Denver, Colorado, United States
A new space opens for learning something that has asked me for a deep view, I take a deep breath and I remain still, observing the other human beings who seek to live from consciousness.
The sunset in these final days of August lingers longer, summer seems to say goodbye, letting us see its last hot days, and these are some new sensations in my system. Summer in Colorado seems intense, the sun’s rays are so strong that they don’t seem to be friendly, and although I am only a year old living in the United States with location in Colorado, I still feel inexperienced in the observations of its movement. It seems that my mind was so long in a state of alarm, for I immediately thrust a whole new country into it. My brain is just beginning to observe this new reality.
I just want to have the opportunity in the future to see the other after seeing me first.
In this new space, I have a view of Lakshmi, a goddess symbolizing abundance and prosperity, a representation of both material and spiritual energies. Painted on a mural with contrasting colors, it marks the beginning of my journey into the philosophy of yoga, not to make it my own life’s perspective, but to study its form and learn from it. Along my life’s path until now, it feels as though each perspective develops its own awareness or becomes part of other voices. I’m on a quest to understand my own philosophy of life, but in my belief in the eternal, infinite unity, perhaps it will ultimately lead to similar conclusions. What I wish to achieve is to live each day of my life in truth.
We form a circle comprised of teachers and students. Each teacher shares their journey in the practice of yoga thus far, and each student, including myself, shares our intention in joining the Yoga training. We also share our relationship with this practice so far.
Names begin to echo, and my voice can be heard: «My name is Katheryn, I am 24 years old, born in Honduras. I lived in Mexico for three years, and almost a year ago, I moved to the United States. I took my first yoga class at the age of 17, and since that day, it has been a part of my life through physical practice. But now, I’m interested in learning and understanding its philosophy. Last year, in my first weeks in this country, finding this Yoga studio meant finding a portal to reconnect with my consciousness and tell my humanity that all the changes I was going through were necessary as part of the process of my life. I made the decision to divorce my romantic partner last year because I felt that I needed time in my life to be intimate with myself, to avoid disturbing any spaces in my understanding of my own essence, and to be able to choose in the future to share my romantic intimacy from a place of self-awareness. Even though I know that relationships help us heal and learn about ourselves through them, I believe that when we haven’t given ourselves the chance to be with ourselves first, we end up choosing from a place of ignorance. This can cause harm to others and to ourselves. Despite my honesty during my relationship and marriage, which was a healthy one where I learned about unconditional love, I felt that I needed this space. I’m still scared, and at times, it feels like I’m sailing a massive ship without a crew, while I’m terrified by the instability of the weather and strong storms and waves. I trust that I will find my way and that I will see the sun’s light in tranquility, love, understanding, presence, and peace again. I hope I can share this with other beings who have felt or feel similarly to how I do. I’ve named this new stage of my life «a stage of healing and integration.»
Hoping that expressing this in the new English language I’m learning is understood, I conclude by giving myself instructions at this point in my life, and I listen with admiration and attention to each voice present. It’s a significant opportunity to share this intimacy in this sacred space with these human beings.
The altar in this room features Ganesha in the center. Each of us is asked to write our intentions for the training course that we are about to begin on paper. We write them down and, under the illumination of a light, place our intentions with faith. Because in the act of bravery, taking responsibility for ourselves and knowing ourselves, lies liberation and the encounter with enlightenment.
