Hello! My name is Audrey Chapman and I am a licensed, Anusara-Inspired TM, hatha yoga teacher.
Anusara Yoga is a fun and uplifting hatha yoga practice that celebrates and seeks to unearth the unique, Divine light within all people. If you’re totally unfamiliar with Anusara Yoga, or maybe even yoga in general, that may sound a little too “butterflies and rainbows.” It’s not. Anusara comes from a rich spiritual and intellectual tradition (broadly, Tantra, specifically, Shiva-Shakti Tantra) whose language may just be a little unfamiliar to those of us who were raised in a country whose primary religion’s message has been one of inherent sin.
(I would just like to say here, that I do not intend the above statement as an attack on Christianity or any other religion. The statement above is just a very peripheral comparison, using something that is very well known to provide a general understanding of something that is less well known)
The ultimate understanding of the tradition from which Anusara grows is that the Highest Energy (God, et al.) is inherently good. That all of life, from the tiniest subatomic particle to each of us are all one and the same as That.
If that’s the case though, why do we need to “unearth” the Divine within us?
Well, Anusara recognizes that the natural, inherent goodness that is at the core of our beings can be easily forgotten, covered up by the chaos, dirt, grime and uncertainty that results from such a gloriously, raucously diverse world (its like a big, dysfunctional modern-day multi-parent family!). In fact (and after this I’m gonna stop, I promise) feeling doubtful that we are worth anything at all isn’t considered bad, because at least it signals the beginning of inquiry into the nature and purpose of our life.
This perspective clicked with me right away,
You are in good hands with in with an Anusara yoga teacher. Anusara has one of the most comprehensive teacher training programs in the world. Each teacher is asked (and, in my experience, is delighted), to commit to teaching as as a service; our students’ well being is our #1 priority.
