In her book, Once Divided: Words and Images, Susan—who serves as both author and photographer—offers a curated selection of professional images she shot over many years combined with her own personal verse.

The musings are perfect to be read aloud to settle students into savasana, as fodder for guided meditations or meaningful contemplations, or to serve as a springboard for creative journaling sessions. In order to facilitate the reader’s creative process, Susan even includes a few pages without words yet touched by the soft visuals that speak to her signature style as an artist.

Both the photos and words reveal something about Susan’s own practice. Her years as a yoga student, well-loved teacher, and sincere meditator are evident here. The soul that shines through the pages becomes even more obvious on repeated readings. I found myself re-reading meaningful passages such as her poem titled “interludes” with her reflection on “inhale, exhale….reach, fold….the small spaces tucked in between, infinite opportunities, game changers, the effects rippling…”

It’s what you leave out, what is left unsaid… this is the sound of less.

The effects of this work certainly ripple and offer a signpost for the reader’s own wanderings. Through her poems, Susan gives us as the reader permission to find the space between our thoughts and the moments between items on our to-lists. These moments are when we can ponder ideas like, as Susan eloquently says, “It’s what you leave out, what is left unsaid, this is how we arrive, this is the sound of less.”

The sound of less can give us much more in terms of insight and reflection. Fortunately, the size of the paperback is just right for sliding into a yoga mat bag. Once Divided is perfect for a teacher looking for new inspiration to read to students, or for any of us to spark our own insight.

Connect with Susan Currie at www.susancurriecreative.com.

Once Divided is published by Shanti Arts Press.

Felicia M. Tomasko

Felicia Tomasko has spent more of her life practicing Yoga and Ayurveda than not. She first became introduced to the teachings through the writings of the Transcendentalists, through meditation, and using asana to cross-train for her practice of cross-country running. Between beginning her commitment to Yoga and Ayurveda and today, she earned degrees in environmental biology and anthropology and nursing, and certifications in the practice and teaching of yoga, yoga therapy, and Ayurveda while working in fields including cognitive neuroscience and plant biochemistry. Her commitment to writing is at least as long as her commitment to yoga. Working on everything related to the written word from newspapers to magazines to websites to books, Felicia has been writing and editing professionally since college. In order to feel like a teenager again, Felicia has pulled out her running shoes for regular interval sessions throughout Southern California. Since the very first issue of LA YOGA, Felicia has been part of the team and the growth and development of the Bliss Network.

www.blissnetwork.com

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Writer and musician Brian Michael Tracy’s latest release, The Mystical Prism of Being, invites us into a soundscape of emotion, desire, and repentance through a sonic filter that merges Tracy’s mystical poetry as spoken word performance with classic rock ballad covers, sung in the original lyrics, as a medley, flowing in and out of one another. The album consists of three tracks presented as ‘acts’, each an average of 15 minutes. The first act, titled “A Virgin Birth,” is ripe with sexual metaphor and vivid description of the fluids that accompany human birth. It is set to Sting’s “Sister Moon” and Van Morrison’s “Inarticulate Speech of the Heart.”

The second act, titled “Our Last Supper,” explores the emotions that accompany inevitable loss. Tracy interweaves the completion of a romance with the image of death – at the burial grounds – set to Leonard Cohen’s “Alexandra Leaving” and Robbie Robertson’s “Fallen Angel.”

The final act, appropriately titled “Ascension,” invokes the process of a soul making peace with the eternal All-That-Is. Beautiful and mystical, it promises a life renewed, reborn in new skin. Natalie Merchant’s “The Gulf of Araby,” Bob Dylan’s “Every Grain of Sand,” and The Grateful Dead’s “Brokedown Palace” complete the sonic journey.

Tracy’s musical team includes Springsteen’s collaborator Marty Rifkin and South Bay musicians Andy Hill and Renee Safier. Set to release on Good Friday, this album is appropriate for casual listening, an end-of-yoga-class savasana, or a lazy Sunday afternoon.

