Dec 23, 2010

Michele's Personal Blog: Our foundation; Saraswati, a River, and a Swan.

Michele's Personal Blog: Our foundation; Saraswati, a River, and a Swan.: " The Herstorical Roots from where we lift off...Swan River Yoga dug it's roots into the earth beneath sea level here in New Orleans fir..."

Our foundation; Saraswati, a River, and a Swan.

 The Herstorical Roots from where we lift off...Swan River Yoga dug it's roots into the earth beneath sea level here in New Orleans first in 1998. Founded by Michele Baker, she began teaching in New Orleans just after her first yoga teacher training with Sivananda. Her first classes taught were in the Bywater on Piety street, and at the New Orleans Athletic Club.

After Hurricane Katrina, and finding the community disheartened and dispersed, Michele became very inspired to bring the community together in yet an even deeper way, in a building where healers, other teachers could be trained and teach, and numerous diverse events, healings, massage, could take place...



                                                                Thus Swan River Yoga.

She began writing 2 books while she was forced to leave her flooded home; A" Swan River Yoga Teacher Training Manual", and "Sacred Chants Iluminating Consciousness", already land marking her dream in writing, though there was no guarantee of being able to move back, due to the levees break of surging waters.

Her greatest goal become to share the joy she has always felt as a teacher by offering trainings, and to open the doors of Swan River Yoga, determined to come back, and to have a more healing relationship with water.

One key element had to be there before this could happen fully... meeting her business partner and fellow Jivamukti peer, Keith Porteous. Once these 2 converged, the cycle was complete. So many others have come into the mix now, and this potential has given us now 4 yoga studios in 3 years time. Each person has been a vital addition to the whole and reflects such benevolence and greatness in their servitude.

The first yoga studio opened in 2008 on Magazine street, along with the first ever in recorded history Yoga Teacher Training, Swan River Yoga Shala in March of 2008.



   
Holy Waters...Saraswati, a River, and a Swan.

Our region has a unique relationship with water, and we are being invited to deepen it.In India, a river is very holy. It represents our central channel, loaded with goodness and vast, infinite potential. When our central channel is clear, we are ourselves and in total union with the luminous life force. To deepen our relationship with water, we hope to bond with the grand waters and our own inner waters, deepening and healing the flow of our lives.

Our "Ishta Dev", or the personal energy in the form of Goddess that we desire to connect with the most, is Saraswati. The vertical direction of the stem of a lotus is represented by the Goddess Saraswati, connecting us to Mother Earth and Father Sky; as above, so below. She is the great reminder of the expansive ability to hear this in our lives.  The linear shape of the stem represents great organization and Cosmic order. The stem is like an antenna, reminding us of our ability to transmit and receive. Saraswati is the Goddess of refinement, art, methodology, the stars, music, and celestial knowledge. Lotus stems grow longer than any other in their environment. The stem mirrors our ability to draw into the wild, unknown darkness and experience it as something informative and organized from which we can grow and evolve. Evolution will bring greater wisdom and appreciation for where we came from, as we align with the great Cosmic web, creating more art, music, and beauty.A swan is found at the side of the great Goddess Saraswati in Yoga. Saraswati is the creative force, the Cosmic stellar birth of reality. She delivers eloquence in the healing aspects of art, music, dance and sound.Sound is thought to be the birth of our existence. To embrace sound is to come back to the source of our creation, knowing that this can happen at any moment.

The swan is the experience of our Highest Self and brightest potential.The swan swims in murky, dark waters, seducing us into our Highest potential, and elegantly reflecting to us our poise amongst struggle .May we bathe as the swan in artful connection together, experiencing the dynamic celebration and gratitude of our lives, which is new at each moment.


The 4 Tenets of Swan River Yoga

Swan River Yoga has 4 tenets that mile mark the experience you will have at any studio location or with any teacher that has trained in this method. Everyone involved with Swan River desires and embodies these things. It is why it is such a high vibrational, blessed group of light beings.

