Acharya Shunya’s Short Balance Meditation for the Equinox
The equinox is a day of balance and grounding, when day and night are the same in length; when darkness meets light and we are halfway to the summer solstice. It’s the first day of spring in the northern hemisphere, ushering in a season of abundance and lushness, when the snow melts and the buds begin to return to the trees. What a joyous time of year to ground into practice and find steadiness in the changing of the season!
Find below a beautiful and simple balancing practice from SYF2023 presenter Acharya Shunya. Acharya Shunya is a truth-teller who facilitates authenticity, self-remembrance, and divine feminine pathways to awakening within through her goddess teachings, Ayurveda, Yoga, and Advaita Vedanta. The first female head of her spiritual lineage, which goes back 2000 years in India, Shunya reinterprets and re-contextualizes ancient teachings for modern times, empowering people everywhere to lead fearless, fulfilled, and enlightened lives. She is the author of 3 bestselling books, and the founder of Awakened Self Foundation, with international headquarters in California, that offers onsite and online courses to awaken health and consciousness to seekers worldwide. Shunya makes ancient scriptural wisdom accessible and applicable to modern lives and western minds.
Learn from her in person at our 10-year anniversary celebration in April! Passes available here.
Yin Yoga is an antidote to the fast pace of life — especially a post-pandemic reality where many of us are on edge, living in a constant state of hypervigilance. In Yin Yoga we practice surrender, acceptance and settling into stillness. Poses are practiced on the floor, and centered on hip and heart openers. The instruction is to settle into stillness and remain in the pose for anywhere from three to five minutes. This gives our nervous system time to relax into a parasympathetic state of rest and digest. It gives our connective tissue and fascia time to release. And it gives our mind time to drop into the space between the breaths, where pure consciousness resides.
Once in the yin yoga pose, bring your attention to the breath. Slow the breath down and drop into the space between the inhale and the exhale and the exhale and the inhale. That’s the place where we drop into our true nature — love. “I am loving awareness” a mantra shared by Ram Dass, helps us remember our true nature. When our mind is quiet, when we drop into the space between the breaths, no thoughts arise. Just loving awareness. Yin Yoga is a meditation of loving awareness, surrender and acceptance.
It’s our human nature to take on stress. It takes time to shed layers of tension. We hold onto events, and we store their imprints in our bodies. Most of the time we are unaware that we are tensing our muscles. Tension becomes the norm. As we stay in these long held postures we shed tension much like a snake sheds its skin. We let it slough off and let go of what no longer serves us. And when we let go of what no longer serves us we make room for what does.
Yin yoga gives us the time to allow our bodies to release and let go. Deep change happens on a physical and emotional level. In that way, Yin yoga is grounding and centering. With grounding and centering comes peace and quiet. When our mind and bodies relax, we access our true self. Our false ego falls away and we soften into who we really are.
As translated by Nischala Joy Devi, The Secret Power of Yoga, Patanjali writes in Sutras 1.2 and 1.3 that, “Yoga is the uniting of consciousness in the heart. United in the heart, consciousness is steadied, then we abide in our true nature — joy.” That is, it’s our nature to be distracted by thought after thought. When we move quickly from action to action, our mind moves quickly too. Often we are doing one thing and thinking about something else. Our culture demands us to go, go, go. Our culture often associates rest and stillness with laziness and uselessness. But we have to slow down and cultivate awareness of our true self to experience life fully in each moment. To live from a place of love, to live from our hearts.
Practicing Yin Yoga steers us in the direction of ease and stillness. The more we experience a quiet mind, practice acceptance and surrender to what is, the more we live in a place of loving awareness and joy. As more and more of us find a sense of peace and authenticity, and live from our hearts, our culture will transition to one of truth, consciousness and love.
It’s been a decade of transformation and purposeful gathering at the Sedona Yoga Festival! This April 27–30 marks our 10-year anniversary celebration. As we look toward the event and the incredible offerings we have lined up, we’re pausing in gratitude to explore how we got here, and honoring the people who have made SYF so special over the years. We caught up with Crisanto Santa Ana and Alan Alcid to share some of their experience.
