...the sweetest sound in the world
I’m here in Kenya for just about 1-month more. My intention in this month is to give and receive in balance. When I left the states my spiritual guide (yes really) let me know that my time in Kenya I could consider to be ‘the longest yoga practice of my life.’ She was right. She also told me that I’ll be meeting that upon returning to the states I’d be meeting the person/soul mate for my lifetime so look out world! Lastly she told me that my mantra to call upon is ‘how can I be of service.’ Truth be told there are times here where I’ve been completely out of service. Where I’ve been so self-involved and ‘right’ that I block myself from being in contribution. Where I’ve been stuck in that leadership means being vocal and getting everyone to pay attention to you. As is with the course of my life, I have regrets of my time here....but I don’t want to live there. This last month I just want to celebrate. Celebrate the saying yes that brought me here. Celebrating the people that believed in me to offer this time here. Celebrating the amazing paths I have crossed and people on those paths, while here. Celebrating the beautiful family I have become a part of here. And this love. Oh my. This sweet sweet love. My heart has never known love like this, and now it forever will.
For the rest of my time here I will be going into different outreach settings weekly, where AYP teachers are doing what they do best: teaching! I’ll be visiting slums, and prisons, and wherever else this practice of yoga unfolds itself, i’ll be there. I’ll be submitting short blogs to AYP but also longer versions to my personal site.
‘celebrate we will. for life is short but sweet for certain’
On Friday I traveled with the amazing Irene to an outreach called Kambui School For the Deaf. It’s set back in the country-side of Kenya surrounded by lots of green, and many many dirt roads that both surround and lead to the campus. As we were walking up the final stretch we passed a family of women selling avocados for 15 cents each, and bananas for 10 cents each, we would be hitting up the stand on the way home after working up quite an appetite in the beautiful (and challenging!) class that Irene taught.
When you walk through the metal gates and arrive onto the campus, you are met with this beautiful silence. As you walk further down the path, it’s the same silence, and you begin to see students emerge, talking with their hands, sign language, the same facial expressions that any person using words out loud would have. The same.
The class was beautiful. Laughter, it’s the same sound too. And when breaking free from a child is perhaps the sweetest, clearest sound in the world. We practiced on a cold dusty red floor that quickly warmed from our movement. We grounded down with our feet, we reached high with our hands, we flew back, we got sweaty, we crossed over. Irene Auma teaches with her whole heart, there is no exception to that, and there is certainly no doubt at all, the kids know too, cause kids, they can see the truth.
Truth landed in a peaceful savasana, giggles that were held captive by hands over mouths, ultimately escaping into the space before us. And for a moment I was sad that Irene and I were the only ones who could hear this sound. But I was missing it. To feel is divine. And in the class like this, with 60 deaf students, and a teacher that says not one single word, you get to feel it all.
and it was....
It was the sweetest sound in the world.
