october2002
Amazing friends.
At the heart of the intense transitions this fall has been the passing
of an incredible angel,
our teacher John Friend's mother, Ann Friend. Ann is truly the reason
that John was inspired to study yoga at such a young age--- and
eventually come to inspire so many of us.
"She was my greatest caregiver and supporter, teacher and guide, role
model and inspiration. My mother Ann Friend was one of the most
life-affirming, positive, optimistic, energetic, creative, highly intelligent,
visionary, kind, friendly, and fun-loving people that you would ever
meet. My mother's life accomplishments over her 79 years are too
numerous to list here, but for this yoga community the central one was being
the main supporter of all of my yoga studies and practice over the last
30 years, which ultimately has lead to the flourishing magic that we
call Anusara Yoga. So much of Anusara's greatness is directly attributed
to my mother's influence."
-John Friend
Ann was one of those rare souls who affirmed everything, saw the
beauty, the wonder, the grace all around her and gave constant thanks for her
blessings. We learn from the legacy of this indomitable, intelligent,
generous spirit how to love, appreciate, celebrate, honor and enjoy.
Thank you, Ann Friend, for the gift of this precious Anusara Yoga practice and for our community.
Community is the focus of this month's thought.
Another word for community is KULA, translated as "a community of the
heart."
My week at Inner Harmony showed me that our
VIRAYOGA community is so strong and incredibly fortunate. We have been
granted our teachers, and through them we are all learning how to give the
highest of ourselves in our practice and in our lives. All of us are
like little seeds, spreading the awarenesses and grace we experience in
our Yoga practice and planting such sweet consciousness throughout the
breadth of our experiences.
One of our great Anusara teachers and colleagues, Mary Romeu, mentioned
an old story about a lamplighter during a talk we had while we were
away. The lamplighter was a guy who had the responsibility of lighting
all the lamps in the city with a torch, one lamp at a time, until the
whole cty was alight... which took all night. We were totally inspired by
the precision and the patience this required. Every action we take is
like that, lighting one lamp, then another, then another... each choice
makes us who we are, lights up our experiences and infuses some quality
of heart into our environment.
Be patient. Treat yourself with great love and respect in your
practice, and in your life. Light each light carefully and see the wonder
and beauty in your life. Treat others the same way and you will find an
unbelievable sense of harmony and ease.
From this supreme foundation we're creating in ourselves and in this
community, we're growing, celebrating and finding loving ways to
acknowledge ourselves and one another. Ultimately, this is the simplest and
most accessible teaching, and yet often the most challenging: FIND THE
BEAUTY AND WONDER IN EVERYTHING.
At the heart of what's happening at VIRAYOGA is a group of exquisite
teachers who are proving the strength of the Anusara community and
genuinely seeing the beauty in their work.
Our gratitude to you, teachers, for the quality of your offerings, your
hearts and knowledge.
...and THANK YOU TO THE STUDENTS, for all of the support, love and
feedback you've given to these devoted teachers. Your presence in their
classes has been truly pivotal for their development and enrichment, and
will continue to do so.
In October we are honored to host Kirtan with Dave Stringer and
Marie-Elizabeth,
an intense, supremely educational backbending workshop with Pilar
Settlemier,
an evening of yoga and meditation with Yoanna Davinci, Elena Brower and
Debra Abbenante,
a free presentation of BabyOm, a class for moms and their babies,
and a new beginner class on saturdays taught by members of our
illustrious teaching staff.
Enjoy everything!
saprema (with divine love)
e