Kindness

 Last week I had the honour of attending an evening of yoga with Gurmukh.  You might of heard of Gurmukh a popular yoga teacher from L.A.  She follows the Kundalini yoga traditions and Yogi Bhajan's teachings.  She has founded Golden Bridge yoga studio in L.A. and has authored books my favorites being; "The 8 human Talents" which describes the 8 chakras and "Bountiful, Beautiful, Blissful" which is a wonderful book for expectant mothers.  This beautiful lady has been inspiring me since I was myself pregnant with Owen my second born.  She  has been practicing Kundalini yoga since the late 60's and looks great and beautiful.  The event was  at St. Brigid's Church for the arts in the market, it's a church that has now become a gallery and so beautiful.

Gurmukh speaks with eloquence, humour and grace

On this particulary snowy, icy night her message was about kindness.  Kindness is inherent in all of us.  If we do our yoga practice and let go of the trappings of the mind we fall into the space of our hearts which is naturally kind, giving and loving. It is there for all of us to give and experience in others.   When we hear the news we might think that the world is lacking in kindness, as fear sells but if we open our eyes, ears and heart to the world around us there is kindness everywhere.  From the simple gestures of a smile from a stranger, a hug from a loved one, a door being opened and all those small things that often go unnoticed.  Also we have arrived at a time where people are helping others in need more and more.   It is there to see for those who want to see.

Her talk was inspiring and since I have been looking at the world with new eyes, seeing the good and kindness that surrounds me.  Following her talk we did yoga and ended with a healing meditation. This was my favorite part of the evening  We were about 100 people sitting in a circle chanting Ra Ma Da Sa Sa Say So Hung which is a healing chant.  We chanted for 11 minutes and held an orange to our hearts while vibrating the sounds.  Participants came in and out of the circle lying in the middle absorbing the healing vibrations of the chant. To some of you this might seem strange, chanting, holding an orange and creating healing vibrations. To me it is beautiful.  I love chanting in a big group of people,  the vibrations that we create together opens me up in a deep way.  It's hard to explain in words sometimes we need to experience something to fully understand it.  Once the 11 minutes were over we shared, traded oranges with someone else and quietly ate our citrus fruit.  It was a heart warming experience and I am still inspired by that one evening over a week ago.

Gurmukh and Annie Bananie

There is kindness, love and compassion that lives within you.  Go for it live from that space and see the beauty that emanates from  you and others.