Passion

Some of my regular readers of this blog might be expecting that this week I'd be talking about the fourth Yama, as the past three weeks have looked at compassion, truthfulness and generosity. This week I had every intention of moving onto Brahmacharya but it's just going to have to wait. It feels as though I've been overpowered in witnessing passion, so I couldn't resist talking about this all week. I figured with the Sutras being some 2900 years old, the fourth yama could probably wait another week.

My thoughts around passion took flight a couple of weekends ago as my third class of yoga teacher trainees graduated. I stood in the studio during their finals watching as one of the trainees taught to fellow trainees and graduates of the program. It struck me in such a heartfelt way that I was bearing witness to something that was simply a mere conversation on a bus ride in India in February of 2013 and here I was, seeing the ripple effect of that conversation some three years later.

During the Bare Witness Tour of India, where my group of 20 some fundraisers visited the organizations we had been supporting, we spent a bit of time traveling around Kolkata in a group bus. Traffic can get jammed up in Kolkata, so we had many opportunities to get to know our fellow Seva buddies. During one of these times, I had what turned out to be an igniting conversation with Jennifer Chitwood about how she got her yoga school going. I asked many questions which lit the spark for me to do the same thing. It was something that had been sitting on my "that would be cool" list, but hadn't yet been given the right fuel to see if happen. This conversation was enough fuel for me to ignite the process once I returned to the States. I launched my first round of teacher training six months later.

The ripples spread further back than that conversation in India. In February of 2012, I gathered together a group of women for an afternoon tea in my backyard. It had come to me during a meditation a couple of months before that I needed to sit with and gather together women who I found inspirational. So I invited 12 of them over and, as we sat in a circle I said, "You all inspire me so thanks for coming. I don't really know why we're here, but I do have two questions to ask you. What are you passionate about? and What has been sitting on the backburner of your consciousness that you wish to bring forward?"

As we went around the circle, each woman shared her passions and future aspirations and it truly was inspirational. After they had all finished, they turned the question to me to which I replied, "I want to do this fundraising challenge for India with a goal of raising $20,000. I'm a yoga teacher, not a fundraiser and have a tremendous fear of failure". To which the group gently reached out to touch my shoulder and said, "You won't fail...you have us!". That conversation brought the experience of the Seva Challenge India to the forefront. And as you've read above, I did reach the goal and travelled to India as a result. We also had a conversation about what else was on my backburner regarding teacher training.

When you drop a pebble into a still pond you have no idea as to how far the ripples will move outward.

What I've noticed about people following their passion is that a certain amount of vulnerability goes along with it. When we step forward we might be judged, fail or feel exposed. With the recent passing of the musician/entertainer Prince so many of us saw how passionate he was about his craft, despite being booed off stage in his first concert as he opened for the Rolling Stones (or so I heard). Yet that didn't stop him from finding full expression and offering his gifts to so many. The artist Georgia O'Keefe was quoted as saying, "I've been absolutely terrified every moment of my life and I've never let it keep me from doing a single thing that I wanted to do". I saw so many moments of yoga trainees facing awkward and despite vulnerable moments they persevered through the discomfort and found their unique voices.

No matter what is sitting in the center of our heart that ignites our passionate flame, we need to have the courage to bring it forward. Standing in our truth and standing in fear as goes hand in hand. Allow yourself to feel the fear and do it regardless.

To finish my thought of the week, all of this action of doing and bringing forth my passion began in silence. I needed to get quiet to hear the truth of the intuitive voice living within.

What are you passionate about?

What's sitting on the backburner of your consciousness that you wish to manifest?

It's worthwhile to sit with it and ask the question...quietly.