Tuesday, February 21, 2012

There is no failure only experience


Everything is continually changing; matter cannot stay in the same state, not even for a moment. Having just returned to Kathmandu after completing my advanced teacher training; a months long intensive course with Swami Govindanada in India, I am sitting trying to sum up the whole experience. It was such a profound time that I’m not sure I can even attempt to put into words. I have been truly blessed by having the opportunity to spend time with such amazing Guru’s and fellow yogi’s, that have started me on my journey of learning Sanskrit, going deeply into Vedanta philosophy, studying the yoga sutras of Patanjali, having the chance to practice advanced pranyama techniques and ‘break your bones’ Asana! It was physically, mentally and spiritually challenging and I can honestly say I loved every minute of it delving deeper and deeper into my practice. I felt such joy, peace and of course sometimes pain. All those lessons learnt on the mat can be put into practice in our daily lives and how we look at things. When we eat a tomato from the tomato’s point of view it is destruction, but from our point of view it is construction. So many seeds have been sown in that precious time and have given me an overwhelming amount to work on, which is wonderful. There are many asana which are still a great challenge to me, but that never ends, when we believe we have mastered one there is always the next step, but facing the challenge in our yoga practice helps us to face the challenges of everyday life with patience and grace. There are no failures, only experience and from that experience we can keep growing. I hold my times in the Ashram close to my heart like a treasure, but I can’t stay there forever, I have a husband and classes to run, nothing can stay the same. There is only one thing that is unchanging; absolute consciousness, existence, knowledge and bliss. Satchidananda. The eternal law; that pure bright light is the only thing that doesn’t change, we as human beings cannot stay the same, we are changing every second, but that existence, knowledge and bliss resides within us all. We have to go through the battleground as Arjuna did in the Bhagavad Gita, to find it, but it is there. We don’t have to go anywhere to get it, it is already there, but we have to learn how to find it with earnest hard work and patience. We have to step back from being involved in the situation to see the solution. One who knows himself has no need to worry about himself, changing is the nature of the world.
Where do we start looking? On the Mat!
New timetable of classes as below, look forward to seeing you all,
Smiling from the heart
Om.
Monday- 8.30-10am Sivananda open class, Yoga Mangala studio max 3 persons
5-6.30pm Gentle Yoga, Yoga Mangala Studio max 3 persons
Tuesday 4.30-6pm Sivananda open class, the British School Kathmandu, unlimited
Wednesday 9.30-11am Pranyama and meditation, Yoga Mangala Studio max 4 persons
5.45-7.15pm Sivananda open class, Yoga Mangala Studio max 3 persons
Thusday 9.30-11am Gentle Yoga, Yoga Mangala Studio max 3 persons
4.30-6pm Gentle Yoga, Yoga Mangala Studio max 3 persons
Friday 8.30-10am Sivananda open class, Yoga Mangala Studio max 3 persons.
PlEASE BOOK IN FOR YOUR CLASS IN ADVANCE DUE TO LIMITED SPACE, OM SHANTI