(Brian Michael Tracy/CD Baby)

Reviewed by Aria Morgan, a writer, yoga teacher, and birth coach who loves handstands and kombucha: ariamorgan.com

Aria Morgan

Aria Morgan is a yoga teacher, doula and music lover who finds inspiration in nature: ariamorgan.com.

www.ariamorgan.com

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Walking through the door of New Moon Wellness is like entering a cozy living room. The warm wood floors and inviting sofas set a tone suitable for owner Andrea Gootnick’s vision to create a holistic community center. Andrea is an activist, life coach, and 26 year resident of the Conejo Valley who was largely influenced by her parents, especially her father. Andrea says, “My intention is to provide a space that opens hearts, minds, and souls to wellness and self-development.  My father was an educator and carved his own path through experiential learning. That is where my core is; there is a tremendous amount to learn about yourself while you are hiking or having a discussion.”

Many have already experienced the magic at New Moon through one of the events that include monthly kirtan, poetry, acoustic night, essential oil workshops, health and wellness speakers, and even intentional hiking journeys. While visiting New Moon, take advantage of the other offerings: a spirit store with an assortment of candles and wellness products by local vendors, tea and organic kombucha on tap, and even a gallery featuring rotating artists.

There is something unique about this small space nestled in an Agoura Hills strip mall. Most likely, this vibe is the manifestation of Andrea’s radiating spirit, as it is evident that she has poured her heart into her first store. Just as a New Moon is an opportunity for a fresh start, New Moon Wellness provides access to health and wellness. New Moon Wellness also hosts guest speakers such as local authors and healers, meditation evenings, vision board workshops, and women’s circles.   

New Moon Wellness

30315 Canwood Street, Suite 9

Agoura Hills, CA 91301

818-851-0543; new-moonwellness.com

Natalie Macam

Natalie Macam is a Yoga Teacher who teaches locally in Los Angeles: www.nataliemacam.com.

www.nataliemacam.com

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Life Unscripted: Daniel Ladinsky sits down with Betsy Chasse to talk about Rumi, Hafiz, and his journey as a book author

I was first introduced to the Sufi poet Hafiz in a yoga class.  I can’t even remember to poem the teacher read, but it spoke to me, and I immediately sought out this Hafiz guy.  I came across The Gift by Hafiz and someone named Daniel Ladinsky.  Of the many wonderful poems in the book, one grabbed me:

What do sad people have in common?

It seems that have all built a shrine to the past

And often go there and do a strange wail

and worship

What is the beginning of happiness?

To stop being so religious like that.

Brilliant, straightforward and spot on . . .  I mean, doesn’t that just sum up the whole spiritual journey?  Stop living in the past, let go of your beliefs about what you think IS and live in the moment?  It was both stern and a little bit cheeky, but could a guy living in the 1300s really write that?  I expected something much more esoteric and flowery, and well, you know, 1300s-like.

Hafiz is a 14th century Persian poet whose works are highly regarded in Persian literature, used in songs, and portrayed in art.  He is a legend.  His poems are memorized by Persians in most Iranian homes, even today.

Hafiz was also a rebel, wanting his people to be lifted up from ignorance and tyranny.  At one point, the powers that be wanted to erase him from history, but his words so profoundly touched and inspired the people, that his legacy has lived on for centuries.

The Gift was translated by Daniel Ladinsky, and I reached out to him to obtain permission to use the poem in my book.  Daniel, like Hafiz, has a rebellious side, mixed in with a knack for making you feel like the most beautiful woman in the world.  He agreed to let me use the poem, and I invited him to LA to get to know the man behind some of the world’s most beloved poems and poets.

My first impression of Daniel is of a rugged mountain man with a twinkle in his eye that says, “Maybe don’t take everything I say so seriously, but then again maybe you should.”  Daniel is every bit of what I expected who brings Rumi and Hafiz to life, all three can leave you breathless and on your knees with a giggle in your heart.

I learned that he was inspired by the mystery of God and mysticism at an early age, having had his first mystical experience by the time he was five.  He suffered with severe stuttering as a child, which sent him deep within, shying away from the outer world.  Daniel made his way through a special school and eventually to college where he spent most of his time alone in the desert in search of that God he once met as a child.

On one of his adventures, he came across the book God Speaks by Meher Baba, who would eventually lead him to Rumi and Hafiz.  That book, which, at first, left him more baffled than enlightened, sent him on a quest that started a the Mexican border, landed him in South Carolina, then to India (with the intimate disciples and family of Avatar Meher Baba), and into our hearts through his translations of Rumi and Hafiz and other poet-saints.  Watch our interview to discover what caused Daniel to make a left turn at the border.

