I am excited to have you get to know this month’s Yoga4All’s Community Spotlight—and my sister!! Joan.
Joan hopped into our sangha at the very start of the pandemic. She found herself in a full-bodied panic and was reaching for some tools. Ramgeet and I, with the help of Karen Olson, were quick to get classes going on ZOOM and Joan took every single one we offered week after week. She says that Kundalini Yoga was the tool that most soothed her body/mind. She completely trusted that information from her body and Kundalini Yoga became one of her primary practices.
Another of Joan’s practices is her Quaker Practice which she says fits “hand-in-glove” with Kundalini Yoga. They share the idea that “if you don’t see God in all, you don’t see God at all,” as well as the principles of acceptance, service, pacifism, equanimity, and silent meditation. Silent meditation is a thread that connects Kundalini Yoga, Quaker religion, and another of Joan’s practices, Buddhist meditation. She especially enjoys the Lojong teachings, or meditation on the slogans. Her favorite slogan from Lojong is, “Be grateful to everyone.” “Always maintain only a joyful mind.” “Abandon all hope of fruition.” “Don’t ponder others.”
Joan says that she meditates on these slogans, along with many from the 12-step practices, daily. Joan also sings in choirs as a spiritual practice. (A couple of years ago her choir sang at Redrocks and it was the thrill of a lifetime for me to be there in person after the early days of the pandemic!).
The leading edge of Joan’s healing journey though, began with psychotherapy, both as a recipient and practitioner. She entered psychotherapy when she was 20 years old, and soon after became a therapist herself, serving families, indigenous veterans, children ages 2 & up, and Hmong refugees. “Every intervention I did; every client I met, opened the door to myself and taught me something about myself. It put me in the habit of opening doors.”
We are so happy you walked into the door of Kundalini Yoga with Yoga4all, Joan. In addition to practicing with us a couple of times/week, Joan has joined three summer solstice campouts and our last spring equinox campout. She describes our sangha as a “beautiful, powerful, loving force, that feels so open and safe.”
