My Approach
“If we were totally present we would have an experience of immense freshness. The moment would be full of the total trust that we have in our corporality, in anything felt or sensed, disencumbered of all mental jumble and sentimental projections. At this moment we would be able to live love” - Daniel Odier
There are many ways to teach and practice yoga. There is a tendency in our culture to emphasize the physical postures of yoga separate from their philosophical origins. I believe that this is a great disregard for yoga's powerful ability to deeply heal, not only physically, but in heart, mind and spirit as well. It is of great importance to me to understand and embody the deeper art of yoga and respect it's sacred nature.
Through my own journey I have come to realize that peace is not an attainment. It is the natural substance of living in the present moment. There's nowhere to get to, there's nothing to do. Peace results as we shift our attention from being located in limiting thoughts to experiencing the radiant life within our whole body and the whole moment. I practice and teach yoga according to this understanding. Each asana is a gateway to presence, each sensation calls us to experience the moment from a perspective other than just the ideas, beliefs and illusions of the egoic mind. This presence opens us to the vast layers of our being leading us to experience first hand the mystery and complexity of our being and we can come to know ourselves as the microcosm of the macrocosm– the whole of the cosmos. So, every breath, movement and asana, as purely physical or mundane as it may seem at first, when coupled with profound awareness, is a Holy moment. From this persepctive of understanding ourselves as a reflection of the Whole we experience Spirit, rising and dissolving moment by moment. As we spend more time with the layers of ourselves new wisdom and intelligence arises to help us respond more effectively to the challenges in our lives whether they are physical, mental, emotional or spiritual. Every class, I invite my students to conspire with this Intelligence and to trust, to let go, to fall.
There are many ways to teach and practice yoga. There is a tendency in our culture to emphasize the physical postures of yoga separate from their philosophical origins. I believe that this is a great disregard for yoga's powerful ability to deeply heal, not only physically, but in heart, mind and spirit as well. It is of great importance to me to understand and embody the deeper art of yoga and respect it's sacred nature.
Through my own journey I have come to realize that peace is not an attainment. It is the natural substance of living in the present moment. There's nowhere to get to, there's nothing to do. Peace results as we shift our attention from being located in limiting thoughts to experiencing the radiant life within our whole body and the whole moment. I practice and teach yoga according to this understanding. Each asana is a gateway to presence, each sensation calls us to experience the moment from a perspective other than just the ideas, beliefs and illusions of the egoic mind. This presence opens us to the vast layers of our being leading us to experience first hand the mystery and complexity of our being and we can come to know ourselves as the microcosm of the macrocosm– the whole of the cosmos. So, every breath, movement and asana, as purely physical or mundane as it may seem at first, when coupled with profound awareness, is a Holy moment. From this persepctive of understanding ourselves as a reflection of the Whole we experience Spirit, rising and dissolving moment by moment. As we spend more time with the layers of ourselves new wisdom and intelligence arises to help us respond more effectively to the challenges in our lives whether they are physical, mental, emotional or spiritual. Every class, I invite my students to conspire with this Intelligence and to trust, to let go, to fall.
As we stay within direct perception we feel our expanded body of sensation and pure experiencing. As we stay, and breathe and fall we become expanded, boundless and open. We fall into an experience of Openness despite our age, our weight, our fitness level or our flexibility. We fall into Openness regardless of how many asana we can perform, how deep our breath is or how good we look in our yoga gear. We fall into Openness and life begins to flow more freely.
In each class we come to presence through:
- guided relaxation
- various flowing sequences of postures of varying difficulty based on the need of the participants
- Various static postures to challenge limiting patterns in body and mind
- Breath work
- Self-inquiry based on the philosophical teachings of yoga and related systems
Benefits of class or retreat include:
- more expanded and spacious in body and mind
- more at ease with yourself and your life situation
- a quieter mind, less judgment of self and others
- greater self understanding
- increased strength, tone and flexibility in body and mind
- a greater ability to live intuitively
- greater body awareness and sensitivity to what you need for physical and mental well being
- a sense of spiritual reconnection, greater intimacy with life.
For those who are curious:
My philosophical Influences include the traditional texts of yoga including the Sutras and the Bhagavad Gita, Ken Wilber and Integral Philosophy, the modern proponents of the non-dual traditions (Advaita Vedanta and Tantra) such as Jean Klein, Richard Miller, Adyashanti, and Daniel Odier. I have been deeply influenced by the system of the Enneagram and the profound work of George Gurdjieff, Oscar Ichazo, Sandra Maitri, Carol Ann Gotch, David Walsh, Dawn Kilarski and Barry Vall. Finally, my world view has been informed by the work of the mystics of East and West and various western philosophers as taught to me by professor and friend Dr. Phil Merklinger. In the end, the most profound influence on my life has been the ongoing and profound dialogues with my beloved friends.
My philosophical Influences include the traditional texts of yoga including the Sutras and the Bhagavad Gita, Ken Wilber and Integral Philosophy, the modern proponents of the non-dual traditions (Advaita Vedanta and Tantra) such as Jean Klein, Richard Miller, Adyashanti, and Daniel Odier. I have been deeply influenced by the system of the Enneagram and the profound work of George Gurdjieff, Oscar Ichazo, Sandra Maitri, Carol Ann Gotch, David Walsh, Dawn Kilarski and Barry Vall. Finally, my world view has been informed by the work of the mystics of East and West and various western philosophers as taught to me by professor and friend Dr. Phil Merklinger. In the end, the most profound influence on my life has been the ongoing and profound dialogues with my beloved friends.
