The Art of Pause & Restorative Yoga

Restorative Yoga is a crucial part of a balanced yoga practice. If all we push ourselves toward is a rigorous practice, there is a danger of feeling overworked, overbearing, rigid & uptight if we do not balance this with the soothing, nourishing, watery, spacious qualities of stillness & quiet.

Belief it or not, restorative poses can be challenging even if the pictures make it look so savory. Although the body is set up in gentle long held pauses, the mind can be fast at work, doing it's habitual best to avoid checking in more deeply & slowing down. The mind receives training in a restorative class also. It too gets tamed with the reigns of "being" just like a meditation practice does.

                                                                         Viparita Karani. Inverted lake pose.

The winter is an especially comforting time to give the body moments of relief after the possible fatigue of an active summer, as is anyone in intense seasons of their lives consumed by busyness and the weight of daily responsibility. It is also vital for those going through minor sickness, the need of a cleanse & rest of all the systems and organs of the body, for major illness,  for injury recovery, or addiction recovery. I have found some of the most profound affects on yogis were those recovering from addiction. We are all addicts really . Once we check in, settle and slow down we realize this. Restorative yoga will give one the chance to go deeper & operate more methodically with profound, effective and supportive means as we discharge anxiousness and an over active nervous system/mind. This can free oneself of restlessness,  repressed energy, a current grief, or a future worry.

I suggest one Restorative Yoga class per week to give yourself the renewal and release you need to support everything else you do. The energy freed up in restorative yoga is like getting a massage. Often for most, getting ourselves in a setting that is quiet, more introspective & healing is the perfect medicine we need for balanced life, free of all the outer stimuli, social expectation or distraction. I also suggest  one restorative pose per day, which you will learn by coming to class with the use of various props.  This will balance your asana practice and help support your meditation, dharma, and bhakti practices where stillness of the body is often required, as is sitting for long periods of time without being uncomfortable.

Restorative Yoga helps to teach us how to be receptive in a culture that is often training us to export  tremendous amounts of output . Our restorative yoga classes at Swan River also offer Thai Therapeutics with the healing power of touch. There are numerous studies that go into the enhanced mental health of a human by daily healing, loving touch.  Restorative Yoga reminds us how crucial it is to free ourself of  smaller holdings in the body & deeper imprinted discomforts so that we can work them out carefully, thoughtfully & slowly, freeing their roots. In time, the mind will stop rambling, you will fidget or pick your cell phone up in your life less,  & be more present to the moment. You will be sensitive &  receptive in all situations, but most importantly the present one, which is all you really have.

                                                                                       The Art of Pause.

Swan River Yoga has 3  regular Restorative Yoga Classes:

*NEW: Sundays 6:30pm-7:45pm

Wednesdays 5:15-6:30

Thursdays 4-5pm

*Once per month Sundays 6:30-8:30 FULL Sound Bath

Teachers: Kelly Haas & Michele Baker. These teachers have training in Thai Yoga Therapeutics and Yoga Asana Therapeutics. Michele's classes will also offer the healing benefits of sound with mantra, crystal bowls & gong in every class.

Michele's Personal Blog: The End of Maya...2012

Michele's Personal Blog: The End of Maya...2012: The End of Maya. “A mans character is not to be found in moments of great joy, but in moments of great strife.” Dr Martin Luther King Jr. ...

The End of Maya...2012

 January 1, 2013

The End of Maya.

“A mans character is not to be found in moments of great joy, but in moments of great strife.” Dr Martin Luther King Jr.

   On December 21, 2012, I had the chance to experience the end of the Mayan Calendar in the origin, the Yucatan of Maya Mexico. It was no "coincidence".  This synchratic trek had been planned for quite some time. I had always felt some deep innate need to resolve something that had to do with the idea of maya or the mayan calendar. There was some cycle within me that needed completion. It was a quiet celebration of souls there that felt the same way. Many of us meditated to see the first rays of the sun appear after a long early morning meditation. Many of us held hands and wept.  I could truly feel something shift on that day on a scale I still do not understand fully even after having studied the mayan prophecies and their need to overcome time for so long. The Sanskrit word “maya” can be found in many cultures including numerous ones in southeast asia and Mexico. One translation I have truly come to appreciate for the for maya is the word “mirage”.  In honoring etymology, the word comes from the roots “ma”, and have relations to “meter”, “measure”, “material’, “matter” and the sanskrit word “mantra” (the anecdote). The translation is “time”, “illusion”, “curtain”, “veil”. The Mayans knew that time did not exist, yet they became fascinated with trying to figure it out, along with times cycles within cycles, or fractals, and reading the exquisite stars that shine more clearly there than any other place I have seen on the planet.  

  To remember the most direct translation, time, can assist us in understanding the nature of maya and it’s purpose. The nature of it isn’t bad, as it is often mistaken to be,  but it is meant to confuse, trick, and get us to go deeper. We are not meant to be ruled by these things, nor by time. It is a real life “magic” show (yet another word related to maya).  Until we understand the nature of maya it can really lead us to feel susceptible or tricked in a very deeply unconscious way, like being pulled on strings. It can also lead us into complacency, forgetfulness, more and more suffering. Even with very good intentions there can be a sense of emptiness of things we thought so real and full yet were simulated, as they lack the true fulfillment we initially desired. Even our soul has desires. Our soul wants to have a very deep and meaningful experience. The further we get from being a soul, we may even continue to cloak and fool ourselves, tricking ourselves with more masterminded tricks.

    The word “maya” and it’s concepts seemed to follow me around a great deal this year especially, and more than any other year. Perhaps you felt the same way? Many unplanned surprises, tricks, confusions, loss, changes, deaths and pains along with some of the most delightful surprises and new turns unimagined. It was the year of the great purge and fresh ideas and experiences for me all at once, and having asked around... for many. The word followed me around so much that I even began to look for it. Many places on our yoga retreat to Thailand had the name Maya in it. I stayed in a hotel called Maya after a long layover of a flight that did not exist. I also went to “Mayapur” in India just recently. They say this is the place of the origin of “kirtan” (call and response repetition of repeating the holy names of God in mantra) from  a great saint and avatar “Shri Chaitanya” (the incarnation of Krishna in the mood of Radha or longing). This religious village on the Ganga River is translated as the “land of maya”. In this strong mayan year even just yesterday, in my favorite piercing place called “Nomad” in Portland OR, the young girl that helped me was named “Maya” and she was born in the land of Maya in Chitzen Itza, the birthplace of Quetzalquoatal. “Of course!” I thought...lets top this year off with yet one more mayan sign...she had sketched a large phoenix rising up out of the ashes (Quetzalquotal is often compared to the Phoenix or to our own kundalini rising from forgetfulness). “That is what this time period and era is all about for us all” I told her. “Of course “Maya” drew this, just so I would remember, if ever I forget, which is maya’s nature.  Rise up. The time is now. You can not be a victim any longer to the disillusionments. Offer it all up.