Crisanto and Alan are not only presenters, but also have captured the spirit of SYF over the years in photos and videos. Over the years they have not only helped create the energy of the event with their offerings, but have told the story of the Conference as it has evolved.
What is your history with SYF?
Crisanto: I’ve been involved with the Sedona Yoga Festival since 2014. I’ve been mostly a presenter. I DJ’ed yoga classes for world renowned teachers at Sedona Yoga Festival, dance parties, and concerts. Throughout the years I’ve also created many of SYFY’s promo videos as I am also a filmmaker.
Alan: I started as an attendee. I volunteered some work and, there’s only one word that sums up everything in my experience: synchronicity. I was a photographer for quite some time, and I love it. And now I’m a presenter. I have so much gratitude to [SYF Producer] Heather for trusting me as a photographer, trusting me now as a presenter, and also for giving me an opportunity as a new teacher when I first started. Also for opening this festival to all genders, all races, and really being authentic in her vision to to give everyone an opportunity to share the love of yoga! That’s so needed at this moment in time and what’s going on in our world.
What is a standout SYF moment — teaching, experiential, or both?
Crisanto: There are many standout moments at SYF however, one experience I recall was when they brought out Tao Porchon-Lynch to teach. She even did a salsa dance performance at one of the concerts.
Alan: The festival has evolved so much. One thing that really allows for people to have a truly profound experience is the unity. The unity of the team, but also the students, the presenters, the artists, everyone and the Sedona Yoga Festival. Being one collective — doesn’t matter what gender, where you came from, new students, old teachers, new teachers. But just being one in this festival is so profound to see that and experience it.
What makes SYF different from other festivals that you have attended or worked?
Crisanto: SYF is truly an epic experience. I love how it takes place in the magical vortexes of Sedona. The teachers that they invite are truly amazing!
Alan: The 2022 Sedona Yoga Festival was a huge turnaround, a huge shift, a significant shift, and it was amazing. Heather put together a team that opened up new possibilities to really shift, open up, and change what a festival is and could be. And I’m so looking forward to Sedona Yoga Festival 2023, “Emerge to Imagine.”
SYF has long been at the forefront of conversations that move our community forward. In what ways have you experienced this?
Crisanto: The programs, classes, teachers they have are IMO cutting edge, progressive and really provokes our community to move forward. I’ve experienced this by taking classes at SYF and also being part of the team.
Alan: Being one collective — doesn’t matter what gender, where you came from, new students, old teachers, new teachers. But just being one in this festival is so profound to see that and experience it.
Why are you proud to be a part of SYF, both over the years and during the 2023 event?
Crisanto: I am proud to be part of SYF! Heather and her team always brings a transformational experience not only to the attendees but to her team as well! I am very much proud to be part of 2023 SYF!
Alan: I’m proud to be part of the Sedona Yoga Festival over the years because over the years I saw the growth and the changes. We’ve learned so much from the past and we moved forward to the future. It’s an amazing experience overall to see how everyone works hard behind the scene. Prior to the festival, there’s already things going back and forth — from the SYF Angels, to the organizers behind the scene, to the presenters, to the artists. So much collaboration going on, and it’s a beautiful thing to see.
Join us for our 10-year anniversary celebration April 27–30! Tickets on sale now.
Telling stories is Manoj Chalam’s calling. He started importing Hindu statues to the U.S. 21 years ago, and it wasn’t long before the job morphed into one that would end up defining his life. Manoj currently has the largest collection of Hindu statues in the country — but it was after a stint at an ashram in San Diego that he realized that it wasn’t about the object itself, but the story they represented. “There’s a reason that oral traditions exist,” he says. “If I just tell you facts and figures of philosophy, two areas in your brain will light up. But if I tell a story, 20 areas of the brain light up,” he says. It’s the psychological reason that storytelling is so compelling.