1. Community; We find community to be the modern day translation of what yoga truly is. If one person is left behind in their evolution, we are all left behind. Practicing yoga now means beings concerned about others, and getting them involved in their own independence. Community comes first at Swan River. Everyone that comes to us, or facilitates healing in some way, has a tremendous amount to give, and we want to see it. To us, it is about activating the Highest in each person so we may celebrate their greatness. It is important to know that is is possible to always have a place to go to vibe on the direct , positive transmission of one another, counting on a chosen family tribe. We are in service to our community, and want everyone to shine equally, and in the Highest.
2. Integrity; Every teacher must sign an extensive Ethics form to teach at any of our locations. To have the humble opportunity to serve others is a tremendous gift and High responsibility that we do not take lightly. We know the trusting purity of the relationships we are cultivating, and maintain daily practices ourselves to provide consistent quality to all that we serve, to the best of our human capacity. It is important to us to always do our best, and give our optimal. We are all reflecting to you your greatest potential and we are so blessed that you come to see what that is. We are so humbled by the trust bestowed to us. It keeps us working very hard to heal and clear ourselves, so that we have the best to give in every way.
3. Art; We honor the exciting diversity of all beings. The more different the better. We invite all walks of life to be with us. We never want to promote homogeny. We promote Oneness. Yogis are radical beings, and those that want to get to the roots of all things are wild, even in their loving compassion. Yogis are making art, in the form of asana, song, dance, spoken word, and a creative life style. Yogis are bold beings that enjoy going first, stepping forward, dissolving boundaries, and seeing things in unusual, dynamic, and celebratory ways. We highly promote this at Swan River. We promote our classes being taught creatively and honoring all of the paths of yoga as art forms. We promote our students beings as unique in their experience as possible, and openly revealing it, feeling comfortable and accepted in who they are. This is an exciting way to learn and grow. We want to be sure we give out the real deal.
4. Beauty; Beauty comes in all forms. It is not always so obvious at first. It is not always what seems pretty. Challenge can be beautiful. It is what brought Swan River Yoga to it's resurrection, and brought us all together. Every student should leave Swan River Yoga feeling life affirmed and more beautific, whether they are in challenge or celebration. Yoga is our lives. It is not a separate practice. When we connect with the beauty of the moment, and we are here and now, there is total alignment of the Grace of the great River. It is our goal that, to the best of our ability, as a teacher or in our studios, each student always leave with this direct experience of grace flowing through them like a river. If they do not feel life affirmed, we as leaders and teachers must directly look into ourselves to see what we overlooked in our desire to serve in the highest. In all things, we wish to exemplify a quality of beauty.

 "The river is flowing, flowing and flowing, the river is flowing back to the sea. Mother carry me, your child, I will always be. Mother carry me, back to the sea." Celtic Folk Song

Dec 22, 2010

And Then There Was Light; The Day After Winter Solstice

December 22, 2010

  Winter Solstice is such a nurturing reminder to slow down,  cultivate ideas for new seed planting, cloak ourselves, sit in silence, introspect, and be honest. I love to use this as a time to meditate more, be quiet for hours, and to ask nature, my spiritual guides, teachers, and Universal Grace to give me the chance to see more clearly, my blind spots, so that I might grow in personal harvest. This is not always a pleasant process and there are parts to this time of year that are challenging for me in it's shadowy nature. I am often a very Yang/Sun like, outward soul, as I am in front of the public, and am gathering a network at all times, socially concerned and in love with my community. This time of year I get more sensitive, and I can see some of my own personal resistances, or deep grooves of my personality, become exposed. I ask for this each year and wish for it to be so.  It is a time of uncovering and going in, getting comfortable in the dark by softening into what is uncomfortable. There will always be pain and challenge. The key is to cultivate a practice where we do not harden around it more. My inner, personal honesty does evolve the more that I practice this consciously. I know exactly what it is that I want to work on, transmute, shed light upon,  tackle, however you see it, every time this season comes about. I am grateful for this. Each time I offer these disconnected resistances, I feel a bit extracted, dismantled, and pulled a little bit apart. It can leave one feeling quite raw. And I ask for this for the holidays, each time they come!
    Something that I have learned, in this amount of exposure and transparency that I desire, is that I must create offering, and get real. It is not always about bliss, peace and happiness in the moment. It is like homeopathy, we offer our resistance to make the resistance come out, and it will grip on for a short while longer, with even more intensity. Resistance wants one last chance.
That is why this time of year can really be used as a window of opportunity for us all, as we gather, support one another, and create warmth so that no one is left in the dark. It is a chance to have exposure, a micro apocalypse, and to get these things out into the light, and offered up into the light, thus accessing more light that already resides within us. A wonderful Mantra that comes in handy for this... "Svaha"... "I offer it up into the fire", or "moving on".
   After the shortest day of the year, where there is the least amount of light, many ancient cultures and yogis used to believe that the sun was indeed never coming back, due to it's low horizon, closeness, and shortened duration. It was only until the repetition of this cycle, and through noticing and being in deep wise connection, that humans noted that the sun did indeed come back.  That the darkness was not forever, even if it felt like it at the time. Thus, it brought greater value to the sun to see it again. It shone brighter than ever before. This was the day after Winter Solstice, where the darkness was indeed the cure for shaking us up a bit, diving into the mystery, and coming out, exposed as we are, even more resilient, more luminous, more radiant,  and wildly strong, like the element of light/fire, and the life giving quality of the Sun.



