The reason why you are really here, the one you don't know, but you know.

Ad-libbing a bit, this is the essence of what Meghan Currie said on top of Whistler Mountain during a class held as part of the Wanderlust Music & Yoga Festival in Whistler BC. earlier this month,

"Think of why you are here.  The real reason.  The reason you know, but you don't know, but you know"

Every once in a while, we have these profound moments spurred on by something seemingly small.  There were many inspiring and amazing moments of learning, growth, and awareness that hit me during my four days of practice in Whistler.  For some reason, these words have stayed with me as has the inspiration of the class on the mountain.

Maybe it was because I had faced a long held fear of heights to get to the class on the top of the mountain.  Maybe it was because I was practicing in the rain, on top of a mountain.  Maybe because Meghan Currie has long inspired my practice.  Who knows?  But, as I looked up at the blue sky emerging from the clouds reaching my hands up in Urdvha Hastasana, I had a moment of complete absorption in the present moment or samadhi, and I knew exactly why I was there.

 It was just one of those moments that will stay in my memory always.  The way the air felt, the way my breath sounded, the stunning beauty all around me. I felt complete gratitude for my yoga practice and an overwhelming sense of contentment with "what is".

Since returning from Whistler, feeling inspired, I've tried to convey the feeling tone of that moment in my classes.  I want my students to fully realize the amazing tool for growth we have in our back pockets.  Sometimes teaching is a job -  but more often, it is a compulsion.  An absorbing passion that drives me to share yoga practice with others.

I struggle a great deal with being in the present moment.  I am easily distracted, and often look for "outs" when things get uncomfortable or a bit too real.  During the same practice on the mountain, Meghan had us hold a challenging lizard lunge and just "be" with the intense burning sensation in our thighs.  As I held the pose, I watched my mind, my breath, my unwillingness to remain present despite knowing I was strong enough to last through the intensity of the posture.   I was able to remain in the pose, and emerged feeling like I understood just a little bit more about myself.

Our practice on the mat - it comes with us off the mat.  Our life - it comes on to the mat.   This practice, again, shows us what a valuable tool we have for uncovering where we are resisting our potential.  We resist with the mind, and the breath.  We fear and we doubt.  When things are uncomfortable, we try to get out of the discomfort.  We avoid, we make excuses.  We do these things, not because there is something innately wrong with us.  But, rather, because our experiences, our pain and our joy, have woven a blanket over our full potential, over the greatness that we already are.   Our lives weave in and out of our body & breath creating habitual patterns of thought and movement.  Our practice digs into these thoughts and movements and encourages us to let go of habitual patterns no longer serving us.  Sometimes we are successful, and other times we are too fearful or too wrapped up in ourselves (stories of "i" & "me") to let go.

My personal practice since my four days in Whistler, has been about recognizing that there is an ebb & flow to life.  My practice is to always be present in both, to be fully alive in each moment as it arises.  It's hard.  Damn near impossible sometimes, but this is my practice.  It begins on the mat, it extends to my teaching, and I hope over time it will start to permeate other aspects of my life. I want my partner, my children, my friends, family and those I encounter day to day to have my full presence.

I'm not going to be perfect at this. That's okay.  Compassion for myself is important too.

As you approach your mat, and as you approach your life, come to each with intention & compassion.  Intention may be something small, like intending only to learn or to breathe.  Or to be open.  And if you struggle, remember to be compassionate.

And know that each moment that unfolds has been part of a series of bizarre, uncanny, ordinary occurrences, coincidences and choices to bring you to that moment.  Doesn't each moment then, deserve your full attention?

When I think back to the crazy chain of events leading me to that moment on the mountain.  The many times I considered backing out because I didn't want to go on the gondola, the many times I almost decided not to go to Whistler at all.  Fear didn't hold me back.  I felt uncomfortable and was rewarded with something really huge.  How cool is that?  Yeah, like I've said many times before - yoga, life, all this stuff - is THAT awesome.

"When things are shaky and nothing is working, we might realize that we are on the verge of something.  We might realize that this is a very vulnerable and tender place, and that tenderness can go either way.  We can shut down and feel resentful or we can touch in on that throbbing quality"  - Pema Chodron.

"We already have everything we need.  There is no need for self improvement." - Pema Chodron

Come share some practice with me this week!  I'm sharing free yoga all week as an expression of gratitude toward the practice, toward my role as a teacher, toward my teachers for offering such an amazing space to learn and practice in and toward the students who practice with me, your dedication fuels my passion.

Tuesday 5:45 Hips & Hamstrings (Bodhi Tree Yoga)
Friday 5:15 Warm Yin & 6:30 Hot Vinyasa (Bodhi Tree Yoga)
Sunday 10:00am "The Space Between" Vinyasa at lululemon athletica store in Cornwall Centre, DT Regina.


Namaste