"Being present is infinitely more powerful than anything
you can say or do." - Eckhart Tolle
"The foundation for greatness is honoring the small things
of the present moment which is always small and always simple but concealed
within it lies the greatest power." - Eckhart Tolle
"To find perfect composure in the midst of change is to
find ourselves in Nirvana." - Suzuki Roshi
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"The thought manifests as the word;
The word manifests as the deed;
The deed develops into habit;
And the habit hardens into character;
So watch the thought and its ways with care,
And let it spring from love born out of concern
for all beings...
As the shadow follows the body,
As we think so we become."
- Buddha, The Dharmapada
Buddha - "Awakened One", originally known as prince Gautama Siddartha, renounced his
worldly possessions in order to seek out solutions to the sufferings of life.
After attaining enlightenment while sitting under the bodhi tree he traveled
the world with the compassionate intent to enable others to awaken as well.
Erika Burkhalter, Christie's most influential guru and inspiration!
On retreat with Tim Miller in Tuscany, Italy
Mesmerized by Richard Freeman at the 2012 San Diego Yoga Journal Conference
Goddess Kali - Shiva Shakti, the feminine form of our witnessing consciousness. She leads us towards liberation from Avidya or ignorance by helping us to rid our samskaras or patterns of repetitive behavior that obstruct the path to our full potentiality.
Shiva Nataraja - The Lord of the Dance represents the dance of creation and destruction in the universe. He removes all fears and uncertainties within us by helping us to realize that our true nature is pure consciousness.
Recommended Reading:
"Ashtanga Yoga: The Practice Manual" by David Swenson
"Ashtanga Yoga" by Gregor Maehle
"The Mirror of Yoga" & "The Yoga Matrix: The Body as a Gateway to Freedom" by Richard Freeman
"The Seven Spiritual Laws of Yoga" by Deepak Chopra
"Yoga Body, Buddha Mind" by Cyndi Lee
"Mindfulness Yoga" by Frank Jude Boccio
"Deep Yoga: Ancient Wisdom for Modern Times" by Bhava Ram
"The physical yoga practices, therefore, give us something to observe that is immediately accessible, tangible, broad in scope, seemingly endless, but most importantly, grounded in the present moment and therefore undeniably impermanent. Letting go into whatever is arising while staying solidly grounded in our body leads us to the experience of insight...
... the entire practice of yoga, the path to liberation in fact, is to get to the root of whatever is presenting itself. This process of bringing attention into the deep and underlying concept of separateness that keeps us stuck in the realm of mind and emotion is not an easy task. It is one that must be approached again and again as the mind quite naturally slips back toward the secure realm of ego function, of identifying us as separate from others and the rest of the world...
Gradually we train both body and mind to be awake, and, little by little, we decondition ourselves from the habits that keep us dull and stuck in the routine of our own suffering.... so the practice and the work become to watch these pattern as they arise and to foster within ourselves the ability to not react, project, or overlay our preconceptions. Our very own body, which is immediately available to us, becomes a laboratory of consciousness, a field of exploration into the truth of our own existence so that, figuratively speaking, our body becomes a temple for open awareness." - Richard Freeman, The Mirror of Yoga
