John Friend quote from my recent studies with him
in Atlanta, GA:
"It's the Power of Love, not the Love of Power."
February is a great month to ponder, contemplate, and be thankful
for the many relationships in your life. Imagine a heart
string making a two-way connection from you to each of these
persons - what a vast, dense, complicated network! May you
choose to pluck your "heart strings" with love as
you engage in your many relationships. Imagine the beautiful
symphony of music you will create. And the positive vibrations
of your heart strings will connect and cross with others'
strings and create even more. Now that is the power
of love.
Special thanks to Carrie Burr, one of Infinite Bliss' teachers
and a fabulous photographer, for this month's photo!
January
2012
I am filled with excitement for 2012 and my Infinite
Bliss community of friends, students, and teachers! Infinite
Bliss Yoga has new t-shirts in stock that were designed by
my daughter Rachel who is a sophomore art major at the University
of Louisville. She had an assignment to take a symbol from
history and update it. She chose the OM symbol - she took
the 3 physical parts of the symbol (representing the life
cycle of creation, sustenance, and dissolution) and spread
them apart to become the roots and the branches of her tree.
What a great metaphor for our lives - we are always connected
to our past but able to grow and branch out in new ways in
the future.
As we begin a new cycle with this New Year, take time to meditate
on your aspirations and resolutions. What is your overall
view (darshan)? Anusara Yoga teaches us to start each day
with a life-affirming view - to look for the good in the world
and situations. Next, set your intention (sankalpa) for the
year, keeping your darshan in mind. You may want to seal your
sankalpa with a hand gesture (mudra). Then put your intention
into a spiritual practice (sadhana) again and again and again.
As the year progresses with your practice, your view and intention
with become etched into your heart, body, and mind as an imprint
(sanskara). And don't forget to enjoy and celebrate your life
and the benefits of your practice each day!
So, from my heart to yours, I wish you a Happy New Year and
as the t-shirt says, "Fertilize your roots in the community
of the heart to grow and flourish." I will see you on
the mat.
Love, Denise
December 2011
Photo info-cascade of partner ustrasana (camel)
Infinite Bliss students found some wonder in a beautiful cascade
of
partner ustrasana (camel) poses at our annual Thanksgiving
Day-after
practice. It is my wish to each of you that you may see the
wonder/the
amazement completely filled with joy (vismaya) of the holiday
season.
Take time to slow down from your extra busy life to really
pay
attention - to see - to notice the wonder of everyday. There
is a yoga
sutra that is a perfect meditation for December:
Shiva Sutra 1.12 - vismayo yogabhumikah
The worlds of yoga are wonderful and amazing.
May your yoga fill you with Wonder, Amazement, and Joy this
season.
November
2011
Candlelight yoga
Infinite Bliss Yoga recently hosted a candlelight yoga and
potluck
gathering in celebration of India's Diwali Festival of Lights
holiday.
Denise, Laura B., and Laura P. co-taught the yoga class
lit by 36
candles. We then shared food/beverages and a few giant
sparklers
outside. This celebration honors the Divine Light and
Love within
each of us and reminds us to tend the flames so that we may
become
brighter and offer more to others. This tradition in
India is a
powerful segue into our American tradition of Thanksgiving
when we
celebrate the grace and abundance in our lives.
November is a great month to contemplate your view (darshana)
- may
you choose to see the light, love, goodness, and abundance
within and
around you. Come to Infinite Bliss Yoga and put your
view into a
spiritual practice (sadhana) as we participate, support, grow,
learn,
and laugh together. Happy Thanksgiving!
October
2011
Fall back into yoga (Kara
Schmidt – base; Denise Stottmann – flyer)
Infinite Bliss Yoga recently welcomed Kara Schmidt, an
Anusara-Inspired and certified Acroyoga teacher, to an all-levels
class for some flying poses. Doing Acroyoga (a combination
of
acrobatics, yoga, and Thai massage) provides a great opportunity
to
examine the malas that may be cloaking your heart as flying
partner
poses bring up a lot of emotions! When any of the three
malas (Anava,
Mayiya, Karma) are present, your Relative experience will
be limited,
obscured, or imbalanced.
-Anava mala causes feelings of sadness, brokenness, and separateness.
When you clean off this mala, you will feel full and complete
(Purna
in the Absolute) like when you are in a deep loving relationship.
