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 Will Doran Yoga Newsletter
~ Summer 2009
Certified Yoga Instructor and Life
Coach
~ “The
Yoga Coach” Helping to
transform lives one open heart at a time ~
Dear friends,
It
is so great to have this connection to you; I feel like it is a chance
to share insights and the yogic teaching that so enriches my life and
gives me strength. I believe
strongly in the power of community and sharing experiences and the
learning behind them, as such we lift each other up.
My life has been rich with both trials and challenges and yet
each has brought me closer to living with more authenticity and
connection to Spirit. My
desire to be in control of my circumstances has diminished as I learn to
radically accept what shows up and follow my highest aspirations and
image of how I would like to “be” in this world.
There is a lot of learning and opportunity to be garnered from
being present in the moment, following the flow of Spirit pulsing
through life, or in yogic parlance, following the Shakti.
It is not always an easy path but it is ripe with learning and
insight. This newsletter
addresses that path and some of the insight I have gleaned.
In this issue:
·
Yoga
Philosophy: Shakti
and the Presence of the Divine
·
Applied
Yoga: Follow the Shakti
·
Life Coaching
Pearls of Wisdom: Being
Present to Reality
·
Notices:
- My teaching
schedule (Saturday classes start back up September 5th!)
(Summer
Yoga on the Lawn, Wednesday Evenings)
- Suggested
resources: Inspiring Movies ____________________________________
Yoga
Philosophy:
Shakti
and the Presence of the Divine
At the core of
Tanta
, the philosophical foundation behind yoga, is the belief that
everything we can perceive in nature is an expression of the Absolute;
everything comes from God and is manifest as the feminine aspect of God.
Tantra compels us to
explore and follow the pulsing vibrations of this compelling energy of
divine consciousness and realize its presence in all thing, both sacred
and mundane. From the realm
of pure spirit the Absolute created the material world as one aspect, or
pulsation, of its infinite and limitless essence, both differentiated
and yet contained within the Absolute.
The ancient masters of this philosophy, the tantrikas,
teach us to seek out this presence of the divine as a way to bring the
pulsing energy of the sacred into our everyday life.
As such we have the opportunity to experience a profound intimacy
and passion for life, to know desire not as a conditional force
dependant on a localized source for fulfillment, but rather, as a
recognition of our longing to experience and unite with a higher power.
The essence of the teaching is simple: Spirit -Shiva,
in yogic parlance-
made everything that exists and infuses it with a vibrant pulsing energy
that is palpable to the senses, and as such can be ascertained and
followed.
The ancients gave a name to this vibrant pulsing energy calling
it Shakti, the Sanskrit word for power.
They perceived it as the creative power of the divine feminine
and as the consort to the masculine force of absolute consciousness, Shiva.
This force may conceptually best be known to us in the West as mother
nature and her power of creation. I
love to think of it as the loving presence of a guiding light that can
be any of the following: sweetness, passion, desire, compelling force,
power, the Sacred Feminine. The
spirit-made-manifest as mother nature, Shakti,
is the vibrancy of life. It
is infused with a loving force that magnetizes with spirit to create
wholeness and unity. Shakti
comes from God, expresses itself in an infinite number of ways, and
with practiced awareness can be consciously perceived and followed.
In doing so, one can sensitize oneself to its presence and
amplify it within so as to create vitality and a sense of intimate
connectivity to all that surrounds one.
Shakti, to me, represents a loving feminine
energy that dances in intricate patterns of swirling energy both within
and without. It is the presence of the divine in the here and now, as
opposed to the belief that life is to be endured, and then upon our
death we can experience the presence of God.
I sense and experience Shakti
as a vibrant energy moving in varying waves of intensity that
creates a flowing current of pulsing love energy.
In my more sensitive moments, such as in meditation or a focused
yoga practice, I perceive the energy around and in me as a comforting
blanket of unconditional
love and acceptance that moves me toward my desire for union with
Spirit. Like music it
vibrates at different rates and rhythms, and depending on the
circumstances, I feel it as one of the rare expressions of the absolutes
that transcends my human limitations to know the divine as real and
present in my life. As
forces of nature ourselves we are empowered and invited to join in the
dance of pulsing Shakti
and become co-creators along with it.
This calling has motivated me since I was quite young and is
infused in my teaching.
The
compelling force of creativity within us is the force that moves us
towards connectivity and recognition that Shakti is present everywhere and in everyone.
We are empowered to draw and direct energy towards us and forge relationships
of all kinds as a way to explore and experience its presence.
