Good Bye Miami Life Center

  

I am writing this with less than a month remaining to my time living and teaching yoga in Miami Beach.  The past five years have been momentous for me as a student of yoga and as a teacher, not to mention the dramatic changes to my home and family recently.  It still seems surreal to be leaving a place that has meant so much to me, but the time has come and I am going. 

For those that may not know my story, I met Kino in India.  I had known her name from previous teachers that suggested I practice with her.  When we met in India, I learned she was opening a shala in Miami and by the time I returned to the states I had decided to move to Miami Beach and was accepted as a teacher at Miami Life Center.  The change happened at a time in my life that I was ready for the next phase to present itself.  I was in Chicago feeling as though there was something more for me, more than I was finding there.  So I packed my life into storage and went to India, thinking, “I will figure it out in India.”  After four years without a regular teacher, I was ready for that constant presence in my practice.  I was ready to be challenged.  I was ready to make a lifestyle shift and to make my yoga my priority.

Miami Life Center has a magic within its walls that nearly everyone feels when they walk through the door.  It is the energy of transformation.  Things seem possible here.  And one feels supported, cared for in their journey.  Kino, Tim and Greg began this place with a shared intention that has become infused in the rooms.  Every teacher that has joined the community, every student that has passed through, have added their prana to the space, and it is tangible.  It is different than any other place I have taught and it is what makes Miami Life Center special and amazing!

Kino, aside from Guruji and Sharath, I consider you to be my teacher, but over the past five years you have become so much more to me.  With you as my teacher, my yoga practice has grown, deepened and progressed further than I expected it to in this life.  Third series was something that five years ago I wouldn’t even allow myself to imagine, and now I am here and what was once impossible is possible.  You seem to understand how I learn, what my body needs and how my mind understands.  Effortlessly, you have encouraged me to work harder than I think I can.  You get more out of me on the mat than anyone I have ever worked with, and this is how I know you are my teacher – you believe in me. 

Also, as a teacher, you believe in me.  You have this amazing ability to connect to a vision and trust it completely.  I have seen you do it with many others and I know you have done it with me.  Hardly knowing me you allowed me to join the group at Miami Life Center.  You gave me a chance as a teacher and then supported my growth from day one until the present, and I feel you will continue to do so even after I leave.  My understanding of this practice and how to share it with students has been refined under your mentorship.  You remind me to work from a place of compassion and to believe in the transformative power of Ashtanga yoga.  Thank you, from the bottom of my heart, thank you.

Tim and Greg, you also became mentors to me these past five years.  I have learned so much from both of you that will stay with me as a student of yoga and as a teacher for the eternity of my experiences with yoga.  You welcomed me and opened yourselves to me, sharing your personal talents and knowledge.  Greg, I value your understanding of yogic philosophy and your ability to draw philosophical concepts into the asana practice.  I cherish the conversations we have had over the years and  I will always hear your voice chanting the sutras in my head.  Tim, your enthusiasm and understanding of the intricacies of the human body’s potential is astounding.  With your fingertip you could completely change my alignment and connection to subtle movements of energy within a posture.  And I admire and aspire to your degree of commitment to the tradition and lineage that is Ashtanga yoga.  I aim to integrate a little of each of you in how I approach this practice, thank you for sharing your yoga with me

The teaching community at MLC is as special as the directors.   You are all amazing teachers with incredible yoga to share.  What I value the most about teaching with you all is the sense of cooperation, support and friendliness I have felt.  I feel that all of you are my friends and that we wish the absolute best for each other, without the sense of competition that can sometimes happen.  We are a family and it is this mingling support and respect for each that that can be felt by the students and helps them to feel supported in their personal journey as they move form one class to another, sometimes changing teachers.  Thank you for your support and respect these years.

And finally, thank you to all of the students I have worked with during my time in Miami Beach.  You have taught me as much as my teachers have.  Thank you for opening your hearts, minds and lives to me.  Thank you for letting me in and letting me have an affect on you.  Thank you for trusting me and allowing me to guide you.  Thank you for sharing your stories and giving me a view of your transformations.  I have watched so many of you accomplish amazing change and experience profound awakenings.  It is watching all of you discover and explore your own yoga paths that keeps me inspired and reminds me over and over again why I became a teacher.  Thank you. 

Of course I will be back.  Kino will always be my teacher.  MLC will always be a home for me.  Kino and I are already discussing future workshops so keep your eyes open for me to return and please visit me at Shanti Yoga Shala if you are ever in Philly.  Keep practicing, see you soon.