- Mayiya mala causes feelings of anger rooted in self-unworthiness
and
too much pickiness. Dust off this mala and you will
be able to see
and be grateful for all the beauty and goodness around you
(Shri in
the Absolute).
- Karma mala causes feelings of fear to arise either because
you feel
something will never be possible and you thus don't try (lack
of trust
in yourself) or you try to do it all yourself and become overwhelmed
(lack of trust in others). Peel off this mala and you
will find
adaptability which will lead to freedom (Svatantrya in the
Absolute).
Anusara Yoga invites us to Open to Grace - to open our hearts
- to
clean, dust, and peel off the layers of gunk blocking us from
our
richest experience. Come join us for a practice of exploration
and
inquiry through asana, meditation, and conversation. Infinite
Bliss
invites you to Fall Back into Yoga this autumn!
September
2011
Photo info-Shiva as the dancing
Nataraja
It's Back-to-School time again
for students and parents, so it is an
appropriate time to share a back-to-school yoga story...
Shiva is in the pine forest just hanging out. Two students,
Patanjali
(who is half serpent/half man has slithered his way up out
of the
ground) and Vyaghrapada (who is a man with tiger paws has
climbed down
out of the trees) are seeking Shiva. From opposite ends (earth
and
sky) they ask for Shiva to appear and teach them and so he
does in the
form of the Nataraja. They take seats as students and Shiva
becomes
their teacher as he dances in the form of the Nataraja. For
their
first lesson, they receive 5 Divine Acts.
The cycles of nature (creation, sustenance, and dissolution)
are the
first 3 Divine Acts taught:
- the Nataraja holds a damaru (the 2-headed drum represents
the
pulsation of the universe and creation, the beginning)
- the Nataraja stands on Sita (Sita is the Earth Goddess -
the
ultimate mother - and mothers give unconditional sustenance
to their
children)
- the Nataraja holds a flame (the flame represents dissolution,
the end)
The remaining 2 Divine Acts are concealment and revelation.
Patanjali
and Vyaghrapada sit on opposite sides of the dancing Shiva.
The
Nataraja's arm appears closed off to one student and open/inviting
to
the other student and this represents that we constantly learn
in this
pulsation of concealment (forgetting and not yet knowing)
and
revelation (remembering and learning new). Students (and parents)
revisit this pulsation every September as they have to remember
what
they have forgotten over the summer!
We are all students - I invite each one of you to consider
going
back-to-school this fall by joining Infinite Bliss Yoga for
Immersion
I. We will dive in and open our hearts to remember
and learn much
more... Are you ready to receive the lessons just as Patanjali
and
Vyaghrapada did? Please read below for more information.
August
2011
Photo info-Fourth of July
sparkler fun by Rachel!
OM
The mantra OM represents the sacred sound of the universe.
It is
actually composed of 4 parts: A-U-M- and the vibratory silence
at the
end. 'A' is the first vowel and letter in the Sanskrit
alphabet and
'U' is the last vowel and 16th letter.
'A' is the beginning of all sounds (pronounced "ah")
and is made with
the mouth open as the sound originates from the back of the
tongue.
Next, the 'U' sound (pronounced "oo") is formed,
moving forward to the
middle of the mouth. Finally, with the teeth and lips
lightly closed,
the 'M' is hummed. This is followed by the silence.
A-U-M forms a trinity representing creation, sustenance, and
dissolution - a beginning, middle, and end - the cycle of
life. We
are always in a cycle of something and when one cycle ends
a new one
begins - the end becomes the next beginning. My favorite
metaphor of
this is a pearl necklace. The strand is your life-span
cycle and each
unique beautiful pearl represents just one cycle or phase
in your
life. Enjoy each cycle - each bead - each pearl. Anusara
Yoga
invites us to step into each cycle with an a remembrance of
the
Highest and an open heart and then to celebrate each pearl.
As Infinite Bliss Yoga transitions form Allison, as the owner,
to me
(Denise), I want to honor Allison for the past 5+ years. When
I
attended my first yoga class with her on January 1, 2006,
I never
imagined that I would be embarking on a cycle from student
to teacher
to owner (and remember the end is the beginning, so I am always
a
student).
Thank you, Allison, for your guidance, nurturing, love, and
belief in
me. And I wish you the best in your next cycle of life
in New York
City.
OM
Infinite Bliss Yoga, 1507 Bardstown Road,
Louisville, KY 40205
Bardstown Road & Eastern Parkway, next to StudioWorks
502.485.0121 or infiniteblissyoga@gmail.com
