I have been contemplating on the power of our community and what it means to come together with a shared intention of practice, what it means to live life as sadhana, what it means to take a seat as a Yogini. On this path there is no promise of a perfect ever after, life is full of glory and failures (and sometimes glorious failures!), full of pain and beauty, unbearable suffering, ordinariness, challenges and grace.
Life… happens… holy…
Taking our seats as Yoginis in this lifetime, is in my view to take on an assignment. We commit to being the ones to break the cycle of automatic reactivity and hurt. We commit to “do our Yoga”, which to me means to consciously engage with our experiences, to take responsibility for what we put into this world, to pause and breathe and let the vast space of Presence embrace the stickiness. And in this willingness we become a fresh wind, an opening in the density of this human drama. This opening we become, benefits all. Our lives have meaning beyond our own soap opera.
I feel immensely touched when I feel into the thousands of sisters sitting in circle practicing all over the globe. Again and again unclenching the addiction to the dense cycles of blame and drama; again and again and over again realigning ourselves with the vast wisdom of our hearts that we have been given this lifetime…not taking it for granted. Carrying the crown with the utmost humility and honoring. For the benefit of all.
And yes, on this path everything will arise to the surface. It is what we sign up for…to be the portal through which the exiled parts of our collective soup can, through practice, be integrated into the light of consciousness. At times this is not an easy assignment, but we have sisters around us, we are not alone. And even if we stumble and fall a thousand times, every moment we can forgive ourselves and remember who we are and what we are here for.
We learn to forgive ourselves, a hundred thousand times and then again. I am here for you, and I know you are here for me. In my view, the best way you can support me is to never forget who I am and the vast intelligence I am made of, and the best way I know to support you, is to do the same for you. To never stop seeing the magnificence you are made of, to insist on how much power and beauty you have in your heart. To remind you that you are a yogini.
And then we take a deep breath, pick up the tools we have been handed and we “do our Yoga“.
What a life.
What an honor.
With immense gratitude and awe, I bow.
~ Chameli
:: To deepen your commitment to the path of a Yogini, see more information about our annual Yogini Initiation and other retreats.
Photo Credit: Bibbie Friman