Shriyoga Blog

Interconnectedness

Posted on June 17th, 2010

As I sat on the eve of the official re-launch of the Shriyoga website, I initially found myself having a bit of “blog block”.  I really did not know where to begin.  Understandable perhaps, as this is my first blog entry ever.

Then, I remembered that many of my most potent teachers have repeatedly confirmed that gratitude is always a genuine and powerful place to start.

I am genuinely grateful.

The sheer act of retrieving information related to 5 and 1/2 years of press alone left me a bit awe-struck, confirming that it was truly an act of great friendship and interconnectedness over the years that continued to sustain Shriyoga. That same kind of friendship and interconnectedness is what enables Shriyoga to exist in its present day form as a grassroots movement.

Some of you may remember back in October of 2004 when Sadie Nardini and I opened Shriyoga at 443 Greenwich Street with the financial help and silent partnership of my dear childhood friend, Nancy Mersch and a small army of friends who bartered their time for yoga to help us renovate the raw 443 space.

It was a time of great joy as we managed to transform a neglected space with what had no less than a million tiny staples under the linoleum floor, and 30 plus years of paint on the wood columns into what became a sun-drenched yoga sanctuary with pristine hardwood floors and tree-like columns of revealed natural wood.  We were elated when New York Magazine picked us “Best” a mere five months later.

Without going into the whole story (which can be epic depending on the moon and my mood), the most perfect beings would show up exactly at the right time supporting Shriyoga along its dharmic path.

For reasons still largely mysterious to me, I continue to be “the guardian” of a yoga community that became nomadic when having to depart the original 443 Greenwich space last August 2009.  Luckily for us, the next chain of interconnection was and is Yvonne Force Villareal, Leo Villareal and Sarah Lovitt, who opened their home loft spaces to Shriyoga immediately.  Our nomadic journey was very brief:  3 blocks up Greenwich Street!

Those of you who have been regularly practicing with us during the past 11 months already know well the depth of friendship we have cultivated in our new “homes”.  For me, it brought a renewed excitement to teaching, and our petit Shriyoga staff (Laurie Berg, “studio” manager, Emma-Kate Croghan and Huck Hirsch, teachers extraordinaire) freely opened themselves with a fresh response to what was unfolding now rather than looking back to what was.

I am genuinely grateful; and I am looking back to everything that was, and how it unfolded and, again, I am awe-struck at how every (and I do mean every) person who ever entered Shriyoga in its first 5 years was a part of weaving the intricate tapestry of what the studio is now.  Even the people who I perceived at the time to bring heartache were just pushing Shriyoga along the road of Life towards more Life, and to its most simple, illuminated form.

There are many people to thank… over and over again.  You may hear from me this summer.  One thing is for certain, I am thinking of each of you and bowing my head in gratitude for allowing me to be part of your life for however long it was, is or will be.  It certainly has been a privilege to be interconnected with you all.

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