Away from Friday September 20th to Friday October 4th
I will be travelling for two weeks from next Friday, visiting my parents in South Africa. Mitsy Kuncolinekar will be covering for me. Originally from Goa, India, Mitsy is a student of Andrew Hillam’s (of Jois Yoga in Encinitas) and a dedicated practitioner who has made extended trips to study at the Ashtanga Yoga Institute in Mysore with Paramaguru Sharath Jois.
Please note, that if you usually pay your tuition through auto renew via card or PayPal, you don’t need to do anything differently in my absence. If you usually pay via cash or check, please hold onto your tuition until I return and settle your account with me then ? Thank you!
Bhagavad Gita Workshop with Chase Bossart – Sept 28/29
Don’t miss Chase at Ashtanga Yoga Long Beach! Next weekend he will be presenting the Bhagavad Gita. Definitely not to be missed if you are serious about learning the deeper aspects of this practice and in svadyāya self-study.
You who want knowledge, see the Oneness within. There you will find the clear mirror already waiting
Hadewijch II (Antwerp, 13th century) [translated by Jane Hirshfield]
I leave you with this as it’s a subject I have been pondering lately. The purpose and journey of this practice is to bring you more in touch with the wisdom and Divinity within you. It is all about going IN, not OUT. Are you silent enough to hear it, though? Are you concentrating enough? Is your mind becoming stiller and more lucid? What do you do in your practice and your life that take your attention outside instead of inside? Is your drsti (gaze) impeccable? Is your practice about how it looks on the outside or how prāna feels and flows on the inside? Are you jabbering away prior to your practice and losing your prāna in shallow conversation before the day has even begun? Try turn off the radio and television and enjoy some early morning silence before you step on your mat (and perhaps afterwards too). Do you expend your energy on mindless consumerism, social media, brainless television or other things that take your awareness outside of yourself? What supports peace within you? For me it’s nature, spending time with animals and finding space to sit in silence in the early mornings. Try to increase the things in your life that provide inner peace and clarity. Remember true happiness can be found by gazing inwards, not outwards and by not wasting your prāna on unworthy pursuits. To succeed in our mission as yogis, we need to practice 24 hours a day. Be impeccably aware, kind, patient and keep your attention within. And breathe deeply….
Next Moon Day (new moon) observed on Friday September 27th