Rock N Roll Yoga

It is day 4 of the International Yoga Festival in Rishikesk. Iyengar Yoga classes with Manouso Manos and Marla Apt have been excellent experiences of asana--super challenging in the physical and subtle realm. I love Iyengar Yoga! . It is really interesting how Anusara and Iyengar language differ but come together at the essence of the teachings. Yoga Nidra and Kriya Yoga (chanting) with Sadhvi Abha Saraswati (the Mother of the ashram) have restored and cleared me deeply. I feel like japa and chanting are practices that i am gravitating toward as my practice evolves. Singing with the harmonium is so much fun! The satsang lectures with world famous spiritual luminaries from Hindu and Hare Krishna lineages are interesting and enlightening. My favorite parts being where religious and spiritual practices overlap- mainly in the realm of 'Ishvara' or devotion to God. Harmonium lessons have been an awesome foundation to start having some fun playing around with it. The good news is I can open and close it now and play a few scales! This trip has exceeded my expectations and is like a dream for a yogini. As if it couldn't be any better....One of the coolest experiences of my life has been a visit to the 'Beatles Ashram' where they spent time in 1968 'yogi-ing' and writing The White Album. It is the old crumbling, Maharishi Mahesh Yogi Ashram just down the River Ganga from Parmarth Niketan Ashram where I am staying. It's deserted now. The structures, small houses, apartment style buildings, a concert hall, and several odd stone geodesic meditation pods still stand. John Lennon's house is full of wild graffiti. The concert hall buzzes with strange rock-n-roll karma. The history of this place encompasses the writing of The White Album and Abbey Road and more. This rocks the planet and electrifies me like nowhere I have ever been. It is so clear to me that music is my ultimate inspiration. We all dance to the beat of a different drum. We all have a different yoga. I have rock and roll heart. Music is in my blood. It courses through my veins. As does the yoga. All week at the Yoga Fest we have been hearing various discourses on the origins, history, and definitions of yoga. Yoga must be defined on an individual basis of what method each human uses to merge with Spirit or Nature or God or Guru in order to have the meaningful life experience that we are supposed to have. Yoga is prayer, asana, meditation, pranayama, satsang, studying scriptures, sports, painting, weaving, dancing, singing, entertaining, enjoying the company of friends. What makes it yoga is that you put your heart into it, do it everyday, give it importance by making it a ritual,
do it for the betterment of the planet or mankind, and do it for a long long time. Make it a path. The important thing is that we respect the paths of others and remember...I know you, you know me One thing I can tell you is you got to be free. Come together Right Now! Peace Love Yoga and Rock-n-Roll from India.