The Jivamukti experience with Sharon Gannon and David Life in Sydney, Australia...how can I put it in words when I am still processing it all? How can I go back to my life as it was before? I can only move forward now and learn more, experience more, create more, be the best person I can be and be compassionate to all those around me.
If you have never experienced Jivamukti Yoga, I promise you it will be an experience and quite possibly a challenging one on many levels. Even more of an experience if you are fortunate enough one day to practice with Sharon Gannon and David Life as well. I am so very grateful that they made the long journey down to Australia to share the magic of their teachings.
Friday 12 February
I started to prepare for a full scale Jivamukti assault on the mind, body and spirit in Sydney and then in Byron the following weekend for some more jiva action. Jivamukti yoga love. Will any of us return? Will any of us want to?
I'm not one to revere gods or gurus but I do appreciate and respect all that Sharon and David have done to help make yoga accessible in the west whilst being true to who they are and what they believe and what they do. Regardless of what one thinks of Jivamukti Yoga, Sharon and David (co-founders) are pretty cool people who try to live their lives with the least amount of negative impact to eachother, others and the planet. That in itself is admirable and inspiring.
One of the activities David also asked us to do early on was to get into a pose and write down how it made us feel. Later on in the day, we revisited the pose and learned why we do those poses. Understanding what we were feeling when doing certain poses and then understanding why we do them historically brought it home for us like connecting the dots. It almost seemed like the lot of us were having continual epiphany moments throughout the day.
Sunday 21 February
Jivamutki Retreat w/ Sharon Gannon & David Life
No more Sharon and David. I think I may have felt a little sad. I really don't know if I would ever have the opportunity to practice with them again but we have quite a few Jivamukti teachers that I cherish in Sydney and we have another four teachers who will become Jivamukti teachers later in the year when they travel to New York. The teachers and the students toegther will keep the spirit and practice alive. The Jivamukti community is growing and hopefully soon enough there will be a Jivamukti Yoga studio in Sydney as well so we can see more classes being added to timetables.
The Jivamukti Yoga Method is a path to enlightenment through compassion for all beings. The Jivamukti Yoga method emphasizes vinyasa, music, meditation and chanting as well as a major focus on animal rights, veganism and political activism.
Saturday 13 February
Jivamutki Workshop w/ Sharon Gannon & David Life
10am - 6pm
10am - 6pm
Photo: David Life leading us in asana
Today was the day and I nearly pissed my pants. Yes, I was seriously that excited. There's something about the Jivamukti method of yoga that gets into my bones and gets me excited even when I'm hurting. And then they appeared, Sharon Gannon and David Life standing on the stage at the Petersham Town Hall. I chose to be in the second row of yogis because I wasn't going to miss out on anything or be distracted. The first thing they did was bow and greet every single one of the 140+ yogis in the hall. That was a pretty special moment and no joke, the beauty and radiance that beams from Sharon Gannon is magnificent. It felt like a great big warm blanket was wrapped around the entire hall. Bless. Mind you, it's February in Sydney and this is probably our most humid, hot and rainy month of the year also. There was no escaping the heat of excitement in the room or the weather.
I'm not one to revere gods or gurus but I do appreciate and respect all that Sharon and David have done to help make yoga accessible in the west whilst being true to who they are and what they believe and what they do. Regardless of what one thinks of Jivamukti Yoga, Sharon and David (co-founders) are pretty cool people who try to live their lives with the least amount of negative impact to eachother, others and the planet. That in itself is admirable and inspiring.
So the day started with a 3 hour yoga asana session lead by David Life. Whoah, AMAZING. We got a loaded smack down in sirsasana because most of us decided to slack off. David was quite stern about how important headstand is to our practice, the king of asanas, so after that we were not so willing to slack off again. Most of us can push through the physical and mental pain. I know what I feel is usually not really pain but a mental barrier.
After lunch, Sharon Gannon gave a 3 hour lecture/asana practice on the chakras and how they related to poses, emotions, relationships, mantras and colours. This chakra lecture then extended into an intense chakra alignment asana practice where we chanted LAM-VAM-RAM-YAM-HAM-OM-OMMM while working on each of the respective chakras. Once the practice had ended, Sharon asked us to please leave the hall and not speak to anyone for the next hour. We had to be silent, and what a way to end a practice. The energy in the room while chanting the sound of the chakras and the emotions it conjured up demanded that silence and time to reflect. I don't think I could have really spoken to anyone even if I tried. I was emotionally and physically exhausted after the first day that when I got home, I ate some thai food and went straight to bed soon after ready and super excited for the next day.