Likewise, we are empowered through our sensitivity to repel the
energy that is not in harmony with ourselves.
With sensitivity to our surroundings, and a conscious
effort to expand our sensorial perceptions, we can tap into a creative
magic of sorts. Our
discipline fosters an expanding capacity to hold higher and higher
amounts of creative life force, Shakti,
and use it to transform and direct the flow of our life.
Sensing the connectivity of all-that-is, bound by the power of Shakti, we can increase our ability to see the divine in others and
in our surroundings. This
makes for a level of intimacy on all levels of being -even
the experience of the unpleasant-
for with expanded awareness we can perceive the metaphorical hand of God
guiding us to experience the gift of freewill and creative individuality
as the flowing expression of divine freedom.
With an eye to divine recognition we can find delight in the here
and now, in our relationships and in our self-expression; all are
expressions of Spirit in one sense or the other.
The more we learn to sense and follow the Shakti
the more in alignment we become with our highest vision of our greatest
good and our experience of heaven on Earth.
____________________________________
Applied Yoga:
Following
the Shakti
Listen. Can you hear it? The
music?
I can hear it everywhere.
In
the wind, in the air, in the light.
It’s
all around us.
All
you have to do is open yourself up.
All
you have to do is listen….
The music is all around you;
all
you have to do is listen.
-From the
opening lines
of
the movie August Rush
Like the young main character in the movie August
Rush we have the capacity to hear the divine music and follow it.
We can learn to sense how it connects us to each other and our
place in the universe. Following
the music of Spirit can brings us into wholeness.
To do so we must first learn to still our senses so we can hear
and perceive what is already there.
Like tuning a radio we can sensitize ourselves to an
ever-widening band of energetic vibration-
like listening to the deep base notes of a string instrument-
so as to sense and hold the energy that pulses around us.
This is a form of refinement that can be expanded through mindful
practice and awareness of our senses and feelings.
As esoteric as this may sound we actually already practice it
unconsciously. Our “gut”
tells us when to be wary of a situation as does our heart lead us into
intimate relationships. By
deepening these intuitive and feeling-based sensations within us we can
deepen the relationship between our mind, body and spirit and use this
to be more present in the details of our lives.
Starting with consciously tuning-in to our senses and the
feelings they invoke we can cultivate awareness and become stronger,
more graceful individuals. As
we begin to master expanded awareness we can more clearly choose our
responses to life’s situations, no matter how unexpected or unsettling
they may be. Indeed, I find
that the challenges I face often help me to deepen this life practice.
When I move out of my reactive mind and refrain from making
judgments and assumptions I remain more open to the flow of Shakti
freeing unforeseen possibilities and bringing clarity when chaos seems
prevalent. Similarly, when I
move into knee-jerk response and contract energetically the flow is lost
and I usually squander my energy and loose the flow feeling lost and
helpless. I have learned to
accept that there is both harmony and random chaos in which we live;
with sensitization we can ride the waves of energy within the turmoil
and we can even find delight in the ride like a playful surfer choosing
which wave to mount and take into shore. Tapping
into the power of nature can be very rewarding and full of delight.
So how do we develop this sensitivity and skill?
Taking the time to stop, listen and feel is the key; meditation
is the most powerful tool to employ to this end.
If you find that sitting still is too challenging you can explore
other ways to expand your capacity to hear the metaphorical music of Shakti.
Through body awareness and movement, following the rhythm of
your breath and heart beat, a deepening connection to your inner
awareness can be cultivated. The body has the capacity to receive and
hold a powerful energetic charge that comes from deepening your sense of
presence in the moment. Once
this energy is charged up within you it can be radiated forth guiding
your thoughts and perceptions. This
sweet feminine power can be nurtured and pursued like one would sense a
sweet perfume and follow it to its source.
Indeed, the power of Shakti
is
its compelling draw towards union with the divine.
My
personal experiences with following the Shakti
have been diverse. I
have felt it in the beauty of nature, in my lover’s arms, in the
joyful play of a gathering of friends.
Mostly I feel it as a force that opens me to being present in
reality as it unfolds. There
is a pulsation to this loving energy that is palpable and the more I
trained myself the more I can feel and act upon it.
Like the powerful wave of the surfer it is a force to be
contended with, otherwise it can sweep you away and chaos can prevail,
dashing even the purest of intentions.
