It's February. I know the Sun will reveal herself.

Not much has changed weather-wise since I last wrote in January. Old man winter is still parked over the SouthEast like never before. We've had more winter wonder this year than in all 22 years I've lived in NC. The cold continues to provide ample opportunity to improve my physical, mental and spiritual bodies.

I'm teaching in AB Tech's veterinary medical program this semester and continue to teach yoga classes in the PE department. Three weeks ago we had a camelid lab., (camelid's are the genus that camels, llamas, and alpaca's belong to). I was charged and run into by a 700# male llama. It was a battle of dominance between he and the llama I was leading, which would have been fine, but I ended up in the line of attack and walked away with a injured left shoulder. The force of the impact was tremendous and initially I thought I may have separated my shoulder, but now feel it is a soft tissue injury.

So why am I sharing this with you? Fortunately, I have many hours in yoga therapy to rely on, having studied with my teacher John Friend since 2001. Drawing from my knowledge I have nearly healed my shoulder through gentle and effective yoga therapeutic techniques, strength training and good body mechanic awareness.

It's empowering to have a strong base of knowledge that an excellent yogic system like Anusara Yoga provides. From this system I have the know-how of what to do when I experience an injury. Aside from topical treatments such as ice, heat, woodlock oil, dmso, all of which I've used, I knew exactly what poses would increase mobility without further damaging the tissue. A strong awareness of shoulder loop has proved essential in the healing process as well as physical therapy poses at the wall. The wall poses engage all the muscles of the shoulder girdle, both strengthening and stretching them and placing them in correct anatomical position.

For those of students who've not experienced therapeutic yoga workshops, I strongly encourage you to do so. Of course, I can't say enough about Anusara , as it's the system that I'm steeped in and feel it's exceptional for not only therapetics but as a stellar yogic system in general. We have many wonderful Anusara instructors in our region. Joe Taft and Deidre Smith Gilmer are Asheville's certified instructors. Our yoga kula continues to grow strong. Many exceptional Anusara instructors can be found throughout the Carolinas.

In closing, the sun is concealed behind the clouds today and unveils itself periodically, revealing the Truth that it's always there. Injuries can be avenues in which we uncover the essential nature of our True Self. Injuries teach us lessons such as patience, compassion, persistence as well as providing opportunity to examine the ego. In what ways may you look inward and allow the Truth within yourself to be unveiled? Spend some time in silence each day and the Light with burst forth in ways unimaginable.

Blessings,
Donna

The Path

My friend Jack asked me in an email how I came to be where I am spiritually. I thought this would make a nice post since I've never written it down in chronological order. Here goes......

"To answer your question about how I came to be where I am spiritually is a very roundabout path. Growing up Catholic the liturgy never resonated with me. I felt like God was unattainable in the Catholic church. It was "us" the little peon sinners, and him or "them" the big guy in the sky and his priest/nuns who spoke down to "us". When I was 13 I asked my parents if I could stop going to mass because I felt it wasn't for me and I felt it was a waste of my time. They reluctantly allowed me to stop attending.

Sundays usually found me exploring the woods on the back of my horse. My spirit knew it was a better God-connection for me. When I was 16, I got very involved in the "born again" movement and was going to a charismatic church. For the first time ever I felt a sense of warmth and love in church. I was completely immersed on that path for a few years but the raging independent one within me felt it was too confining and controlling. It was an excellent experience overall, especially being a rebellious teenager. I think it kept me out of a lot of potential trouble.

I went off to college and through my Anthropology studies became interested in Native American spirituality, which resonated with me so much more because I've always been a nature girl and connect best with my spirit in nature. Since it isn't my culture I still found myself searching.

In 1998, a friend kept telling me I should do yoga because I was having a lot of knee pain from years of unknowingly hyper-extending my knees. I had a friend who had just done a yoga teacher training and she wanted to put a "guinea pig" group together to help her get more comfortable teaching publicly. Three friends and I helped her out and boom, that was totally it for me. I was so intrigued I started taking as many yoga classes that I could afford on a weekly basis. A year later I decided to do a training myself to go deeper into the philosophy and practice. I had no interest or intention to teach yoga, just a desire to know more. I completed Asheville Yoga Centers teacher training the spring of 2000.

