Thank you to everyone who has sent out their well-wishes for my accident recovery. I have continued healed quickly and peacefully.... now just nursing the new skin tissue and tending to the new found grace....

One of my most favorite things about living in Austin are those warm summer nights...

Somehow we skipped Spring and went right into Summer ...but I'm not complaining!

The nourishing warmth on my skin allows me to breath into those spaces that were not always as open during the cooler months. The summer lovin' seems to send me right into childs play like a todler on a playground that holds such sweetness and purity in it's most raw and natural form; it defines liberation of the soul of all who are open to celebrate in the glory that is Surya, the Sun Goddess.

I'm thrilled that I will be able to connect with the SUPREME force of summer and nature that is the Ocean in Venice Beach realy soon!

Last night I completed my plans to travel to the west coast early July to assist my lovely and inspiring teacher, Shiva Rea (www.shivarea.com) at her summer immersion teacher training! It is such a priviledge and honor that I humbly hold close to me and I look forward to a new depth and perspective as both a student and teacher on this life-long journey. I also look forward to reconnecting with old friends, making new ones and being able to be a part of this collective who will lovingly hold the space for a very sacred experience for all who will attend.

I've attended a few of these immersions both with Shiva and with others and they are certainly profound! To be witness to this beauty through the eyes of others is just an amazing opportunity...

JULY TRAVELS!!!

I will be on the west coast from July 5th- July 12th, back home in Austin teaching the week of July 13-July 19 and then flying to the East Coast area.... to Kripalu (www.kripalu.org) for Shakti Sadhana wemon's retreat with Shiva and Gurmukh from July 20-25... then back home to Austin. So July will be full of the SHAKTI! I do have some wonderful subs lined up and tried to find some consistancy in doing so, so when it gets closer, I will post that schedule.

Lots of goodness happening in the business/career/ and personal areas that I am excited to share in due time as the tide rolls in.... stay tuned and share the love love love!

"THE TIME HAS COME TO TURN YOUR HEART INTO A TEMPLE OF FIRE." ~Rumi

LoveLoveLove
Sanieh
www.saniehyoga.com

There is nothing like connecting with another human being on a level that is beyond and outside of any fears of judgment. There is nothing like connecting in the space where only truth exists and where UN-truth is without a name. There is nothing like sitting in the sun losing all track of time while being brutally honest, bouncing off one another the hidden neurosis of the mental patters that can be overtaken only by the equally neurotic emotional pattens, only to learn that you are in fact NOT the only one who has gone through the bullshit, the let downs, high excitements, glory days, or undeniable heart ache etc. There is so much therapy in connecting with another human being who holds the space for this freedom and welcomes the truth of the matter but not without gut-busting laughter to accompany the uprising of verbal pukage to come.

There is nothing, like being a woman and connecting with another woman on this level in a space of supportive, non-judgmental, loving tenderness... without shame; without apology and doing so in a such a way that recharges your sweet spirit in a way that only this kind of connection, friendship, and bond can fulfill.

Sunday was an "ordinary day" with the exception of my waking up to find that my dear friend Marvin, waxed and polished my car and left a hidden track of music (that later had me in celebration!) for me waiting in my cd player. An ordinary day it was with the exception that I got to spend half of it with my glorious, and oh so beautiful Goddess yoga teacher friend, Lauran, who "answered the call"  (and then literally made a call!) and reached out to me recognizing that there was in fact a sutra, a thread of connection which landed us on top of the roof at whole foods in said verbal pukage ceremony a week later!

It might or might not make more sense to know that I was just 17 when my mother was killed. I know for sure that this major life changing event shaped (over and over again...) the entire feminine aspect of my experience in every single area of my life from how I view, experience, and express my sensuality, sexuality, sense of self (as the nurturer and also the provider), how I view my world, and how I respond to it. There is, without a doubt ,a level of evolution in all of these areas but not unlike anything else, I continue to deepen into the discovery of it all while gliding into that perfect space of equanimity.  

