Coming back to teach and see clients in Raleigh is so heartwarming as I build my new life in the mountains. There is, absolutely, a healing exchange, but it also feels like seeing old friends, maybe because you are. I've know some of you for almost a decade, and it takes time to build trust, understanding and love in any relationship. I value that with each of you and I wholeheartedly invite you and hope that you'll come to my neck of the woods (literally) this Spring so we can continue that relationship from the magical perspective of the mountains. (Keep scrolling to end for Spring Retreat details). I'll be returning in February to lead another Mini Retreat and I've also been asked to teach at Yoga Fest NC (Raleigh) again this year, so perhaps I'll see you on April 8. Last year was a very powerful experience with a group of 80 students practicing Pangu Yoga together!
The New Year and the winter months give us a chance to draw in, reflect, and harness our life force so we can truly let those creative and intuitive energies reveal themselves in springtime. Rather than filling up your schedule with busyness through the winter, can you instead allow yourself to slow down, recover from a hectic year, and plant the seeds for the year ahead?
What's next? What kind of person do I want to be? What gives my life meaning and how can I nourish those things? On what do I need clarity and how can I get there?
What are my core values and how can I put them into action? How can I express my benevolent self in a more meaningful way?
We cannot answer these questions immediately. We must give ourselves the time they deserve, the time we deserve, so we can live the life we want. There is a deep power in these months that embody the water element ~ let yourself be in sync with the energy of water ~ allowing stillness and quiet, both on the inside and the outside. Having a vision means having the resolve to take action. However, in order for our visions to have power and momentum, we must know WHY they are our visions. We must have clarity on why we want what we want. Come mid January, sometimes our visions or resolutions can weaken or take a back seat because we are unclear on either what steps we need to take or the reasons behind them. Give yourself time, be patient and take it one day at a time, one moment at a time. Step by step we gradually see the changes inside and out and, to quote my mother, "sometimes it even sneaks up on us", unexpectedly!
Happy New Year! May we BE what we hope to see on this planet 🌎
With Peace,
Anisha
December 2016 | Creating Change Without Opposition
With the series of recent events our country and people have faced, including politics, riots and a general division among the people, I've been asking myself a very fundamental question.
How do we create change without opposition? Another way to ask this question on a more personal level is: how do we create an environment with others where we can disagree and still respect each other?
In some ways, conflict is needed in order to make progress in many situations. However, perhaps there are ways to ease that process. And I think that process starts with us as individuals and trickles out into our global community. My beloved teacher, Master Ou Wen Wei, often talks about creating a warm and friendly environment for others. This allows people to feel comfortable and safe and therefore more likely to have an open mind and accept a particular view point, responding in a positive way. Deep down we all want to feel loved and cared for and we want to feel that our lives and opinionshave value. Without that value, life can sometimes lose meaning and purpose. So, in a sense, by offering our love and warmth, we help others create meaning and bring forth their kind and loving nature. In turn, it also gives us value and brings out our
own loving selves. I believe that some part of every person has a desire to do good and be good and change the world for the better, even if their approach is not one we agree with. For some, their good intentions are much more obvious. In others, it's sometimes harder to see on the surface but I believe it's still there.
So my next question is, in a given moment why do I need others to agree with me? Why do I have to be right? How do I justify arguing with someone? And is it worth losing the love and harmony between us? I am talking about the world at large and how interactions and decisions occur, but it starts in our microcosms in our homes and communities: dinner conversations with family members, how we speak with or treat a stranger on the street, a difference in how we do a simple household task, our reaction to a coworker's strong opinion or negativity.
What if I could genuinely disagree with someone and be ok with it, maybe even content with it? What if I could maintain a friendly and optimistic environment while offering an alternative approach or idea? In addition, what if I could add something positive to the conversation and keep the love and happiness alive? Imagine how peaceful life could be!! Perhaps these are the gifts we should be giving each other this holiday season, the gifts of our own inner cultivation. I can't think of anything more rewarding and more likely to create lasting happiness.
May the New Year increase our longing for benevolence in the world and may our actions truly follow!
Happy New Year Everyone!
With Peace,
Anisha
November 2016 | Navigating Our Two Sides
Greetings from my new home! Moving and uprooting my life definitely challenges me in the most unusual and unsettling way. I found I am not as prepared for it as much as I'd hoped.
Being in the mountains during Fall is quite a gift. I look around and see the bursting of colors, the richness of culture and the warmth and joy of the people here in Blue Ridge haven. It's more than just another place to live, it's a state of mind, an opportunity to create, a chance to explore both inside and out.
However, I think we all know that we can feel these wonderful emotions of extreme appreciation, passion, joy and enthusiasm, and simultaneously feel lonely, confused, overwhelmed, afraid and sad all in a given day...a given moment. And it isn't wrong, it just is. There are always two sides of us battling it out. The way out of the emotional hamster wheel for me is to decipher which voice, which side of me I want to keep listening to. When I can stop a feeling of persistent worry about something trivial, I start to ask the bigger questions, going beyond the angst of daily struggles.
How do I want to lead my life? how do I want to treat others?
The bigger questions lead me to the smaller, daily situations and encounters.
How do I want approach an extremely stressful situation or the complexity of a day where nothing is going right? Is this really as bad as I am telling myself it is? What can I choose for myself in this moment, as hard as it seems?
I'll tell you one thing: I have a lot yet to master..a lot. Sometimes that shift feels like turning a cargo ship 180 degrees. The complication of being human is not easy to navigate. It can be somewhat subdued with these questions and realigning how I want to show up. However, the real clarity and comfort comes from my faith. I am not necessarily talking about religion. I am talking about a faith in a better life, faith that there is meaning to all of this, and that there is a strong guiding presence and force that has helped me along, and is showing us the way, the path to benevolence. AND it's the faith that my actions count, my efforts matter greatly, and they make a difference even if it's just for one person.
Last week, the ATT guy showed up at our house, got his van stuck and spun his tires, digging deep trenches in our newly graded driveway. He then almost went off the side of the hill, almost crushed the drain pipe and almost took out some beautiful trees. I stood at the top of the drive, frozen, as I watched him continue to make it worse and started wondering how the heck we were going to pull him out. He eventually made the turn, with the help of our carpenter, then tried to patch it up with his feet saying "I'll fix it". I looked at him somewhat calmly (but probably sneering) and said "and how will you do that?" He said "with a shovel." I hid my smirk, knowing he didn't have one, and proceeded to walk inside, freaking out internally and called our builder in desperate tears. After leaving a message I decided to try and shift, calmed myself as best as I could, and remembered that nothing too horrible happened (just a lot of close calls). When he came in the house I decided to treat him like a guest, maybe even as a friend. I could tell he felt terrible and was being extra careful inside. We started talking and I learned a little about his life and he about mine. He then explained that the ground was pretty soft since we hadn't had much rain, so that could be why his van got stuck. I refrained from saying "yes or it could have been your crazy ass driving down the hill taking the turn too fast." In hindsight, I see that my reaction overall wasn't the best, but it also wasn't the worst. Mastering our lives is an ongoing journey, and we learn so much along the way. We learn how to balance caring/being meticulous with letting go, being calm without apathy or resignation, humility without self effacement, tolerance without indulging others, diligence without anxiety, and a strong will without obsession.
With Peace,
Anisha