3 Lessons In Love From The San Diego Yoga Festival
By Dana Lee
The sun is setting over the first annual San Diego Yoga Festival as blisssed-out beautiful people in sand stained tights roll up their mats and head down to the beach for a final farewell to Ocean Beach. New friends hold hands and pose for selfies with sunburned noses, lingering as long as possible to make the good times last. It's been three days of laughter and learning and yet, three lessons in love ring true above the beating drums, and I'd like to share them with you.
Share the sunset – My first night here I stumbled up a sand dune to find a young woman with a yoga mat slung over her shoulder. She was quietly watching the golden sun extinguish itself into the deep blue sea. I asked if I could join her and she said of course. I could tell I reminded her of someone. She told me a story about another sunset with a benevolent stranger, this one on the East Coast. She had been watching the sun sink into the ocean when she was invited by an older lady to enjoy the spectacle from in inside the lady's warm home. She had a large picture window which framed the vision perfectly. The lady told her that sunsets are meant to be shared. Her words were like a tonic over our souls and we began to ponder what a beautiful world we live in and how lucky we are to be in it. Dr. Bali's words passed my mind. He said, “The Creator and the creation are one, we need only look on the face of any living thing to see the Divine”. It's easy to feel God's love in these moments. I told her that in another lifetime I worked in a school. The biology teacher told us that even the animals stop what they are doing to watch the sun go down together. Bears have been documented simply watching the splendid orb sink and give birth to the moon. I remembered too that when my Dad died, he had boxes and boxes of pictures of sunsets from all over the world. I am thankful for sharing sunsets with new friends.
Marry yourself – Shawna Shenck had a yoga session today completely devoted to marrying yourself. I thought this was brilliant. Her notion is that we spend so much time and energy looking for “the one” that we forget that we are the one we are looking for. Take yourself on a honeymoon, get yourself the ring you really want, say the wedding vows to yourself. Be whole in your skin and love your life. If you're meant to find a spouse, let them find you in all your wholeness.
Get out of your yoga box – This festival was special because it invited us to experience yoga in a variety of modalities designed for authenticity and fun. We had sessions in the grass near the ocean, with the waves crashing around us. We learned from a 92 year old master yogi that feeling was more important than proper postures and that your breath and intention had the power to heal you throughout your entire lifetime. We danced together, told each other we loved each other, sang chants, banged drums and gongs, learned new kundalini and heart-opening practices designed to focus on our well-being and state of mind. There were Reiki Attunements, sage smudging, and meditation by the ancient ocean. The vendors were incredible and after a couple of days, I still found things that were unique and healing. Everyone I talked to couldn't wait to come back again next year.
We are all ready to get out of our box and live life in abundance. All of nature was singing the song of life and love here at the San Diego Yoga Festival. I can't wait to come back next year to share glorious sunsets with new friends.
To stay in touch with the San Diego Yoga Festival you can follow them on Facebook.