Daniel Ladinsky is one of the most successful writers in the world who works with poetry.  Ladinsky’s six books are all in print with Penguin: A Year With Hafiz, The Gift, Love Poems From God, The Subject Tonight Is Love, I Heard God Laughing and his most recent Rumi collection, The Purity of Desire.

Follow Daniel Ladinsky on Twitter @cowgirlhaiku and watch for his YouTube Channel.

Betsy is an author (Tipping Sacred Cows, Metanoia- A Transformative Change of Heart, and books related to her film What The Bleep Do We Know?.  She has produced other award-winning documentaries, including Song of the New Earth and Pregnant In America.  She is currently in production on a new film, The Empty Womb — An exploration in the creative potential of the masculine and feminine.  Betsychasse.net

Betsy Chasse

Betsy Chasse is an award winning filmmaker (What The Bleep Do We Know?!, Song of the New Earth, Pregnant In America) and best selling author (Tipping Sacred Cows, It Came Out of My Vagina, Now What?! – A book on Conscious Parenting) You can learn more about her at www.betsychasse.net

betsychasse.net

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A River of Knowing
by Terre Ouwehand

There is a river
of Knowing.

All are called.
All may drink.

Drawn by some deep
instinct, disclosed or un—

Some take a drop on their lips,
others gulp unutterable draughts,
some wash sleep from their eyes

All are called.
All are welcome.

Some are not thirsty,
others bring no ladle,
some find the taste unpleasing,
some do not trust the well-spring.

O mortal,
take a spoon
and measure the volume
of your soul.

Terre Ouwehand’s latest poetry collection is Singing at the Center. Ouwehand is a long-time Yoga student and associate professor of English at Santa Barbara City College where her classes include sacred literature, creative writing, literature, and reading and composition. She is also an accomplished playwright, whose one-woman show, O’Keeffe, has been touring colleges and art museums since 1990.

The Poet’s Corner is curated by Jazmine Green, a writer and poetry lover who has studied poetry at UCLA and Chapman University.  Her own creative writing has been published in various independent collections and journals. She enjoys the juxtaposition of unusual words and images and is always looking for universal truths exposed in new and exciting ways.  Please submit poetry for consideration to: poetry@layogamagazine.com.

Staff Writer Lakshmi

The post Nov 2011 Poet’s Corner appeared first on LA Yoga Magazine - Ayurveda & Health.

Full Revolution
by Kimberly Y. Peters

Intentions to produce incessantly
Without limitations
The best of me
Inner conception birthing
Healed not wilted
Spirit filled not tilted

To see myself in full revolution
Not detouring
Receiving and pouring
Accepting imperfection
Growing from my natural selection

Pressure and rejection
Cause neglect and self-protection
360 degrees later
My person has culminated
Full revolution

An underground characteristic
Of earth tones and nappy roots
From neck rolls to eyes strolling
Through paths unseen
And worldly things
Hoping for peace and insight
Wisdom gained through experiencing

Older character traits blessed upon me
At an early age
Page the turn
Not turn the page
Full revolution.

Kimberly Y Peters is a longtime educator and poet from Compton, CA. Her poetry has appeared in We Got Issues, an anthology of writing and poetry edited by Rha Goddess and Jlove Calderon. Peters’ poetry collection, Life and The Afterbirth: A Poetic Journey is her first published book.
Peters uses meditation to bring forth what she calls an inner voice that speaks through her poetry. In her quietest moments inspiration turns into a poetic rhythm that narrates the experiences of these voices.
If you would like to keep up with Kimberly and her future readings or appearances, you can “like” her Facebook page Life and The Afterbirth: A Poetic Journey.

The Poet’s Corner is curated by Jazmine Green, a writer and poetry lover who has studied poetry at UCLA and Chapman University.  Her own creative writing has been published in various independent collections and journals. She enjoys the juxtaposition of unusual words and images and is always looking for universal truths exposed in new and exciting ways.  Please submit poetry for consideration to: poetry@layogamagazine.com.

Staff Writer Lakshmi

The post Dec/Jan 2012 Poet’s Corner appeared first on LA Yoga Magazine - Ayurveda & Health.

