Sun and Moon Asana x MysticBazaar x Desert Daze

I can't believe I got to bring my teachings to this magical festival with a community full of very special teachers and artists. Desert Daze is a music and art festival that also includes something very special called the Mystic Bazaar- a group of mystics, spiritual guides, healers and more who come together for this event and others throughout the year to create a Healing Village. And this year I had the absolute honor and privilege of being invited to share my magic and teachings in this community to the collective.

It was a total immersion. There are very few photos and none (that I know of) of the meditation circle I led on Saturday morning. It was a full gathering with beautiful, open souls ready to and willing to connect and practice.

It was really special to be able to offer the teachings from the Anusara practice and the deep, ancient unifying wisdom it is tethered to in a whole new environment. I taught elements from the Non-Dual Tantric philosophy- a philosophy of Oneness-and invited everyone into full interaction with each other in a practice called “See the Good”.

The Connection & Intention Circle was both a class & an experience. We sat and found our way into honoring our highest intentions and meeting them with action. Everyone practiced seeing the good in others and experienced others seeing the good in them. There were tears of joy and release. There was love. There was a heightened sense of connection and so much beauty in the tent radiating from each person.

Beyond this one meditation circle, there were other amazing and expansive offerings being led and guided by other healers and teachers. We gathered to practice asana together, there were sound baths, ceremonies were held to honor the sacred - cacao ceremonies, moon ceremonies. We danced until the early hours of the morning freeing our spirits and unlocking pathways in the body that have contracted, tightened and forgotten their freedom. We studied breathwork and learned about plants and herbs. There were community members offering body work and energy readings. There was so much being offered in this Healing Village. And to top things off there was a rad music festival and a beautiful natural environment being lent to us in this state park so we could enjoy the mountains, a lake and and an open playground filled with art and music.

There was so much connection and the Mystic Bazaar held space for people to connect to consciousness and leave with a bigger heart than they walked in with.

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One of the reasons I chose to lead this meditation circle instead of a straight forward yoga practice was because I find myself continuously inspired to create and hold space for people to truly and purely get in connection with each other.

More often than not it can be so challenging, intimidating, and scary to truly and openly connect with others- especially strangers. Motives and intentions are frayed and blocked by fear and insecurity. But I believe, and this practice teaches us, that at the very core of who and what we are is the purest, brightest essence, made of pure love. We all want to connect with each other and know somewhere deep inside that we are all connected to one another. So this circle- this gathering- was a special opportunity to create a safe, healing space for everyone to be with one another in deep connection while letting go of fear, insecurity, doubt. It was a space where everyone had a chance to experience their hearts being offered and connected to first.

It was really beautiful to feel and to see.

I'm hopeful that I get another opportunity to be a part of the Mystic Bazaar again.

And in the meantime, I'd like to bring the community together for more of this. I want to invite you to sit with me and others and get closer to yourself and those around you.

And until I put that together, I invite you to make the time you do have with others more full and intent. Put your phone down while you're eating with your friend, partner, co-worker. Make eye contact with the person ringing you out at the register. Be mindful that the next person you are interacting with is a human being with thoughts, feelings, emotions, and a story that you don't and may never know, and never fully. Find a way to connect rather than distance just by being present and coming from your heart as you interact.
It may not change anything dramatically. But it does create an impact that can be felt on both ends.

Yoga continues to teach me, us, that we make progress slowly through continued, conscious effort and mostly subtle shifts. And in the yoga world we believe that the practice can and does extend beyond the mat, the classroom, the workshop and the special, ceremonial gathering spaces.

Can we connect with each other In bigger, more positive and impactful ways? Can we heal our damaged bonds, our social dynamic with each other and become agents of healing?

Yes.

I'm here for it. And I'm absolutely here to help.