Laura Coan

I’ve resisted a post about the current situation we are in because I wanted to try and retain some normalcy, however, that time is past and I can feel the angst accumulating in my body. I was comforted by the words and practice provided by my teacher yesterday. Therefore, I humbly come to you today to share a few things.  The first that comes to me is that the only thing constant is change.

We are surrounded by change

This is a drastic change to the world as we know it, and inevitably this will change. WHAT WE FEEL TODAY WILL CHANGE. For the last month, I have felt deeply led by a force greater than myself and I have reached out to the people in my life seeking deep conversation and connection. What is happening now is all in order.  We are moving out of a time ruled by earth and into a time ruled by air, and like anything that has life, it does not go out quietly. I am not saying that we or our planet will be destroyed or anything dramatic in nature. I am simply saying we are feeling the effects of a shift and when you think about the earth as life in comparison to the human being — the effects are going to be dramatic!

What’s happening? We have spent 250 years using what the earth has provided to build an amazing interconnected world to live in.  It’s been built. Do you notice how many things have been invented to stay connected regardless of your location? I can talk to my mom in Ecuador and see her and feel her via FaceTime. It has taken a tremendous amount of resources along the way to make these things happen, not to mention, everything else that has taken place over the last 250 years.

It’s time for a refresh

It’s now time to replenish. Each generation is interconnected and shaped by the previous one, and all too often we course-correct too dramatically. You can see that in many facets of society. Our current younger generation is ready to take action on the damage we have done!

We are now forced to pay attention, slow down, look around. I notice more families outside, walking, riding bikes, playing games. I notice people posting about board games, puzzles, books. These are the things my generation has tried to keep alive for our children as technology has taken over. These things are being “prescribed” by our physicians because the current way we are living isn’t working.

Could the scale be moving toward balance by natural cause? It’s interesting to think about.

I say all of these things while I feel the underlying pulsation of fear in my body.

How to refuel

I don’t have the answers, but what I do have is a practice that supports me. We need to nourish ourselves to support our immune system and we need techniques to support our fluctuating minds and emotions so that we stay grounded and calm amongst the chaos.

There is no better time than now to pause and ask, what have we been doing and where CAN we go?

I will be posting short movement, breath and meditation practices within the next few days. Please use them to support your system!

Reflecting on 2019, and really the last two years, I’ve come up with my word for 2020!  I know, FINALLY, I’m slow! The first day of 2020 I gathered with a group of people at  Shakti Yoga Center in Garland to start my day with an intention and surrounded by community. Before the class I read a quote that stuck with me, “In the past, jobs were about muscles, now they’re about brains, but in future, they’ll be about the heart.” I LOVED it! I quoted it that morning before teaching and I’ve continued to reflect on it.

Anahatasana

The last two years I’ve been training with Gary Kraftsow and have had the opportunity to dive in to the study of yoga to a depth I haven’t encountered before. The program strives to encourage personal practice, and it WORKED! We would study together in Austin for two weeks and then go home with six months between sessions to put to practice what we learned during our session. It started with the basics of breath and movement. I began connecting to my patterns of breath and movement which had a a powerful integrating effect. I started to feel a rhythm in my yoga asana practice that increased my ability to concentrate on being in my body rather than just doing my practice. I did this for 6 months—simply exploring breath and movement.

Our next session was pranayama, or more specifically how to use breath in your yoga practice to create a certain effect. Again, we left with our own handwritten yoga practice to explore the idea of controlled breath in asana and specific breathing techniques. I continued to practice breath and movement, but now I was exploring how different ways of breathing made me feel energized, calm, or clear-headed. I started to feel more in control. As I gained control of myself, I began releasing control of other things. What normally felt difficult, was still difficult, but I could manage the difficulty in a different way. I was capable of feeling uncomfortable without needing to change it. I could use a yoga practice to soothe myself instead of a glass of wine, and it became my preferred method.

The third session was chanting and meditation, as we continued adding to what we had been exploring, for now, over a year. The practice I took home after the third session felt like a catapult! I felt empowered and supported by practice. If I needed a reminder of my self worth, I chanted. If I needed love, I chanted. If I needed to be nurtured, I chanted. My body and mind became the chant. I used chanting to connect to a place inside of me. The practice I created before we left used a chant for abundance, and that’s exactly what I experienced. THAT’S POWERFUL!

My Personal Mission

During each session, I left the two weeks with a word that summed up the experience for me. Faith, Reverence, No Matter What, and the final word was HEART. The fourth and final session was the integration of these practices where we would fluidly move between breath, movement, meditation, and chanting. It was beautiful. It was the connection of my thinking mind and my feeling heart. I could easily drop into my inner world and use my mind to explore my heart. I’m observing patterns in my thinking, discovering how my senses have lead me to make life choices that don’t ultimately support my dreams and desires. This is a practice that is revealing things about me to ME! Because of these practices, I’ve landed in my heart which has become a safe place to explore.

For some people the mission is big, for others the mission is small, and each is just as important. Neither one of these are better, they’re just different. I am one whose mission is small, right here, right now. My mission is being present in the moment with the child playing at the park who gifts me with a smile, the homeless person on the corner who gifts me with conversation, the elderly person in the store who gifts me with wisdom. I am also gifting them a moment. It’s small.

These practices are helping me to see more as I cultivate compassion and awareness of my own biases and also recognize that small acts can be part of the bigger picture. And for those whose gift is to see the world more globally, I’m noticing how these same concepts of compassion and heart are becoming part of their work and mission as they reach a larger audience. What’s common is the practice, or any practice that is intentional, that encourages self reflection and inquiry. We are human and we do suffer as part of this condition, but our life is a gift to work through this and experience more happiness, health, and connection!

Happy 2020 my friends! Let’s do some yoga!