I have been blessed to be able to assist Shiva Rea twice this month. This time off to my home town of Santa Monica, one of my favorite places to assist Shiva because it’s right in this funky area in between Venice and Santa Monica, one block from the beach
It was a foundational teacher training for those just starting to teach in the Vinyasa style that Shiva teaches. Two of my own mentees from the valley went to the training as well as several other students that I have gotten to know over the years. It’s always a rich experience to be with Shiva in any capacity and such a huge honor to assist her and the wonderful students who come to the trainings. There are several other assistants who joined me, including Simon Park, and that is always a joy to see the friends in the tribe.
It was chilly and a little cloudy but I still got a great surf session and got to eat lots of raw food, see my friends from Santa Barbara, and just soak in the Yoga of my maha teacher. There is a lot going on in our tribe, and in the world, and I felt tension as well as inspiration to continue to spread the teachings of the transformative path of Yoga. A unique aspect of Shiva’s teachings at this point in her evolution is to raise the vibration in our own personal lives in order to spread it to the masses by our teaching. We had an evening of ecstatic chanting and poetry on the eve of St Valentines, and a very special Valentines class with what had to be over 100 students in the room!
Coming home inspired, with sand in my toes still and so grateful to have the studio to dive back into. Looks like lots of activity in the studio while I was gone and I am so happy to see the community getting more involved with the studio. I am very lucky to have Mary, Brynn, Martha, Juliet, Laura, and Shelley helping me teach my classes while I was gone, and I am sure everyone got to enjoy their own personal style of teaching. Many activities happening in the next few weeks, so stay posted and look out for the upcoming newsletter!
Tuesday, February 10, 2009
Sunday, February 1, 2009
"Raise the Vibration" training with Shiva Rea
Friday morning I left for Denver to go assist Shiva Rea at her “Raise the Vibration” Teacher Training in Denver. I left in the dark, and as I was coming over Monarch Pass, the sun was coming up over the mountains, shining on the peaks. I was listening to my Guru’s favorite chant (and mine), the Hanuman Chaleesa, and a huge smile came over my whole being. This place is so beautiful!!! I felt the magic of life, and definitely felt the vibration of my Maha teacher, Shiva, in Colorado. I could literally feel her energy as I got closer and closer to Denver. I just felt these whole body smiles come over me and deep peace and joy filled me as I knew it was going to be a wonderful weekend. I never know what will come from spending time with Shiva, but it’s always good that’s for sure.
Let me indulge you with some of the highlights for this retreat;
Prana flow, energetic Vinyasa, ecstatic Kirtan (chanting), yoga trance dance, mystic poetry, sacred activism, science of collective vibration, radical relaxation lounge (including chocolate), prana poi, and yogic ritual. Needless to say, we are not just doing asana!
We started off hearing her stories of the inauguration, where hosted a big CHANT FOR CHANGE event. I don’t watch the news much, so when she told us that even though there were over 2.5 million people there that weekend, there was not ONE arrest! That is amazing!!! It was the most watched event in the entire history of the world, and the vibration in D.C. was something she will never forget. On that note, please stay tuned as our own Andi Tippie will be giving a presentation of her experience in D.C. complete with many of her photos
We did a little bit of yoga but mostly the focus was on setting the tone for the weekend with creating the space through various rituals of sound, movement, connecting with the other participants, creating a sacred Mandala, and the Lakshmi Puja. Shiva Kumar, a Tantric Priest led the ceremony, and we were transported to India for a few hours as we watched and participated in this sacred ceremony. As soon as it began, I dropped into a deep state of peace and felt myself being lifted up by the intense vibration. Interestingly enough I happened to sit right next to Hanuman, my beloved monkey deity. We finished off with eating some of the Prasad (sacred blessed food from the altar), and went home full of Shakti!
Let me indulge you with some of the highlights for this retreat;
Prana flow, energetic Vinyasa, ecstatic Kirtan (chanting), yoga trance dance, mystic poetry, sacred activism, science of collective vibration, radical relaxation lounge (including chocolate), prana poi, and yogic ritual. Needless to say, we are not just doing asana!
We started off hearing her stories of the inauguration, where hosted a big CHANT FOR CHANGE event. I don’t watch the news much, so when she told us that even though there were over 2.5 million people there that weekend, there was not ONE arrest! That is amazing!!! It was the most watched event in the entire history of the world, and the vibration in D.C. was something she will never forget. On that note, please stay tuned as our own Andi Tippie will be giving a presentation of her experience in D.C. complete with many of her photos
We did a little bit of yoga but mostly the focus was on setting the tone for the weekend with creating the space through various rituals of sound, movement, connecting with the other participants, creating a sacred Mandala, and the Lakshmi Puja. Shiva Kumar, a Tantric Priest led the ceremony, and we were transported to India for a few hours as we watched and participated in this sacred ceremony. As soon as it began, I dropped into a deep state of peace and felt myself being lifted up by the intense vibration. Interestingly enough I happened to sit right next to Hanuman, my beloved monkey deity. We finished off with eating some of the Prasad (sacred blessed food from the altar), and went home full of Shakti!
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