By: Kilkenny Tremblay, DDYS Faculty
The stream of warm colors bathe my eyes as I take the train home from DIG Yoga’s final teacher training weekend, and in their glow as the sun begins to fade out of sight, the words of the great poet, Walt Whitman, pour into my mind, “I sing the body electric" Leaves of Grass-1855.
Not only are my eyes soothed by the tapestry of color that has woven itself amongst the trees, but the hearth of my heart is lit like the autumnal trees outside having shared in and witnessed such deep transformation and profound growth for so many.
One of the reasons I think that the immersion and teacher training programs at DIG Yoga are so powerful is due to the collective depth of study that everyone who helps facilitate the programs have had and how dedicated the faculty and staff are to keep at it on the journey of growth and transformation. There is a deep commitment to excellence and well, just a lot of passion for the yogic practices. Inevitably, where there is commitment and passion, there is a certain type of heat omitted.
Within a well known yogic text called, The Yoga Sutras, there are three terms that refer to the sweet “heat” of the inner and outer yoga: Tapas, Svadhyaya and Ishwara Pranidhana. Tapas is the heat of the effort it takes to get oneself to a yoga class or commit to deepening one’s studies with a training or even the heat in the seeking of better alignment in Triangle pose. Svadhyaya refers to the heat of self reflection, the illuminative power of mindfulness and the powerful practice of checking “in” as opposed to numbing out. Ishwara Pranidhana is the warm glow like the fall leaves outside expressing themselves one final time before they depart their branches; it is the celebration of transformation and a willingness to let go of the old to make space for the new. And all of this is possible through the gateway of the body. Through knowing and aligning the body more fully, the electricity that resides within us in the form of our breath, in the form of our thoughts and in the form of the feelings and psychology of our hearts, can be cooked over the transformative fire of yoga and ourselves as a whole can “sing” as in the poet’s verse.
So when we come together at DIG Yoga for a class, workshop or training, in the name of transformation, in the wake of diving deep into the yoga, just as various organs and features come together in the greater structure of the human body, a container for electricity is created, so too do our students come together and create a stronger container for warmth and heat.
In this season of cooler temperatures and warm colors, of gratitude and cooking, may you plug into your community, may you connect and commit to your yoga as a way of plugging into yourself. Through the transformative power of the practice, may you feel illuminated by the electricity that is generated and may the colors be bright on the inside and out.
