The Yoga of Community Relationships

I just returned from a sweet weekend of communing with the local and visiting Sufi community at Sufi Camp on the Van Duzen River.  I always feel like my heart gets filled up through the numerous ways we interact and connect there.  There are Sufi dances which combine singing spiritual songs in various languages and simple dances.  There are also meditations, spiritual chants with movement (Zikr), small group discussions, shared meals, river time, and various other singing, prayer and movement classes offered.   I love the messages we sing: remembering we’re all One; seeing the Divine in everything and everyone; opening our hearts; welcoming all traditions, and more.  It’s very much like the teachings in Tantra: Everything is a pathway to the Source.  I don’t know a lot about the Sufi tradition, and that’s okay.  (I plan to learn more soon :).  Yet I am always welcomed with open arms and a loving hug.  I feel touched by this quality in the Sufi community; this gracious and open-hearted welcoming that I experience every time.  And the practices of singing the names of spirit or spiritual messages, in whatever form or language, and moving my body as I sing, chant or gaze into another’s eyes, resonates with me so much.

This feels like an extension of what I call The Yoga of Relationships and feels like what we practice in our Tantra workshops.  It’s taking our yoga off the cushion or the mat, and into how we connect with others.  I practice being as present as I can inside myself as I chant, as I move my feet to the music, as I hold someone’s hand or look up into the tall trees and open sky.  And I practice seeing the Divinity and the Heart in others.  And I often judge that I’m not doing these things very well.  I get distracted by the steps or the words or the awesome musicians.  And I suppose none of that is really a distraction.  It’s all just part of the experience of welcoming what is happening right now, in this moment.  Can I use these experiences through all my senses as another way to wake up and get present and alive?  I’s a constant dance of going away and coming back to myself and the moment, as is everything else, I suppose.  But because this particular practice involves movement, music, nature, friends and loving community, it’s super pleasurable!  It’s one thing to practice alone, and another to take our practices into connection with others.  To me, that is where the rubber meets the road.  Can I see the loving hearts in others and let my own heart shine with love throughout the dance?  And can I still experience it when I’m hungry and waiting in line for my food, when the smoke rolls in, or when I didn’t sleep well in my tent by the river?   There are so many opportunities to practice!

May we all remember our hearts are made for loving, our bodies are made for moving and our voices are made to sing!

If you’re interested in joining us at a Sufi gathering, check out the local group here: https://sites.google.com/site/pamplin2009/activities

And see the Workshops page for our upcoming Yoga of Relationships events here: http://www.innerfreedomyoga.com/workshops/