A Little Vishnu For Your Monday: Teaching Yoga on The Grassy Knoll: Kihei, HI: March 29,2021

The root of the word “to educate” means “to bring out”. Teaching the practices of yoga encourages the process and work of learning about ourselves, more than fancy poses. Yet poses are a vehicle, and can be fun, which is a super helpful alignment when digging into tight spots. “Joy is the nature of the self”, says Ramana Maharishi.

I teach yoga on Sundays and Mondays. Only 24 hours apart, but energetically miles away from each other. Sunday feels like the end of the week, a day of rest and restore, a processing of all that has happened all week. Monday, by contrast, feels like a fresh start. A brand new day.

My teacher Ravi Ravindra often reminds us of the vast forces in the universe at play. We met this morning, only hours away from the full moon, the beginning of the week, our sangha has yogis coming and going circling the island in their own timing and lives. Cycles and rhythms, if I let myself get carried away, can lead me right into overwhelm. It's not lost on me that this isn't the desired feeling of contemplation of what yogis call ritam, who wisely lean into awe, wonder, and trust in the order of things.

For me, I can begin to understand this deep truth when I slow my mind by moving my body and witnessing my breath, so that's what I offered to our gathering this morning, while tapping into the play of Vishnu "The Preserver", the god in the Hindu tradition who rests quietly upon a coiled up snake, reminding us that fear and worry is conquered by peace, calm, and staying as present as possible in the swirl of massive forces.

Here's our sequence:

Sit circles
Tipping buddha
Twist

Navasana blay

 Cat cow
Easy side plank with half dancer play
Vishnu twist

Twisted sister with anatasana variation elbow balance play

Dowdog 
Tadasana at back of mat with path meditation

 Downdog criss cross tricpt play
Lizard
Gecko stretch
Haumansana with andle stretch
Low lunge with shoulder opener

 Swimmers

 Shoulder opener

Lunge
Crescent 
Dancers
Lakshmi play

 Pigeon with mermaid play
No drama twist

Savasnaa

Sit
Namaste

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