Sunday 14 February
Jivamutki Workshop w/ Sharon Gannon & David Life
10am - 6pm
Jivamutki Workshop w/ Sharon Gannon & David Life
10am - 6pm
Photo: me, Sarah T (Jivamukti Teacher) and Lisa
I woke up so incredibly sore. I was worried that I wouldn't be able to bend over even into uttanasana. A lot of us felt like that but it was worth it. It was another intense asana practice on the Sunday. David Life is hardcore but when he cracks a smile and starts joking around, I just melt. He led the lecture today on alignment and about doing it with purpose and meaning. What a brilliant lecture. David threw ideas at us to explore like the theories of gravity and the Fibonacci spiral in relation to asana. We are the antennas and if we do our asana correctly, we can tap into the universe. He doesn't imply that what he says is the only way but encourages us to go out and do further research, find out more for ourselves and be our own experts. I've always been brought up to find things out for myself by reading, doing and experiencing so David's lecture resonated with me a lot.
One of the activities David also asked us to do early on was to get into a pose and write down how it made us feel. Later on in the day, we revisited the pose and learned why we do those poses. Understanding what we were feeling when doing certain poses and then understanding why we do them historically brought it home for us like connecting the dots. It almost seemed like the lot of us were having continual epiphany moments throughout the day.
So another full day with Sharon and David and by bedtime, I had succumbed to foetal position whilst chanting LAM-VAM-RAM-YAM-HAM-OM-OMMM. What a weekend jiva peeps.
Monday 15 February
Jivamutki Workshop w/ Sharon Gannon & David Life
6pm - 8pm
Monday 15 February
Jivamutki Workshop w/ Sharon Gannon & David Life
6pm - 8pm
All I could muster was this on my FB status. Tired, emotional, possibly irrational, and must have a heap of bad karma debt to work through. Tonight was about ahimsa. I almost broke down on the mat more than once and felt completely broken. A la mind f*ck. Will get the mechanic in tomorrow.
I was really upset, even angry and there were so many emotions and feelings of guilt that came up. Ahimsa is about the way we treat others. Sharon's lecture and practice made us delve deep into what we are holding on to and to release that pain and the guilt associated. To do this we must first acknowledge it and then let it go. Letting go was and is so hard but I do realise how much guilt is such a useless emotion. It's totally unproductive.
Tuesday 16 February
Jivamutki Workshop w/ Sharon Gannon & David Life
6pm - 8pm
6pm - 8pm
Absolutely bloody brilliant. I am still emotional and physically blown away but wow. I am now officially a jiva tribe convert. Liberated through living. Sharon and David, wow. Challenging, inspiring and still buzzing from the hip hop yoga class tonight!
Friday 19 February
Jivamutki Retreat w/ Sharon Gannon & David Life
Jivamutki Retreat w/ Sharon Gannon & David Life
Photo: Troy (Lakeside Yoga) and his new little mate
Heading to Byron felt like my bag was mostly filled with towels. You jiva peeps know why. More time with Sharon and David, whoot! But first, we had to hit the beach. The beautiful retreat centre was nestled right between the beach and a calming tea tree lake. Our home for the next three days.
Saturday 20 February
Jivamutki Retreat w/ Sharon Gannon & David Life
Jivamutki Retreat w/ Sharon Gannon & David Life
Photo: Gabrielle (The Yoga Factory) and Sarah T (Jivamukti Teacher)
Today was our last day with Sharon and David before they headed to South Africa. Sharon's class was emotional for me once again. There is something in the way she teaches that is tough but so nurturing at the same time. I have a lot of barriers and fear to work through so yet again I was brought to tears on the mat. It was really quite cathartic. In the afternoon, David led another lesson in alignment. Deva Premal also practiced with us that day. There was no announcement that she was there but her gorgeous smile gave it away. It was a bitter sweet ending but there was no real goodbye.
Sunday 21 February
Jivamutki Retreat w/ Sharon Gannon & David Life
No more Sharon and David. I think I may have felt a little sad. I really don't know if I would ever have the opportunity to practice with them again but we have quite a few Jivamukti teachers that I cherish in Sydney and we have another four teachers who will become Jivamukti teachers later in the year when they travel to New York. The teachers and the students toegther will keep the spirit and practice alive. The Jivamukti community is growing and hopefully soon enough there will be a Jivamukti Yoga studio in Sydney as well so we can see more classes being added to timetables.
There's so much more I could write about my experience (especially on a more personal level) but I am still processing everything and want to listen over the recordings some more. There is so much to absorb and practice, practice, practice.
Juicy love and thanks to all the jiva peeps - it was a truly magic experience and I have met so many wonderful fellow yogis. It is so amazing to see how much the Jivamukti community has grown in Sydney, and will continue to grow. A huge thank you to Katie Manitsas and the gang at Samadhi Yoga, especially my teacher Sarah Trestrail, for bringing Jivamukti to us and giving us opportunities like this workshop and retreat.
- Random photos from our down time in Byron Bay
- Jivamukti Sydney FB Group - Jivalicious
- Jivamukti classes in Sydney - Samadhi Yoga and The Yoga Factory
