I taught a workshop this weekend in Charlotte, North Carolina at the Laughing Buddha Yoga Center. The owner Dawn Hinshaw and the whole Laughing Buddha Community was so nice and receptive to the teachings. Our last session was Sunday morning from 9-12pm. This was the fourth session and each session was 3 hours. Sara poetically pointed out that it was their 9th through 12th hour of yoga within 40 hours--we all laughed!
Why would someone want to do this much Yoga in such a short period of time? Simply put, because it transforms you and shifts your perspective quickly. If there is one thing yoga is aiming to do, it is shifting your perspective. As we age we tend to become more solid within our beliefs and more rigid within our thinking. It is not just our bodies that tighten and harden--it is our minds too. Our mental constructs towards people, places and things become more narrow and this limits the possibilities. This unfortunately gets us stuck in ruts. I hear adults all the time say, "I wish I could do that." You are living a substitute life.
When you practice this much yoga, your body and mind start to loosen their grip--you soften and begin feeling the many possibilities that life presents. It is the silence and the process of continually coming back to the present moment that allows us to begin seeing that-- in many ways-- you hold the key to your future. As Rumi says, "Why do you stay imprisoned when the door is wide open?". Your mind is what paints your moment to moment awareness. Yoga teaches us to become aware of the paint colors and the landscape. It also allows us to step back and change colors and the landscape.
At the end of our session on Sunday you could see the shift on people's faces. Their skin was brighter and their eyes were wide open. There was a radiance about everyone. Thanks to everyone within the Laughing Buddha Community--Sara and I felt right at home.
Why would someone want to do this much Yoga in such a short period of time? Simply put, because it transforms you and shifts your perspective quickly. If there is one thing yoga is aiming to do, it is shifting your perspective. As we age we tend to become more solid within our beliefs and more rigid within our thinking. It is not just our bodies that tighten and harden--it is our minds too. Our mental constructs towards people, places and things become more narrow and this limits the possibilities. This unfortunately gets us stuck in ruts. I hear adults all the time say, "I wish I could do that." You are living a substitute life.
When you practice this much yoga, your body and mind start to loosen their grip--you soften and begin feeling the many possibilities that life presents. It is the silence and the process of continually coming back to the present moment that allows us to begin seeing that-- in many ways-- you hold the key to your future. As Rumi says, "Why do you stay imprisoned when the door is wide open?". Your mind is what paints your moment to moment awareness. Yoga teaches us to become aware of the paint colors and the landscape. It also allows us to step back and change colors and the landscape.
At the end of our session on Sunday you could see the shift on people's faces. Their skin was brighter and their eyes were wide open. There was a radiance about everyone. Thanks to everyone within the Laughing Buddha Community--Sara and I felt right at home.
1 comment:
I just wanted to tell you again how AMAZING your workshop was this weekend here in Charlotte!! My only complaint was that I couldn’t attend all 4 sessions :) Your classes were exactly what my practice needed amidst all the other things swirling about in my life these days. And although I only got to enjoy 6 hours of yoga in 20 hours, it was enough time to slow down, “get all juicy” and let the poses do what they’re supposed to do if I simply give them the time to do it.
I definitely look forward to you & Sara coming back again soon (sans her evil green bands—my sore shoulders & hips mean that in the nicest of ways. Dawn is not letting them collect any dust in your absence either.). It was a real treat having you here!!
THANK YOU again for a warm-and-tingly-in-all-the-right-places kind of experience this week-end. Good stuff, damn good stuff...
~ Noodle ;)
ps ~ your Brian Kest quote is becoming infamous [heh]. I shamelessly put it up on facebook as one of my favorite quotes, right along Saint-Exupery, Dumas, Shakespeare & the Dalai Lama :)
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