Some come like thunder
crashes of passion rumbling across
this fragile life
helping us remember the power and
potency inside each moment

Some come like rain
showering our lives with a happiness
we didn’t know we thirsted for,
drenching our souls in joy
quenching our hearts with love
each time we see them smiling

Some linger like rainbows
streaking their memory across eternity,
painting the sky with a beauty so brilliant,
a life so boldly lived,
one can only tip their heads up
and believe…

There is a passageway to Infinity
for souls like this
who blast our tender hearts wide open,
who fill our days with magic and laughter
who teach us the beautiful and
difficult lessons
of loving and letting go
For the ones who come and go too quickly…

We shall find you again and again
in the lightning, in the thunder,
in every blade of grass
And again in every flower, moon and wild streak of sun
Go now back to the Infinite
We shall find you in the One.

Jacqui Lalita

Jacqui Lalita is a dancer, poet, healer and muse here to inspire and elevate all creatures she meets. She is the author of Romancing the Divine: Poetry by the Mystic River. www.danceofthedivine.org.

The post Poet’s Corner: Flashes Of Love appeared first on LA Yoga Magazine - Ayurveda & Health.

Photo by Amir Magal

The practice and philosophy of Yoga has always been intimately connected to the knowledge of synching the body with nature’s elements and elemental forces. It is time for us to realize that the prana inherent in the elements of the Sun, water, Earth, and air is being depleted and poisoned at devastating levels. It is time for us to take responsibility for our actions and wake up from the inertia that is preventing positive change. Yoga Energy Activism is a means to engage in this activism.

The impacts of our energy future have no borders. We have seen this in the events of the past year, from the Gulf BP oil spill to the recent catastrophe at the Fukushima nuclear power plant in Japan. Sadly, these accidents have all affected the air we breathe, the water we drink, and the food we eat.

The statistics related to the state of the world are alarming. It predicted that current oil reserves will be exhausted between 2025 and 2040. Only 3% of the Earth’s water is fresh water and of that only 1% of that is drinkable—and available to the 20% of the world’s population that has access to clean water. Waste incineration accounts for more than 30% of current CO2 emissions. Less than 3% of manufactured plastics are made of recyclable plastics or get recycled. And we waste more energy than we use; according to GOOD Magazine’s 2011 energy issue, we waste 54.5 quadrillion BTUs annually while we use 40 quadrillion BTUs.

The good news is that it would only take .02% of the energy emitted from the Sun to supply the entire world’s power. In China, plans are in the works to generate 40% of the country’s power from solar energy by 2020 not for the green benefits, but because solar power is cost-effective. We have access to an abundance of natural renewable energy, but we choose and are dependent on toxic, non-renewable energy sources both as a lifestyle and often as an inner state.

This year on Shivaratri, a group of more than three hundred sadhus and sadhvis (along with thousands of others who reportedly joined them) began a 40-day march to New Delhi to demand to speak with the Prime Minister’s office about the polluted and dying Yamuna River. Their commitment is an inspiration.

We must transition from using toxic fossil fuels to renewable energy sources such as solar power. If every American unplugged everything except their refrigerator for one day, the energy saved would be enough to power a laptop for a year. Add in water-saving and zero waste practices and we would all see the positive impact of a day’s worth of energy conservation. Combined together, every person’s reduced carbon footprint would have a huge impact.

I invite you to join Yoga Energy Activism (YEA). In partnership with Global Green USA and LA Yoga Magazine, we will come together on a seasonal ritual cycle and commit to transforming our inner and outer sources of fuel away from toxic and limited resources and toward healthy and renewable options.

Taking the time to unplug completely for a few hours or an entire day can help us to adjust our nervous systems’ relationships with our surrounding electronic equipment. Making the commitment for energy regeneration retreats can be healing days during which we live in tune with nature’s rhythms through our actions from food preparation to sleeping and waking with the Sun.

Please help us spread the word and ask your local studios to sign up for the Energy Regeneration Retreat at: yogaenergyactivism.com. Resources are available on the website to help you inspire your Yoga community to be part of the 1,008 – 10,008 participants working together towards a sustainable future on Earth Day.

Spring is the time for waking up and aligning with the positive energy renewal of life. Unplug, Root in. Rise up.

Shiva Rea

Shiva Rea is a shaktidasi—servant of the life-force. She is the dedicated founder of Prana Flow—Energetic Vinyasa and Samudra Global School for Living Yoga offering pilgrimage and yogadventure retreats, teacher trainings, and online programs in collaboration with teachers, artists, and activists around the world: pranaflowyoga.com.

www.pranaflowyoga.com

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