Kansas Siddhi Yoga

Without a doubt, the thing I love most about Kansas Siddhi Yoga is our diversity. It fills me with true joy to know that one would be hard pressed to precisely categorize who practices here. Because, who practices at our studios could very well be a little bit of everyone imaginable. We are young and old, we are fat and skinny. We are Christians and atheists, we are householders and renunciates. We are lawyers, artists, bank VPs, dancers, healers, accountants. We are employed, self-employed and unemployed. We're gay, straight and bramacharis. We are students, teachers, at-home moms, single dads. Bodyworkers, pilots, salespeople, analysts. Tattooed, curling-ironed, wear suits, wear sweats. We come in different colors and have followed different paths to get where we are now. Which is together.

What brings us together is that we are all seekers. And this particular transmission of the path of yoga is piquing our interest enough to investigate further and/or speaks to and nourishes the deepest part of our being. And I believe that's what we're striving to see first in each other. Then what binds us, or in other words, keeps us together, is RESPECT. I think our diverse little community is an inspiring example of how people from many different backgrounds, life experiences and lifestyle choices can live in harmony with the common threads of respect and inquiry.

One reason I regularly solicit questions/feedback/additions to my talks at the beginning of class or create blogsites is to cultivate a democratic learning experience. I do this with absolute trust that we'll all practice the first, and arguably, most important yama, ahimsa. Non-harming of others. The practice of ahimsa is challenging - when it comes to communication, it seems to live in that slender space between repression and harming. Evaluating our intentions before communicating is an excellent practice in navigating towards that space of ahimsa communication. In being impeccable with our words, we must always honestly evaluate our motives. Clearly, this process isn't foolproof because we're humans who are practicing and learning as we go. I appreciate the respect and wide berth you've given me and the other teachers in our quest to share the teachings that have shaped our lives. I also appreciate the wide berth you've given each other all along since our inception, which makes you tremendous ambassadors of this path and your studio. This respectfulness has made us the diverse and harmonious community we are and I am filled with both pride and love. From the bottom of my heart, I thank you.

Pranams,
Gina