The Person Next To You...

The Person next to you is...

The greatest miracle and the greatest mystery you will ever meet at this moment
An inexhaustible reservoir of possibility
with possibilities which may have been only partially revealed and made visible.

The person next to you is...
A unique universe of experience in necessity and possibility embracing
dread and desire
frowns and smiles
tears and laughter
fears and hopes
struggling to find expression and acceptance


The person next to you is...
desirous of becoming someone in particular who has a story and a song to share
who desires to know and appreciate being known
who will arrive at a destination

The person next to you...
believes in something
believes in something
stands for something
counts for something
lives for something
cries for something
labors for something
waits for something
runs for
runs from
runs toward something

The person next to you...
has problems and fears
wonders how they are doing and often doesn't feel very good about it
is often undecided and disorganized and painfully close to chaos
but
believes they are given great strength and are able to survive
the most unbelievable difficulties and persecutions

The person next to you...
is a community of persons met during your lifetime - friend and foe.

The person next to you....
has something they can do well
has something they can do better than anyone else in the whole world
has a life on earth that has great meaning and purpose
but
do they dare share it with you?

The person next to you...
can live in relationship with you and not just beside you
can live not only for themselves but also for you
can listen, comfort, encourage, and counsel you
and in turn
you can listen, comfort, encourage, and counsel

The person next to you...
can never fully be understood
is more than any description or explanation
is mystery
and the word was made flesh and is mystery
and the word was made flesh and dwelt among us

Look around you, for God, Christ, Divine, Om, Ram - is here in the person next to you.

This is the person next to you.

Live. Think. Speak. Dress. Hear. Taste. Be. Love. Being mindful requires more than attending a yoga class and memorizing the cliches and quips. Being mindful still means something.

For the person next to you is

You

and

You are Them.

Universal structure is no happenstance. Happiness is being swallowed up and consumed by a Purpose you recognize as bigger than yourself. The very vibration of your body, the earth, and all of the 5 elements and 5 senses...are all interacting subtly, grossly, continuously, eternally.

We are eternal creatures, with a Soul that yearns to connect with the Divine. Our suffering is never in vain. Share each others' pain and burdens, joy and laughter, and in doing so, we can make our load lighter on this planet.

"The Person Next to You" was authored by myself and Rose Hamlin, a dear friend.

*photo is my littlest yogi, William Theodore, pictured at 6 months old

Walking for a Cure for Multiple Sclerosis

Many of you may know, and some of you may not, that my brother, a few years younger than me, was just diagnosed with multiple sclerosis this past fall. My aunt has also been disabled by MS and plagued by its existence in her body for the last 20 years.

To that end, PYTS took on a role as corporate sponsor for a team, Living Well Walking Warriors, for this past weekend's MS Walk 2009 at NC Zoological Park. Threatening thunderstorms could not keep our family way, 17 strong, from all showing up to support our brother, son, nephew, and grandson, Jeremy, and our aunt, daughter, and mother, Karen. All told, we were able to collect more than $2500 in just under a month. We hope to see that amount grow each year!

Thanks to everyone for their support, and we hope and pray that one day no one will ever have to hear the words, "you have MS", again.

*photo of Living Well Walking Warriors; Asheboro, NC MS Walk 2009

My Greatest Lesson In Yoga

Five Second Eternity

Today, I was hurrying Michael (my 3 year old) into his car seat as William (my 18 month old) was sleepy and they were both hungry. I wanted to get them home right away, fed, and to naptime, before one of them imploded (or me).

I put them in the car, buckled in William, told Michael to do the same, and then I got in the front seat, buckled in, started the car, arranged all the items and bags, when Michael asked for “hep”. I got out and groaned – “jeez, Michael, let's go...”. “Focus”, and I pointed to my eyes, “focus Michael!”

Just then he looked up at me, the reflection in his eyes so innocent and with such a clarity that struck my soul and put everything around me in slow motion....then, without any strife or reaction to my actions, he tried to put his little fingers into a sign. He looked at them for a second, and knitted his toddler brow as if to say – "please help me express myself." Once he had his fingers they way he wanted he looked back into my brown eyes with his big, clear, innocent, brown eyes and signed, “I love you."

The whole word melted like snow – and all my superficial concerns with it. I just stared at my son’s tiny hand, signing “I love you”, and I was amazed and humbled. How could a three year old, my three year old son, have such wisdom and a peace that passes all understanding – in the midst of a stressful moment for him, especially when all he knows in this world, his own mother, was being impatient and short with him?