   If you were confused, unsettled and felt like you had no idea of what in the world was going on or might happen next, you were closer to maya’s nature than ever before. Congratulations! Until we are close to the nature and purpose of maya, we will never overcome our own personal struggles that keep us totally in the dark yet thinking we’ve got it all understood. Have you ever considered that even the things you most believe in may not be real? Shaky territory. It can be quite unnerving.  If you became even more uncertain this year, good! You are close to the curtain going up of the great cosmic opera. You are no longer in the audience being told how everything is and free of the involvement of co-creating your life. You are now deeply involved. You’ve got your hand on the rope just near the stage, ready to see what is behind it, and recognizing the essence of what holds you back from the most Divine relationship of all. I too will agree this can be quite frightening as one approaches such naked stark truths, yet I don’t believe that we do not want fear at all, some of it creates a quality of humility that keeps us connected to the Creator. I do believe though that we must know where fear comes from. It is maya.

   Here is a portion of a Hopi verse that is one of my favorites. Many Hopi’s believe they are of the same tribe as the Mayan’s (and the Mayan’s believe they came from India and the stars)...“It doesn't interest me what you do for a living. I want to know what you ache for, and if you dare to dream of meeting in your heart's longing. It doesn't interest me how old you are. I want to know if you will risk looking like a fool for love, for your dreams, for the adventure of being alive.It doesn't interest me what planets are squaring your moon. I want to know if you have touched the center of your own sorrow, if you have been opened by life's betrayals or have become shriveled and closed from fear of further pain.I want to know if you can sit in pain, mine or your own, without moving to hide it or fade it or fix it.”

   What is real? Which turn do I make? Do I live in a circus? Once we fully embody the fact that we do not really “know” anything for certain, or whether we are truly right, it can actually bring less distress and anxiety. You may actually be closer to the Source. It is the idea that when you “loose”, you also loose the cloaks, the isolations, the exploitations and the tricks, so, did you really loose, and if so, what exactly? I had the incredibly Divinely orchestrated blessing of meeting Radhanath Swami Maharaj this year in Mayapur, India. It was a very “unplanned” event on my part and something thousands of devotees would wish for. In fact, I was there amongst 5,000 Indian pilgrims  there to see him. It was immense and surreal for me. Even this life altering blessing assisted me to recognize maya, our “plans” and how things really work...where the orchestration is truly coming from. I would have never thought of this, and in fact, I clearly didn’t. “How did I get here exactly?” I thought.  I did not even know who he was until just months before as a delightfully new & unplanned friend handed me his book before I went to France to lead a retreat, and the experience has forever shifted my life. I see in a much deeper level the urgent innate need to develop my relationship with the Divine and remember that all things come from the Creator’s Master plan, not “mine” (yet another word associated with maya or our personal disillusionments based on our choices, called “mayi” in Sanskrit.) Oh those I, me, mines can really do a number on us.

   A quote from Radhanath Swami that I appreciate, in one of his many nightly speeches while the jackals howled behind him deep in the mysterious (another word for maya) sunset’s of Mayapur "Do not plan to achieve happiness and avoid distress. You will not be successful. Radhanath Swami...“ I had come to India struggling and feeling that so many small irritant seeds had developed into serious weeds, so out of my control, and then their dissolve on a personal apocalyptic scale. It was such an amplified degree, this true personal uncovering and revolution, one upon another. I wasn’t sure why I had to experience some of the hardships, one right after another. I also experienced so many unplanned new ideas and blessings, some of the most precious ones of my life that it was just confusing me as it was rather difficult to absorb their substance completely and get fully in the now. I hope these words, if anything, help anyone reading this if it sounds familiar in anyway. Appreciation is so profoundly important as it assists in directing our future. 

   I could feel though that I was getting closer in my understanding of maya in the 2012 storms and strifes, that these very experiences were the studies I had culminated throughout the years. I began to realize to a greater embodiment, in every cell,  that as long we are in the land of maya, or the material, there will always be strife, hardship, misunderstanding,change and loss, and in trying to always escape it I was literally being chased by it, feeling threatened by it all the “time”, somewhere deep within. We can't blame anyone. The nature of this forest like material world is individual egos clash and for no reason, even without ill motives and prejudices there will be misunderstandings. When hardship comes and winter blows it is our truest test to never retaliate, give up, or feel condemned. Radhanath Swami. We are all now inhaling an entirely new story. We are no longer being pulled by the strings.


   "Ones greatness is estimated by one's ability to tolerate provoking situations." Shrila Prabhupad. My dear friend and musical muse neighbor, Sarah Quintana asked what it is that we can do about such strife, not even just personally, but why collective pain and suffering takes place. There is so much violence,( as in the shootings in Connecticut).   I have come to appreciate the word “tolerance” a great deal this year. Tolerance is only possible when we have sat down to curb our own inner disturbances and “mayis” (MY disillusions).  I have found repeating sacred holy mantra (the ancient yogis say that mantra a direct anecdote for maya that seems troublesome) to be affective on a whole new level. This medicine, along with meditation, empowers us to watch a disillusionment dissolve right before our eyes due to repeating something of such high vibration over and over, affecting the inner and outer atmospheres. When we watch the news, and we hear of innocent victims of violence, in our compassion, this is what we must do. We must take responsibility for it. Do I have violence inside of me? Yes. Then I am no better. I have contributed to this somehow, collectively. What skill there is in checking “in” when there is disturbance on the outside, instead of exploding “out” and finding the cure there.  I have had so many teachers state, and I myself have profoundly experienced, that unless I am able to catch my own inner violent tendencies, to come to the realization of my own faults or personal “mayi’s” in my meditation, then there will still be deeply entrenched disillusionment all around me. Meditation isn’t really working if you have not discovered any personal faults while you sit. On the other hand, this is quite empowering for us all. It may be possible that your meditation could stop someone from killing another as they act upon pain and suffering within and on the out. That is a serious superpower, done quietly, and no one needs to know.

