In all of the prayers that are chanted in yoga there is always a recognition of the Divine first. A recognition of what is considered highest. The asking part comes after. This is a very good thing to remember specially when praying for abundance because without that first recognition things don't end up well.

Once upon a time I was on a yoga philosophy course in Santa Clara, CA in which at some point there was a healthy argument between two people in the class. One of them was criticizing people in countries where blatant bribery was a common way of doing business and that these people should conduct their business in a different way. The other who had worked extensively abroad said that it was very easy to make that call for someone who lives in the United States where blatant bribery (at least at the time) was not practiced. This person pointed out that in this countries it would be extremely difficult if not impossible to conduct business in a different way.

Happy Spring to everyone!

As I was looking for a picture for this email I was drawn to flowers which reminded me of this quote "Florals? for spring?, ground breaking (rolling eyes)" by Meryl Streep as Miranda Priestly in "The Devil wears Prada". Not ground breaking but aren't they gorgeous? :)

A long time ago I was teaching a private class to someone in California. During this particular session we were working on expanding the chest area. After a few poses the person I was teaching mentioned how vulnerable he felt opening the chest. I think this is a feeling that many of us can relate to. Nowadays since we spend a lot more time in front of a screen the tendency is to experience a closed chest area so opening it may feel difficult or like some kind of a threat.

I received the mantra that I meditate with from my teacher about 25 years ago. At that time the calmness, clarity, focus, and the experiences that most people had in meditation eluded me. It took about two years of a fairly regular meditation practice for me to start experiencing all those things. When I talked to a swami or yoga monk about what I was experiencing he told me that it was a sign that I was doing something right, to not think too much about it, and to keep meditating. That made me laugh but I did keep meditating with the mantra that I was given.

At the beginning of the year there was a word that stood out for me, a word to keep with me throughout this year: Śrī. I have been exploring the different qualities of this word each month. January was Auspiciousness, February was Beauty, and March is Sacredness. As I was contemplating Sacredness I recalled a dream that I had a long time ago. In this dream I was in a cave like environment which seemed to have a blue hue to it. Suddenly I felt a presence in the room whose energy pulled me into the heart with such a force that my legs buckled. I felt down to my knees and bowed as my forehead touched the floor. I completely surrendered to this inner pull. It was so strong that I actually don't think I had a choice but to surrender.