After that, he signed “ I love you” again, and I also signed and carefully matched my fingers up to his sign. He loves that – and that got a big smile from him and a kiss and a hug – his biggest "signature" Michael smile - and said “yes, kisses and hugs for mommy." I received 7 kisses.

My world was perfect as I got back into the front seat and backed out of the parking lot to take them home for their lunch and nap.

All of that transpired in mere minutes, and his loving action took no longer than my rough, impatient action. Mere minutes, we should remind ourselves, make all the difference in the world.

Of all the BIG lessons in the world we can learn or be reminded of, unconditional love may just be the most important.

Today, I was reminded by my 3 year old, in a 5 second lesson that will span eternity, of how to love unconditionally.

There are a few Truths in life, and one of them is this, Mother Teresa said, "If you want world peace, go home and love your family." If I am at all a success, in terms of eternal and not worldly value, in my dharma as a teacher of yoga, it is because of my children. Yes, my children are my greatest yoga teachers. As parents, our children teach us perhaps more than we teach them.

*photos are of Michael doing his own practice

This morning was no exception

I am never ceased to be amazed at the depth of knowledge these yoga therapist's in training demonstrate during their clinical case study presentations. You could hear a pin drop this morning as groups of therapists came together to discuss neuromuscular yoga therapy management, each telling their stories and giving their compassionate perspective on how they might more fully understand and therefore, offer better treatment solutions and outcomes, to their patients in light of the new knowlege they have gained from their studies this week.

Heart chakras and tear ducts alike - were well receptively and expressively open.
What a fantastic group of students this graduating class will be!

I truly believe that graduates from this program, because of their extensive medical education, clinical experience, research experience, and yoga therapist training, have the very unique opportunity to compassionately bring massive, radical change to the health care system and its methods of delivery in the United States. Get ready America!

Teaching PYT IV Course Module

This week I am working with a great group of health care professionals who are experts in their respective fields. They have come together to study the inclusion of Ayurveda, music therapy, and neuromuscular yoga therapy within the context of Professional Yoga Therapy. An 8 day extravaganza, these students are troopers - showing up at 6:30 am for their first session in meditation and sometimes not finishing until 10 pm at night. Fortunately, they are hard workers, so they are able to have some nice breaks in the afternoons to enjoy massage therapy from Kimberly Winsor, an expert in bodywork, polarity, and other massage techniques. They are also soaking up the absolutely wonderful mild, sunny weather we have been having all week here at The Trinity Center on Indian Beach, North Carolina.

These students are dedicated to becoming experts in the field of progressive, adaptive, medical yoga therapy, the type of yoga therapy I have developed into its own unique method called Professional Yoga Therapy. This class of students will be the second graduating class from Professional Yoga Therapy Studies since its inception in 2002. It takes students anywhere from 2-4 years to study this method and to complete all requirements for graduation. If you have not heard from these intelligent and progressive thinkers, you will be soon. These students are the future of medical yoga therapy in this country, and I cannot wait to see where they take this new field.

In Los Angeles for SYTAR meetings

Welcome to my blog - the beginning of what I hope will be a great and long journey, discussing all the wonderful and not so wonderful merits of Breathing In This Life.

I am returning from Los Angeles as I write, stuck in Las Vegas for a 3 hour layover - that could be considered one of the "not too wonderful" things about Breathing - however, I am using the time to work and catch up on my thoughts from the wonderful events of the last 3 days. So yes, the Breathing in LAS can be nice too.

For the students of PYTS, I have spend the last 3 days in amazing and interesting discussion with our colleagues in yoga therapy across the globe. The added dimension was that we had a singular focus - as Directors and Presidents of many schools of yoga therapy - we were discussing the process of creating educational standards for yoga therapists both domestically and internationally. What began with some trepidation and fear, ended with a realization for many of us - we share consensus on more things than we diverge on. This is a good thing, because it will lead us, in a spirit of unity, toward establishing yoga therapy as an accepted and effective modality of leading people to a better quality of life through improving their health on a multi-dimensional level. A mouthful - but yoga therapy and its delivery and definition is no easy task to embark upon.

So as I sit in the airport on the hard, concrete floor, typing my first blog ever (hurrah!), I am positive, optimistic, and motivated to assist in any way possible the process of creating educational standards for yoga therapists across the globe. I believe the process we engaged in, as directors of yoga therapy schools internationally, both last year and this year at SYTAR - are first necessary steps in a long process toward ultimately - improving and maybe even revolutionizing health care in America - and the world!

Yea for yoga therapy and its bright, bright future!