In December, the fall season and yoga session came to a close. At the same time our community suffered the loss of one of our most dear teachers, Geeta Iyengar. She honorably and devotedly carried the torch of yoga lit by her father, BKS Iyengar. I had the opportunity to study with her numerous times in India and on a couple of her visits to Canada. She challenged me in many ways, to have courage to face reality, to eliminate distractions, to be clear and direct. As a teacher she was able to keep me in my body, in the present and out of my head.
The last time I studied with her was in India, December 2014. Her father had passed away earlier that year and she was still very raw from that loss. Her heart was open wide during that 10 day Intensive. There were about 1000 students in that arena practicing yoga, but when she spoke, every word seemed like she was talking just to me. The phrase that still stands out the most for me from that Intensive 5 years later is, “move the soul to the skin and the skin to the soul.” Not an instruction for beginners perhaps, but one that I was ready to hear.
Now, January 2019, we begin again. As we step forward into another moment, hour, day, month and year of practice, what is our intention? For me, it is to continue to practice and teach from the heart, moment by moment, what is required Now?
In gratitude to all my teachers and students as we continue to walk on this path together.
Namaste,
Marilyn