My Sedona Adventure is coming to a close. Just two more days in the beautiful red rock desert. Some space to breathe after the 6 weeks program here and a lot of information to digest and reflect upon in the upcoming weeks and months.
As stated before I am proud to have gone through it – getting up before human-kind from Monday to Friday, being in a country where people that are saying „Good For You“ usually actually mean it, pouring water with salt through my nostrils, rubbing my gums with oil and salt and doing the God-Damn same Sadhana for almost the whole time
I take the whole experience as one big positive memory (Samskara) with me and it feels like a little bit more of the dust and dirt that is covering my heart has been removed.
The reason it hurts so much to separate is because our souls are connected. ~Nicholas Sparks, The Notebook
Yesterday we had our final interviews and closing ceremony – a homa with cow dung The interviews were nice, for me it was very valuable – usually I have been praised for my knowledge and wisdom, however here I was shown that I can make an even greater contribution by opening my heart and sharing some of the more vulnerable, emotional parts of me.
Transition is and will always be tough. But I come home to friends and family who will definitely have to serve as guinea pigs
How lucky I am to have something that makes saying goodbye so hard. ~Carol Sobieski and Thomas Meehan, Annie
So, to finish my Sedona blogs, I reflected on the last six weeks and came up with some interesting, not too serious facts, highlights and revelations that I came across during this time:
No One except for myself can decipher my handwriting
Yoga Nidra Visualizations usually do not contain “endless desserts”
Hiking blind-folded near an edge is much easier than seeing it for me
Throwing a Bandana over a cat can be extraordinarily funny (Sorry Xena!)
Touching moss while wearing a blindfold can cause panic and all sorts of crazy imaginations
Everything is happening at the right place at the right time
For some people Enemas are no big things, for others they can cause homophobic nightmares
I ended up in an American Ashram without even knowing one existed
Americans still use too many plastic bags
You know you are in Sedona when someone seriousy asks you at a party from which planet you are originally from
Breakfast Talks can have interesting topics, e.g. cats dissecting rat intestines and bringing them to their owners
I am still a smartass and have a hard time to hide that and stay out of the limelight
An Indian Swami narrating an English Yoga Nidra sounds pretty funny
A home in a trailer can be very comfortable
I need a personal Vedic Chef or skilled ayurvedic cook as a wife Either will work
Jack rescued a hummingbird and I saw two ladybugs!
I threw over the water vacuum device in the Yoga room
I did NOT have to clean the bath rooms
Jack’s tank (truck) can be heard from far away
I have had never heard „Giants Skulls“ and „The Eye of Ra looks like the Pineal Gand“ so often as here
People are very different
Being hugged is actually not too bad
Cats are close to world domination!
Want to be a Yoga therapist? Suggest Yoga Nidra, Ankle cranks and Tulsi Tea – works always usually, sometimes, maybe
Adjusting your wrist watch during the morning sadhana does not go unnoticed
I did not get to enjoy it but I was told the “Sweet Potato with Goat Cheese Casserole”
Purpose dictates Practices
We exchange on a cellular energetic level even through breath, touch or just being close to somebody (how disguisting!)
I feel like I planted a lot of good seeds…I hope I can nurture them so that they will grow. I did not experience a lot of physical changes except for a little weight gain due being so extraordinarily well nurtured yet I just know I went through these weeks with a feeling of equanimity and confidence that I hardly had often before – which I have to contribute to the wholistic approach of the training
Why can’t we get all the people together in the world that we really like and then just stay together? I guess that wouldn’t work. Someone would leave. Someone always leaves. Then we would have to say good-bye. I hate good-byes. I know what I need. I need more hellos. ~Charles M. Schulz
It was really funny for me to see, that when we were asked to teach in the final week every day I was looking for my usual anxiety which I just couldn’t retrieve Oh well, there is worse things to lose I guess
I am also more and more seeing that my curse is my blessing to that extent that I can meet people where they are and relate to their feelings – through my own first hand experience: Staying two month in a hospital being bound to IV’s and to the bed, going through tough surgeries, breaking my collar bone, battling depression and nervous breakdowns, anxiety, asthma as a child, anemia, thrombocytopenia, being overweight as a child…and quite a bit more – and still walking on, overcoming and leaving these things behind me. And becoming stronger than before – with perserverance, patience and hope.
One of my teachers said that a Yoga Teacher also has to be somewhat a Psychologist – my teachers did well in encouraging and supporting me in the past and so it feels great to slowly be able to give just this sort of support and wisdom back and take their role.
