Engaged...

As in: to be married, ring on the finger, purposed to, on my way to Mrs!

Mala + Engagement Ring

I am so happy right now it is difficult to put into words. I know, me, speechless?! I was when he asked me too - all I could think to say was 'yes yes yes yes yes'. I have been thinking of how to write about this in a yoga way all week - since thats really what this blog is all about. Then I realized that since I am day to day a yogi, that this has everything to do with yoga. And since yoga means union - well marriage just doesn't get more yoga, right?

We in the West are householder yogis. Meaning that we cannot drop everything and just do yoga or meditate or read sacred books around the clock. We have to find our enlightenment and keep our Ahimsa mind while holding a job, paying taxes - living out in the world. This is no excuse to not be as good a yogi as you can be and actually I think it comes with many, many benefits. Householders have marriages or not, have kids or not, have jobs, create art, make a mess of their live and bounce back etc.  There is more choice and many more paths to the divine. As householders with basic needs and social requirements we live and learn  - and love.

It is the choices we make that set us on our path. I have made many to put me right where I am today and I would not want to be anywhere else. Just a few that brought me to Mike... I did theatre in high school, because of this I decided to double major in theatre (and writing) in college, I went to Ithaca (a school I hated on the campus tour and now adore), because I wasn't sure about it Lee Byron (head of the program) helped me pick classes, I ended up in a theatre class I may not have gotten into otherwise, I was assigned to work on The Mysteries of Edwin Drood my freshman year, I met Mike on that crew. We became friends pretty instantly and closer friends after a steel rack of chairs was rolled over my toe backstage and he basically carried me to the dining hall for dinner and back to my dorm after. From that moment on he was the man to depend on... I just didn't get it yet.

Ithaca College - freshmen!

Okay, so it took me about eight years to figure out he was Mr Right. Well, not exactly. About three and a half years ago I had to make a choice. Mike and I were starting to see what was between us but neither wanted to be the first to talk about it - while at the same time someone from my past came back into my life suddenly. Suddenly enough to declare us a couple after a day as if things could go back to the way they were spontaneously. I was happy but confused. On a car ride to Ithaca the next day I thought about both paths. Only one seemed like the one I was meant to be on and it was moving forward, with the person I am now set to marry.

We make big choices, take leaps of faith, go for it, jump in with both feet... and hopefully, if we are in the moment and true to ourselves, we reap big benefits because we are choosing love every single time.

Nearly a River Guide

During the very first weekend of training, my amazing director Jenny Gammello told us, "Everyone has a different river of connection to the source." That as teachers we would all take our own journey to become the sort of teacher and person we are meant to be. She encouraged us to remember that each student is on his or her own journey as well. As a teacher I get to help students navigate their path or river but I can only ever be the river guide and true to the course I am meant to take. Key to being the perfect teacher in that wisdom? I think so.

Now that there are only three weeks left to my 200 hour teacher training, I am starting to wonder where it has all gone. My start in January seems like last week, not months ago, and though it is easy to see how far we have all come, I would gladly start training all over again after we finish on May 15th. I am excited to start teaching and am looking forward to the next step too, but training has brought me so much I will be sad to be without it.

I have made the decision to continue blogging about yoga after (might have to change this title) because there is still so much to share! I have filled a notebook and a half, plus notes in my manual, sequence sketches, class observation notes, etc. So I hope you will continue to indulge me after this journey has ended and the next begins. Heck, you can even come take my class soon!

Here is just a little peek at some of the topics I have briefly touched on this bloggity-blog so far and many that are yet to come. I figure since I am reviewing and studying that I would share. Enjoy!

Ahimsa, alignment, anatomy, aparigraha, asana, ashtanga, assists, asteya, attachment, ayurveda, Bhagavad Gita, bhakti, brahmacharya, chakras, chanting, cleanse diet, deities, doshas, ease, gunas, home practice, hot yoga, intensity, karma, koshas, krama, mantra, maya, meditation, nadis, niyamas, om, pain, perception, prana, pranayama, prenatal yoga, restorative yoga, sanskrit, sattva/rajas/tamas, satya, sequencing, sun salutes, sutras, tantra, yamas... and oh so much more. :)

Aparigraha

Aparigraha is abstention from greed. Not wanting what is not yours; not taking more than you need at any one time. Sounds simple right? A lot like Asteya even? But Aparigraha takes it to the next level. In not wanting or being attached we are instead making room for the divine (or at least making room to live our lives more freely).

"Um... how do you people breathe in here?!"

The challenge of Aparigraha is letting go and trusting that everything you need, you already possess. Even while living in one of the richest societies, we still walk around this earth as if there is not enough for all. Aparigraha teaches that there is plenty - more than plenty - and that should we need, the universe will provide.

This, to me, is the most freeing Yama out of the five. It encourages us not to put importance in all the material things we collect along the way, but instead to focus on traveling the path. As we journey what is really important? Aparigraha reminds us that it is the actions we take, the love we give, and the inner self we grow to find - not the souvenir things we gather.

I challenge you this weekend (and beyond) to let the stuff go, tune in and enjoy the ride.