......they

Yogis,

The new 300 Hour Yoga/Ayurveda training began here in my studio last weekend.  Eleven of us linking arms on a learning journey that will span eighteen months. 

Most of us didn’t know each other.  We are a diverse group ranging in age from 30 to 63, representing 4 ethnicities and coming with varied expertise spanning the medical, yoga, art and education fields.  After only one weekend we have already formed a bond.

I have been reflecting this week on the power of these trainings.  Yes, we will absorb a lot of information, learn new meditations and chants, and discover how to eat based on Ayurvedic principles……but underlying all of this is a current that is carrying us one step closer to inner peace.  That which we all seek.

We will then be taking what we learn back to our families, our communities and our workplaces. That is what yoga is at its core.  Developing a state of calm, trust and unwavering faith in ourselves and the Universe and then helping others to do the same.  This is how change happens…….

Let me give you an example.  One of the women is a principal at an inner-city school in DC.  She took her initial yoga teacher training and suddenly saw her school and her students in a completely new light!  She now leads them in yoga and meditation, which they need and love.  When she saw this training advertised she immediately jumped on board to get MORE that she could bring back to them.  She didn’t wait for DC schools to implement a program – she simply felt it in herself, walked out and shared it with the world.  She didn’t wait for ‘them’ to fix it.

Another person has an inner calling to become an Ayurvedic doctor.  A dharma which he is listening to.  And when asked why he was in the training he answered that he wanted to learn to heal to be able to bring healing to those that couldn’t afford to pay.  He isn’t waiting for ‘them’ to fix our healthcare system. 

Another woman works with adult immigrants.  She can’t wait to bring back these teachings on how to heal yourself with food.  She too isn’t waiting for ‘them’ to take care of those who have come here to find a better life.  And it goes on…..and on. 

We love to use the word ‘they’. But there is no ‘they’.  They are simply us in different clothes, roles or locations.  Speaking ill of ‘them’, waiting for ‘them’, blaming ‘them’ all take a little of the ownership off our own backs.  As Gandhi so simply stated – Be the change that you want to see. 

That is the essence of yoga.  Following our innate inner longing for peace and a connection to source…..and then helping others to do the same.  Acting from that space. This is how change happens. 

An ounce of practice is worth a thousand words.
                     ~Mahatma Gandhi

Noticing now when I use the word ‘they’,
SARAH