Sharing the stories symbolized by iconography that is standard in yoga studios and on festival stages alike is Manoj’s life work, a task he approaches with humor and panache. “Some people call me a spiritual standup comedian,” he says. “I have a little bit of an edge because I’m brown, fat, and have an accent. Humor puts people at ease — it’s how they get into the flow state,” says Manoj. He holds a PhD from Cornell in Chemical Physics, so he’s no stranger to science. The science behind getting people into the flow state allows his listeners to truly engage with the archetypal stories that he shares.
“There’s the symbol of these statues and their archetypes” says Manoj, “then there’s a universal mythology, and then a personal mythology of every one of us.” This triangulation of his storytelling allows Manoj to guide people toward an “aha” moment, which that allows them to find what the archetype is, and what it means personally for them.
Why Decoding Archetypes Matters
Understanding the archetypes of Hindu mythology is helpful not only to understand the roots of yoga, but also because these kinds of myths help us get at the root of who we are as individuals, and how we show up in society. They help us understand the importance of doing the “real work,” rather than hiding the shadows behind the guises of meditations and chanting. “I’ve seen a lot of yogis engaged in what’s called spiritual bypassing,” says Manoj. “Teachers who are pretending that everything is joy,” for example. “One has to realize that being human means we all have a shadow.”
As does everyone, yogis need help addressing the shadow within. Manoj’s teachings integrate the idea of shadow work through the discussion and dissection of archetype theory. He brings psychologists into his workshops in order to take the presentation of mythology a step further. This kind of intentional storytelling allows not only for the investigation of the myths behind the practice, but how they may inform and show up in our own lives.
“I’ll help people find what their archetype is, and then what the symbols mean,” says Manoj, a practice that is very common with yogis in India, called samatha meditation. “You meditate in front of your archetype — the statue — and the statue is a portal to the infinite,” he says. This type of meditation and mantra opens the eyes to one’s own archetype. This contextualizes a person’s experience within a broader whole. And of course, “the context changes because your life situation changes. So these archetypes can change in your life with time,” he says.
Using Archetypes as Vehicle Toward Enlightenment
“The mind is very susceptible,” says Manoj, “it’s like a vacuum that sucks in all the energies of these symbols.” The goal of this kind of archetype rumination — like so many yogic practices — is to find a calm mind. “The same mind that can wander all over the place can be a vehicle for enlightenment,” says Manoj. Understanding how to use these archetypes as a focus for meditation and mantra is one way to release thoughts, and encourage the cultivation of a calm mind.
“The space between your thoughts is who you really are,” says Manoj. “Let the thoughts come,” he says, “and each time you chant, it’s like a windshield wiper that wipes the thoughts clean. Each time you do so, the gap increases, and your mind is able to open to your archetype.”
Experience this kind of deep teaching with Manoj in person at SYF this April! Tickets on sale now.
For SYF presenter Janet Farnsworth, it’s all about the physical body. As a somatic therapist and body empowerment coach, Janet believes that facilitating a meaningful connection with our bodies is crucial to creating an empowered relationship with the self. “Your body is the best of you,” she says. “Your body, and how your body holds you at every moment can teach you, and is actually your access to grace.”
In a world in which we’ve been taught so many things about what our body is, what it “should” be, and how we move into it, this can be a difficult concept to impart, or to grasp. “Many of us have very real experiences that separate us from our bodies,” acknowledges Janet. This is true regardless of our experience with trauma, or how much yoga and meditation experience we have. Our so-called “monkey mind” is relentless. Janet specializes in helping people have a consciousness shift that the body is not its appearance, but rather the experience that it gives us.
Janet believes that the body is the voice of the soul — which is at first a confusing thing to hear a yoga instructor say. “I know there’s a lot of subtlety in that,” says Janet, “but I also believe that the divine loves a paradox, right? We are not our bodies, but I’m here to speak for the bodies that we are. What I do is help us figure out how to make being in our bodies the most peaceful, awake experience it can be. I specifically do that with women, and some of the stories that we have about what our bodies are.”
How Being In Our Bodies Creates Presence in Grace
In Janet’s perspective, as our bodies are temporary homes for our infinite souls, they present an opportunity for us to be in divine communication, and a connection to one of the most valuable conduits to grace. “It’s a gateway to bridge the divide,” she says. Though there’s often an eagerness to leave the body behind, developing that conduit can actually be a helpful way to access deeper connection.
