your breath. The first thing we do when we taste something so refined and locally produced is pause and offer gratitude to the bee’s who work so diligently .  In offering gratitude we take a moment to receive the Prana, the life force that is in the flowers, the bee’s and the production of their honey. Its a moment to offer gratitude to our interconnectivity. Its very much like pausing to receive your breath and the life force you have been offered.  The bee’s are the conduit, the connectivity to our experiencing the nectar we call honey, the sweetness in life, to the kapha dosha and to eternal time. Our connectivity to the bee’s is essential to our survival here on this planet. The sweetness of receiving the gift of our lives is recognizing we are never alone . We are always with our past, our ancestors,their actions and the very cells that live in each of us.We are always with our future selves as our actions now inform our future, our children and so on.  What we do to the earth, we do indeed do to our selves. What happens to the honey bee, will indoubatably effect the human race and its food supply .

This revelation that we are all made of sweetness could be translated as, we are made of love and its love that we return to when we let these bodies go.  What interests me most is that we recognize this now, while we are alive on this earth in these bodies.  What I learned from David this weekend was that real raw honey, elixers and the smell and use of essential oils puts us in a state of receptivity so we can experience our most jubliant selves and make the connection to the Universe through our experience in the body.  Like a Yoga practice when we begin to focus on our breath and we let our rational mind take a back seat and our bodies heat up, we step through a portal, we enter a seam between worlds. The mundane becomes the extra ordinary. We begin to see how interconnected and auspicious life truly is. We begin to embody the truth that we all are indeed creatures of nectar.

Feb 1 marks the birth of  St. Brigid, The Celtic Saint of Light. She is said to be born with flames moving through her . She sits in the heart of the forest tending the inner fire,igniting our life force. She comes in the middle of Winter when our New Years’ resolutions may  feel like a distant spark  in a long forgotten yearning to connect to the highest potential that lives inside of us.

Im always grateful to live into St Brigid and to call upon her in my  yoga practice for she is a deep twist that wrings out stagnation and offers us renewed feelings of committment and directs our energies back towards our highest purpose!

The past two weeks, both of my children have been home from school sick and the frigid days have brought us inside literally tending a fire in our basement.  The internal days have brought me back to home cooked meals,and long talks around the fire . The time inside has offered me reflection and  strength . I  am shifting my teaching  schedule so I can offer more honestly from a place of authenticity and truth.

This past New Moon coming at the time of St Brigid ‘s birth also inspired me to look closely at relationships and integrity. Tending and directing our inner fire is a delicate balance in relationship to others.   We must learn to listen and align with our truths and trust in an energy bigger than us. An energy found in the Universe.  St Brigid offers us the rememberance of  Grace that moves as light and vibration as our hearts beat and bloods flow. She is our inner life force that has never left us even when we feel low and less than perfect. Trust in how she guides and redirects your path at this time of the year. A birthing of sorts is being asked of each of us.

During this month of February, in the heart of Winter  I encourage you to take a brisk walk in the frigid air, eat warming and nutrtious greens and soups. Take time to come to Yoga class and move your energy and engage in community . Rememeber to tend to your breath and to a contemplative practice such as meditation to listen to your inner longings.

As a result of tending to St Brigid, to that inner longing in me I am in the middle of some changes. Over the next month  I am redirecting my energies to my home studio  in order to continue to offer to community the true expression that is wanting to be birthed in me.

With Great affection I write to you all on  this snowy cold Winter’s day.

Title: Level1 Anusara Immersion Series
Location: Anjaneya Yoga Shala
Link out: Click here
Description: Level 1 Immersion is a five day Intensive designed to take anyone interested in deepening their yoga practice through asana ( Physical posture), meditation, pranayama ( breathing practices) basic anatomy, and philosophy. This is a deep journey into ones own self inquiry as well as an immersive experience into community and friendship.
Start Date: 2011-01-12
Start Time: 09:00
End Date: 2011-11-16
End Time: 05:00