I am still working to ‘find balance’ between the great joy of teaching workshops and classes where I am ‘the star’ and the times when I feel isolated and alone. There is a growing comfort inside of me that accepts these rather drastic opposites and I am growing more and more comfortable with the shifts.
When the loneliness arises, it is fairly easy for me to remember the moments after a workshop or Kirtan where students generously offer praise and gratitude. It is during those moments that I am also working to consciously recall the feelings of loneliness that I know will arise when everyone leaves.
I had a great talk with my friend Marcynha who reminded me of what I already know, but it helps to hear it from an outside voice. She reminded me that I have so much to offer people with my work and my energy and when there is safety for people, they are more then willing to open themselves to an exchange of energy. However, there is an awareness on both sides of my lifestyle of traveling and my comitments in other places that prevent them (and me) from opening up completely. This results in a connection that is based in our divine Interconnection as spiritual beings and an understanding of trust but at the same time remains fairly surface. With my passion for my work and my current schedule, I am fully open and accepting this as my path and as I just wrote, finding more comfort with my ’shadow’ side that is often times totally hidden by the joys that most of my life is full of.

Judgements and Comparisons….
I’ve just returned from a great (but very wet and rainy the whole time) weekend on Ilha Bella. I went with my dear friends Nivea and Luigi who host me annually in Sao Paulo and have taken me to their island home several times now. We had plans with several other yoga teachers to have the weekend together and two of the three cancelled at the last minute, but still two other friends were able to join us.
Firstly, it was very nice for me to get out of Sao Paulo (where I am back again listening to the constant waves of airplanes and helicopters) to be back in nature and away from the noise pollution that exists here. In my final days of living at Yoga Flow, I was having twitches in my temples during my practice because I was awakened EVERY morning at 7AM to the sounds of very loud banging of construction literally 15 feet from my head and the beginnings of the planes landing at Congonhas (Latin America’s busiest airport). The studio is on the approach to the airport….so being in Ilha Bella was an initial delight just to be where the noise polution was minimal. It still was there in the sounds of boat engines and neighbors music, but that was much more bearable!
Nivea and Luigi have built a beautiful yoga studio in the back of their home which was a treat with all the rain. I was there fairly early on Saturday morning by myself and NIvea soon joined me. We had a great practice and then breakfast. The other friends who were spending the weekend with us had arrived and were very cool and young Iyengar Yoga teachers.
In the afternoon, we went back to the studio for practice and I played some mantras for them and while the other 2 friends were practicing, I found myself comparing asanas and yoga experience with them. They both had very developed ad beautiful practices and the precision with which they practiced (and their strength and flexibility) amazed me. It was really interesting to catch myself first judging them and then comparing myself while we all practicing YOGA! Whew…am I glad I am friends with ‘the observer’ or else I could have really been in a challenging place with that situation. This morning, much of the same as we spent about 3 hours practicing together in the studio. Their Iyengar practice was really beautiful to watch and the two of them were incredibly flexible and strong. Much more so then me. And so my mind went at it again…”WOW, you’re traveling around the world teaching people yoga and these two teachers have more developed asana. Well yes, but I teach more then Asana….well I bet they do to because they are both extremely nice and intelligent people…well yeah but maybe you should have their practices….and I bet if you dedicated yourself more you could practice like that…but maybe you should just sit and meditate….oh, thank goodness you can sing well….but they sang last night and sounded great….and on and on and on….”

Yogas Chitta Vritti Nirodah - Yoga is the conscientious science and ability to observe and release the self limiting thought form in the mind

Thank goodness for Patanjali! Soon after recalling Sutra 1.2, I felt much better and although the comparisons didn’t end right away, I was much more at peace with my tight hamstrings (in relation to theirs)….we even did some poses together where they helped me and I really enjoyed that. The rest of the afternoon was much more peaceful with a nice long breakfast, boat ride and then easy trip back to Sao Paulo where I am until Wednesday.

All this got me thinking too about the self limiting thought forms that take the form of judgements and comparisons really do snowball in most peoples minds and when they go undetected and are allowed to carry on, they can really carry some serious emotional weight. Of course, even in realizing that I observe my thoughts and others subscribe to theirs and accept them all, I have jumped into another comparison and judgement. But I can let that one go for the sake of self-inquiry. So now, I sit and type and keep coming back to the fact that I believe that contentment and gratitude are the keys to overcoming these two self limiting thought forms. For when I really look at the incredible life I live, I am truly grateful for every experience and yes, every emotion be they joyous of not. Other then great strokes to my ego there’s not much that increased strength and flexibilty will bring me and I know in my deepest places that I will always continue to learn from the applied philosophy of life. So I drop into my heart, take a breath and say thank you…especially to Pedro and Marina!

