I believe that while yes our practices can reconnect mind and body, and this is valuable - I would argue even radical in our current society - it can do so much more…reconnect us with Earth, with Nature, and in doing that help us remember our inner Nature.

 

Most Yoga is Anthropocentric - even Egocentric…which is ironic because what we really crave is union, connection, belonging…a sense of home - in our selves, our bodies, within our families, cultures, Earth.

 

I believe that our practices would do well to shift to an Ecocentric and Kin-centric way of being.

(I think it's really interesting that the word eco comes from the greek word home) 
 

I believe we need to remember how to just be WITH ourselves, each other, and Nature without trying to make things into something else…we need to remember how to relationship.

 

I believe that we need to stop thinking of Earth only as our Mother, step out of being the proverbial spoiled child that demands and takes, and grow into a relationship where we become lovers of Earth and start to take care of her.

 

Back to a time when we saw ourselves in Nature, and Nature in ourselves

 

To me, being peaceful & connected is a natural state, it’s like a bed at a party that’s covered in 7000 coats. The bed is there you just can’t see it…but once you start to put the coats away, the bed emerges. Our society likes to coat us with so many layers that our deepest parts, the aspects that know how to be peaceful, connected, whole can’t be felt or seen…just a vague feeling that there’s something under all that.

 

Nature has a voice, there are things to communicate - they just aren’t in English, Spanish, French, Russian - this is the same language that our bodies have. 

 

When we stop hearing Nature, we stop hearing our bodies.  We can hear Nature through our bodies.

 

So our practice is about coming home to our body, our being, our Nature…Earth.

 

I believe many of us come to Yoga searching or longing for something - at first it may be connection with body, mind, emotion, self…a calming arises and then a bridge emerges and we begin to see others through this…and then life.  I suggest that  

 

Can’t teach the experience of Yoga, but we can help others to understand and gain skill in the yogic tools (asana, pranayama, )...we can help them get a better sense of home so that they can remember the 

 

Every practice is unique, we each will weave together different tools used in unique ways that will help us to dissolve & quiet the patterns of thinking & fluctuations of the mind…helping us to  build the space that union requires to be remembered in.

 

There is a lot of Yoga that is about domination & force - force the body into these postures instead of take this tiem to commune, understand, explore, communicate, our bodies.

 

Just because we aren’t practicing with other humans doesn’t mean we are practicing alone…in fact this non-human centric practice is very healing 

 

To me our inner Nature is the same ‘thing’ as Nature.