Sunday, September 26, 2010

Sri Sri Yoga Weekend 1 Ends With Smiles

Anyone who has had the pleasure of practicing yoga with Shriram Sarvotham knows that it's near impossible to walk away from a session without a smile. After three days of energizing asanas, relaxing meditation and ancient wisdom delivered in Shriram's trademark blend of gentleness, humor and concision, the current Sri Sri Yoga (SSY) class couldn't help but bear their pearly whites as they convened for the coming week. And to think—next weekend holds even more!

As an SSY repeater and aspiring yoga teacher, I watched Shriram lead the class with admiration, intrigue and excitement. Just when I'd begin to think I'd gleaned all I could on a particular posture or bit of knowledge, he'd offer something—be it as subtle as the tone of his voice, the grace of his movement or an illuminating word choice—that deepened my understanding. As I'm sure my classmates would agree, his unshakeable smile and loving commitment to his practice fill his students with a newfound appreciation and motivation for their own.

Our current, personal challenge: to maintain the SSY practice each day between now and our next session on Friday. Four days. 45 minutes each (don't forget final relaxation or Kriya/meditation!). 3 om's. Can we do it? I know we can!

But I hope we can do much more than that, too—by remembering what's brought us here together in the first place. How fortunate we are, as members of this beautiful human family, to have awoken to our connectedness and belonging; to salute the greatness in each other. Looking around the room at my SSY friends as they reveled in the bliss of their bodies' perfect spinal twists, I knew I'd become part of something much bigger than my own personal growth. We've joined hands in the common pursuit of spirit, of oneness—releasing toxins from the body, sinking deeper into that forward bend or holding that boat pose for just one more breath—well those are just perks of encouragement along the path!

As I bask in the last hours of this rejuvenating weekend, my mind quiet and peaceful, my heart full of joy and gratitude, my awareness ablaze and my body fully contented (yes, even despite a couple of sore spots!), I couldn't fight the ear-to-ear grin on my face if I wanted to.

Which, of course, I don't. Jai Gurudev!

1 comment:

Shraddha said...

Excellent write up Katie. I completely agree with you. I am quite a lazy person when it comes to doing 45 mins. of yoga but Shriram has inspired me to take it up for this week :)