Saturday, February 28, 2009

Anugraha: The Grace of holding tight and letting go

Anugraha: The Grace of holding tight and letting go

These last few years I've become fond of giving years themes. It's silly, really, but it pleases me, and the themes come to me in dreams, which makes them more salient and me more impressionable. My theme this year is Anugraha, which means 'Grace' in Sanskrit. Anugraha is the deepest kind of grace, that can well up in any situation, no matter how unlikely. Anugraha is the clear chartering of a course, and simultaneously is the grace that allows a course to be changed, even against fierce odds. In the midst of chaos, under pressure, at the mountaintop, up against the wall, grace. This is my dream. Under all circumstances and under all stresses, may we each find grace in our own hearts, and may grace also be bestowed upon us from the place beyond our knowing. May we remember that Anugraha, grace, comes from the convergence of Anu - which means holding tight to - and graha - letting go of... thus- the capacity to know what to hold close and what to release is the essence of grace, and each of us holds the choice in our own hands.

My second choice for Yoga theme of the year would have to be Fun. That's not sanskrit, and it didn't come in a dream, but it deserves to be secondary yoga theme anyway. Because with Yoga, even adversity is fun! And if one is having fun doing yoga, the most un-fun things in life are less un-fun, if not actually fun. So, with that in mind, I'll be offering Yoga adventures galore, coming up in the spring, summer and fall. Yogify with reckless abandon and all will be well. One's focus moves swiftly inwards, and the conundrum of the outer realms ceases to be so stubborn. Yogify, and get down with your bad Yoga self. It's fun.