I grew up with a bunch of brothers and so there was always a lot of masculine energy around me.... my mother was my feminine grounding. Becoming a woman, was, has been, and continues to be something that I have had to teach myself; through trial and error. maybe because I grew up around boys perhaps, and/or because I lost what was my foundation at the time in my life I did, connecting with the women of the world; was always very difficult and uncomfortable. Not until about 7 years ago did I even start to do so.

While we all have qualities of both the feminine and the masculine which we pull from day to day based on the need, It's interesting for me to look back on my experiences  to see where I might have pulled more so, from one or the other in order to get me through some of those experiences. Today, while their is a lot more grounding, sense of purpose and sense of self  in the world, the waters are much more calm in my life and I am able to see that there is a strong need and desire for me to create, marinate, and swim in the nurturing, healing and therapeutic component that is solid female supportive friendships, bonds, and connections.

I left my sweet friend that day feeling like I just got up from an extended stay on the most plush couch at my therapists office! To say that it was glorious would not even begin to do my day justice. As we discussed that day while drinking our "young coconut milk (with pulp)",  the process or the act doesn't always make "it"/"things" go away; just like the practice of yoga... one could be a yogi(ni), but it doesn't mean you are always living in the "light". There is the light and then there is the form. 

(side bar: if you come to either of our classes this week, I'm almost certain you will experience a theme of light / form from our own point of views and expressions :)  

With light and form, there is masculine and feminine. We aren't necessarily without one or the other, EVER, but we swing between the two. What I realized from that afternoon was more of "the why" for my craving this divine (and it IS divine!) connection with others in my life.  There is STRENGTH in that... but the feminine strength is more meek, it's softer... it's still very much so alive, but its not the pit bull. Think of it more as the Golden or more as the mother whose child is trapped beneath the car.  It's there on reserve for when and how it needs to be set free.

I went right into my week  of practice and teaching (that started later that afternoon with my sweet  Goddess- friend's class who teaches much within the same method as myself which was amazing for me to be able to take "my own"  class from someone else's transmission if you will, without having to stand in from of a room to do so :))) fresh and with new inspiration and perspective... all from simply spending time with someone who is from "the same planet".

I'm really into the collective whole at the moment; collaboration, building my tribe, and being the observer of my own experiences. I'm ever so sweetly seeing the unfolding of my life right before my own eyes rather than getting lost in it waking up and saying "WTF! What just happened?" ... and I feel the gift in doing so.

Here's to supporting, loving honoring, believing, trusting without dismissing, sharing, creating, bonding, building, reflecting with one another and starting anew.... and to doing so with those who are riding the same wave and reminding us that while "it's a long trip alone", we really are not alone at all.

Ode to my super natural Goddess friend, Lauran; ode to the beauty that is the bonding of soul-sisters everywhere...

"I don't want to get to the end of my life and find that I lived just the length of it. I want to have lived the width of it as well." Diane Ackerman, poet

LoveLoveLove,
Sanieh

...in the best way!

So I finally got moved into my own place since moving here last summer! It's glorious and I absolutely love it! What's best is that I am so close to most of my classes (all but one) so I save on gas, time, and can make sense of coming home between classes etc.

So much going on as always! I thought I was taking my yoga slogan shirts to print last week but I didn't realize how many tedious details there are and of course, to be able to sell them at an affordable price, you have to order hundreds... and then for each "new art" it's a different price etc. I'm working it out though! Sweet Caroline sent me home to figure out my ideal order including color of shirts/ink etc (that alone is a headache potentially, but this is a "positive problem" :) number of each style, sizes etc and then we would go from there. I'd like to have my order put in to American Apparel (USA made, 100% sweat shop free!) by the end of the week.

OH and I will be using Environmentally Safe, non-toxic INK! I was pleased to have that as an option! The only thing I am not doing is using organic material. The sizes very a lot for one and this would turn a 18-25 dollar shirt into a 35-45 dollar shirt quickly depending on how many are ordered. So I will save that for later :)

Well I finally filmed two of my classes last week which means I am nearing completion of a 2 (or is it 3?) year project (which really is a life-long continuum) that has been my extended studies towards advanced certification with my teacher. I completed the official hours last summer and have since surpassed them but the outside "OM work" has taken a year in and of itself. I can appreciate and respect this process seeing the there are many "schools" that make it too easy to do what we do. There is an awesome responsibility and a huge amount of knowledge and steady learning required to safely do what we do as teachers of yoga. I started to think that I didn't care about the piece of paper since my studies and time in with my teacher and hours in training (which are now close to 700 actual teacher training hours! I can hardly believe it!) and actual hours "being" a teacher (even more astonished with that one!) should speak for them self- but truth is, I've busted my tail if I may so say, and so now, I'm getting that piece of paper by golly!

