Let Your Instrument be an Expression of Your Gift

This past week I saw Paul Urbana Jones play guitar and sing the blues at Fat Eddie's in SOL square. As I watched his performance, I was blown away by his honest and tender lyrics, the raw passion of his voice, and the zeal of his guitar. His entire body participated in the creation of his music--the tap of a toe, his fingers racing on the strings, a wild shake of his head, even the small movements of his eyes...

There was no way to tell where the guitar ended and his body began. Everything was part of the same expression. I thought to myself, WOW... THIS guy should be teaching yoga!

Paul's full body, full being expression is exactly what we aspire to on our yoga mats. Anusara Yoga comes from a Tantric yoga philosophy that operates on the premise of intrinsic goodness. What this means is that we believe that this embodied life is a GOOD and a BEAUTIFUL thing. On the mat, we can remember that each breath and every posture is an opportunity to delightfully dance with a bigger Energy, participate more fully in life, and to express the beauty of our hearts.

While we may not be a musician, talented painter, or a skilled writer, each one of us DOES have an instrument at our fingertips. We can allow our instrument--our own unique physical body--to be an expression of our inner spirit. Our instrument can be an expression of beauty, an expression of the best we have to offer in each moment When we practice in this way, yoga becomes more than physical exercise. Yoga becomes the process of creating art!