So, I will miss Sedona – and all the beautiful souls I met here. Lokah Samastah Sukhino Bhavantu! And to finish it off, just a song I feel that supports my experience and is nice to close the blog with:
Namaskaram from Sedona,
I just watched The Avengers. Pretty epic movie, filled with action, stars and the good old fight of Good versus Evil. But hey, that is not really what I wanted to blog about –
So it is Saturday (Saturn day) and the full moon is here. Not the best circumstances for me to sit and contemplate (as moon is also not a friendly planet for me , but anyways –
Time has been flying lately and we are so pretty darn close to the end of the 300 hours program – especially in the last week the feeling in me grew more and more of deep gratitude, pride and self-contentment about how I coped and managed all this very well.
He who rejects change is the architect of decay. The only human institution which rejects progress is the cemetery. ~Harold Wilson
We have so much sunshine. My skin just loves it. My mind loves it even more – so much Vitamin D straight from the source. It will be a hard goodbye to this wonderful town and its people in about two weeks, but I sense it won’t be forever – I’ll just take things one step at a time, and see when I am home how I can apply the vast wisdom I was exposed to here and where fate will guide me.
The last few days we got to teach quite a bit – which helped me ease some F.E.A.R (false evidence appearing real) and I am actually starting to enjoy it more and more…it’s such a friendly and safe environment that it just feels natural. Also I have kind of feeling that the more the program progresses, the more my fiery qualities come up – which is kinda funny but also challenging…I find myself sometimes too sharp and critical.
All changes, even the most longed for, have their melancholy; for what we leave behind us is a part of ourselves; we must die to one life before we can enter another. ~Anatole France
But I still wonder where the truth lies. I have never felt like a strong, fiery body-mind… although my astrological chart somewhat points to that…Leo Ascendant and Mars featuring strongly as well, aspecting the ascendant. I just guess I have never felt balanced in my life. In my childhood I loaded up on a lot of Ama and Tamas, so that was what my body reflected, as I grew I almost wasted away, and now I am somewhere in between. It’s so funny in our small teacher training group we have quite a variety of constitutions, and my pitta friend Jack pretty much has some similar qualities in his chart, yet just a very different path in his life.
Without accepting the fact that everything changes, we cannot find perfect composure. But unfortunately, although it is true, it is difficult for us to accept it. Because we cannot accept the truth of transience, we suffer. ~Shunryu Suzuki
We went exploring Sedona and its surrounding quite a bit…walks and hikes are regular parts of the Training and the area around Sedona is just plainly stunning. We spent great time near the Creek and also had a group picnic near Buddha Beach, we went to the Out Of Africa Wildlife Park on one weekend and to the Honanki Indian Heritage site. Even if I lived here I guess it would take me few years to explore all the hikes, trails, sights that are around here. Simply amazing.
But instead of talking a lot about the program, I just like to tell you about the wonderful people that have been surrounding me over the past few weeks:
I should start with Breanna, my host. She is actually also a Yoga Teacher at 7 Centers…I remember when I went through the housing list that I marked her because she was close to the Organic Food Store *g* I really enjoy staying with her, she is very down to earth, pretty much like me. Hardly ever watches TV, and especially with the intensity of my training it is great to stay at a place where I can calm down, relax, go to bed early without any distractions.
Then there is my co-aspirants in the training, Jack and Jen. Jack is a character. I just love him – I once read in one of my astrology chart that I am very fiery and I either immediately like or dislike other fiery people. He’s a great friend these days and it is really great that he drives us other too everyday from the Center home back and forth. He is outgoing, strong, smart, sharp and by being so authentic sometimes unwillingly funny but that really benefits the whole training.
Jen’s the only woman in the training group – kind of a tough position, but after a bit of a difficult start over the weeks we really got together and have also spent a lot of quality time together. She’s sensitive, pretty empathic and inspires me by her dedication in the training.
Then there is Gary, that nice guy I met a few times on the street who is retired and used to work in the movies business who I chatted a little with in the last few days…
and then of course there is the whole faculty at 7 Centers -
Uta is the only person I can speak German with here…she is teaching at 7 Centers and just supporting us throughout the training by taking care of the breakfast, guiding us through the Karma Yoga and joining us occasionally in the training…and she has that nice Bavarian accent which also sounds pretty funny in English
Zac is guiding us through our morning sadhanas and cleansing techniques and from time to time teaches us Asana and Theory. He’s the centers Buddha, sitting there way earlier then we arrive at 5.20 am in meditation – he radiates so much inner contentment and knowledge, yet is very humble and authentic. I really like how he teaches very down to earth and practical, yet with a huge background of vast spiritual experience and knowledge.
Mira is my personal cook well, she is cooking for all of us throughout the training but she is really doing something special for me every day – which is hard to appreciate enough. She is also teaching us on Ayurveda and Herbs, and it makes me feel kind of envious to see a 25 year old girl who has knowledge and experience in all this way beyond I have yet and might ever have. She’s a sweet girl.
Avani is the Indian expert on Ayurveda. She comes in to teach us very authentic Ayurveda principles. I am always blown away by her very clear, precise and efficient, yet entertaining way to share with us what she knows.