“It doesn't interest me to know where you live or how much money you have. I want to know if you can get up after the night of grief and despair, weary and bruised to the bone, and do what needs to be done for the children.It doesn't interest me who you are, how you came to be here. I want to know if you will stand in the center of the fire with me and not shrink back.It doesn't interest me where or what or with whom you have studied. I want to know what sustains you from the inside when all else falls away.I want to know if you can be alone with yourself, and if you truly like the company you keep in the empty moments.” Hopi Indian Verse

   When I arrived in India, it was the last day of a week long celebration of Kali, the goddess that sleighs your illusions. Bengali women had smeared red paint all over straw Kali statues that they were burning as quite striking spectacles in the streets. They were screaming an oddly familiar primal scream  loudly, and smearing red paint all over themselves as well. It was so raw. So vivid. It made my hair stand on end. I was excited to get to India and loved seeing the cows in the streets, the water buffalo herds swimming in the Ganga, & the cute Ganesha statues with marigolds. As soon as I saw this, I thought...”ok I am good. I am ready to go home now.” This time, on this visit, I was not a spectator. I was diving all the way into the culture and into the unknown. It was unnerving at first but I could see it was helping me to be free of any fear of the unknown. I had to keep going. Once I softened into such a mysterious, alluring place as Mayapur, where chanting, bells and mridanga drums can be heard all day and all night long, the bhajans seemed to slowly put me into a trance. I had such vivid meditations and dreams. It felt like every single thing I was thinking was manifesting, and that every single thing that I had the courage to face was dissolving, quite literally, into death consciousness. I felt like I too was dying at times. While sitting on my rooftop apartment that overlooks the birthplace of Shri Chaitanya  under a tree and the Ganga River, I asked God to bring it on. Bring on the dark. If I am dying... fine. What am I so afraid of? I look deeply into the dark, in the land of “Maya”pur, In time, on the hazy mornings, I contemplated on 3 forms, or garlands of protection, much in the same way that many of the Indian’s were wearing malas around their neck as amulets of the reminder of mantra and meditation. Once knowing the purpose of maya, these 3 things seemed to be the answer as to what to do in maya as to never be ruled by it but to better enjoy the game of the mirage.  I wanted to share my simple gifts that came to me.

1. Humility. It is vital to remain humble. To never think you know anything for sure. To never think you are at an advantage to others in anyway. To always remember it is never about you. To never seek attention. To not need credit for anything. To release the "I, me mines".

2. Forgiveness. It is so important to forgive ourselves once we realize we are not always skillful and have faults that can be finessed. It is also vital to forgive others of their misunderstandings. To remember you can not avoid misunderstandings in maya, but you complete their cycle by forgiving another and moving on. Forgiveness heals any painful situation.

3. Appreciation. None of this came from you in the end. It all came from God, giving and taking away, again and again, through mercy. Others too work so hard to bring you so much. We have so many unbelievable gifts. If we can not recognize them, their cycle too dissolves. To understand the value of maya directs our future and what is to come.

“It doesn't interest me if the story you're telling me is true. I want to know if you can disappoint another to be true to yourself; if you can bear the accusation of betrayal and not betray your own soul. I want to know if you can be faithful and therefore be trustworthy. I want to know if you can see beauty even when it is not pretty every day, and if you can source your life from the Spirit's presence.I want to know if you can live with failure, yours and mine, and still stand on the edge of a lake and shout to the silver of the full moon, "Yes!" Hopi Indian Verse

  May all that you dream for after a large apex within the Kali Yuga, be so. Look around you. Whomever is here with you now, and whatever is still standing, is of tremendous significance. It passed the Kali test. Maya will take on a whole new meaning for you now. There is so much coming.  There is so much more room for it. A gift is always incredible to receive. How it is wrapped is interesting. It is fun. But, it is the content of the package, what is behind the wrapping, that brings  the most real and substantial pleasure directly to our soul. Then, the flame of enthusiasm for our lives will never waver, be it “fortunate” or “unfortunate” in the moment of time that always passes. We are here now! It is golden.

The Breaking Down of Yoga Systems...Svaha

                          The Breaking Down of Yoga Systems... Svaha

   Soon after each of the 2 yoga lineages I have been affiliated with broke down, I paused, looked in, and asked myself what did I learn from this.... my very own personal revolution...

These 2 letters below where sent to our Swan teachers at Swan River Yoga as heart felt and very truthful understandings from my lens in a deeply associated experience with these teachers that are up for question and exposure. I am very blessed, as being the Events Coordinator at our Mandir, I get to be in very personal close contact with teachers that are quite well known and influential in the yoga and spiritual communities. They have all been in my home or stayed in it with me. I have cooked them all meals and had very personal time with them where I was able to ask them anything.

These 2 letters I sent have not been edited since they were sent just after each of their dismantles. They are in the heat of the experience.

If any of you are affiliated with a system that you question whether it is failing, I hope this can assist in some way, because personally, I am over all the volatile and emotionally divisive blogs out. Again, both of my responses drew me instantly to self reflect and check in with myself... far from judging any teacher, lineage, or yoga as a system.  Enjoy. Om Shantih...

Letter regarding Anusara Yoga and John Friend dated February 23, 2012 to the teachers at Swan River Yoga...

Wonderful swans of all shapes, sizes and diversities...

I have been getting a few questions and emails about some news that is circulating about some interpersonal affairs of Anusara Yoga's leader, John Friend.

If you have no idea what I am talking about, even better. If you do not care, even better yet! You can find out what I am talking about quite easily by visiting the internet. Step back if you do, and use great discernment and openness to the possibilities.

I do feel it my duty, for the care I have, and always have had, for our community, to respond in some sense, without going too personal into his life, which is not my responsibility to reveal. It is not my story and I do not like gossip. There is a good teaching here for us all. Go to the internet to find out what I am talking about, and stay there for about 10 minutes. Be careful. It will get very toxic, very fast, but since Anusara is the largest form of yoga in the world, and we have quite an affiliation with it's style in our community space, it is best for me to address my teachings from the experience, and my response.

John has had his entire personal life questioned and exposed. Since he has chosen to be a public figure, and a yoga leader, which exemplifies ethics and duty, it has become a public duty of his to always choose the highest. What I find to be so important right now, is to make sure that you are choosing the highest. Otherwise, please do not call yourself a yoga teacher. John's life has been fully exposed. I have been sad and disappointed in some of his choices, as have thousands.  I do honor and hold true to my heart truth and commitment, of which he broke many. I also feel that, unless you are ready to be completely exposed, this is not the time to judge or get involved in his story, and the rest of whatever he did or did not do beyond this, I just do not  wish to know about.  I personally have a lot to work on. Be sure right now that you would totally be ok with being completely see through, because that is where we are all headed some day and maybe sooner than later. I have felt right now in my own meditations... be humble or be humbled.  I think I rather be humble, and do my deep inner work. This is the year for that.

What happened to John is very good for us all. It is my belief, in this year, 2012, the need for an outer teacher has now been demolished. Whatever tools you have built up until this time is what you can now use to access your own personal inner teacher. It is so important to not blame your teacher for what you do not know, to need their attention or to never idolize them. It is dangerous and has been for thousands of years. We are here in 2012 to create a new story, which is bold. Most people in the collective consciousness neet to grasp onto an old story for familiarity and are not ready for this. Yoga is quite old. Be bold, all of you, please, and make it new.  For some time, our culture needed teachers because we never listened to other's wisdom. This phase has ended and we must move forward. You are ready. Lets all just hang out and be friends that get to be inspired by one another!

