The Dance of Discipline and Devotion

I am devoted to leading with love.

I stepped onto the AstroTurf outside of a mega hotel on the eastern edge of Denver, an expanse of desert and concrete. I met the desolate vibe of concrete and construction with devotion. My devotion was joined by close to two thousand other humans. Our hearts connected, through shared effort, shared experience, shared practice.

Hot, dry air thrust against my skin as the moon pressed bright through the pollution. I closed my eyes, as directed, and brought my attention to my inner world.

When we closed our last series, we each wrote something that we are devoted to. I wrote, “I am devoted to leading with love.” I understand love differently today. My feet left the AstroTurf as I proceeded with a walking meditation. I was overwhelmed by the beauty of it all, these bodies moving in commonality in a landscape I wouldn’t choose, but I did. I chose it in so many ways and here I am.

I’m here because I am curious. I am here because I want to play in this way. I am here because I want to co-create with the divine. My choice wasn’t the concrete suburbia, but the journey inward. I embrace my body resting on the dirt of this development because the physical location doesn’t matter, it is simply a playground for the physical to meet the non-physical.

As I walked, I noticed nature finding it’s way among the development, wild sunflowers rimmed the frontage road where we walked, radiant in their determination. As I walked with intention, my eyes caught the words, “almost home,” an advertisement for living in suburbia, the message received by me as an invitation, an encouragement to keep going, not to meet my cookie cutter house, but to merge with the divinity within me. This is the endless dance of a yoga and meditation practice and life, the space between effort and surrender.

This fall, Trista and I will offer a seven-week series on the chakras, or energy centers in the body. I feel compelled to admit that for years I was a bit put off by the chakras. The chakras just felt a little too "out there" to me. I was slow to explore them until I couldn’t ignore them anymore. There were teachers I was drawn to that were speaking directly to the chakras and as my understanding grew, I increased my play in this arena. As I stepped more fully into the mystery of energy play, they even showed up in my last horse training, chakras in horses. This was a surprise and delight to me.

I don’t think it is an accident that my horseplay has revolved around learning energy. I landed on the AstroTurf after several courses specifically exploring playing with horses in this way. The steady grace that horses offer can be a bridge to take the focus off of ourselves and play in this energetic realm without our own stories creating mud.

Horses graciously offer this entrance, a doorway to our inner realm, a way in which to not work so hard to get out of our own way. Yet, we are reminded, repeatedly, to start with ourselves and horses aren’t readily available for all to connect with.

I dream of guiding humans to assist horses in healing. I sense that when a human gives in this way, they will receive the gift they are giving, love. This horseplay, this exchange of love, is also an exchange of presence.

There are other ways we can play in this realm and one of them is in our yoga and meditation practice. Meditation is a path of courage, we are confronted with ourselves again and again. This practice asks for our intention and our attention. It is a practice and a place to play free from outcome or destination, a place to play with presence, a place to play with being. The truth is, after years of practice, I still struggle with the daily discipline of my meditation practice. It is devotion that gets me to show up, to begin again, to keep playing & practicing.

The Soul of Yoga

What is the soul of yoga?

Follow your heart into the

center of the pose and find

in the midst of detail and

precision, in breath, alignment,

balance, bliss, fear and sadness -

at the very core of all of this

is love. Touch upon your

truest nature even once and

the experience of what you

really are sears the psyche

like the surface of the sun.

The soul of yoga, the gift

within the pose is the

moment of communion,

resting in pure essence,

the awakening as if from

sleep to the face of

unmistakable divinity;

the ineffable wonder and

living reality of spirit - oh,

yes - the soul of yoga is love.

Danna Faulds

The offering that Trista and I will lead this fall is a practice of asana (postures) and meditation that will become your playground for presence, for greeting yourself again and again and merging with the divine. We will use the chakras as a container for this playground, a place to center, explore and align. There is no experience necessary to come play and practice with us, all levels are welcome. We are honored by those that choose to practice with us. If you are curious about the chakras, but are unavailable to practice with us, here are some resources:

Anatomy of the Spirit by Caroline Myss

The Chakras C.W. Leadbeater

Wheels of Life by Anodea Judith

Thank you for being here!

Love,

Angela

“Never lose a holy curiosity.” Einstein