Sangha

I have the good fortune of being able to teach a small and lovely group of yogis every Saturday morning.  It is a group of husbands/wives/neighbors that have been living in Philadelphia and exercising and having coffee together every week for at least 25 years.  Every once in awhile I'll join them at the local coffee shop afterward where some of their other friends are already tucked into their reserved corner, sipping lattes and talking about books and the past weeks happenings.  There is always a very interesting mix of amazing people that sit around those two tables, all are very involved in the community and have very interesting lives.  The laughter and love and respect and shared history around those tables is amazing.

Sangha...community.  It's such an important thing to have in one's life.  In this day and age it's so easy to go weeks without interacting socially with people of like minds, with the temptations of facebook and other online escapes....and although they are decent tools of communication and connection, there's something to be said about sitting down with someone face to face.

"Our modern way of life seems to be making us busier and busier about less and less.  

It is only after we being to taste the joy of simple living that we realize how much all this frantic activity can stand between us and our fulfillment.  

The more we divide our interests, our allegiances, our activities, the less time we have for living.

Loving, loyal personal relationships take time.  

We cannot get to know someone intimately in a day or establish a lasting relationship during a weekend conference.  If we spend eight hours a day at our job and the evening watching

television, where is the time for cultivating close friendships?  

If we simplify our lives we shall find the time and energy to be together with our family and friends, or to give our time to a worthy cause that needs our contribution.  

The simple life doesn't mean bearing with a drab routine; it means giving our time and attention to what is most important."

Eknath Easwaran

I definitely fall into that trap at times.  Having a career where I'm constantly in service of others can make me feel a little burnt out at times, and I'm a person that needs a lot of alone time to recharge.  When I do decide to hang out with friends socially, surprisingly, I can have a little anxiety around the occasion, though as soon as I relax into the conversation and moment with whoever I am with, that anxiety dissipates.

"No man is an island, entire of itself;

every man is a piece of the continent,

a part of the main."

John Donne 

I had a great weekend filled with sangha.  On Saturday I met with my yogini pack and we had brunch and chatted about life, love, loss....very deep and fulfilling stuff.  On Sunday I went to the Reiki School for their grand opening of the new space.  I got to see a few of my friends from when I was taking classes....it was so great to reconnect and hear how their lives are going.  I love running into people that I've done reiki or yoga with because our connection is so deeply ingrained in our practice, so there's not usually much small talk, just cutting to the marrow of life. 

"Human relationships are the perfect tool for sanding away our rough edges

and getting at the core of divinity within us.

We need to look no further than our own family, friends, acquaintances,

or even adversaries, to begin our practice."

Eknath Easwaran

So who do you need to make time to reach out to and rekindle a connection with today?  What friend/teacher/family member makes you feel whole and strong within yourself and when can you invite them for a cup of tea or skype date....if they are long distance.  Make a connection with someone new, someone old, someone borrowed, someone blue (blue meaning sad, or maybe a smurf) and notice how that might revitalize YOU!

Love Love Love

I subbed a class this evening and had a very interesting experience and am having a very interesting unfolding from it all.  There were only two people in this class, of very opposite physical practices and abilities.  I kind of panicked inside at first, wondering what I was possibly going to do with a more advanced practitioner who wanted something intense (Student A), and someone who said they wanted intense but I could see needed something gentler (Student B).  I approached my teaching with love and tenderness, and encouraged the students to honor their bodies and stay connected to their experience.  I found a happy medium between the two and was amazed at the focus and moments of joy I witnessed Student B having, even in some of the more difficult poses. 

Long story short, both people left class happy and unbroken.  I left class with Student B (who just happened into the studio, visiting from another state) on my mind.  As I'm heading to bed, I'm hoping that Student B wakes up in the morning feeling ok, and hoping that the moments of intensity weren't too much for B.  I was just moved to send B some Reiki, wherever they may be in Philadelphia.  As I was watching Student B in class, I was touched by the vulnerability and loving way this person practiced.  It softened me. 

I just spent a long day teaching 4 yoga classes and giving some students Reiki.  I gave out a lot of love and energy today, and therefore am left not exhausted, but filled with love.  I really felt like I was connected to each student and what they needed in the moment.  I'm so lucky that I have a job where I can express love and caring for someone through healing touch or by guiding them towards their practice.

Maybe it's because I'm tired, maybe it's because I'm listening to a beautiful song, but I just had a good cry a few minutes ago.  Not sad tears.  Tears of loving.  Sometimes my heart fills with so much love that I cry.  Once it happened while I was riding on the bus because someone did something nice for a total stranger (so glad I was wearing sunglasses.) I've had this intense heart feeling for as long as I remember, but have spent years trying to hide it, destroy it, ignore it, build fortress after fortress around it.

And today another wall came down....a big one I think....and I truly believe that my ability to spend a lot of time loving and caring for people through Reiki and Yoga is due to the fact that I am in the process of developing a loving relationship with myself with these tools.  And even though we live in this crazy world where being soft is viewed upon as being weak, where giving out love isn't as valued as giving out a flat screen tv.....I will keep on working to honor what's inside of me and work to bring it out and share it with others. 
Meg, ball of love:)

Disclaimer: times when I am not a ball of love.....if you wake me out of a deep sleep or when I am hungry