Be the Teacher by Keith Partington
“What is the best way to teach this pose?” What is the right alignment?” “How do I best recognize it?”
Remember what drew you in? Remember Day One? Your Day One, the first time you thought- “I want to do yoga.”
Everything you need is contained in that seed.
There was a time before all this physical stuff. In the beginning there was only meditation. Formal techniques we practice so regularly came from meditation to lead an aspirant into that state. So the physical practice can be said to be a reverse engineering of meditation. Your practice of yoga is meant to lead you somewhere. Is it?
Today, contemporary intellectual abstracts too often hold sway over drishti and direction of prana. This practice is old. Is that in itself so important? I think so. It’s origins, dating back millennia, were driven by innate human instincts that have been dulled by our reliance on the affirmation of others and our appetite for more and more information, much of which conflicts with with whatever we gathered yesterday. “Yeah but this teacher said this, and this other teacher said that.” So what? What do you say? The only reality is the present and if you are the teacher in a particular class then you are the teacher in that moment- which is the only moment.
Yoga practices spark movement of subtle energies. Reflection on the effects of the practices lead to knowledge of how to direct those energies. This is power. This power at first reads as control, and that control can lead to mastery if honed. But one must grab onto the thread and follow it.
Today many rush through what they see as steps in yoga, often seeking only to master poses, as if the poses are the end. We are too often flitting between this teacher and that, seeking a quicker, more comforting answer. Perhaps not seeing that the poses serve the yogi, not the other way around.
But if we follow the thread, it leads to a powerful sense of the vastness of everything, and deep into the Self. Two ways of saying the very same thing. This realization has powerful consequences.
Not only are we seeing the universe and eternity as wholly within us, we are seeing all things around us daily as wholly ours. This realization can feel like a heavy weight, because maybe we then see that our answers can really only be found from within.
This takes considerable faith. And patience.
It’s very easy to speak the words, which can be copied and memorized. It’s easy to wear a mala and act like a yogi. We see the popular images everywhere so we can emulate that readily. Thousands are already doing it, which has led to dissolution of this sacred practice. Layers of gimmicks are stacked upon another to keep people interested in an inherently fractured presentation. What’s to be gained by following along?
If your practice draws you into awareness, why don’t you have more confidence in what you, uniquely you, have to offer? That came from Source, as did you.
Stand up for yourself. Stand up for your original connection to yoga and have faith in the strength and weight this must give your teaching. Be present and channel what is yours.
~*~
Practice
Meditate each day upon awakening, sitting in a reflection of your dreaming state. No technique beyond observation of your breathing. Allow and trust that this will draw you inward to the deepest, purest aspect of self.
Teacher’s Kula
Friday, Dec 20th 730PM
Let’s gather, cut through the noise and discuss and meditate on truth, purity and presence.
