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the word 'kula' in Sanskrit
is defined as a
'community of the heart'.

the VIRAYOGA community continues to grow as a remarkable kula.
our individual qualities blend together
to reveal an atmosphere of understanding and appreciation.

our body in itself is likewise a kula, a gathering of forces,
wondrous complex systems, each of us.

both are 'environments' that provide us with a
sense of stability as well as the freedom to be whoever we are.

our attentive presence in any kula is integral -
each of us are an aspect of something
greater than the sum of its parts,
something
sacred,
within which we find familiarity and support,
yet simultaneously the opportunity
to transform, grow.

when we consciously put our attention on
the kula within us; our heart, our body,
and around us; our community, our teachers~

we sense what Rumi calls
majesty,
...felt as a presence,
like a profound sunrise or the company of good friends,
a splendor that is prior to, and the source of, the universe.

bringing this to class, rather than just learning the poses
as means to create that presence,
we look WITHIN ourselves in our practices
to reveal that majesty,
that stillness already present within us,
awaiting our apprehension.

"My heart... is the abode of the
stainless manifesting energies...
the supreme immortal kula."
ABHINAVAGUPTA

we are put to the task of getting quiet enough, often enough,
to understand that stillness within as our own truest nature.

last month we talked about taking a snapshot of our state,
internally and externally, a few times a day to begin.
this exercise allows us to see, throughout the day,
what is affecting us without our presence,
to slow down and observe.

now when we remember to breathe,
pause and quiet our outward-flowing expressions,
we can also remember this community of the heart
behind us, within us.

we are indeed part of a much bigger whole,
the kula, the majesty, the presence.

THIS WE HAVE NOW
is not imagination.
This is not
grief or joy.
Not a judging state,
or an elation,
or sadness.
Those come and go.
This is the presence that doesn't.
RUMI

TREMENDOUS AND HEARTFELT GRATITUDE TO JOHN FRIEND,
FOR ALWAYS OFFERING YOUR UNDERSTANDING, TIME and GENEROSITY.
May the purity of your energy and love continue to
reverberate through all of us.

have a wonderful june
namaste
e