By: Alicia Hamilton Although an atypical concept in the westernized view of yoga, pratyahara is an essential step to establishing more in depth meditative experiences. Pratyahara is normally known as sense withdrawal. In our day to day experiences, our 5 senses are bombarded with a commotion of stimulation. We go day to day being completely immersed in auditory and visual stimulants. Our brains are endlessly processing stimulus - our perception of life is seemingly a combination of what our senses have picked up from the external world.
By: Sanni Shukraya “Everybody can be great...because anybody can serve. You don't have to have a college degree to serve. You don't have to make your subject and verb agree to serve. You only need a heart full of grace. A soul generated by love.” ― Martin Luther King Jr. Four months down the road with the Dharma Project and so many visions being manifested into being. After searching and visiting at all the refugee children’s homes in the area, making multiple phone calls and defining where the help is needed the most, UCL project committed to visit in weekly basis at the SOS- Children’s Village for underage refugees. By Zachary Towne-Smith Think about the great yoga classes you've been to. What has the teacher done to support that experience? Is it possible to rate a Yoga Teacher? If so, what qualities are we seeking to develop as we certify new teachers? How will we be able to tell whether or not our graduates are embodying them? How can we ensure that our Yoga Teacher Trainings are constantly improving to ensure that anyone who has a certification has the potential to create these transformative experiences our world is so desperately in need of? How can we avoid people turning away from Yoga because of a negative experience with a teacher who doesn’t meet our standards of excellence? At Kula Collective these are some of the questions we’ve been meditating on. We hope this blog will help to share some of what we’ve learned, and spread the movement toward highly rigorous yet flexible standards for Yoga Teacher assessments. Excellence is our only option!
by David Sonshine When I was younger, I used to fall asleep to the hush of a sound machine. It smoothed over all the nighttime noises: my brother breathing in the bed next to me; my parents walking around in the kitchen, maybe arguing; cars passing by outside; the creaking of the house, the rush of water through the plumbing.
Sometimes, I would dream of sound. There were always two sounds: a large, powerful sound, angry and overwhelming. It surrounded the smaller sound, which was delicate, tender, and wavering. I felt this dynamic between the sounds, less than actually heard it. I would wake up to realize that the two sounds had receded back into my subconsciousness, but the feeling of helplessness against an overwhelming force would linger. I can still feel the echoes of those dreams so many years later. A bit older, I noticed I could hear the high pitched whine of our CRT television. During summer camp I was hearing outbursts from bats in the night sky - so high pitched it was a feeling in the ear more than a hearing, a knowing that something was there, yet unable to decipher it in detail. By: Jiya Julia Randall What does it mean to live to your full potential? Kula cofounder Jiya Julia describes how to move through obstacles and realize our dreams! Interested in exploring the process yourself? Check out one of our upcoming Yoga Teacher Trainings.
By David Sonshine “Synchronicity is an ever present reality for those who have eyes to see.” ~ Carl Jung Have you ever experienced a significant coincidence that seemed too unlikely to be due to chance? These eerie coincidences can come in many forms. I was recently considering taking a flight to Europe, when I reconnected with two different friends who I hadn’t seen in years, both with upcoming flights as well. It seemed like a sign, like an opportunity to connect the dots and take part in a larger picture. I felt there was some greater force at work behind this lining up of events.
By Hana Pepin In the depth of the soul there sparks the flame that serves the whole.
I awaken to my fullest potential. I step aside so the universal energy can animate me. I am a puppet of the divine. I honor my own unique creativity and Self-expression with an open and humble heart. We transcend all that has been, all that is, and all that will be by making amends with our higher Self. By Mario Rockstroh When I started practicing Yoga 10 years ago, the first and obvious aspect was asana or physical posture. My attraction to Yoga grew as I was willing to experiment with the various permutations over time. So many aspects of the practice have not only changed my life but also my character and perspective. Before beginning my journey into this new paradigm, I viewed the world in a mostly cynical way, always keeping people at a safe distance. I believed my mind, spirit and body were separate and only realized much later that I had never been fully in body, never really embodied so to speak. I was ignorant of any possible method of integrating the somatic with the cognitive. At first, I enjoyed the small feelings of relaxation and ease I was left with after practices. In a relatively short time, strength and flexibility grew as well. Practicing several times a week, within a year I integrated Yogic breathing techniques, meditation and philosophy into my life. I felt more at ease with myself and began a shift towards other people and the world around me. That was actually the first step onto a mighty 10 year journey of opening deeper aspects of my being, my body, and layers of stored emotional pain, tension and disease.
By Erin Schifferli To Understand To hear with your heart not your ears. To feel with your heart not your hands. To see with your heart not your eyes. To speak with your heart not your mouth. To think with your heart not your mind. To be one with all in the heart. ~ Running Elk Woman The View, by Christopher D. Wallis, is an offering rich in insights about the true nature of reality according to the non-dual teachings of Saiva Tantra (NST). It states that, “All that exists throughout all time and beyond is one infinite divine Consciousness, free and blissful…” The View encourages us to embark on an inward spiral, one that involves a deeper look into our origins and essence: the what, why, and how of life itself.
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