Jeff – the Master of Anatomy. At least that is what he is teaching us in the program. Yet I guess his knowledge goes way beyond that, we get a glimpse here and there – in some instance he is similar to Zac, insofar that he is just sharing what he knows with a huge degree of humbleness and authenticity. We share the love for Vedic Chanting
Sraddha is the head of the faculty…the mastermind behind the whole program. I can hardly imagine what she has all stored in her head – there’s a lot of wisdom, experienced based knowledge and intuition from what I can tell. She has given me the feeling of being in a safe place where I can thrive and blossom which I deeply appreciate.
Sydney is organizing the Center. We see her usually while passing her office when going to the bath rooms or around lunchtime. I’ve talked quite a bit with her and also seen her astrology chart and wow, another very strong, fiery person – it so strongly reflects her role in the center – yet she is very charming and always up for a nice little chatter.
Lionheart and Xena are the two cats of the center. One is Kapha and one is Vata. Very funny combination. Yet the most outstanding thing they share is the love for my backpack…using it as a scratch tree
The dream begins with a teacher who believes in you, who tugs and pushes and leads you to the next plateau, sometimes poking you with a sharp stick called “truth.” ~Dan Rather
Well, that’s just a few more words from Sedona, I hope you all have a great time, maybe I see some of you in Cologne at the Yoga Conference soon
When the world says, “Give up,”
Hope whispers, “Try it one more time.”
~Author Unknown
Long time no blog. Finally found some time to write a blog on a sunny, hot
morning here in beautiful Sedona, Arizona. A good chance to reflect and just recollect some of the memories and impressions I gained throughout the last three weeks here. My 300 hours Yoga Therapy Training started two weeks ago and during the week it is somewhat time intensive so I hardly find time for reflection. Anyways, I arrived on April 3rd and I was pretty happy, after a lot of what if – thoughts about my first intercontinental travel alone and having to connect in London to Phoenix I arrived in Sedona pretty tired and just around 10 pm so I almost had no jet lag. The first few days I just ventured out to get a bit of an orientation in the area – one of the first things that really blew me away that in a town of maybe 10.000 people there is two huge supermarkets and one huge organic supermarket – abundance more than I had ever seen in Europe – and also a bit less costly. The second first observation is still something I have to get used to and that is the openness and friendliness of the people here…everyone asks you how you are and in a supermarket everybody excuses him or herself when they might be standing in your way or try to pass you by – so always
I hardly can tell if that is common in all parts of the USA, but I know this town has an incredibly nice vibration – so much spiritual energy around the beautiful red rocks and a rich cultural offering made me feel home here just after a few days.
The Teacher Training is great as well – we are a very small group, but the advantage of that is that we are working a lot as a group and each of us get enough space and freedom to grow and evolve during the training – and we get to know each other pretty well. I didn’t really have expectations about the training so in the first instance I was somewhat shocked by the fact that from Monday to Friday we would start at 5.30 am and usually go to 5 pm – but unlike in previous situations I simply went with the flow and the transition was smoother than I could have ever expected. The holistic structure of the program is very nice and I think the program is as much education as it is therapy for each of us.
We have our own tailor made sadhana program we do daily, our own dinacharyas, we are taught about ayurvedic herbs, asana, the concept of back breathing, pranayama, mudra, dietary suggestions, we are doing plant walks and hiking around Sedona, we are getting some incredibly deep anatomical training, we are getting wonderful ayurvedic meals, vedic lifestyle, we get to do some karma yoga, gardening, traditional yogic cleanses and a little bit of everything. It is exciting and interesting as it sounds
So what else for now? There is two cats at the center – they are so funny. One is called lion heart and has a very strong build and is hardly bothered by anything, the other one is Sina and she is pretty thin and easily triggered – yet what they share is the love for my backpack – which they use as a scratch tree…needless to say, it is now full of cat hair
Funny thing is that is usually very hot here, yet last week we had two days of winter here again – even snow! Today we are hitting probably 33 degrees celsius – I love the sun and I thrive on it – as my vedic astrology ascendant is leo and it is representing the sun.
So long, hope you have a good time
Happiness is always a by-product. It is probably a matter of temperament, and for anything I know it may be glandular. But it is not something that can be demanded from life, and if you are not happy you had better stop worrying about it and see what treasures you can pluck from your own brand of unhappiness. ~Robertson Davies
An Agent of Change.
A 27 years old Yoga Teacher,Business Man and Poet with an Ileostomy and an Open Heart.
On the Bhakti path searching for his True Self and the Love of his Life.
The interviews were nice, for me it was very valuable – usually I have been praised for my knowledge and wisdom, however here I was shown that I can make an even greater contribution by opening my heart and sharing some of the more vulnerable, emotional parts of me.
