Gurmukh's class

I forgot to talk about the other yoga event I attended over the weekend--Gurmukh's class at the ashram in Millis.

Simply outstanding. Her reputation precedes her, of course; she's kind of a star of Kundalini yoga, and she teaches celebrities out in Los Angeles at her Golden Bridge studio. There's a reason she's a star. She teaches kick-ass classes with spiritual underpinnings. When she finally arrived (about 25 minutes late) the sea of yogis parted as this tiny woman in silky whites approached the stage. A woman sitting up at the front gave her an armful of beautiful roses, tied with a silk scarf. Gurmuckh graciously thanked the woman, asked her name, and asked for the flowers to be put in water. Then she began talking to us about love and coming from the heart, rather than the brain alone. Basically, her message was a kind of combination of the "love thy neighbor as thyself" Bible thing and the Joseph Campbell "what are you waiting for, follow your bliss" concept. Gurmukh talked for about a half hour. I was getting kind of hypnotized, kind of settled-in feeling. And then the yoga began. She said, "I think Massachusetts needs the shakies." And shake we did--for I don't know how long, shaking our whole bodies, arms raised in a seated position, then standing up and shaking and hopping some more (8 minutes). There was more. Much more. And she doesn't let up. She keeps exhorting you to keep hopping, shake harder, shake everything, etc.

At the end of the physical part of the set, we did a meditation with soothing, low male and female voices singing "Hallelujah." I remembered doing this same meditation and set at Summer Solstice Camp in New Mexico last year, and I remembered tears came pouring out of me at the time. I thought, "Hmmm... I'm not crying this time." And then I cried. It just came out, like a release. There were other meditations, a relaxation while Gurmukh's husband played the gong, and dancing. It was late by the time all was done, but the crowd was ebullient. I was exhausted, sweaty, and very mellow.

I recommend anyone who gets a chance to attend any class that Gurmukh teaches. If you don't feel strong enough--the energy will keep you going. I was sore the next day. But I was happy to be able to keep up.