   I was just in Hattiesburg, MS at The Yoga Room for a Winter Solstice Celebration of yoga, chanting, meditation, and storytelling. It was a direct premonition of this earth holy day. Just as I was just finishing up talking about darkness, and speaking of the greater profoundness of light after it is dark, a fire broke out in the studio, right before my eyes. For real! It burned the floor and was difficult to put out. It showed us all, in that moment, all 40 of us from the south, the transformative qualities that we all embody. It was a direct, tactile reminder of our courage to go in, know the dark well.... and bring it out into the fire... And then there was light.


   I am so grateful to all courageous souls that want to know the truth, and life authentically to carry this within them. It is a wonderful lesson that I have learned. Even in the ebb and flow of our lives, up/down, in/out, there is always a great center we can access, in rawness or joy, and in either of these cases, we are always protected and nurtured in our center. It doesn't lesson in either case, because it comes from within, free of any conditions at all. May we honor the sun and the moon, the dark and light within us all. It is vital on the abundant pilgrimage that we are on. Everything is of great worth. From the vantage point of our center of balance, like the unusual eclipse we just had, we will always appreciate and notice the holiness of which we are a part.

Dec 15, 2010

Lift Off From the Foundation

December 15, 2010

    In our yoga classes this month, our studios are focusing in on a book from one of my very first Jivamukti Yoga teachers ever (after Sharon Gannon, who was auspiciously my first in 1996) , Lady Ruth Lauer, entitled "Sweeping The Dust". I love her emphasis that when you practice, A LOT, you become more simple, more sensitive, with a greater appreciation of preciousness to everything around you. You see the life eco-system that we all reside in and are, and that this system has specifically been created, upheld, and protected just for us, just for you, to be able to enjoy and further explore the blessings we partake in daily. When I was in Mexico last year on our annual New Years Retreats, a had a Huichol Medicine Man tell me that I have many ancestors that are assisting in holding me up, and in providing for me. They pray for me daily in the Akasha, and want the most tremendous amounts of freedom and happiness for me. That was a sacred, still moment for me. I had realized there was a certain part of my familial line that I never have considered, or noticed, or taken the time to thank. Then I began to note that perhaps I am also doing this with the animals around me, the earth beneath my feet, the water that I live on. It gave me a whole new understanding of all things that have been set up just so for us to be in this holy moment.  The whole idea is that once we acknowledge all that has come before us, there are many things in nature and in the spirit world, that want to provide even more, and they can not, if we do not notice. This was a valuable teaching to me, and each morning I thank my ancestors, my teachers, embodied and not, animal teachers, plant teachers, mineral teachers, etc, along with obvious friends, family, students and companions that wish these things for us also.
   It is so vital that we feel encouraged and supported by the co-participatory atmosphere in which we are a unique and crucial part. Especially as we ever expand and grow, as conditions can increase, there is still an essence of simplicity connecting us all together in a shared eco-system of wild love.
   We now have 4 studios in the making at Swan River Yoga. One in each each neighborhood of the city, the Marigny, the Lower Garden District, Mid-City, and now, coming January 20th, in Arabi, LA, http://www.arabi.swanriveryoga.com/ just below the Lower 9. To have been able to even consider this a possibility, there are so many others that have come before us, to "sweep the dust", and create space for this to happen in our area. This is history in the making in New Orleans and the greater area, and everything had to be just so, perfectly set up in the environment, in the region, in the meeting of souls, all on the right path, getting to this place, and yearning for the same thing.


