View this email in your browser EVENT CALENDAR WRITINGS LEARNING TOOLS Happy Holidays!

I am so thrilled to announce that my new video course, Finishing Backbend Sequence of Ashtanga Yoga, will be available on December 26th. You can find a link to the trailer and more information at the bottom of this newsletter.



Also, the early bird rate for my annual retreat at Breitenbush Hot Springs, March 9-14, ends on January 1st.



Lastly, a woman recently wrote me asking my thoughts about the sexual allegations within the yoga community. I've been hesitant to share my response but its important to me that as yogis we remember the yogic perspective so I am sharing it with all of you.



I hope you're holidays are going well. It's snowing a lot in Philadelphia...brrrrr. When are we leaving for India????

Jai!

Hey David,

We are just now seeing this unfolding. We are thinking this through and figuring out how to respond. Would love to talk to you and hear your thoughts about it all.

Big Love,

______





Hi ____,

Thank you for getting in touch with me. I would love to talk to you. There's no fast or easy way to respond to this. There are many angles, layers, and they are different for every person. And the public reaction and the public forum, though necessary and potentially healing, adds complexity and requires its own sorting. I have a few priorities in mind as I reflect.



One, is compassion for the suffering that envelops us all.



Two, is the need for all of us to go within and sit with the jumble of emotions and reflections, and then from those reflections, learn how to take steps towards behaving with more integrity. This is a necessary step for all not just for people who crossed over into explicit, radical abuse.



Three, be open and out front about the past, not necessarily for retribution, revenge, or punishment, but more to arrive at a new, higher standard for being in a loving, conscious relationship with others. This is perhaps the most important and it is especially important that younger people benefit from the fall of the old paradigm and the arrival of the new one. Younger people can now have more clarity about what types of behavior are unacceptable. It is deeply sad that this new clarity was lacking before but we also have to move forward and each person, young and old, has to vigorously behave according to the new standard. Each person can now see how many of the past ways we treated each other was hurtful. A new internal vigilance is required to observe how ways we treat one another can drift towards abuse.



Lastly, I see justice as having 4 tiers. The 4 tiers go from most important to least important. I will start with the least important tier, the 4th one.



The 4th tier is public justice. This is what we are seeing on Facebook and in the news; people hearing other people’s stories or sharing their own stories. This is information that is gathered by all different kinds of people with different interests and levels of involvement. The collective opinion is both essential and inevitable but to me this type of judgment is last in order of importance. There is much room for error and it is possible to create more harm than healing if we all begin and end with this 4th tier of justice.



The 3rd tier is your own conscience. You be the judge, withdraw, think for yourself, spend time with the matter at hand, and then decide on the action that ought to follow from your judgment.



The 2nd tier is human justice. We have laws and courts and judges that are all set up to hear cases, make judgments, and dole out punishments. Whenever relevant or possible let the human justice system bring the verdict.



The 1st tier of justice, and the most important, is cosmic justice. It is based on the law of karma where every action has its necessary consequence. In the cosmic sense the fruit of each action accurately matches the quality of the action. If you perform an evil action the universe makes sure you pay for it and if you perform a good action the universe rewards. The universe does this regardless of whether you pay or are rewarded within the ordinary human realm. The message is trust in the universe to dole out JUSTICE even though you may not see or understand how or when that justice comes.



Anyway, ____, these are some of my thoughts. Hope it’s not too long and rambling. Thanks for looking to me and wanting to share. Let me know what you think. Hari OM! FEATURED EVENTS Join me for daily Mysore, pranayama and yoga sutras classes at the southern most tip of India. You can come and study for 1 week or 1 month.



Learn more on my website. Devote time to your practice in a remote off-the-grid 154-acre forest sanctuary surrounded by national forest and clear hot springs. Enjoy Mysore-style classes, pranayama, vegetarian meals, and yoga sutra study in the midst of stunning natural beauty.​



Learn more at Breitenbush Hot Springs Retreat Website. Finishing Backbend Sequence Video Course AVAILABLE DECEMBER 26th "Through backbends, dropbacks, and tic tacs you're working to turn fear into fearlessness."



By utilizing the Finishing Backbend sequence of Ashtanga Yoga, this course will teach you:



1) How to use opposing forces in your backbends.



2) How to face fear with positive action. Through backbending you learn how to encounter your fears consciously and without avoidance.​





(CLICK PICTURE TO WATCH TRAILER)



