Monday Morning Office Yoga

For a few months now I have been teaching a lovely Monday morning group at 8 am at Wall Street. This class is usually taught by my friend and fellow yogini, Katie, who is currently assisting Swami Shivam in India with Teacher Training. I had the pleasure to work with these lovely folks before, and they maintain that it is a wonderful way to begin the work week. These office yogis look forward to their Monday morning yoga and demonstrate discipline and enthusiasm towards their yoga practice. We meet in a gray Board Room, and progress into a lovely Hatha Yoga practice. As it is Monday morning it is not extremely challenging, but as with most of my classes, participants leave slightly damp. With light music playing we deepen our practice, and settle our minds to face the work week with a brilliant sense of inner peace. While the size of the group fluctuates from week to week, we spent weeks working on Balance (Tree Pose) and Tripod Headstand. Both poses, I am thrilled to say were done with ease and collective consciousness towards this last week. As Katie is making her way back to the US, I will miss this lovely group! Thank you guys for making Monday morning so much fun! Your dedication displayed by coming to work early on a Monday morning (of all days) to practice yoga, is admirable. You all did so wonderful! Hope to share a yoga practice with you guys again some day. ~Peace & hugs, Ambria

Guru

While the question of Guru can come into play for many people who practice yoga. In Sanskrit Gu translates into darkness, and Ru translates into light therefore a guru is someone who takes you out of darkness and brings you to light or enlightenment. These people often times have profound knowledge and wisdom and can often times be considered saintly. My first guru is my mom. With Mothers Day approaching, I have to admit that I miss the presence of my dear mom. She was my best friend, and her love lives in me every day. She inspired my faith, and my love for music. Telling me to always be true to myself, and keep God first in my heart. Teaching me to treat the world around me with love and have gratitude in my heart. While I have been blessed with many amazing teachers, music teachers, and students who have enlightened me in many ways, my mom and my dad did such an amazing job of leading me to light, I never really regarded many other people as a Guru.

Now in the yoga world, someone who I would be happy to call Guru is Swami Shivam. Swami Shivam is the Yogi at the Siddhartha Yoga Center in India. Not so long ago, I wanted to meet this gentle Yogi when he was coming to NYC. I had wanted to do a meditation workshop with him. While It was a time in my life when I was unsure if I could afford the sessions, and they seemed to be full, just how the universe always works, his dear friend (who ironically worked in a lovely Indian restaurant that I had frequented) arranged for me to meet him. If it is meant to happen, it will. I was so thrilled to experience his meditation workshop and did my best to arrange for him to conduct workshops at various yoga studios in the NY. Those that participated experienced the authentic loving heart this yogi brings to the practice of yoga. At the time I was a new "Full Time Yogi" who was experiencing obstacles in the yoga community. He said many profound things to me, and one was when he explained to me something so simple, I had already known, but obviously forgot.

"The universe is abundant, never say you want only 10 clients, because you may not even get 10, rather say you want 10,000 and witness what an amazing Universe we belong to. We get what we focus on." My current date book is testament to this truth. This philosophy goes with many areas of our lives. Thus, the importance of practicing healthy habits, surrounding ourselves with positive energy, and maintaining a zest for life. Thank you Swami Shivam for shinning light into my heart. Swami Shivam is currently conducting teacher training at his center in the lovely northern region of India. I hope you return to NYC to share your light with more people.

Picture: Swami Shivam & Ambria