David McAmmond Passes

My most influential teacher (slightly edited from original posted on Sept 30, 2021)

2006 –
me demonstrating a safe form of halasana
with David McAmmond’s guidance

David was my teacher from 1998, quietly there whenever I decided to practice with him.

His dear friend and collaborator, Anita Sielecki, kept some of us informed as he recovered from June’s open-heart surgery for problematic valves and other issues surgeons discovered during the procedure. He hadn’t been sleeping well when I saw him at the beginning of an on-line gentle yoga and meditation retreat he co-led with Kavindu Alejandro Velasco in July. Lo and behold, two days into the retreat, he was sleeping normally again! it seems that sharing yoga sustained him. Or rather, sharing yoga, his lovely wife, Tu, and riding his bicycle, which he had resumed ardently.

As a matter of fact, David led an in-person retreat in Edmonton just this past weekend. For a variety of reasons I didn’t attend. However, I imagined the practice room and my long-time yoga friends many times over the course of those days. Even now I hear the words, see the movements, feel the energy of being there. I probably had been on seventy to eighty different retreats and workshops with David over the time I knew him. Osmosis happens. I can’t help but be informed and influenced by his simple presence.

There’s much to be said about this man who , while not a saint, was remarkable in so many ways. A couple of years ago the YAA asked me to write an article about David. Here’s a link to The Bridge; the article starts on pg 29.

Image of the beginning of my 2019 article about David, published in the Yoga Bridge

Although I know in my bones that David’s passing marks a time of huge transition, I am not sad. I feel satisfied with the time I spent with him and believe that he shared what he was meant to share in all the right ways and places.

Jai! Om shanti, teacher.

Permanent link to this article: https://yoginsight.com/david-mcammond-passes/

Sometimes, A Path Appears

Grande Allee

I’ve come to realize that we’re on a pathless journey.

How so?

Given history and environment acting on us, guided by our best sense of knowing, and hopefully accompanied by feelings of security, support and rightness, we make intentions and plans.

And then some obstacle appears. Or the apparent path has shifted or disappeared altogether into foggy nothingness. We can look about for sure answers, authority outside ourselves, Eventually we face a situation when all of that falls apart.

I find myself again and again best served by grounding into the present moment while reconnecting with Source that permeates and surrounds this congealed energy I call “me”. In fact, I find each moment beckons me to recognize all as embodied, divinely-dancing Mystery.

The journey doesn’t have a predetermined path. Knowingly or unknowingly, we participate in the great unfolding moment by moment. Our part is to attune to all that is and make harmonious choice right here, right now. 

Permanent link to this article: https://yoginsight.com/sometimes-a-path-appears/

Coming to Trust Your Inner Wisdom

Most people will face at least one time when everything they depend upon either falls short or is irreversibly altered.

Consider for a moment the assumptions we have about institutions, social mores, job, family, beliefs, and varied personal capabilities. Is it not the case that we rely on these seemingly steadfast constructs to guide our way, to help us make decisions, and to provide a sense of ground and security?

While some of us may have been attuned to the inconstant nature of life, this time of COVID has forced virtually everyone to question what previously was taken for granted.

I am reminded of the end of my father’s life. Dad was known to be agile, powerful, and bright, an avid puzzle-solver who was a champion Scrabble player, crossword afficionado and Sudoko wizard. He especially loved to play golf, often venturing out in bad weather to play 36 holes by himself.

We knew something had gone awry when, at age 70, Dad suddenly started to take wrong turns, drop items for no reason, and struggle with signing his name. The medical people thought he had dementia. That he was having intense headaches made them examine further, leading to an eventual diagnosis of extensive cancer that had metastasized to his brain. His prognosis was grim.

In the short term, heavy-duty steroids and painkillers miraculously restored some of Dad’s previous abilities. But over a couple short months, everything by which my father could be defined was taken away from him. He was reduced to a barely-functioning mind in a failing body.

Dad had always been a jovial and caring fellow who worried but kept his concerns to himself. Despite his rigorous Catholic upbringing, most would not have considered him to be a spiritual person. I was taken aback, therefore, by his answer when asked what advice he had now that he was at the end of his life. He responded, “Be kind to everyone,” and with an arresting look in his eyes, he emphasized, “and I mean EVERYONE.” I couldn’t help but feel that he had tapped into the unity of the universe. His simple response restored my faith in the goodness of the Essence from which we all arise, in which we all live and to which we all return.

“Be kind to everyone,” and with an arresting look in his eyes, he emphasized, “and I mean EVERYONE.”

Yoga often brings to mind pretzel-like poses performed by lithe and serene-looking people. But, in my estimation, it really is about remembering who we truly are and to more and more rest in this truth . Formal practices and spontaneous life events can precipitate and encourage abiding in such recognition. Grace lands and enlightens even, and sometimes especially, in the darkest and most dire circumstances.

What do you know to be true when all has been stripped away, when you drop agenda and simply rest in BE-ing? Might you ask yourself this at every possible moment?

Permanent link to this article: https://yoginsight.com/coming-to-trust-your-inner-wisdom/