LIKE AN OLD FAITHFUL FRIEND

I recently commented on an Instagram video post by yoga teacher Tommy Rosen.  He was  practicing the Ashtanga Primary standing series and his post simply said “Today's Practice” followed by several hashtags. Five sun salutation A’s, five sun salutation B’s, followed by a sequence of standing postures, each held for five breaths.  He finished the practice with savasana and nadi shodhana (alternate nostril breathing).  I was delighted to witness his practice, having taken a few of his classes at the Telluride Yoga Festival, and knowing his work as the founder of Recovery 2.0, the practice in this post differed from the kundalini and pranayama classes I came to know him for. When I saw this practice (on time lapse!), it was so familiar to me that I commented “Ahh, some standing series! Like an old faithful friend.” Tommy replied in agreement saying “it truly is like an old faithful friend”.  

I love a multitude of different styles of yoga and healing practices, I often say I’m multipassionate! But there is a foundation that was laid for me years ago when practicing Ashtanga yoga, that like a firm foundation, feels like home to me. Like an old faithful friend.  

We could practice yoga for multiple lifetimes and never learn all there is to learn.  But forming a foundation, knowing what brings you closer to your center, your home in yourself, is a great place to start.     

I grew up going to a Protestant church in south central Pennsylvania.  Though I no longer attend church,  I found a home, a foundation, and a sense of belonging and some of my earliest friendships and community from going to church with my family. And that’s what I’m finding all the time at Mountain Kula Yoga.

One of the things I loved the most about attending church services was the music.  I have always loved to sing, yet have never pursued singing publicly.  When I met Ananda Das at the Telluride Yoga Festival and took his “Free your Voice: Develop your Voice’s Greatest Potential”, there was an  immediate familiarity in the devotional act of chanting mantra.   

Upon return from the festival I began taking weekly voice lessons w/ Ananda, and I’m thrilled to say, it feels like home!  Singing, especially in the style of Bhakti, the yoga of devotion, though new to me, is showing up as an old faithful friend! I’m loving it most of all because I’m recognizing that “coming home” and “old faithful friends” are always within reach because they’re within me.  The devotion is to my highest self.  Coming home to my truth, away from dissolution, and towards the divine in all of life.   

What parts of yoga are you seeking to learn more about? And more so, what parts of yourself are you learning about?  Comment below as we’d love to hear from you!

Starting this fall, we will be offering once monthly Kula classes.  These monthly classes will be in a different style of yoga, with various teachers, and will be offered on a sliding scale to eliminate any financial barrier to attend.  Just like church, there will simply be an offering should you choose to make one.  

Most importantly we want these classes to build community and be for YOU! Just as I’m discovering what practices bring me closest to my heart and soul, you will all have the opportunity to VOTE for the style of Kula class you want to have each month.  The community vote will decide based on what the majority is seeking. We’re often in need of the same medicine at the same time. May each of us find our way home, to our old faithful friend.