I feel we can now welcome a new cutting edge yoga. It is just amazing that we are here!  Lets all be a part of it! 

If you call someone your teacher or Guru, you have to potential of idolizing them or creating a false icon, or better yet, a false God. Just remember, you helped create the construct if you did this to a person. That is the first of the 10 commandments (I think, but ask Cassie or Keith. They go to church) Thou shalt not worship a false good. There are really good reasons for this I am finding out. Deeper ones that can be imagined.

Remember when I gave a talk on knowing what you mean when you say the word "yoga" now, and really picture the essence of the practice behind it since it is now so mainstream. Well... here we go with "teacher" too. Most do not know what they mean when they say this, and honoring a false God can also mean you have given your Higher Self away to another, or at least a bit of your energy. This empowers them and diminishes you, even if it is super unconcious and unintended, which is in most cases with yogis.

For this reason, I do not want to be called your teacher. I am serious here. I will correct you if you try. Please do not.  It will help me on my next phase of my journey. I am learning and getting deep awakenings right now.  Some of you already do not call me your teacher, and no worries! Good!  I love you all so much. I adore you. We all run this ship together. I learn from you.

I can, if you so choose of course, be someone that has inspired you, guided you, assisted you, befriended you. Please do not call me your teacher any longer. You can say guide or maybe mentor, or what about human friend that is really into this thing that I am into also and want to learn about as an apprentice....

When someone calls you a yoga teacher, it is your duty and crucial that you help guide them to exactly what that means, just as in the case as when they say the word yoga. Some big PS preventions that will sever future choas for you.... Please never claim any students are "yours".  Yikes. Never create a heirarchy. Never let anyone worship you. Never imply that you know more than another, or you will never recognize nor appreciate the teacher within them.  

Wording things just so, and knowing what we mean by these over used and often misused sanskrit  words traveling over from India, is vital, and exciting. This is all so liberating for us all!

So... this is my response to what is getting talked about in the yoga community as a whole about Anusara. Work on yourself and focus on the pure teachings. it is more vital than ever to choose the highest in everything that you do. We are all depending on you to do so, and if you do not, it damages the collective whole as a result because we are all feeling everything more than ever.

Your teacher is now here.

I too no longer have a teacher, as much as I am always grateful to those that exposed me to the teachings. Hello 2012!

It is here!!! Celebrate you bad ass Self! I am actually really happy for us all!

                                                               Back to the Source and moving forward

Letter Regarding Diamond Mountain 3 year Retreat, Geshe MIchael Roach, Lama Christie McNally and Ian to the teachers at Swan River Yoga.Dated May 6, 2012

   Keith (co-owner of Swan River Yoga) and I seem to share an interesting Karma in this grand 2012 year in watching those that we have looked up to and their system's creations  possible dismembering. The uncovering's have affected us both tremendously. I cried for days when I heard about my chosen teacher, John Friend. I cried all day long once hearing about Lama Christie, Ian, and their teacher and Geshe, Geshela Michael Roach 1 week ago, whom I love so much and have spent very intimate time with in the Bahamas and our Mandir. I called Keith crying and crying. Oh, it has been hard.

I know in the past and as a new "teacher" (I am still not using this word and no students are "mine")  I have felt it my duty to abide by a chosen teacher so that my offerings to the community were as authentic as possible since this has been the way yoga has always been passed down. This gave me a strong foundation, self confidence and reference to feel good about what I articulate and convey to others in an orator setting and at that point I felt I needed that, albeit easier to have to find within myself. I wouldn't have known where first to initially go so I am forever grateful. Now I find myself doing it the hardest way, which takes far more work, meditation, and serious experience...finding my own words... I am looking within for them all and it is fucking scary. I feel fully exposed, vulnerable and in new territory because I am not looking outside of myself any longer to find the teachings or mimic anyone of believe anything. On another note...The inner personal revolutions I am making inside me right now have jumped me ahead to the newest freshest landscape I have ever found myself in in my life as a lover of yoga and was just what I needed. I pray you can find that place, each of you. It is realer than real and no amount of uncovering could ever be "false" in this place.

Small short offerings in what it is I am learning and pondering from the Diamond Mountain teachings... We are all as mentors and community leaders 100% responsible for what we say, state and claim in our dharma talks. WE are 100% responsible for all of our creations and the outcome of a student following exactly what you say, and even more so if you are the "leader" at the moment. Are you ok with that? I believe this in my heart to be so and can not emphasize this enough. It strikes deep cords in me, this statement. I keep hearing a new mantra "Michele, you are responsible for your creations." I too must be ok with this. For this reason, I have come back to serious foundational principles in my teachings, claims, and dharma talks. If ever I have slightly guessed something, made some false claim I did not know was wrong or personal interpretation, or exaggerated anything, or quoted a teacher that later I decided I did not agree with the teaching (which has happened through the years as I have shifted), or misquoted them... I have prayed to be offered forgiveness.

 I crave the simple and sparse, which is far more potent and is something I know for sure I can handle, as well as feel comfortable knowing that I could possibly be responsible for anyone in class that day. I am 100% clearly ok with this without a doubt.  I am making a stronger vow more than ever now to to not advance people to quickly, or jump ahead myself. It does not serve me nor them, and it not impressive. I am finding myself more than ever steering away from "advanced" claims or the exotic or extreme. Extreme spiritual practices are quite serious and I have done many, many with extreme and jostling results. They can be completely frightening and you feel totally crazy as you try to acclimate and incorporate them into your life. It has honestly been harder for me to settle more lately and notice how grand stillness & simplicity are... my new goals... I also honor the immense and the dark more than ever and find it to be no joke, the calling on Kali. Everything is not "all good" all the time I can assure you. Darkness is serious and real. That is why the light is so immensely powerful.

These teachers on the Diamond Retreat are entering into serious amounts of extreme darkness to jump their karma ahead at a rate that is so accelerated it is something you nor I can even imagine and I honor their courage even if some of them are not "ready". Spiritual teachers are learning life lessons for us and themselves right now and have in some cosmic blueprint offered to do so. Another yoga system could be next.  All systems will break down. I am forever grateful to them for these serious teachings they have currently provided us in such amplification. I know they were doing what they felt was right at some point. The levels of discernment they must tap into are far beyond my comprehension or capacity at this point. I think this to be the case with any system failing personally. I hope this does not hurt Keith's feelings to say so. She is an angel and she is my sister and I am so sad she is suffering. So so sad. I believe on a personal and community level, we are learning more than ever, in this particular year of 2012, what holds and what is of light, and what must shift and percolate with conflict to reach a more refined level. We all have to do this personally too. I have been in the Cosmic percolator all year along with receiving some of the most amazing opportunities, teachings, company and gifts of my life.

