So many of you know I took in a guy who was stranded here in St. Louis, some may not.
Back on August 19th I went to the park and started talking to this guy and he had been kicked out of his friends place, but had been traveling and was from Portland. So I let him use my shower and took him to lunch and kept his largest bag for him, so he didn't have to haul it around. When I went to look for him at the park after I was done teaching for the day I couldn't find him, so the next day we found each other and again, shower and lunch, then we missed each other that night.
The third night we finally hooked up and he stayed with me from then through the next Monday morning when two gracious students of mine had donated money and I added in the rest, to get him home on a bus, to Portland.
This experience really taught me a lot about myself and my comfort zone, or rather the current comfort zone I've created for myself and how unbending it is, so I've been paying attention to how I feel when situations arise and how I act, and if I catch myself, adjust accordingly. But I also found out that I do have compassion. I've always thought of compassion as something that would not be found in my being because I do believe we create our own reality based on the vibrations we put out, or if you will, by the choices we make every moment of every day based on how we're feeling and how it corresponds to those vibrations.
But that doesn't mean everyone is in the know about this, and therefore we can have compassion for the way they're feeling while in a situation and very unsure of how to get out of it. There's a bunch more I could write about this but that will be for a future post, since then I've seen Abraham and been through a week yoga intensive with a certified Ashtanga teacher and have a different vein of thought going through my mind.
But then I found myself missing him after I sent him on his way. He's a nice guy and not bad company at all, so even though I love living alone and my alone time, there is space in my existence for companionship, and I contemplated this as I moved through my week before I drove to Chicago. Probably more on that later as well.
So first, Abraham. I have to say their message has never been more succinct, they even remarked how high the vibration was in the room and they just gave it to us. We kept elucidating further and further, gaining more and more clarity. And they used the word clarity and how when we can maintain that high flying feeling, which corresponds to our high flying vibration we basically gain more and more clarity and no, there is never and end to the amount of clarity one can attain or demand. It goes ever deeper and deeper and feels better and better.
So I came off of that very high, couldn't even see straight for two days lol, but I made my way about.
This was in Chicago by the way and one of my students/friends had given me the use of her condo, very lovely of her, and so I didn't have to spend the money on a place to stay for the rest of the week, where I was going to Moksha Yoga every morning for a Mysore class with Mark Robberds, then over the weekend (last weekend to be exact)there were three workshops, a kirtan and then Sunday another Mysore class which was perfect because then we could put into play what we'd been working on in the workshops.
Now, I love Ashtanga and I do it daily but I was sore as fuck for those first four Mysore mornings. Not sure if its because of the energy of the room, having so many practitioners in there with me, the way Mark held the space for the classes, which was a very deep, quiet place to dig in deep, or because of having a teacher observing me there, so I dug my deepest! But also, having the workshops and then final Mysore class just made me that much more sore, but I tell you, my practice has changed and progressed in that short time and tonight when I teach, some of that stuff will be coming out. Probably more and more as I practice at home using the techniques and teach over the coming weeks.
So today I took the day off, did my castor oil bath last night to pull the soreness and heat out of my muscles and joints and just relaxed today all day long. Now though I'm finding myself eager to practice tomorrow morning and wishing I had today lol, I know, we humans are a mess right?!? My body did need the day of rest since I skipped two of them last week due to the scheduling of the workshops and classes.
I'll have more and more to write on this as I move through my week, teaching and practicing, but that's all I've got for right now. I'm adjusting to being back in the Lou after 10 tens gone and many great growth experiences, it's always weird to come back to a place where there just is almost no Ashtanga community and especially from Chicago, because they have such a great, dedicated one, but I'll manage. Always do.
Until next time, keep practicing, see you soon!
