Liberty Advance

Nye 2011-2012 was a gathering of magical beings from all over the southwest to bring the New Year in with conscious intention and celebration. San Diego Acro Yoga Kula inspired the event, but long time supporters of Liberty Advance, as well as first time friends of friends appeared to create a unique and beautiful tribe.

The event began Friday, December 30th and closed at sundown on Monday January 2nd. Community meals were pre-planned and Jack Rudra organized a menu and shop, adding his retreat planning skills to the mix. All the participants each contributed in the cooking and cleaning of one meal throughout the weekend. The food was amazing and everyone's energy in the kitchen added ton's o' love to the food.

Through the people I am meeting in San Diego, my personal yoga practice, and other mysterious energies (such as the horses... what subtle amazing creatures they are) I am realizing that our senses can allow for so much understanding of our intentions and our communications. I went to a seminar on "teens and technology" when I was in college that explained a dramatic decrease in empathy from teenagers due to the degradation of communication by means of text messaging, IM, static web pages, and email. Ultimately they stated that "60% of communication occurs through the face and body, 25% occurs through the tone of voice or (sound), and 15% through the actual comprehension of words spoken...

Catch the Acro Yogis at Earth Day 2011.

If you travel near the conservatory, just west of the reflective pond during this Saturday's Earth Day festival at Balboa Park, you will see the AcroYogis doing what they do best, "Public Displays of AcroYoga" or PDA. My first experience of PDA hooked me to the practice on site, not because it was my first AcroYoga experience, but because it was the first time I got to introduce AcroYoga to someone completely new and see the wonder and awe on their face as they flew for the first time. It was empowering for both of us. I don't remember her name, but I remember her short, cropped brown hair, and hippie skirt, and her laugh. We laughed a lot in the five minutes we spent together. This is the practice of AcroYoga. We are not there to perform, we're there to share the experience with you. To hoist you up on our feet, or hoist ourselves up on your feet. Either way, if you've never had a chance to play with this amazing peace practice, PDA is the perfect opportunity.

Spectators will gather round to watch, some on the verge of asking to fly or be flown, some taking a step forward to try the possibly impossible. Young and old will let go of who they think they are for just a moment, and try something completely new. They will be a child again, and that is where the magic happens. For some of us, AcroYoga is perpetual child's play. For others, it is the practice of connection and communication. Whatever it represents to you, whether it's your first time or 100th, come out and join us this Sunday, April 17th, 2011.

Tell me if you share this problem.

A friend calls you up, "Hey, there's this great show on Saturday! You have to come check it out!" You look on your calendar and realize that you have fourteen other events to attend. Puppet Shows, Acrobatics Workshops, strange and rare buskers in Balboa Park, ski trip weekends, yogaslackers, Tai Chi Masters in the park, adams avenue this or that, farmer's markets... you get the idea? Okay, so I live in a strange world where people stand on each other's feet and life sized puppets are common place, and I love it, but I'm starting to get spread a little thin.

The world is full of partnerships. Much of our lives is about finding the right partners to enjoy and explore life. I've always felt, often, that the most beautiful moments, the sunsets on the pier, the blankets of stars on moonless nights, graduations, birthdays, are so amazing because we share the experience with others. Partnerships can also be the one of the most stressful aspects of our lives when they are not well. Our partners in life are not only our lovers, they are our bosses, our parents, our teachers, our friends. When we aren't getting along with someone we have to spend time with, it can really bring us down and make lose our center. I've experienced this too many times to count, but in the last five years, have worked hard to keep my relationships, my partnerships, healthy and happy.

Some of you I see almost everyday. You've been coming for a few weeks, or months, and you're wondering if you spend more time at SR than you do your house. I know I do. Some of you have gone from staring at the silk with complete awe, to learning your first drop, to getting ready for your first performance. Some of you are twice as strong as you were at Christmas. We don't always say "hi" to each other, we don't all remember each others names. All of us are there for our own reasons, but we all share one thing in common, which is the love moving our bodies through space in one way or another, of getting stronger and more flexible, of taking on great feats of strength, courage, and concentration through our practice. The community is all around us to encourage us, inspire us, spot us when we fall, and help us to our feet. We all share appreciation for the phenomenon that is our community.

In my humble opinion, this place, and this community, are awesome.

Whether you've been there for months, or just walked in the door, you can probably feel how fun this way of life really is. There are some people working real hard to keep SR growing and going, but its hard not to walk in the door and work your butt off one way or another. My inspiration is watching people play hard, take it up a notch, and settle for nothing less than success.

Big ups to everyone, from the "top" down, for joining the Revolution.

Cirque, Yoga, Silk, Lyra, Trapeze, Aerial Yoga, AcroYoga, Kung Flo Staff spinning, Flexibility and Conditioning, Belly Dancing, West Coast Radianze, Hand Balancing, Acrobatics...

So much to learn, and no place I'd rather learn it.