NOW

Photos:Rachel Kemper


As I mentioned before, I'm now officially certified as an Amrit Yoga Instructor! I am so happy about this transition in my life that allows me to share with others what I myself have experienced through the teachings of my Yoga Guru, Amrit Desai, also referred to as "Gurudev" which means "Beloved Guru."

As I begin this journey of teaching it's almost overwhelming to think, "where do I start?" I have received so many gifts that reach far beyond knowing the correct position of the asanas on the yoga mat. I say ALMOST overwhelming because one of the most powerful gifts from Amrit Yoga is the skill to observe your thoughts, reactions and habitual patterns as they come up, and then realize that you have a choice to either dismantle that reaction, or to REACT to the reaction. For example, my first reaction would be the thought arising, "where do I start?" As I notice this thought I am then at a point where a habitual pattern might be to attach myself to the feeling of stress that arises with that thought. I could allow my mind to continue with, "how am I ever going to teach people everything I know?" or "will they understand me?" or "what if they don't like me??" This is a great example of what Gurudev says that, "we think we have control over our minds, but really our minds have us!" So how do you let go of the destructive second reaction? As soon as you realize that you are caught in a habit, the simplest thing to do is to connect to your body and the present moment by taking a slow deliberate breath (or a few!). When you are in a destructive thought pattern you are not aligned with what is present in the moment. You are worried about what will happen tomorrow, or reacting to a condition of the past. The TRUTH is, all that you have and all that you could ever need is happening right NOW! How can anything ever be different than how it is right now? Align your Self and ACCEPT that everything is as it should be, right now.

All of the energy we give toward fear and our ego minds is exactly what you'll learn to dismantle with Amrit Yoga! As we practice on the mat, we observe what our mind is doing during the deliberate action, willful surrender, and each transitioning moment in between the poses. The more we learn to observe, the less we react from our mis-alignment to what is happening NOW.