Namaste Dear Teachers – Lauren Hanna

Namaste Dear Teachers,

It’s been a really crazy couple of weeks for me with my friends, family and Yoga teacher Shiva Rea all fighting the fires in California to save their homes. I’ve been praying, chanting and visualizing safety for them all.

This phenomenal tradition of Yoga that we’ve all been trained to teach never fails to disappoint. No matter what life throws at us, we can use the practice of Yoga to carry us from a place of bondage to a place of freedom, from the darkness towards the light, and from a place of suffering to a place of immortality.

The Asato Maa mantra is one of the sacred mantras that helps us to access this transformative power.

Om Asato Maa Sad-Gamaya
Tamaso Maa Jyotir-Gamaya
Mrtyor-Maa Amrtam Gamaya
Om Shaantih Shaantih Shaantih

The good news is that my family is back in their homes and that Shiva’s home is unharmed. I feel blessed and grateful that those close to me are safe but there are still so many suffering. A dear friend of my aunt’s lost her son to the shooting in Thousand Oaks and then her house burned down 3 days later. This is the kind of trauma that only a Yoga path can heal.

As Yoga practitioners we have the power to use our intentions to not only help ourselves in challenging times but to shed light and love on all beings everywhere who are suffering. I encourage you all to harness the gratitude that you have for the blessing in your life and to extend that abundance out to all during this Thanksgiving season.

My favorite way to share my deepest intentions for healing to all beings is with the Metta Kindness meditation from the Buddhist Tradition. I’m attaching the practice here and you can also tune in to the SoundCloud link below to hear me talk about Ahimsa and lead a guided Metta Kindness practice.

I hope to see you all in a celebration of love an community on Friday Nov. 30^th at the Sonic 17 Year Anniversary gathering.

May you be filled with loving kindness, may you be well, may you be peaceful and at ease, may you be happy.

With Love and Happy Thanksgiving

Lauren

METTA KINDNESS PRACTICE

Come to a comfortable meditative seat

PRANAYAMA

Begin with several balancing rounds of Ujjayi breath.

Follow with 5-10 minutes of Nadi Shodhana

Take time to observe the effects.

META KINDNESS

Bring awareness inward and gently repeat the following affirmation:

May I be filled with loving-kindness

May I be well

May I be peaceful and at ease

May I be happy

Continue to practice this way until you feel the above statements are true for you, this may take a few minutes or many months of practice, it may come and go as your life shifts and changes.

Once the above feels true, you can begin to “send out” these loving thoughts in a broader and broader circle of love around you.

Begin by thinking of those you have a kinship with close friends and family and repeat:

May you be filled with loving kindness

May you be well

May you be peaceful and at ease

May you be happy.

Then move onto thinking of acquaintances, neighbors, your community, then broaden to strangers, all of humanity, the animal and plant kingdom, eventually to those you are in conflict with, someone who is suffering visualize them and repeat the affirmations.

Finally visualize all beings in a circle of love surrounding you and Repeat:

May we be filled with loving kindness
May we be well
May we be peaceful and at ease
May we be happy.

Close with Om Shanti

or Lokah Samasta Sukhino Bhavantu

May all beings everywhere be happy and be free