As such, SYF attendees can expect to walk away from Janet’s classes with a new relationship to their bodies, or a different way of looking at relationship with their body. But it’s more than that — it’s also to create the ability to, say, stand in front of the refrigerator and not feel afraid; the ability to walk by a mirror and look in it. It’s a shift to appreciate the body that you’re living in, every moment of every day.
And when we do that, says Janet, “then a relationship to our sexuality changes completely. The ideas that I’m specializing in right now involve how we relate to our bodies, and how that relates to our sexuality.”
The SYF Experience
Janet is no stranger to the Sedona Yoga Festival, and is excited to return because she says that SYF “holds an extraordinary container for love and truth.” She calls it a consciousness-raising experience, which is a phenomenon that Janet experiences — and again, helps other people experience — through their physical bodies.
“I think that the body is brilliance,” she says, “I think that the body is the voice of God; it’s our own God. I’m thrilled to share one small thread of what’s possible about connecting to grace and living in grace.”
Experience your body in a whole new light and practice with Janet in person this June! Tickets on sale now: https://bit.ly/SYF22Tix
When Dr. Tequilla Hill applied to be a presenter at SYF, it was something that had been on her bucket list. She’s excited to bring a couple of different kinds of experiences to the event: somatic meditation and gentle yoga that’s centered around the practice of self-compassion, followed by journaling. Her style is all about bringing folks back into themselves, creating a sense of home within. As a licensed psychotherapist, she believes that yoga is a practice in reconnection — with ourselves, our bodies, and with what keeps us well. “That’s one of the number one things I see with people who have mental health issues,” she says, “being disconnected with what keeps you well. Who are you, and what does your body need to feel optimized?”
What is Disconnection, and How Do We Get There?
“All of us have many intersections,” says Tequilla, “we play many roles.” This means that we show up in life in several different capacities for different people. Oftentimes, our body itself isn’t a center of those roles, and we neglect to prioritize what we need mentally and physically to fulfill those roles for others. This leads us to feel disconnected from our authentic best selves. We end up performing, rather than showing up in a meaningful, connected way.
“It’s hard to show up for grace and compassion if you are disconnected from yourself,” says Tequilla. “Grace and compassion have to be embodied within the self first.” Practices like journaling and somatic meditation can help us come back into the body, and reconnect with that sense of authenticity.
“There’s something very powerful about writing,” she says, though she understands that not everyone is a journaler. “That’s why I’m doing guided journaling, and giving prompts that are in alignment with the flow so that folks can have a conversation with themselves — a compassionate, graceful conversation with themself about their experience and something to gently hold themselves accountable.”
Inspired Action as a Means to Connection
Accountability is another part of the equation in the doctor’s teaching; she believes that accountability and grace go hand-in-hand. Journaling is a conduit that allows for participants to take away something that is meaningful, that they can tangibly implement in their everyday lives. But it’s important not to allow accountability to get too far into the realm of pressure, she says. According to Tequilla, it’s only with the softness of self-compassion that accountability helps us evolve, grow, and move into something different. “I’m about inspired action, not pressured action,” she says.
Similar to the concept of not only seeking therapy when things are in crisis, “you do not have to start something when it’s perfect,” she says. “The present is magical because it helps us create a future. We can pull our wisdom and our lessons from the past, and transmit that energy into power,” she says. That’s what inspired action is all about. And it’s a practice — it can be easy to be distracted and forget the path. Practice makes mastery, says Tequilla, and showing up as your best and most connected self is no different.
She recognizes that as a teacher facilitating this experience, that practice extends to herself as well as her students. First and foremost, she says, she will show up with grace for herself, without the pressure to perform. This will then extend that level of grace “so that people can have whatever experience they want to have with me, as long as they’re present with me and give themselves the freedom to allow whatever comes up,” she says.
Experience this deep and gentle work with Dr. Tequilla Hill in person this June! Tickets on sale now: https://bit.ly/SYF22Tix
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