I pray to those in suffering and pain at this time and I know what it feels like down to the bone. I thank you for hearing Keith and I out. We 2 are probably the most invested in the dismantling of these systems we are affiliated and invested in spiritually so perhaps more directly affected. We have been very sad but felt the need to address this current tragedy.

This is my new song...

"Guess what I do not want to do no mo... no mo... I don't want to ever judge anyone for anything  no mo.. no mo." Repeat 108 times per day.

If we do this, and practice compassion, we truly are free. One love.

Michele's Personal Blog: Maya and the Matrix: Cracking the code from the la...

Michele's Personal Blog: Maya and the Matrix: Cracking the code from the la...: Maya and the Matrix Cracking the code from the language of yoga...

Maya and the Matrix: Cracking the code from the language of yoga.

                               Maya and the Matrix
                               December 24, 2011

                          
             Cracking the code from the language of yoga.

   My dharma talks in yoga class will often imbibe some reference to the movie The Matrix.  Have any of you noticed? Yes, after all of these years, (1999) I am still pondering the multiple dimensions that relate to my own personal spiritual, philosophical studies, life, and destiny in this movie. I have always been very strongly drawn to The Matrix, even though I am not typically impressed by chase scenes and action. I do somehow feel a strong pursuit in translating what this movie and concept means to me, and how I can apply some of these teachings to my life. In studying it further, I have found so many translations, and of course, each commentator translates it according to their experience, their influences, their studies and lens. There is a wide range of background in the commentary. I am no different. I have gone out of my way to study some of the proclaimed influences of the Matrix beyond my own familiar radar. I am primarily versed in Yogic (be it Classical Yoga, Advaita Vedanta or Tantric), Tibetan Buddhist, Mayan (as in pre-Spain Mexico on the Yucatan) and a touch of Tree of Life philosophy. This pursuit is interesting unto itself. 

The deeper I go, I feel my life is becoming this movie. Sometimes I honestly wonder where the dream begins and the "waking" state ends. I often wonder if the movie is really happening and which is real. The Wachowski brothers, who are the creators of the film,  are quite clandestine about their influences. They rarely comment on the infinite depth of debates by others, namely sci-fi, techie, cyberpunk, psychedelic and religious in their nature (Christian, Gnostic, Kaballah, Hindu, Buddhist, to name a few) on their movie. They seem to stay out of imposing their intentions and beliefs of what the film is about, as if to, out of respect, not adulterate the ideas of the viewer. We have never heard the movie's exact message or purpose from the creators, as iconic  (and iconoclastic) as it has become.One thing I do see, it gets you to question everything, if you can see past the slick scenes, music, and moves, which are really cool too. Most stop there, as it set and actually implanted many fashion trends, style, and fads in a growing 90's underground scene. I was a fashion designer then, and too found it very impressive, but it is inviting you look into your life, without being so distracted, more deeply. The movie used distractions to force you to do the work, and investigate it's depth. In this case, the outlandish and breath taking vinyl style and Japanimation like martial arts in the movie is literally used to draw you in. It is yet another trick. It is merely incredible decoration. There is far more to the message here, quite profound and presented quietly.

   The Matrix a viewer's movie, with complete freedom to decide what it means to the witness. It is not imposing one particular belief system of any sort, making it far beyond the promotion of labels, styles, and hipster trends.  This stand back approach in their creation strikes me first by two words in Sanskrit... "Smirti" and "Shruti".  These words apply to the art of message and communication. Shruti implies that there are sacred words that exist in the material world that were (or still are) direct messages from the Source that we can listen to. This is a direct phone call, already existing in the atmosphere and from God. They were unadulterated and had no translation, which means, in this case, the message was able to stream into the matrix and be heard, but did not come from inside of the matrix. Smirti is more a remembrance of a direct line of ultra communication. It gets channeled through a commentator, or a person within maya, and often written down. Once it is written down or translated, it can be adulterated and mixed, and is now a message sent through the lens of the presenter. The Wachowski's first amazing feat was keeping silent. It seemed to make the movie very pure and direct, like an omniscience both excellent and rare. When something we "hear" strikes us with such poignant resonance, it is like it came straight from  the seed ( "bindu" in sanskrit), beyond the mind, like a direct knowing. When you get those chills that run all over your skin, pay attention to what you just heard or experienced. There is even a Sanskrit word for this, when your hair stands on end because something hit such a deep cord..."Viloma".

   Many people believe that this movie was meant to break down codes and constructs.  Hollywood is in this case the representative of collective, programmed consciousness, which does a good job, like magazines and television, at telling us how things are, what we need, and who we should be. Just like advertising, it is trying to capture our attention all the time. Our attention is energy, and potent energy at that. Anything that grabs our attention is  an unconscious influence, streaming right into our being. This movie is a deprogrammer and a code cracker, which is where the movie begins, with neon green codes falling from the sky like our own mathmatical equation waiting to be solved, yet at the moment, because of it's color, still artificial. This movie is literally using the palette of the movie industry paradoxically to break down what mass consciousness can do to us; hypnotize. If ever we are seduced into sedation, we have just given up our free will, which, according to the laws of karma took great work. Free will came from our past merit. Choice is a human gift. Very few beings have total free will. Humans do, yet often get bribed into giving it up. This movie used a mass consciousness tool to break down the hypnosis of movies and the matrix and was successful at it. It is a movie to deprogram Hollywood, which is programmed to program us. This is the cracking of the code you see at the very beginning in neon green.  You even see it in the manipulation of the label of the Warner Brothers insignia. Crack the code, and you are free to create your own real world. May all beings be free.

  There are a few words in studying the etymology of the word matrix that relate to the veil...the sanskrit words ma ( mother earth), manas (mind) and  maya (illusion or time), related to the english words material, measurement, manifest, matter, math, montage, movie, manipulate...  The definition of a "matrix" is a situation within which something else originates. In mathematics, it is an array of symbols, numbers, and expressions that contain both column vectors and linear equations, just like it's shape, with both vertical lines (Shiva) and horizontal lines (Shakti) that create a grid like set  or constructed tapestry.  Baudrillard, one of the film makers only proclaimed influence besides the obvious cyberpunk movement, of which they asked the star, Keanu Reeves to read before accepting the role, described this, the "manifest as most know it and experience it, is a fake, artificial copy". He turned to Walt Disney as his greatest example of how the majority experience the world; those caught in the collective of artifice and copies of something original they have not really experienced at all yet, yet they think they have. He called this "simulacra and simulation". In the movie, the matrix refers to anything material which only creates bondage if we do not know it's essence. The movie is insinuating that  far fewer than we think are really experiencing the essence. Even those that seem to be portray spiritual awareness do not know, like Zypher, (Lucifer) originally on the rebel upper worlds side. 