The sacred reading list has by far been the most time consuming and difficult for me to complete. My library of reading is a wide range that still makes my mind spin but what I have gained from this portion has been the heart and essence of this entire method ranging from Kashmier Shavism, to the original texts of Tantric Philosophy, to Ayurveda, Marma Nadi Chakras, Somatics and movement. It's been a blessing and I plan to sit back down and re-read them all since I'm in a space now of better understanding. Funny how it always works out that way...

Lets see, what else? Last night was Yoga Trance Dance tm, my first one led since moving to Austin! It was a sweaty crazy beautiful mess!!! something FIERCE! We were drenched! SOAKING drenched! It was an amazing, purifying, and divine experience for all involved! This collective energy feeds off of one another and to be witness to people's first experience with truly letting go and letting the pulse of life and spirit guide them is such a beautiful thing. The roots of Yoga and dance trace back to the origins as the deities are all depicted as dancing. Dance in many parts of the world is an offering of celebration, mourning, joy, sorrow, birth and death. Dance and Yoga both re-unite us with our innate nature and bring us back to ourselves, our bodies, and the joy and love we are born with. I had not led a YTD in about a year and forgot how glorious it was! My body is exhausted today in the best way - that much I did remember would happen ;)  I am tallying the numbers now and will be back in touch with just how many trees were planted from everyone's donations.

100 % of the donations are benefiting Trees For The Future http://www.treesftf.org/ as our goal is to sponsor 200 villages in the poorest and most desertified parts of the world; mostly in southern India. This project enables these people to generate sustainable crops and educates them in this area. The goal through Shiva's Vision is to plant 100,000, 008 trees. I should check in on that status now that I'm thinking about it ;)

So it's Sunday morning, and I am writing from the tech center where I live since my Internet will not be hooked up until Monday. Normally my "weekend" begins after classes on Saturday at noon and goes through Monday and then I start teaching bright and early at 6am on Tuesday. I've been subbing a lot of classes lately since I will be gone half of July and then I spent yesterday preparing myself physically and mentally for YTD - so my weekend starts NOW. It's not even 9am and I've had my bikini on under my clothes since 715 this morning and so I am looking forward to turning my brain off and experiencing purification through swimming and sunning :)   I have to say again, thank you so much to all of you who continue to support me in what I do and for those who continue to put their trust in my guidance. I continue to connect to and bond with my students on so many levels and I am grateful for it. There is a student-teacher bond that has a pulse and rhythm of it's own and it's one that, on both ends, its a very sweet and sacred blessing. So I humbly thank you...  

"Dance, when you're broken open.
Dance, if you've torn the bandage off.
Dance in the middle of the fighting.
Dance in your blood.
Dance, when you're perfectly free."
~Rumi

Sanieh
http://www.saniehyoga.com/

About 9 years ago, I once had the oppotunity to go see Luciano Pavarotti live in concert. One of few regrets that I have is that I lied to the young man who invited me because I was interested in someone else at the time.

An opportunity forever lost as Pavarotti died in Sept. 2007.

With that being said, even being a musician myself; who knows if I would or could have appreciated the expereince in the same way that I do now with music as means to invoke bhavana, or mood. Kind of like mantra or chanting or world prayers of many different kinds, even when you are unable to understand  the words or translation, there is a bhavana, when delivered with passion and conviction, that is simply FELT.

Although I do not understand the italian language, the words are not important. We can all FEEL the words that this young man sings and I am so touched by his genuine expression of his truth and being witness to the beauty of the bufferfly who broke out of the cacoon right before our very eyes in this video... THIS is what it means to be in the flow....

www.youtube.com/watch?v=1k08yxu57NA