Sweet Summer Quote

. . . you know the sprout is hidden inside the seed.

We are all struggling; none of us has gone far.

Let your arrogance go, and look around inside.


The blue sky opens out farther and farther,

the daily sense of failure goes away,

the damage I have done to myself fades,

a million suns come forward with light,

when I sit firmly in that world.

-KABIR
translated by Robert Bly


enjoy! Amy

Island Time

I got back last night from two days on Orcas Island: just one of the beautiful islands I've visited this year. In a week and a half, I'll be off to the fabulous island of Bali. Although these islands are very different, they both allow a visitor to slow down to island time. Whether it's the Caribbean, Hawaii, Asia or somewhere closer to home; island locals around the world seem to live at their own relaxed pace (ok, I have to wonder if it has something to with the geography. Maybe we can sense the finite borders of islands which facilitates that "nowhere to go" feeling?) The first few days on island time can be an adjustment as well as an invitation to leave our agendas at the door. I might find myself impatiently wondering when the food will arrive at a restaurant or wanting the car ahead to speed up (for Pete's sake!). What perfect opportunities to witness the hurried speed with which I usually move through my day and start to slow down! This morning in class, I invited students to practice on "island time": no hurry, no agenda. On our little yoga islands (mats) we opened to pausing, softening and breathing even through the most challenging postures. Even when moving; we can access the spaciousness of our beings, quiet our wild-horse minds and rest into the parasympathetic nervous system. Why not be on island time ALL THE TIME?

~ ALOHA! Love, Amy

Freedom Starts Within

Freedom quotes a plenty!

Only in the state of love will the beautiful, fragrant flower of freedom and supreme bliss unfold its petals and bloom. - Ammachi

Freedom is never out of fear; freedom is out of great awareness. - Osho

Give me freedom to sing without an echo. Give me freedom to fly without a shadow and to love without leaving traces. - Irina Tweedle

Freedom does not mean being able to say or do anything you want. You experience real freedom and happiness when you are no longer enslaved to those charms, attractions and temptations that conflict with your inner wisdom and bring you pain. - Leonard Pernulter

Yoga Teachers- They're Just Like Us!

"You have to remind yourself that there's a part of you that's never been touched by trauma." -Neal Pollack ( Yoga Journal, August 2010, pp. 101)
I found this quote comforting, and it resonated with me as a reason I practice and teach yoga. I'm a yoga teacher, but I'm also traveling the yogic path with life challenges, struggles and traumas just like my students (and everyone else on the planet). Sometimes I'm overwhelmed, sad, mad, etc., and yoga is a tool to reconnect to that place of unwavering depths of peace within: that place of infinite, spacious awareness that is always available and untouched by trauma. When I am in pain, often that part of myself seems unreachable; but again and again yoga is the vehicle which allows me dissolve the layers that make me feel separate to return there. So, my truest intention in my teaching is to share the tools I utilize and lovingly pass them along.
Solstice Blessings ~ Amy

Triadic Heart of Siva

My chosen quote for the day from Paul Muller Ortega, Triadic Heart of Siva: ¨The Ultimate is spanda: it vibrates, it expands and contracts; it manifests and reabsorbs; it is full of waves and waveless; it is full or bliss and yet suffering occurs; it plays a game of hide and seek with itself in which ignorance alternates with knowledge, and in which enjoyment and liberation can coincide.¨ Thanks, Annie Barret for this beautiful passage.

BIG WAVE SURFING

If we practice yoga like we "do" life, then how do we approach challenge? Is physical or emotional challenge any different? Really? As practitioners of yoga, potentially seeking the truest most open honest sense of ourSelves; is a giant emotional challenge much like a giant physical challenge? Eknath Eswaran talks about surfers to explain some of this. I thought this was funny at first, and then it made sense.
Earthquakes are disastrous, right? But a surfer who's heard the news of an earthquake will jump out of bed at 4am board in hand to go catch the biggest wave of their life! They've transformed a disaster into a force for challenge. What if we saw emotional earthquakes as a way to ride the wave toward greater self-awareness?
So. It's a big wave, a wild ride. And it's not easy in any sense.
But what if we took every challenge with a surf board in hand?

OM SHANTI
erin

Practice Outside!!

Summer's almost here (ok, we in the Pacific Northwest might need a little more proof of that!), and what an invitation we have to experience yoga in a different setting: outside. Our senses are alive outside with the smell of fresh air, the feeling of breeze and sun on our skin, the sounds of nature around us, and inspiring views to take in. All of our senses are in the present moment so we have an opportunity to really stay connected during the practice which isn't possible in a studio. The past three summers I've love practicing outdoors. I spent two summers in Bali in a steamy jungle setting with sweeping views of the Ayung river valley. All of the yoga students smelled of an intoxicating melange of bugspray and sunscreen and dripped in sweat. We watched birds and other creatures dance and fly in the green surroundings. Why would you want to be anywhere else but in the present moment there? Last summer I enjoyed teaching a summer series at Salmon Beach on a friend's deck right over Puget Sound with stunning views of the Olympic Mountains. Our Senses heightened; there was no need for music or anything else to infuse our practice with depth and rich texture provided by the blue water, sea creatures visible below, and infinite sky above.

I would love to have you join yogajoyproject for our summer SANGHA series practicing for 5 weeks Wed. and Fri. mornings OUTSIDE! Schedule of locations coming soon (we have so many fabulous offers from students to host on their decks with beautiful views, thank-you!) Also, Join us for our SOLSTICE WORKSHOP on June 20 (outside weather permitting.) Harness the energy of the brightest day of the year with us and shine bright!
Please visit www.yogajoyproject.com for more information and email info@yogajoyproject.com to register NOW : )

So Much Love~ Amy


visit the following links at www.yogajournal.com for more inspiration to take your yoga outside this summer!

http://www.yogajournal.com/practice/2723

http://www.yogajournal.com/lifestyle/2587?utm_source=MyYogaJournal&utm_medium=newsletter&utm_campaign=MyYogaJournal