  If we do not know how to hack the system and get to the Real, we are ruled by trickery and artificial intelligence, portrayed as machines in the movie... much like people who have no self realization or Universal consciousness. Experiencing the world this way is like eating what we think is real, but is empty food and fake, enjoying fabricated  art and having artificial reproduced relationships, yet being fooled that it is the real deal, which might even feel pretty amazing, albeit a fraction of what you could experience from it or create, free of the puppetry. Unless we question how things are, we could be the one hypnotized, and this makes us dangerous to ourselves, others, and the environment as a whole. It could be you, the one reading this right now, even if you think you are not. This is when the kingdoms in the matrix get out of order. I see The Matrix movie as a modern day ancient plea from the spirit world, begging us to crack the code, and be ready to fight our deepest battles to realize the truth of origin of all things, getting to the real with a capital "R". 

   The movie revealed an extremely uncomfortable process for us if we too choose (remember how important choice and free will is here) to endeavor the journey to "beat the system". Trinity and Neo were famous underground hackers who did. They  pulled out and unplugged their programs in the matrix. If we too can do this, things like art can actually be new creations, and relationships can have soul recognition, free of being bound by our creations or our relationships. You can be above and below. This is why I do not like the word "transcend". Remember when the movie showed small machines sucking on many human life forces  for juice, like human batteries? (I can not stand that scene. It gives me the total creeps) Remember how Neo was called Coppertop? (a Duracel battery) It is because WE are the portals. We contain Real life force. Why would I want to get out of this?  Instead of "transcending", I like to think of "preserving" my essence. Know your essence and you are no longer dangerous to us all. Keep your eyes wide open though. The thing is, you will now be perceived as a threat to those that are still enslaved. Did you see how many agents tried to stop Neo's freedom? That is very very real also. There are agents. If you are a "hacker", you are now able to communicate with the Upper Worlds and the  rogue rebels concerned with justice. The agents do not like this.

  The Nebuchadnezzer ( historically a king who sent the "pure race" into exile) in the movie is where the rebels reside. They live outside of the matrix in the Upper worlds. They too each cracked the code,  or were not born into the matrix to begin with (the idea of a true Zion that existed before man fell). These rebels have the ability to pull out of the group hypnosis into the upper worlds, yet still have the choice to enter into the matrix anytime they choose. Because they know the reality about the enslavement of those that still do not know or are not ready to crack the code, they are threatened by agents each time they enter, who do not want to see them free. According the the movie, anyone that does not know how to crack the code, like the hacker/hero archetype Neo (anagram of One) is a slave, and those bought into the system, "plugged into the machines" are unfortunately all dangerous, like a pandemic disease, until they are ready to find out the causal measurements and equations. Those sedated or falsely medicated still can turn on you. "They can even look like normal people that we know. They can be on the television... they can be there when we pay our taxes..." 

   The "rebels" are not this. That is why they are stripped down in the movie, even in their clothes and surroundings. What you see is the real deal. Nothing shiny or deceiving. They have gone through a questioning period to pull out of all of this, called "neti neti" in Sanskrit, which means to go through a very intense discernment process of "not this, not this. The word for discernment in Sanskrit it "Viveka", and is the primary theme of Patanjali's Yoga Sutras. The rebels unplugged from the masses so that they could no longer be programmed by "machines"( heartless, unintelligent,  and those that never question, but just follow all commands).  I have a current teacher who repeatedly emphasizes to me how important it is that at some point in our lives we question everything. We must never become an "agent" to anyone or anything, not even a teacher we love, or a practice we have invested in, but to find our personal purpose. We must be completely willing to do things differently, and to activate the new, never done before. I know many yogis  and others that are radical and choose to experience radical affirmation. The Bhagavad Gita, the most popular book in India and obvious parallel in this movie is a timeless example of this. Arjuna, another hero archetype, had a meltdown in Chapter 11 with Krishna as his guide (like Morpheus) where everything fell apart after he was given a glimpse of the secrets of the Universe. He was not quite ready to see this, but, because he questioned everything, there was power in concern for justice, which brought real sovereignty to an entire kingdom.

                                             How quickly the seeds multiply

   In many scenes in the matrix, the agents who are after the hero and "One", Neo, seem to multiply according to his capacity. As Neo grows, his resistance grows, and when this realization begins to trip him out, the seeds in his own mind seem to produce even more agents. So often our yoga practice is about the expansion of our container and potential, according and directly revelatory to our training and work, which we all need A LOT of. It is work, yes indeed.  It is interesting to note, as the spiritual warrior Neo begins to own his purpose, and to know and accept himself more, his shadows also multiply in their measurements. His resistance resists more as he contains more light and self realization. Is this another trick in the matrix? Also, are there really forces out there that do not want us to be liberated, and want us to remain in bondage? It is a good question to ask ourselves, especially as we increase our awareness and unpeel the layers of what is real and sound. These are the battle scenes in the matrix, so classic in many myths. When the stakes are high the battle increases our strength, strategy, and capacity. This gets us to encode divine origin. It also shows us there are those in the spiritual world that want us to do this, to attain self realization.
 
   There are power in numbers when we gain access to above as we live in below. We learn this in our reiki attunements... there are spiritual guides, guardians, angels, archangels behind maya and the veil, rooting for us, fighting for us, and wanting us to get out of any possible manipulation and in the essence of the real, where things can be appreciated and supported to the ultimate divinity, if only we communicate with them. Sacred word and sound is also an ongoing theme in the movie. It is how the rebels can travel above and below. Neo (Son of God), Trinity (Spirit), and Morpheus (Father) were all able to be in both the Matrix, and the Upper worlds, where most all others, including the agents, where trapped in the Matrix and had no idea how to break the code or find the key. It is why they were so interested in Neo. He could do both. He was above and below, but not trapped. He could communicate telepathically, as well as in analog and digital. Analog represents frequencies that are able to be picked up and received anywhere. It is how they entered the matrix, where digital, as when the rebels used cell phones, is only picked up by like frequencies, or like others. This type of communication was the most direct.

   Remember when Neo starts to become the mirror, and the mirror (another word for maya and matrix) starts to take over his body? This happens once he decides that he wants to really know what the matrix is. His life feels empty and he no longer believes what everyone else does. To do this, he must take the red pill, where he then gets unplugged from the system that everyone is plugged into. He is asking questions, and he wants to self examine, and decode to then reprogram and encode the truth. Did you see how hard that was? He was tossed into sewers, raw. It did not look comfortable. He looked around, and everyone was "asleep" in controlled incubators. That use to be him. How disturbing is this, especially when they may be your loved ones, or you? This is truly draconian in it's affects and proportion. This time of year (Holidays) is riddled with simulations in images, advertising and media. It is really a time to question and be careful about what images we choose to imprint into our consciousness, what truths we tell ourselves, and what coding we allow into our DNA. Deprogramming is not easy.

