💥Rekindling The Spark 💥

The smell of the earth this morning brought me right back to the Catskills, to the ashram where I lived in the early 2000’s. 

It brought me back to the many, many mornings I walked from my dorm room to the early-morning chant at 4:30 am in the dark, wrapped in a shawl. 

It brought me back to the feelings of devotion, one-pointedness, and community. But most palpably, it brought me back to the LONGING I experienced during those years.

It was there, in the darkness of the early mornings, first in India and then Upstate New York over the course of 7 years, that my longing took root. What began as a desire to be happy with myself and content with my life blossomed into a yearning to dive deep into my inner being, I longed to uncover the truth, the wisdom and the magnificence of that place within me that lies independently from the ups and downs of outer life.

This longing is and has been at the root of everything I do, everything I create, everything I offer as a teacher. It’s the common denominator of my life, my most fundamental motivation. 

It’s no longer about escaping myself or the world, but a way of bringing my best to bear on situations I am (that we all are) confronted with, both outside and those of my own habitual making. It’s a force that guides me to strive to live a responsible, purposeful life.

Funny that I should have this experience today, standing on the cusp of an exciting opening in my business, of putting my work out into the world in bigger, bolder new ways. That I should be brought back to the devotion and the longing that inspires my work is a sweet reminder of WHY I do what I do. It lies beyond any success and failure. When all is said and done, my longing and the path it offers toward its own fulfillment will remain.

Several teachers that have signed up for my new online program shared with me that the content is calling out to them in a similar way. It’s reminding them of what that led them to yoga, the moment they made it their own and knew it was THEIR path. It’s bringing up the longing to rekindle that original spark.

There is nothing sweeter then remembering our own initial stirrings. Over time they tend to get lost, buried in the business of life, forgotten as we get pulled out of our own experience, lost perhaps by our very participation in the modern yoga world. 

If you are feeling the call to go back to your yoga roots, to RECLAIM what made you love to practice in the first place through the lens of your knowledge and experience, I hope you’ll consider joining us. We begin March 20 on a springtime journey of exploration to uncover the gems of insight and inspiration that are still there, still precious, waiting to be dusted off, polished so they can shine their light on your life and practice once again.

https://barrie-risman-yoga.teachable.com/p/evolving-your-asana