In 2001, I met my main yoga teacher, John Friend, and it was a life altering experience. Total connection. It was Valentine's weekend and of course being Anusara and V-Day, the theme was heart opening! I was in a very vulnerable place in my life and going through a lot of emotional turmoil. The workshop moved so much energy in my heart center that I spent the first night in the hotel bathtub sobbing uncontrollably. I didn't even know why I was crying but it was as if a vast river of emotion was being released.

John and I had a strong connection and developed our friendship through emails back and forth. I was growing so rapidly and needed someone to help me understand the changes. He explained everything so patiently. He suggested I might read some of the works by Swami Childvilasananda, the head of the Siddha Yoga lineage. John is a student of the Siddha Yoga tradition. I bought a book of hers called Courage and Contentment, and from intense study of it over several months I received shaktipat, (awakening of the kundalini energy). It was literally as if the veil of delusion (maya) was lifted from my sight. I can say life hasn't been the same since. My perspective is vastly different now.

This spring I met a wonderful friend whom I call my spiritual "sounding board", Scott Marmorstein. Scott grew up in the Siddha Yoga tradition. His family lived in both the NY and India ashrams. He's a healer and often travels with John Friend. I was gifted a healing session with him this past April. I had been having a chronic back/rib issue and was going to the chiropractor twice weekly with little relief. My intention for our session was to deal with the back pain. Scott simply laid his hands on the problem area, did a little adjusting and it was resolved. Five months of chronic pain totally gone in a matter of seconds. The rest of our session was energetic balancing. It was one of the most profound interactions I've ever had. Words can't be wrapped around it. Life definitely hasn't been the same since!

I continue to work with Scott when he's in the area (he lives in Houston, Tx). Each session I have with him takes me deeper into my higher Self. Scott studies the work of Dr. David Hawkins, and turned me onto his work which has radically shifted my perception as well. It pairs well with my Siddha Yoga studies. I've also committed to a daily meditation practice. I feel little progress can be attained on the spiritual path without some sort of daily meditation. It's so easy to digress and forget my intention and spirit. Through my daily practice I am more mindful that all I do, I do to serve a Higher Source. A tiny shift in attitude makes a world of difference when working in my very stressful, frenetic job (veterinary technician in a really busy 4 doctor hospital). It can be so alluring to get caught up in the drama and take on a negative attitude. When I remind myself that all I do, I do with the attitude that I literally am serving the Divine, it helps me to stay clear and less attached to the works of the ego. That's the short version of my path."

Auspicious Weekend

This past weekend I had the great honor to study with my primary yoga instructor John Friend, founder of Anusara yoga. John was here in Asheville teaching a yoga therapeutics workshop and asana class. I had attended a therapy training with him in NYC in 2003, therefore I only attended the asana class. As always, John's teaching was filled with Shakti and deeply touched the hearts of all who attended. Each moment I spend with John is profound. On Monday, I was blessed with a great gift, a healing session with Scott Marmorstein, a spiritual energy healer who often travels with John. The awakening I experienced was so profound that I'm still in the process of the process, so to speak. Scott is a powerful healer and can awaken incredible divine energy in those who are open to it. I've come to a simple awareness that this life experience for me is to simply be a vessel for Source energy to flow through. I've come to the realization that I was the only thing getting in the way of my Spiritual progress, through worry, negative thinking and resistance. All worries have ceased and the intention for everything I do, whether in thought, action, experience, is to be a conduit for Spirit to flow freely through. My meditation practiced has deeply expanded. I'm certain little progress can be made on the Spiritual path without a strong commitment to your meditation practice. There are few other ways to quiet the mind and hear the inner promptings of Spirit without this practice. I've also come to the realization my choices in company, activity, thought, food etc. all reflect in either a positive or negative way on my Spirit. Therefore, mindful choices are of the utmost import to me now.

I feel amazing relief in this surrender. It's simple, yet I struggled for so long to get here. I feel liberated at every layer of my being and am so ecstatically grateful to those who have guided (and continue to guide) me along this most auspicious path.

You can read more about Scott's work on the Source Energy Healing link in the area of "Websites of interest" section of this blog. I also highly recommend his book, "Sparkling Aura, Sparkling Life."

In Peace and Light-
donna