I know this well because with a mindful eye I have observed that
things often happen outside of my control and when I force my hand I
loose the flow that could move me into unseen solutions to looming
problems. And yet, when
chaos does loom near I recognize that I have an option to still my mind
and be present to the forces at play.
Opening to grace guides me forward and back into the flow; I
recognize that the discipline I cultivate supports the freedom and inner
strength I aspire to. Herein
lies the key point: skillful action and mindfulness requires effort and
practice.
Discipline leads to emotional strength and intelligence.
It fosters the wisdom to know that we exist in a world of free
will and randomness, that acting without a solid foundation creates
weakness and vulnerability. As
much as we would like nature to be soft and gentle on us it frequently
is not. This is the divine
order of things and we cannot change it; we can only learn to master the
ride. Indeed, the divine
order is such that through challenges we can learn to release the
need for control and engage reality to its fullest capacity.
Through open receptivity to the presence of Spirit, pacing and
self-care we can manage the amount of energy that we expend and feel the
pulsing rhythms of energy around us that can be tapped into recharging
our inner batteries.
As a yoga instructor I try to teach my students this art of
sensing the flow of Shakti as
a way to move in an intimate relationship with the body and breath.
Off the mat we can balance the rhythms of our life between
full-out effort and rest and restoration.
This can be done in any life situation when skillful application
of awareness and sensitivity to the flow of nature’s energy is
applied. Ultimately,
freedom can be enhanced even within the constraints of our human
condition. It is intimacy
with life in general that yields mastery of the use of energy.
It is partnering with the powerful presence of Shakti
that transforms desire from a source-dependant force of nature into
a liberating all-encompassing desire for intimacy with Spirit.
Learning to sense and augment this aspect of our being can help
you bring more freedom and spontaneous joy into your life.
The music is there and it connects us all.
“The
music is all around you, all you have to do is listen.”
___________________________________
Life Coach Pearls of Wisdom:
Being
Present to Reality
Have you ever gotten lost in a web of assumptions and judgments
that have proven to be inaccurate and stopped you in your tracks? Have
you lost out on opportunities because you held back from taking action
because you “knew what would happen” if you did?
These are common human traits that have a kernel of truth behind
them yet can override our deeper inner wisdom if not skillfully managed.
All too frequently we get caught up in the past or project into
the future while missing what is showing up in the present.
Drawing on past experience can be very valuable, as well as can
planning for the future, but life happens in the here and now.
Maximizing your opportunities and making optimal choices is a
learned skill that can bring with it great rewards.
As a Life Coach I can help you explore and expand these skills so
you can employ them for creating the success and fulfillment you desire.
If you are ready, solutions await you.
To learn more about my services visit www.TheYogaCoach.com.
___________________________________
Notices:
·
My teaching
schedule:
Sunday:
11:15 am – 12:30 pm at
Olympic Athletic Club in
Ballard
Monday:
12:00 noon to 1:15 pm at Olympic
Athletic Club in Ballard
Wednesday: 7:30 pm to
8:45 pm Summer Yoga classes
out-of-doors at my house.
While the weather is nice we
practice on my lawn under the open sky. Call to verify if class is on.
Thursday: 7:30 pm to
9:00 pm 7-week class series in my home yoga studio.
This class is for students with at least two years experience or a
strong physical constitution.
It is designed to take the poses further than in a beginner or
intermediate level class.
7 classes for $60, drop-in
space is often available so call if you are interested in checking it
out: 789-1058.
Friday:
12:00 noon to 1:15 pm at Olympic
Athletic Club
Saturday: Beginning
September 5th, I will be re-starting my 10 AM morning class
at the
Phinney
Neighborhood
Center
. $10 drop in class fee.
I’ll be on vacation the end of August from Tuesday the 25th
through Monday the 31st.
Aubrey Jackson will substitute teach my classes at Olympic Athletic
Club.
Private Yoga Instruction: For those who want individualized
instruction and guidance I also teach private students out of my home.
Private classes are $35 for an hour when a commitment to ten
classes is made, or $40 for a single session.
Also, I’m
available for special group classes at your location.
Depending on details fee is usually $75 per class.
·
Suggested
Resources: Inspiring Movies
The movies listed below all have a strong heart-based theme.
They are tales of love and finding
connectivity, as well
as delight at any age.
August Rush
Feast of Love
Love Actually
Young @ Heart
May your summer days be filled with peace, joy and light.
Namaste,
Will
PS. Please feel free to pass this newsletter on to
your friends. A link to
archived issues can be found at http://www.theyogacoach.com/.
____________________________________________
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