Is there resistence in a dharmic path?

It's better to perform one's duty imperfectly than to master the duties of another.
Bhagavad Gita

I am again back from 2 weeks traveling with my beloved teacher Rod Stryker. I was first at the Himalayan Institute, participating in the Akhanda Japa meditation and taking Para Yoga's master teachers training on the Koshas. Then I went to Miami, where I've assisted Rod in his Yoga of Fulfillment training and offered a Business of Yoga intensive.

Though tired and homesick, I came back recharged, inspired by my teacher and the teachings he embodies, and looking forward to integrating the new tools I've learned and the insights my practice has bestowed on me.

One of the things Rod presented with unequaled eloquence is that the age we are living in is one where you will find a lot of resistance to bring light to your life and to other people's lives. It will be easier to open another strip club or a gun shop than to be a yoga teacher and to open a retreat center. Resistance is not an indication you are in the wrong path.

The yogis see resistance, both internal and external as karma, and the way to overcome it to increase the energy behind your determination (your shakti) as well as the resources you have (prana in many forms). Rod offers this teaching as a formula, called The Creation Equation

F = S + P > K

Where
F = Fulfillment
S = Shakti, desire to fulfill
V = Prana, resources/processes used to fulfill your desire
K = karma, resistance

So whenever the sum of your desire and your resources is greater than your karma manifested as resistence, voilá, you have fulfillment. So resistance is always there, the key is to ensure it's not the greater of the forces.

The scriptures promise that fulfillment comes from acting in accordance to your purpose and not from any other way of measuring success, including numbers and how easy it was to get what you wanted. If that was true for Arjuna, who had to go to war in order to fulfill his duty, I am sure it applies to us as well.

Yep, that's the type of stuff we talk about in the Yogi Incubator. And then of course, we share practical tools so that you can become not only more determined, but more resourceful...

Every time I see Rod it humbles me. I realize how much I owe to him and what a blessing and joy it is to have a teacher. If you want to experience him in a non-commital way, you can listen to "Fearlessness and Joy: Yoga's Vision of Your Best Life" by Rod Stryker, a closing talk at the 2008 San Francisco Yoga Journal Conference.

On a very practical note, I have three more teleclasses for this year. I hope you can join me!

To the light and strenght that dwells in your heart,
Clara

Fire Transformation

This afternoon I've put off a fire. Literally.
This afternoon the caretaker from our ranch called us to say that there was a fire in the back of the property. We had so little experience with the theme that we wondered if we should we go, and if we were to go, what should we do? I quickly realized that I had to go, even if I couldn't "do" anything. Remembering that is subtle first, then it materializes, I was clearly I could make a difference, subtle, yet very real.
And talking about real, I wondered then how should I get dressed, it was hot, but clearly my tank tops could be too fiery for the occasion. Not to mention that I should wear something that would protect me from the heat, in case it was really bad, right?
I got to the ranch sporting my red rubber boots, a camouflage tshirt with an OM and the word love on it, jeans and cap. I was ready to anything, from chanting mantras to invoke water to putting the fire of, if anyone was kind enough to tell me how on earth would I do it.
I ended up doing both, and in case you are interested, the way you put off a fire is with a tree branch. You hit the fire hard with it, in places where the flames are low, and you beat until it respects you enough to retract.
The yogis say that fire is alive, and I can tell you that that's VERY true. And the most amazing thing is how it responds to momentum. If you let it spread, you can't possibly catch up with it. We fought for 3 hours, 7 people. There were moments were I thought I was just doing a gesture, that the fire was so overpowering that there was no way we would be able to control it. But we did. We did control it. And that felt like such a feat, a gold medal of fire-fighting.
How do we find energy to go beyond what we think our limitations are? Can you imagine me beating fire with a tree branch for 3 hours? Can you imagine my silky hands, the ones I treat with ridiculously expensive Jurlique organic rose cream, all cut and bruised by torns?
So many things went on my mind while I was madly fighting fire. I remembered my teacher talking about fire, and how we worship it in yoga, particularly in the tradition I follow. As transformation, as purification, as Divine Mother herself, she steps out of the fire. A mantra for agni kept coming to me, and I wasn't sure if that was going to help or hindered, so I pushed it away and brought on the bija mantra for the water element. I felt tired and helpless, but then I remembered of the samurai blood that runs on my veins and knew that I could do that and much more. And that how you handle these simple, yet multo-layered moments in life, define your character. I certainly wanted that definition to be a warrior.
It also brought me true appreciation for the great people we have in our lives, who we can count on. In addition to Adan, a strong and incredibly reliable guy that walks our dog and is willing to do anything we ask, and who by himself, put off a good 1/2 acre of fire, I had lots of people responding to a rushed email to send light and prayers, and I know that this makes a difference.
Now that the fire is off, in the midst of ashes and smoke, I stand trying to figure out what is the meaning of it. I will certainly leave some reflection for tomorrow, but a few things I already have clear:
1) What you don't use it, nature claims it back. We have not been to the ranch since May. This fire is a way of nature taking it back and transforming it into something else
2) What you are capable of when you are really present with what you are doing is amazing. I hope I won't need another fire to remember that.
3) Thank God for Neti-Pot and the ashes it will wash away...

It was a long day, time for bed...