Workshop with Gururattan

[Guest guest]

Greetings, All,

 

Hard to believe it's already four days since Gururattan's workshop in Palo

Alto last Sunday. I want to write about it before more time passes, though

there are teachings from the workshop that will stay with me.

 

After reading and practicing with Gururattan's books, visiting the KY

website and participating in the mail list, I was excited to meet her in

person and do yoga with her. The workshop turned out to be more than I could

have imagined.

 

The 18 attendees included yoga teachers, ongoing practitioners, people who

didn't necessarily practice regularly but who love Gururattan's workshops,

and a yoga first-timer. I was pleasantly surprised to see my original KY

teacher in the group. We sat in a circle and introduced ourselves.

 

After we tuned in, Gururattan led us in KY aerobics, a vigorous series of

movements during which we chanted "Har" in eight counts. Whew!

 

Then we began to feel and inhabit our inner space, our heart space. This was

the theme of the workshop: that we live in the awareness of our heart space

to become more fully human. We did a series of stretches then sat to feel

this inner space. As the workshop progressed, after each kriya we would

return to the heart space in our meditations. Over the day I felt this space

expand in me. What seemed to begin as a knot of awareness behind my eyes

grew to include my entire upper body, even seeming to expand beyond the

confines of the ribs. During Gurpranam in one of the sets the space expanded

even more, surging down my back.

 

During the break we had some time to talk. I told Gururattan how much I

appreciated everyone on the list and how it enables people from all over to

connect and share their experiences. Gururattan also acknowledged the

teachers who participate.

 

Of course, I had to add how much I enjoy the recipes. :-)

 

In the second half of the workshop, Gururattan spoke to us about control and

surrender and the fears we have that make us cling to the illusion of

control and resist surrender. She took us through a kriya that contained

some challenging asanas, each one followed, thankfully, by rest. Then she

asked us each to identify any unpleasant feelings that arose during the set.

She told us that feelings of fear, anger or sadness signal an underlying

need that isn't being met. In my case fear came up, the underlying need

being to feel safe and secure in my existence. I was able to see how being

and staying in the heart space would help me feel safe. These teachings gave

me a deeper perspective on my yoga practice. I'd been doing it largely for

the general sense of well being it gave me, and there's nothing wrong with

that. But now, I had the awareness of the heart space, the desire to live

more fully as a human in touch with her soul.

 

At the end, we did a tantric healing circle, with one of the group in the

center. It was a powerful experience that I could write about in detail, but

I don't want this to get too long. What impressed me was the sense I

received of each person's character and unique being as each one chanted

"Wahe Guru" around the circle. At the beginning of the workshop, all but

one of the participants had been strangers to me. By the end of the

workshop they felt like kin.

 

In closing, I want to thank Gururattan for coming to Palo Alto and

conducting the workshop, and express my appreciation of the organizers and

attendees.

 

If any of you fellow list yogis get a chance to attend Gururattan's classes

or workshops, go for it! I'm glad I did.

 

Sat Nam

 

Chris B