Shakti Yoga

 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.