February | 2019 | Aleah Sommers

I recently wrote to one of my teachers simply to get in touch and let her know I appreciated a piece that she wrote about gravity and the dance between prana and apana. Even though I haven’t seen Erica Kaufman in almost three years, somehow we stay connected. She may be heading soon back to India for the Kumbh Mela, a super-massive spiritual gathering happening now in Allahabad — can you feel it?). In her response to me, she wrote:

“Yoga is a lifelong project for me. Life is a lifelong project. I feel committed to living fully and respectfully— A wild dance at times.”

It really is, isn’t it? Now that I am abruptly not teaching regular weekly studio classes anymore and am working full-time at NCAR, I have shifted into an entirely new daily rhythm – sitting in a chair all day after early-morning asana practice, cooking and eating dinner at a civilized time in the evenings at home with Eli, and sitting on a cushion in the dark quiet hours of the night, wide awake for mantra/kriya/meditation practice. It has been heartwarming to unexpectedly run into students from the last several years in places like Lucky’s Market, at NCAR, and even up at a backcountry ski hut far from here. A friend/student/co-worker recently told me that he still practices uddiyana bandha kriya first thing every morning after receiving it as a “lifelong homework assignment” in my classes, and that it helps him find his center and set the tone for the day. Things like that are truly inspiring, and I’m glad that I have passed on something useful so far.

I am looking forward to some potent experiences together this year, and I have much to share as we all practice and grow, and move through our lifelong projects of Yoga and Life. See below for details and registration for upcoming workshops and retreats in Colorado, Utah, and Mexico, as well as a special discount code for the Hanuman Festival held here in Boulder.

Rod Stryker (another of my teachers, also at the Kumbh Mela at the moment) recently wrote to me, “Blessings on your practice.” I pass that on to you.

See you again someday soon.

With love,
Aleah

The Hanuman Festival is a yoga gathering held here in Boulder in June, bringing together excellent teachers from around the world for a weekend of yoga, music, learning, and devotional love.