After spending almost 3 weeks in the paradise of Florianopolis and arriving in the very organized and fairly affluent Yoga Flow of Sao Paulo, my experience yesterday teaching at Casa de Zezinho, a school in the Favela’s (urban slum) of Sao Paulo was truly awakening and deeply inspiring.

Charlie, my friend who opened Yoga Flow in SP, had been soliciting donations from his yoga students and we began the journey by packing several cars with donations of clothes, food and toys. There were about 8 - 9 of us in a caravan that set out to the school which was about 30 minutes across Sao Paulo. SP is HUGE and getting from one side to the next entails a lot of traffic (a recent fact that SP has 6 Million cars shocked me) and there is nothing but urban living for kilometers and kilometers…

We pulled up to the school which was actually on the outskirts of the favela which made me feel a bit safer. The streets around it were clean, well kept and no fear of violence.

Upon arrival, we began unloading all the gifts and there was lots of energy of kids of all ages and adults who ran the place in their afternoon activities.  We had a tour of the facilities and saw lots of the kids art and their rooms for classes and programming.  We got a page to come back and start the program and made our way into a hall where about 60 kids and adults to watch them were all awaiting the start of the program.  I walked in and my friend Gui was talking to the group and as soon as he saw me round the corner called me to the front of the room and introduced me.  It was an instant plunge into center stage with children from ages 5 - 15 all looking and clapping for me….wow, quite a rush.  I started to greet them in my broken Portuguese and after telling them what I do as a traveling teacher and yogi there was a lot of energy and excitement…and a lot of noise!

Se I sat down and starting by asking them Who knows what yoga is?  One boy raised his hand and then did Bakasana in the front of the room!  It was great!  Some others did a few other poses and then I explained to them that yoga poses are just one part of Yoga…I kept it pretty basic but gave them a teaching on the nature of yoga and yoga and nature and how everything breathes.  No matter what language people speak, we all breathe and have the connection of life.  We breathed together and it was super cute to watch them inhale and exhale really deeply until their faces turned funny and the exhales were loud moans!  I have worked with some kids, but not with a group like this before so I knew I had to keep their attention and started with some neck rolls and arm streches and they followed along great.  We did just a few standing poses and I could tell I was losing a few of them so brought them to the floor for some twists and a forward fold….while they were folded forward I quickly got into headstand and told them all to not stand on their head!  They laughed a lot and a few of them tried even succeeded!  This made lots of commotion so I made the switch to keep their attention and grabbed the guitar.

I gave a brief intro to mantra chanting and singing the name of God (for children…and in a foreign language, a bit challenging)  and we started with Sita Ram Sita Ram Sita Ram…I explained the call response nature of Kirtan and they started right away.  Super super cute and fun.  After the chant, we clapped and they were ready for more….I talked a bit about Ganesha (there was a statue to Ganesha there) and how we can all use the help of an elephant to remove the obstacles of challenges in our lives….they agreed and we sang Ganesha Sharinam getting faster and faster until a few of them got up to dance and we rocked the house.  They wanted to sing Brazilian music, but I don’t now any songs so decided to sing Bob Marley, which the whole world knows…Get Up Stand Up was a hit and they all knew the chorus.  One of the boys then got up for a make-up version of Is This Love.  It was a lot of fun.

Then, I explained to them about my friend Ross’ www.createpeaceproject.com  and showed them a stack of postcards with positive messages that I was leaving for them to color and share their art, love and peace with a global project…they liked the idea of participating in a global art project.  Then I somehow got them all quiet and introduced Lokah Samasta Sukhino Bhavantu (May All Beings Everywhere be Happy and Free / Todos os Ceres em Todos Lugares Seja Feliz e Livre).  I had made up a bit of a funky Bossa Nova Style melody and we began to sing in Sanskrit first then switched to Portuguese.  It culminated with everyone standing up, dancing and singing while we sang in Portuguese….WOW, raising the vibration is a lot of FUN!

After lots of applause the announcement was made for them to get ready to go and I had lots of hugs and kisses from the students who were super cute and curious about me.  I was able to talk to them and the girls all said they loved the singing the best and the boys wanted to know which Futball team I liked!

I knew about this school thanks to the connection from Michael Franti and Eddie and Nicki and the kids who knew Michael all wanted to know we were friends.  Getting to follow in his footsteps is a great honor for me and I hope to keep adding fuel to the spark that he has created there with his actions, music and love.  It is Michael and Eddie and Nicki’s inspiration that I am seeking out more places to teach, chant and raise the vibration for people who could really use some faith.

