I have to be very honest, winter is very challenging for me. I do my best to see all the goodness, I really do, but when winter begins, man does it kick my spiritual booty! I don't often have time to sit and meditate on my themes for my classes. I'm working on being more efficient in my themeing and conveying more of the Anusara Principles of Alignment ™ and Philosophy more clearly, but as I'm sure some of you teachers know this requires work, time and study. The clearer and simpler a teacher's theme is the more skilled and experienced they are (at least that's my observation). It's kinda like watching a great dancer, you only see the beauty of the art, you get pulled into the dance itself, not the specifics of the dance, the steps, how many hours the artist had to rehearse in order to make it seamless... I'm getting more and more adept at allowing nature to guide me into what I teach. This generally happens during my walk to teach my yoga class. I've learned to let go of 'what I have to do' and simply allow myself to listen and to drink inspiration freely. Thank God for Christmas lights! They were so beautiful! They showed me things I hadn't seen in a while, streets that I walk often shifted and shone in a different way. I was more intrigued by what was going inside the homes that the outside. I saw beautifully decorated houses whose windows shone so bright. I saw shapes and figures all inviting me to step deeper into the homes, into the warmth of the inner dwelling. I realized that the holiday lights where put there in a very strategic way, they weren't just randomly placed, they weren't merely thrown out, but carefully thought out and generally speaking, placed in ways that would enhance each individual dwelling. The specificity of the way the light was cast out was a clear reflection of the owners time, thought and commitment. I saw that in order to place these lights optimally the dweller must first be willing to search the closets, the basements, the attics, to get the boxes out and choose what to cast out. What makes this so glorious is that all this beauty wouldn't be seen if it wasn't for the shorter and darker days of winter. The winter serves to take us deeper into the closet of the self so that we may bring out the decorations of light and enhance the world around us by the way in which we choose to cast our own individual light out into the world. Vasudeva vasu = dwelling place deva = the light The nature of the universe is how you choose to pour the light of consciousness into the dwelling place of the self. As you do this oh how it shines brightly all around, showing off those mighty beautiful lights. How do you choose to create a dwelling place of light? Just putting that out there.... So, given all that, this week's class is a Level 2 class, I know it's been a while! Let me know your thoughts, I always ADORE hearing from you all!!!! you can call me at 310 651 6238 email me at eyogaclass@gmail.com or comment at elsiesyogakula.com :) Remember this podcast is brought to you by the Elsie's Yoga Class Podcast App for the iPhone, a lovely way to support the podcast if you happen to own an iPhone or iPod Touch. $3.99 in iTunes! $3.99!!!! That's pretty cheap if you ask me! Consider purchasing it!