                                     Eka Pada Galavasana in San Jose, Costa Rica



 In our culture, it is not quite as popular as in others to honor those that have come before us, be it the spirits, or perhaps those older, as the wise "crones" that know. Age is not popularized in our media at all, yet, it is through this depth that we are able to truly move and push through a stuck energy, with all of those rooting for us, and offering us tremendous wisdom, for indeed, little do we know, they have set the stage. It is unbelievable to me that we have come this far in the south with so many healing arts now available, and ever spreading. I would never have imagined this when I first began teaching in my home on Piety street in 1998. Yet, what happened before this? Who was there, re-arranging things for all of this to come to be? I thank those beings and spirits, for sometimes, I have not always wondered, and do not know.
    To witness those that crave this same inter-connected path, and strive so hard daily, to keep the momentum moving forward, humbles me, and even more so now, as I see just how relentless and determined one must be for good.  When I get the auspicious gift of being around my teachers, I do see just how hard they work, practice, move energy, for the sake of all beings. They do it all the time. They do it in the sleep, when they eat, when they are on their computers.  A great quote from Ruth's book... "when you know where everything has arisen from, you become humble".  To imagine those working in other planes, having set up the alignment of all of us having the opportunity to do this healing work truly does humble me. To me, it is the greatest gift we have, to offer our purpose and service to others, and so many others are doing this for us right now.
  Each morning I remember to say thank you, everything amplifies. I thank all beings that I may not even know that are assisting me, and it all just gets bigger as a result. It all feels more profound, more full of purpose, more aligned, and very protected and supported. I wish to thank all the beings that have invited the lift off for us. We have a solid foundation in the swamp. That is miraculous in itself. And there is so much potential in that  freedom flight, due to our free will to align with all that supports us.  The mystery of the Universal network brings great wonder in it's origin. We are all so honored to be granted and aligned with this gift of flight.  May we all be able to remember where all things come from, far beyond any one of us, yet totally in co-participation with us in elegant, magical synchronicity. May we all get synched up with the simple wonder.

Dec 12, 2010

Sivas Dance of the Divine Gulf Coast Tour; The Cosmic Mirrors

   Each year I travel the Gulf Coast Region in various studios in Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, and Florida, just after our Swan River Yoga Teacher Training has completed.
It brings me a great Cosmic view, to witness the looming of our region, and the Universal order that time and space provide, if we remain in that big picture.  Being a gypsy at heart, I love to network, gather, offer and amplify the purpose of each being that I come into contact with. One of my spirit animals, truly surprising to me at the time, is a spider. A spider likes to gather those into the great Cosmic web, and to story tell.  It blows me away to see the great Cosmic mirror that gets placed before me each time I interact with and meet another soul and honor their connection the the web of which we are all a threaded,  sewn part.
   The Gulf Coast is unique in that we have a very sacred, and personal relationship with the element of water. Each time I leave New Orleans, in any direction, I am reminded of this in an instant. There are waterways, lakes, bogs, and bayous in any direction you take out of town, and an entire Gulf in close reach. Each one of us in these states has had numerous, up close, and personal encounters with the element of water. We all share a unique karma, with interwoven teachings from this element. This seems to happen again and again.
  I see the Gulf yogis as serious pioneers in their relentless determination for healing and the perseverance of warmth and community. Water is an element that connects us all together, in her softness, her reflection, her cleansing, her reception, as well as her power, fierceness, and swelling destructive traits. These same qualities I witness, and a more elevated level, each time I visit all of the studios and yogis. Each time I see a greater being, a drop of the ocean, connected to the whole. I see more depth, more authenticity, and a deeper concern to connect to the flow of their lives and surroundings. I also see stagnations that once before seemed so stuck for us here in the south washed away, and a greater healing community swimming in their current, creating a deeper relationship with their surroundings of which they are a part.
   There are often great, dense forces in our region that can truly be resistant to change, or to light. I feel the charge of the currents of the life force of shakti moving in relationship with these energies, and all of us gaining momentum and permission to truly be able to do our work of service, healing, sharing, loving, living fully.

  I was just in Baton Rouge all day yesterday, have been in Pensacola, FL at Abhaya Yoga, Ocean Springs at River Rock Yoga, Lafayette, LA, and soon I will go to Hattiesburg, MS to the Yoga Room and Fairhope, AL to YogaBirds... I am truly honored to have such luminous reflective mirror from each of these yogis, working hard to keep it real, to cleanse, and swim in the currents, waves, swells, swamps of our life. Thank you dear Gulf Coast Yogis are being the great Cosmic Mirror, and setting examples to others in the world of the shimmering potential within us all. We are all on the same team, this blue grid. Lets continue to reflect the strength of the web to others ever feeling the struggle of disconnect. 
 Om Namah Shivaya.