Love Service and Inovocation

Taking Mandy Eubanks class over the weekend at the Love & Service retreat was a wonderful surprise. I have to admit I not only didn't know Mandy, but I didn't know that she was an Anusara goddess in the making. (She's nearly completed a long 5 year challenging certification to become an official Anusara teacher. I'm sure there's some fancy title for that?) It's like getting a free extra scoop of (coffee with butterfingers) ice cream when you were just going to get the kiddie cup. Delicious! I just thought I was going to a neat get-away with a cool-sounding instructor that I found on the internet, Lauran Janes whose philosophy on community and what she went through to get to the path she's on now was inspiring. (Lauran's Love Yoga Coop in Austin). A little stalker-ish but hey, the results were good. I felt like I was with yoga rock stars in the making... some amazing folks... Jacy (she made a zillion of these origami cranes and put them up in the coop- what a big heart!) Meredith (a glorious desire to step off into the unknown and with the ability to do it, if she so chooses.) Marion (has an adopted son... I have goose bumps just typing that-- it takes so much - from a place that many people only think about but yet, she acted on it.) John (can I just say- cool as ice. yogi bike messenger. and get this... he teaches at none other than the coolest place on earth (in my wanna-be cyclist opinion), lance armstrong's bike shop, mellow johnny's. some major cycle junkies are actually getting yoga-fied. awesome.) Ed (fruit by the pallet! my son is so enamored with the idea of how much fruit he bought. peaches & cream. yum!) Joseph (quiet but with such a keen interest in all things gourmet and exotic travel. I just might stow away in his bag for his next trip to OZ.) Lauran's mom, better known as "mom" (all around massage therapist and life philosopher- giving and intuitive.) Carrie (with a view of the world and of herself that has depth. it will be great to see in which direction her new vision for life will take her.) Ally (views life from the angle of sacred awe and big eyes!) Below is the invocation that we chanted before each class. Everyone was already exposed to a lot of Anusara yoga & seemed to know it well. I heard the chant when Christina Sells came to Houston but had forgotten just how powerful chanting can be. When you speak it, the sound vibrations resonate long after the chant is complete. When you listen, it's like the sounds fill your ears with an inner ringing that lingers and fills the darkened places and replaces it with a feeling similar to singing in church- unifying beauty. Unified. Community. Om Namah Shivaya Gurave Saccidananda Murtaye Nischprapanchaya Shantaya Niralambaya Tejase I bow to the goodness within myself, known as Lord Shiva, who is the true teacher. This essence inside takes the form of truth, consciousness, and bliss Always present and full of peace, this essence inside is completely free, and sparkles with a divine luster.