After a long break over the summer it is getting close to the next part of the Awakening Heart Intensive with Sianna Sherman at Yoga Union. This has been a truly amazing summer for me. I have been busy teaching a whole lot and at the same time hiking, camping, swimming and enjoying the natural wonders…
As part of the Awakening Heart Intensive we are encouraged to do a cleanse and 40 days of committed practice. Sianna says “40 days of committed sadhana is one of the most transformational gifts you can offer to your own great being.” She gave us a list of practices for morning, mid-day and evening and a…
Paul Muller-Ortega has a way of relaying information and wisdom through story telling and the use of colorful adjectives and pronouns, contagious enthusiasm and bubbling excitement about the opportunity of living life with a heightened awareness and applying that to practical use in order to live life to the fullest potential.
notes from the talk with Portland’s own, Shambhavi Sarasvati, who gave a talk to the group during the first part of the Intensive back in April. Shambhavi is the the spiritual director of Jaya Kula, and has written several books on Tantra in the Kashmir Shaivism tradition. When describing Tantra she says she is almost tired of the word, but not the practice… “Tantra is a way to find out who you really are and to live in the fullness of Reality. This is Self-realization. Nothing more or less.”
The night of the event there was electricity in the air, and prana everywhere. It felt like a concert and everyone was excited to be there for such an auspicious occasion. The place was still rough and in the raw, but had been cleaned out and decorated for the night. Over 145 people showed up and the entire place was filled with yoga mats and chatter.
“Bhukti” means enjoyment or worldly fulfillment. “Mukti” means spiritual liberation. Tantra is the bridge between bhukti and mukti. It is a way of reconciling the apparent opposition of spiritual and worldly fulfillment. The message here is that in the tantric practices it is possible to enjoy a “worldly” existence and discover full spiritual liberation in this life.
And, so on Friday, April 12th I embarked on a yearlong journey with Sianna and a few dozen others on the yogic path of Self discovery.