I hope you are having a spectacular summer.  The highlight for me so far was Wanderlust; The yoga and music festival that took place at Squaw Valley in Lake Tahoe last weekend.

The festival was a fabulous gathering of yogis and other like-minded and like hearted spirits.  From the early morning until late afternoon there was an awesome variety of yoga classes to choose from, with about half being Anusara, including my teacher, Anusara’s founder John Friend.  By afternoon and evening you could watch one of the headline bands just a gondola ride up the mountain.  There were so many activities to choose from: dance parties, swimming, a play lounge, acro yoga, fire dancers, chanting, the list goes on.

Wanderlust was a great celebration reminding me of all Anusara Yoga stands for; Yoga, Shri, and Community.

If you missed it this year, not to worry, they are already making plans for next year’s festival!

Today our country celebrates the 233^rd birthday of our freedom and independence!

Tantric yoga teaches that the essence of our nature is perfectly free.  The word in Sanskrit for freedom is svatantrya, which literally means self-looming. The idea behind it is that we have complete free will to act, engage, participate, connect, and play in the world as we wish.

The Tantric path of yoga is not a path of isolating our self in a cave but rather a path of participation – we are invited to pursue our own vision and create relationships based on what is most important to us, what holds real value.

In other words, we are weaving our selves into a world that everyone else is freely weaving them self into too!  Therefore, the tantric universe is infinitely expanding.  In fact, the word tantra actually means a tapestry or a web.  The world is one giant web and each thread – you, me, and everyone else is affected by the way each of us chooses to engage in it.

Through the practice of yoga we learn to engage with skill, participate fully, deepen our connections with our self and the world around us and to make choices that bring more beauty, love, and peace in to the world.  We are invited to delight in our bodies, minds and hearts and celebrate freedom in every moment.

Happy 4^th!

Human beings are creatures of habit.  In my experience we can easily fall into our routines and go through parts of our life in a trance.

Many years ago I was living a life like most people where I had to be at the same place at the same time every morning.  I had my morning ritual; the alarm went off and usually I snoozed in child’s pose, maybe a down dog or a few sun salutations on a good day!  I took a shower, got myself ready, made my tea and drove off to work.

On several occasions it hit me later in the day that I had no recollection of driving to work.  Scary, I was on autopilot!  It was then I began taking different routes to work each day and learned the back roads and scenic routes around San Francisco.  It to kept me present!

Yoga has been such a blessing in my life.  It has asked of me to move my body in unexpected ways and unwind habits that have been long held in my body and prevented me from feeling completely free.  It has given me clarity of vision to see things from many perspectives and has opened my mind and heart to look for the magic in each moment.

The first principle of Anusara® Yoga is ”Open to Grace”.  This principle reminds me to open to the possibilities in every moment, to soften and feel all that is around and within me, to broaden my vision and look for the good, and to pause, taste and savor each experience.

After putting this principle into practice off the mat the world seems to have become Technicolor!  I see things that I hadn’t noticed before, meet people I might not have otherwise met, and enjoy the simple pleasures of life more fully.  After all that is what yoga is truly about, being awake and aware moment to moment.

After I wrote this last week a dear friend of mine posted this quote on Facebook.  Synchronicity or what!

“Of all the creatures of Earth, only Human Beings can change their pattern. By changing the inner attitudes of their minds, human beings can change the outer aspects of their lives.”  William James

I am finally doing it!  Students have often suggested I blog about the ideas I share in classes but I resisted. More work in front of the computer, no way!  However, lately I’ve been reading other blogs and have decided to enter in to the technological conversation!

I will be exploring cafes around San Francisco with my new lap top where I can work out of the isolation of my home office.  After all the path of Tantra is one of engagement in the world!

I can’t promise how regular I will be with my posts but here is goes!  I hope you enjoy and would love to receive your comments!