Upon leaving Casa de Zezinho, I was left with a feeling of joy and love and a lot of compassion for these children.  It really made me more grateful for the truly blessed life I am living.  I believe that all of us enter the world with certain lessons to learn and share and the lessons that these kids are learning are very low on the hierarchical scale of life.  How to have food, clothing and shelter and to survive in a very violent and rough place.  And in spite of these great challenges…check out the photos and see the smiles on their faces.  They were just like kids in other parts of the world while we were playing and having fun.  Screaming, wrestling, laughing and dancing….and then I thought about what they go home to.  I came back to a beautiful yoga studio and had a magical candle lit class with my iPod playing groovy music, with students wearing the latest fashions and then sat to copy the photos and write this on my handy laptop computer.  These children aren’t allowed on the streets in their own neighborhood because of violence and drugs.   They are lucky to have a hot meal and find great satisfaction in getting to watch their futball team play on TV.  As they grow older, I wish for them an opportunity to study more art and music and to somehow shift this terror that is their lives in the favelas.  As  gringo, I think the best thing I can do is relate to them as brother and sister and support them with my vibrations of music, yoga and money when I can.  May we all find it in our hearts to come to some form of action to help all the children to find peace and love in their homes.  Until we all take a giant step forward with our evolution in conscioussness, no one is going anywhere…so may we find it in ourselves to work together and shift the paradigm of thought that it is a helpless situation.  There are solutions and the battle is tough, but look here to see the effects that collective work and creativity can create.

 Photos from Casa do Zezinho

With Love,
David

Friends….it is still beautiful here even with a few days of intense tropical rains. The rains wash things clean and cool it down a bit and are a nice opportunity to get some work done, although I haven’t been too busy.

I had the opportunity to explore a but more of the area the last few days including a hike to some pools by sea by Barra de Lagoa and then to a magical place called Garopaba about 1 1/2 hours South of the island of Florianopolis. There are sooooo many beaches in this region and each of them have their own special feel and energy to them. I spend the weekend at Praia do Rosa and that beach is really great! Some friends and I stayed at another friends beautiful home about 5 minutes walk from the beach and I got to spend 3 nights sleeping in a hammock! Yum!

During this time, I have been thoroughly enjoying having time, place and energy to take my own yoga practice. At Praia do Luz (next to the house we stayed at) I had my morning practice of the seated footwork I am love with (and soon making a YouTube video!) and a nice 10 minute headstand looking to the sea….I was amazed how gravity works with all that water!!! And the waves looked very cool from that perspective. The next day I got to guide my friends for a verh shanti morning practice that reminded me of many of the phrases that I love to use when I teach in English but haven’t translated yet to Portuguese. I had them tanslated and used them in class yesterday at YogaShala! It was great to have new stuff in Portuguese to teach with.

The time in Garopaba was with some really special people, including Marcio who runs Centro do Ser in Florianopolis, his girlfriend Nicole, new friend Constanza and Eberhard, our host. Marcio also took me to (re) meet Joseph and Lillian Le Page at Enchanted Mounted (Montanha Encontada) at their retreat center and the vibe there is very natural and positive. I think I will organize a retreat there for next Spring!

Now I’m back in Florianopolis for one last week and taught my last regular classes at YogaShala last night and will be back this weekend for the Vinyasa Intensive. I think it will sell out which is very nice because I haven’t been working too much and could some income to balance the output!

It’s been an interesting week emotionally with a return to long yoga practices on my own, lots ot time at the beach alone (during the week….) and feeling somewhat lonely at times. I am making space for those emotions and feeling more mature recently in acceptance of loneliness rather than forcing interactions and feeling guilty about not ‘making the most of my time here.’ This is a story I used to have but now I am much more comfortable knowing that I make the best of all my time when I allow myself to feel whatever comes up. Emotions are like the waves of the sea and are unending…but when they are met by my resistance, they bounce back and forth relentlessly. With a new awareness of being a softer / sandier shore, these emotions dissipate and I am much more comfortable when they arrive. And…they also inspire me to keep opening my heart to most everyone I meet in new and profound ways.

OK…perhaps more on that later, but I’m ready for the beach

Breakfast in Brazil is ALWAYS very special and tropical. Yum!

And I’ve been flying lots of friends Acro Yoga Style!