   There are 2 things that Neo has on his side, that I feel as a modern yogi, are the key ingredients to our liberating desire, moksha in the moment.... One is to keep good company, "Sanga" in Sanskrit. You are the company you keep, and the words they say. Neo, like Arjuna in the Bhagavad Gita, keeps very good company when he chooses Krishna to be on his side. It is not a lot of company. It is a smaller group, which can make it feel deceiving and lonely (as the desert of the Real in the movie suggests, or more so warns that we all feel when we get closer to the Truth), but he has Morpheus (the ruler of dreams) and Trinity ( the Holy Spirit) on his side. He has the best company, and the spiritual world, as well as the physical is praying he/we get it together enough to recognize the power in being a rebel of the real.  Morpheus and Trinity had to collect Neo in the underworld with Rob Zombie playing in the background, and he was the Savior and One. Maya/matrix at work again. You just never know.

   The second ingredient...When Neo enters the Oracles kitchen (who is the all knowing Divine Mother), the message above the door (our personal door into ourselves that we all must enter) says "Know Thyself". I believe this sums up what the matrix is, and why it is here. Know thyself truly, be see through, get your strands decoded, and we will stand up time and time again, even in challenge, by choice. This choice will then also be in communion with the Upper worlds. You will have Trinity and Morpheus on your side. What more do you need? The thing is, do we truly know ourselves? The movie questions the choices you are making, and whether you allow your stakes to be high enough to know. Would you risk everything and do whatever it takes?  When the stakes are high, you are getting closer to the Real deal in the Upper worlds. The stakes must be high for us to feel what is real, and there is always risk involved because there will inevitably be so much change. Some, as the movie says, are so plugged into the system, so entangled, that they are just not ready for change like this. For those masses, change will happen to them and at them. This can not be escaped. But "know thyself", and we experience the electricity of our essence,  self reliant...which raises the odds that others now currently in the system will too. Everyone must know themselves, or it will never work.  I remember a dear Buddhist teacher, Geshe Michael Roach, saying this to me. Otherwise, we are all always at risk. I found an old buddhist saying one time on a tea bag that took me a very long time to understand..."Act as if everything you do matters tremendously, until you realize what you do matters nothing at all."

                        "There will come a time when you dodge bullets no more."

  What is the matrix? It is what gets us to ask what is the truth, and what is real. According to the movie/maya, it is the only way we can support the matrix, by first asking the question. When Neo is waiting to speak to the Oracle, he meets a young Buddha. The Buddha has realized the nature of an object he is holding, which was a spoon. Once he does, he can bend it. He reveals that it is not fixed. This is the same for us. Our imprints, "samskaras" are not as fixed as we think, and you will be able to call out quite quickly "glitches in the system" before they actually activate and change you. Remember when Neo saw a deja vu? It was the repetition of a cat walking forward and back. It was a glitch in a program. They were able to call out this program before it became complete chaos. He was no longer going to allow a loop to play out again. He got out of the loop, and his guides helped him see this. Watch for those programs you have. Watch for familiar moments. Know what it is. Know where all things come from. Knowing where all things come from, you could stop chaos from happening before it entered your periphery. You could walk through a wall right now if you really understood this statement. Chapter 3 of the Yoga Sutras speaks all about doing this. These super powers are called the Vibutthis, and we all have them, but they are dormant and numbed in most all of us. We must pull the anesthetic out, and train to handle them, flying, just like Neo does at the end. , Morpheus did tell Neo, "there will come a time where you dodge bullets no more." You can do anything, and nothing can get at you anymore.

As the young buddha said in the waiting room of the Oracle; "Do not try to bend the spoon. That would be impossible. Instead, find the nature of the spoon. Only then will you realize there is no spoon." And then there was light...

                                  Picture of Neo at the very end of his purpose.

Michele's Personal Blog: Yoga Teacher's Blueprint: Our Holy Grail For Teach...

Michele's Personal Blog: Yoga Teacher's Blueprint: Our Holy Grail For Teach...: Yoga Teacher's Blueprint: Our Holy Grail For Teaching Yoga September 4, 2011 (When others come to your yoga class, it is an honor. To b...

Yoga Teacher's Blueprint: Our Holy Grail For Teaching Yoga

Yoga Teacher's Blueprint

 Our Holy Grail For Teaching Yoga

September 4, 2011

When others come to your yoga class, it is an honor. You are not "special". A good yoga teacher does not need attention. To be truly affective and magnetic, yoga teachers must practice living the teachings, and not just "know" the teachings well or apply charming wit in class. 

   Bowing in kindness, compassion, and service is the greatest gift you can give your students along with getting your hands dirty by actually doing the work and "getting" what is to be skillfully articulated so it is received efficiently.

   Gather your knowledge earnestly and urgently and then be even more kind, warm, inviting, funny, judgement & favoritism free as a result. The first thing I look for in a yoga teacher is, are they authentically happy and are others happy around them? Do they actually do their best to prescribe to the teachings in their overall life? Do they have a regular, knowledgeable yoga practice? Are they comfortably deep? Does what they teach actually work? Are they consistent when challenges arise? Do others come back and do I want to come back? These are the things we must consistently ask ourselves. The greatest teachers are willing to explore getting better, and encourage their students to come along with them.

   This is a Holy Grail of key notes, or "bindus" for our Swans. These bindu key points have been absorbed throughout my years of teaching and implementing yoga, in blessed settings, with Master teachers, and high resonate teachings. For our Swan River Yoga Teacher Trainings in our 6 month program, these key elements will assist the certified teacher as a holy check list. This is a paradigm that has assisted my refinement through the years. It is one that is ever expanding. Our teachings are not static, and I find the greatest teachers are willing to explore getting better, and encourage students to come along with them. If we teach with the same quality and content each year, our students will not grow. It is vital as a yoga teacher and healer to continue to finesse with passion and enthusiasm, so others are moved and inspired by every yoga class that they experience. One class is a big deal and could be THE thing that shifts someones life.

   I encourage yoga teachers or students to be to read this, no matter what your style of yoga is. It is meant to uplift and bring impeccable teachings to our community. For our Certified Swans, it is a must, and to graduate or call oneself a Swan Teacher, this is our Holy Grail Blueprint of which you experience in our classes.

Key notes for creating the optimal experience in sequencing & leading a class.

