Yogarosa Blog

On Friday, Dec. 14th, the day began with celebrations for the 94th birthday of BKS Iyengar. By lunchtime, celebrations were unimagineable as news of yet another senseless slaughter of innocent people. 6 and 7 year olds, and the teachers who protected them. We don't need to wait until Dec. 21st, 2012 to witness the end of the world. The world ended for the parents of those children. It ended for their siblings, their aunts, uncles, grandmothers, and grandfathers. It ended for the families of the heroes who shielded them. The world has ended when a parent goes to pick up a child at school, and finds out there is only a body. That the hugs will never be again. The only thing left is a memory. Pictures. Thoughts of what could have been. Perhaps the yearning to have uttered the words "I love you" more often, or at least one more time. As a community comes together in shock, to understand the madness, let us come together as a human race to support those grieving families. T

As I sit here and ponder the meaning of gratitude, I go through the list of those that I love. The people that add meaning to my life, and for whom I would do anything. My loved ones who have shared many happy moments, and history with me. Then I start to think about all that has enriched my life, and has brought me to being the person I am today, right now. And it dawns on me that I wouldn't be who I am without the hard lessons, the suffering and the tears as well. The joyful experiences have made life worthwhile, but it's the hard knocks of life that help me to appreciate the happy times. I have grown the most in the most hurtful situations, and the difficult moments have forced me to evolve. To evolve into a person who can see the joys and sorrows of life, the successes and failures, and continue on with resilience, dignity, and some sort of grace. I am grateful for each experience, each person, that has marked my life, whether at the time I "labeled" the experien

A senseless killing. We are all witnesses. But what are we willing to do? Blame someone? What if we looked at the Aurora killings, and all the other horrific killings we have witnessed and ask ourselves, how did I contribute to that? And what can we do to prevent another gut wrenching massacre like this one? Or can we? As difficult as this has been to watch, and to read, we need to look at ourselves. Inside. Deep inside. Most of us harbor anger, at some point in our lives. It is healthy to express and feel it fully. It is not ok to take it out on innocent people. But right now we are all angry. Angry at ourselves. For tolerating and witnessing one more death. In front of our faces. We have all participated in this. By allowing ourselves the belief that we are safe if we bear arms. Thinking that we will be able to defend ourselves if someone points at us first. But that's just the delusion. We don't hear of anyone bearing their arms to defend themselves. Except maybe at war. B

My students teach me more than I teach them. And during my classes, I acquire knowledge. As my students learn, so do I. So it was last Tuesday. As I taught the 7pm class, I had a revelation. As children, we sing, dance and play continuously. Especially during the ages of three and four, children are in a magical world. Their world is beautiful, and the possibilities are endless. They can become anything, or anyone. They can go anywhere. The world is full of adventure, and they live in a world full of love. I remember hearing my three year old daughter, (now 20) singing a song from the show Barney, a purple dinosaur who had a heart of gold. The lyrics were "I love you, you love me, we're a happy family, with a great big hug and a kiss from me to you, won't you say you love me too." (sing to the tune of this old man.) Children are naturally full of love, and that love is displayed in the way they move, singing happily, dancing with abandon, and living each moment fully