Our society is strongly slanted in favor of the
masculine attributes of life over the feminine. We favor logic over intuition;
intellectual smartness over emotional wisdom; Doing over Being; “I know” over
“I don’t know”, organized structure over “going with the flow”, analysis over
experience, profit and gain over richness of experience... and the list goes
on.
Most Yoga practices we are familiar with had been
conceived of and developed over centuries by man, practiced by man, and in
recent centuries been subject to further tempering by the surge of masculine
ideals, over-shadowing the depth of feminine wisdom. The result is a rather
goal driven, forceful, linear, and imagery derived alignment way-of-Yoga.
After
years of practicing Yoga daily, immersing myself fully in the path of Indian
Yoga, following my alignments religiously, memorizing numerous Sanskrit
mantras, mastering impressive asanas, checking off countless hours of sun
salutations, meditating in perfect stillness, and arriving at the seemingly
blissful plateau of emotional equanimity, I literally broke. My lower back
gave in, and I hit the wall of injury and pain. My sacroiliac joint was too
loose, my lumber vertebrae jammed, my muscles and ligaments too stretched, my
sensitivity to moderate pain decreased, and I lost a huge part of my identity.
I had to dive in, and embark on my own healing journey. This happened about a
decade ago. Through the process of healing, I emerged empowered and inspired to
share my discovery of a new way of practicing I titled “Shakti Yoga” –
embracing the sacred feminine. I regained my integrity as human-women and developed
a method to maintain and restore healthy body and flow of emotions.
With Shakti Yoga we attempt to
maintain our spiritual focus while allowing the richness of our imagination to
inspire guidance from our creative impulse. Yielding, rounding, softening, and
building the strength of our legs are some of the Highlights of honoring our
feminine nature. Expanding to allow a fuller experience of being in our body,
embracing who we are, and opening to our inner flow are some of the processes I
work with. Shedding away judgments and self-looting allow us to tap into our
vibrant and radiant nature. Shakti Yoga teaches you to soften your edge. Don't grow thorns. Stay
soft. Open. Connect with the strength of your emotion, the invincibility of
water and solidity of earth. Deep fluidity, arrive at your innate wisdom.
Knowing when to stop, and when to close, when to dare and when to surrender to
what is.
Living in India taught me much about "goddess
nature". The wide spectrum of facets of goddesses in Indian iconography
and mythology is stunning and inspiring. The level of repression toward women
in Indian society is also startling. India is the land of extremes, and there
is no buffer zone. You can't hide in the comfort of your own over-sized
home. Reality penetrates your dream, and your dreams swivel like smoke into
your present moment. Trust it.
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