Wrote in 2016… For Yoga Day: A Blessed International Day of Yoga to you! It is now the International Day of Yoga in India, the Motherland of yoga. Yoga means union, and on this International Day of Yoga I have been reflecting upon all of my practices throughout the years, seeing how they are in union with each other. Not only a reflection on the union of my practices, but how yoga has been the central reason why I am where I am today. Here is an overall list of the practices and situations where yoga has helped, influenced, or been a part of my life: Armed Forces School of Music: Took two yoga books with me and took my first hatha yoga class while in training. War: Read Paramahansa Yogananda’s Autobiography of a Yogi while on a deployment to Tikrit, Iraq. Trumpet: Music and the trumpet are symbolic and align with yogic philosophy. Veteran: The yogic text called the Bhagavad Gita is set on the battlefield. Psychologically one can look at each day as a battlefield of activity. Partner Dance: There are many ways yoga has influenced my dancing. One of them is the symbolism behind the language of Sanskrit, said to be the dance of Shiva and Shakti (or the masculine and feminine principles). Naropa University: I am thankful to have studied yoga and tai chi at Naropa. I am now a yoga teacher and I love how tai chi principles align with yoga in numerous ways. Pranams and/or Namaste! (*photo taken at a friend’s house in January of 2005) https://movefromyourcenter.com/2016/06/20/international-day-of-yoga/ #yoga #onebreathatatime #internationaldayofyoga #idayofyoga #iyogaday #yogaday #yogateacher #kriyayoga #kriya #yogananda #hathayoga #naropa #naropians #music #veteran #movefromyourcenter #dance #namaste #pranams (at Reno, Nevada) https://www.instagram.com/p/CQXmHnIFjhk/?utm_medium=tumblr