These are things I look for in a complete class:

5 elements of a Swan River class incorporated. Every yoga teacher at Swan River must do this...
1. Dharma Talk. Inspire their mind.  Air/Vayu
2. Chant/Devotion. Stoke their heart.  Fire/Agni
3. Breath and/or meditation. Give them grounded tools of independence. Earth/Prathivi
4. Equal balance of alignment instruction and flowing asana. Neither one not the other is to be left out. Siva/Shakti is present.  Water/Jala
5. Theme infused 3 times throughout the class. Tell them why they are doing all of this. The metaphysical must be there as much and in tandem with the physical. Ether/Akasha

  ( Tirrumanavalai Full Moon Siva Pilgramage in India Feb 2011.  Shiva/Shakti, Ardhanarishvara, is in perfect balance in every class w pose/repose, physical, metaphysical, alignment/flow.


5 Bindus points to articulate/call out a pose to a  student, closest to this order as possible:
1. Name in Sanskrit and English
2 .Gross form- the obvious structure of the pose
3. Alignment- detailed according to your theme & from the foundation up
4. Theme/Metaphysical (3 times minimum throughout the class)
5. Breath steady and even like a human metronome

5 Bindus for a complete and successful dharma talk. Align with the energies currently exisisting for the best theme of your yoga class.
1. Name the title
2. Say the title 3 times during
3. Relate a personal story
4. Include and tie in a yogic philosophy
5. Relate to how they will practice this on the mat
*A students should be able to name the theme of your class after they take it.

(Swan Teacher Jacksun listening to the Dharma talk. The theme of the talk is based on what is happening in the moment for efficacy and relatibility.)

Technique:
*Do not do yoga with your class. You are there to serve them. Once you have taught for 10,000 hours or 10 years, you may consider this.
*All poses are linked and always instructed with the correct breath. Never overlook the importance of transition.
*The alignment and form (note the difference) is instructed from the foundation up always
*Narrow down your alignment instruction by relating it to your theme for focus
*Move from gross to more subtle, or easiest to most challenging.
*Use the bell curve, which peaks 2/3 into the class
* The most challenging poses are complete after the apex of the bell curve
*Always have a peak pose, and infuse the theme in the peak
*Take out all unnecessary words such as "try to", "on the inhale", "from here", "sorry", "please", and all "ing" words.
*Always compliment, and speak in the positive. No "do nots" or "if you can't"
* Compliment first before correcting. Correct general issues first, before detailed issues.
*In general, do not give the students choices. Do not give into their preferences. Instruct everything, and instead, provide modifications and variations.

(Moving Shri... Interact with your students so they feel you, and feel that you are there for them. Walk around the room, and do not stay in one place as you teach)

Demos:
*No more than 3 demos in an Open level class. Students need to exercise.
*Keep it dynamic and in the appropriate length. Do not stay there too long.
*Pick students to demo more than doing the demo yourself.
*2 types of demos. Demo correctly and appropriately.
1. Informal Demo: when they are in flow, but in clear confusion, and looking around the room. Give them a quick visual but do not stop the class.
2. Formal Demo: Linked to your theme and purpose, stop the class officially. Have them gather around. Be sure everyone can see. Go through, in detail some key information that you want them to work on. Then have them go do it, or assist one another in doing so.

       (A formal demo, where everyone is gathered around to view the shoulder loop. Anahata was the Theme of the class, so the demo relates to the theme. Workshop at Krama in San Jose, Costa Rica)

Staging:
* Circle the entire room clockwise during the warm up to see where your students are at that particular day, their mood, observe new students capabilities, what they need to work on, and to move the energy in the room.
*Stand in a place where you are always facing them when holding poses.  If you have them face the right side, move to the right side of the room so they see you.
*Stand in a place where you get the best eagle eye possible.
*Do not move around while they are balancing.
*Get out of their periphery when they are balancing.
*Best to not stand behind them. It throws them off.
*Do not stand in one place for too long. It will stagnate the teachings.
*Move the energy of the room with your body by walking around, and keep it orderly.
*Never sit down. Work just as they are working.

(Keith Porteous, Co-owner, adjusting in a sequential order at our First Grand Opening of Swan River Yoga Mid-City Mandir.)

Assists:
*Assist in a sequential order in the room, moving from one person to the next. Every person has something to work on. Do not scramble all around the room unorderly.
*Assist gross alignment first, and the most critical for safety.
*If you assist them on one side physically, you MUST do the other. Remember who you assisted.
*Know everyone's name, and call them out.
*Do verbal assists first before physical to empower their capacity.
*Do global verbal assists first (when the majority of the room is doing something out of alignment) before personal assists.
*Do not ignore new students, nor stagnate the flow of the class by over-assisting them.
*Provide props right away when necessary and have them nearby
*Breath with them, and move them with their breath

          ( Pincha Mayurasana assist, where everyone will be encouraged to assist one another in Mandeville, LA)

Voice:
*Be dynamic, like you are doing the pose with them in your voice.
*Do not use a monotone voice.
*Keep it real and not fluffy.
*Use encouragement. If it is hard, use that inflection in your voice. If it is an internal pose, guide them spaciously with your voice.
*Be sure they can hear you, and that your volume is perfect
*Use a lower resonance and pitch in general for better absorption
*Bring the voice up to the upper palate and nasal range so you do not blow your vocal cords
*Pose/Repose...Have moments of silence in every class where you do not talk at all and the room is silent.
*When nervous, listen, and speak from the heart.

(Black and Gold Who Dat Superbowl Yoga class. Align with the season for the optimal theme of your class.)

Examine afterward:
*Did the above blueprint happen, and what can be improved?
*Was the class all about serving them?
*Did you set your "stuff" aside appropriately to teach them?
*Did your student leave life affirmed, even if they were challenged, having a hard day, or where new?
*Was the class moving?
*Did you invoke a sense of community?
*Did they get greeted by you, if not vocally, energetically, no matter how large the class was? Did you look at them in the eye?
*Did you touch every single person in some way?
*Did you push them to their edge, and no further?
*Can they apply this in their life, and did you remind them to?
* Did they experience kindness, joy, creativity, celebration, learning?
*Did you do your best as a teacher?
*Did you do everything from the heart?
*Were the 4 tenets of a Swan River Yoga class there? 
1. Community 2. Integrity3. Art 4. Beauty?

                                             Lotus flower in Portland OR


Congratulations dearest yoga teacher! You have offered up an impeccable class if everything has been checked off of this list, which will ever expand and refine also. 

 (Santa Teresa Shiva/Shakti Yoga Retreat 2011.)  Check in as a yoga teacher... are the students  life affirmed, and were they moved in some way?)

Remember, every student that comes to you is a messenger, mirroring to you Divine gifts. Leave your stuff behind, and bow to them, the real teachers. Namaskar