More photos here: http://www.findbalance.net/about/photos/

Until the next post…with Light and Love,
David

The sun is still shining in Florianopolis and I have had a great first week of classes at Yoga Shala.  I am teaching in place of the regular Mon and Wed evening classes and it feels great to be a substitute teacher and work with the students here.  I am teaching most of the classes in Portuguese and what phrases and words I have yet to learn, there are plenty of people in the class who are ready and willing to help out!  It’s great because I get on a roll with whatever I am teaching…I get excited to see inner triads pushing the floor, legs with integrity and faces relaxed and I start to talk quickly and love my words in English and Portuguese because I get so excited!  It makes nice energy in the class.  The students are all levels and, as usual, I am focusing on the foundations of hands / feet / bhandas and breath.   I don’t think teachers infuse much ’spirituality’ or more intensive yoga philosophy into asana classes here and they are very open to the ideas I am presenting:

The Asana practice is just s mirror….look inside!  Observe your thoughts, practice poses with heightened awareness, learn to love yourself so that you can love others from an authentic place and the wisdom of the sutras as well.  Wow, that’s a lot for just 4 classes but it’s making an impact, I can tell.

My friends who’s classes I attend here always bring some theme or yogic philosophy to the class, but it usually at the beginning and/or end of class as a lecture type of thing instead of applied application of the concepts in the asana practice.

The original plan here was to have a ‘reciclagem para profesores’ which was a refresher course for teachers here.  However, only 3 students signed up for the program and my friend / host / studio owner Camila and I decided to cancel the Reciclagem and just hold a one day seminar for the three students and any other teachers that wanted to come.  We did this on Friday and was a very nice class.  I had 6 teachers join in a 3 hour lecture and 2 hour practice that was very nice….Lunge-O-Rama!!!  The discussion was really juicy as well with a nice discussion between the difference between Teaching and Leading.  Both are equally important and both have different results based on what information / experience is being created.  I really enjoy ‘teaching teachers’ and we had some great talks about the path of teaching yoga.

Oh…on Thursday night I went to see The Kite Racer, WOW, great movie!  However it was mostly in Arabic with Portuguese subtitles…it was great for my Portuguese but I found I could not read quick enough to keep up with translating and reading.  So I just read and followed the story.  However, as we were getting the tickets, I was introduced to an incredible Brazilian promotion….Beja Disconto.  On Thursday nights at Shopping Iguatemi…between 5 - 11.  It’s 2 for 1 if you kiss your ‘date’ at the register!  Really!!!!!  I was with a friend and we had a nice ‘friends’ kiss which got us the 2 for 1, but there were come couples in line that really earned their discount!  We’ll see if there’s a film this week I want to see (or not!) and try and make it again ;).

Saturday, I had my first workshop at Yoga Shala and was really stoked to bring The Natural Link; Elements of Nature to your Yoga Practice to a group of 19 students.  Many of the students had not participated in a ‘themed’ workshop and the concepts of the elements in the asana practice and the structure of the class was very well received.  I have some students / friends here that I have known for several years and they were there, including Figgy, who is blind.  Honestly, he is the best student in the class every time because he follows so closely the workds and instructions.  His body awareness astounds me and his spirit inspires me.  He always travels with his close friend Vinny who is also a bright light and the two of them come to most of my events in South Brazil.  I have some photos at the bottom from the workshop.

Today, I was invited to another incredible beach, Santinho and had a very blissful and shanti day….see photos.

Shanti Om - David

Dear friends,

Today is my last full day in San Francisco (for a while) and I am full of a myriad of emotions for this trip. Obviously, there is a lot of excitement as I am blessed with the opportunity to travel the world teaching yoga, singing mantras and meeting high vibration people! I am soooo eternally grateful for this opportunity and I am ready to jump into the journey with trust in my planning, the network of people supporting me, yoga itself and the will of the divine.

And on the otherhand, I am leaving behind a magical home, my best and closest friends and students of all flavors that have inspired me to bring this work to the world. There is nothing like the SF Bay Area in the world and I am extremely fortunate to have lived here and marinated in the juice of this conscious community. And it is because of what I have experienced here that I feel called to share it.

My home is all taken care of with 2 angelic yogi’s keeping the vibration lifted and I know that my return to San Francisco will appear as if just one grain of sand has passed through the hourglass…Joshua Cohen from Maui is taking over

The last weekend has been really juicy with a great birthday party on Friday night that spanned many different aspects of my SF friends….from the old school to the too cool and all in between…DJ’s rocked it until 4AM and many booties were shakin throughout! Then there was LOTS of cleaning and packing and it feels like I am finally ready to go now.

First post coming from Brasil soon!

Light and Love,
David