The Radiant Yogi – Laura Cornell

Caring for your body is your most basic responsibility, which radiates outward, to your care of others and the planet. Yoga postures, or asanas, express your integral connection with all of existence – your body, others, animals and plants, and the entire cosmos.

Moving your body, stretching your soul, and breathwork expand the Self, and allow you to nurture and embrace divinity within and without. Every moment becomes an expression of your unity with all that is.

In this first session, you’ll learn how to:

• Elevate your daily physical practice (whatever your experience level) for optimal wellness and vitality
• Come home to the truth of the body, and ground your heart and mind in its wisdom
• Bring sacred awareness to everyday experiences as you learn to move and breathe with reverence
• Expand your sense of Self, and strengthen your connection with nature and humanity
• Embody the soul aspects of the animal yoga poses from different traditions
• Practice gentleness and kindness toward all beings by allowing your practice to vary according to your stage of life and any illnesses (and for women, your monthly cycle)
• Notice that every moment is an opportunity to practice asana and be in communion with Spirit

Yogic traditions invite you to treat yourself, your relationships and the world with reverence, and to pray for the well-being of all. The greatest vow of a yogi is that of non-injury, or ahimsa, as a means for expressing your love.

Fostering reverence in all that you do is a sacred contribution that will serve the Divine in you, the planet and the cosmos. Imagine what your life can become when you deepen your daily reverence and devotion at work, with your loved ones – and in sacred service to the planet.

In this module, you will learn how to:

• Generate compassion in every cell of your body, as you send blessings of love and peace to all beings through your yoga poses
• Experience your body as a miracle, and expand this experience out to the world
• Practice gratitude and devotion, so you see the Divine presence in everything and everyone
• Learn the art of puja, and create your own simple rituals for daily living that weaves reverence into all you do
• Bring the sacred experience of your morning meditation or yoga practice into your entire day
• Build a foundation for compassion and connection in every moment

Inherent in yoga is the principle of union, or the non-duality of Spirit and matter, heaven and Earth, humans and nature. Wisdom is gained when you understand that you are one with the Earth, the cosmos and the divinity that supports you. When you experience yourself as inseparable from all others and the Earth, you expand the energy of your essence and become a conscious part of the cosmic pulse of life.

In this module, you’ll learn how to:

• Experience the oneness of your body with the Earth, heaven and sky – you are a vital part of the cosmic web!
• Access wisdom and peace as you touch the deeper truth of who you really are, beyond limited identities, health or illness, happiness or unhappiness
• Integrate a deep feeling of oneness into your relationships with others and your work in the world
• Practice traditional yogic meditation on the five elements (one of the earliest forms of meditation), and understand the unity of all beings
• Embrace dying as a part of living – and experience every moment with renewed vitality

As you learn to live more consciously, guided by your deepest values, you will begin to transform not only your own body and life, but also your relationship to others and the Earth. Through this yoga, the gems of wisdom are passed onto you as you learn conscious energy management to revitalize yourself and the planet every day. You will recognize an overflowing love of the world through this new consciousness that will overflow into your relationships and service in the world.

In this module, you’ll learn how to:

• Watch the thought-waves of the mind, and experience yourself as the witness, the seer
• Immerse your cells in non-violence (ahimsa) and truth (sat) to create a field of peace and wisdom that surrounds you in every moment
• Become an integral part of the conscious evolution of our species
• See painful experiences as purification, and let go of struggle – so you move more easily through difficult life situations
• Free yourself of judgments that don’t serve you and keep you from accessing inner joy and freedom
• Experience yourself as the ground of being behind your limited identities

A life lived out of cynicism, fear or anger is very tiring, and will have limited effects. Instead – when you dedicate every action, large or small, in service of the Divine – your actions are purified and flow naturally, and you experience peace and steadiness. As you lean into the intention of fostering a sense of service in your own life, your relationships to others and the planet will become healthier, and you will experience more joy, ease and effectiveness.

In this module, you’ll learn how to:

• Find more joy through knowing your actions are guided from a clear inner source
• Inspire change in the world and give back through the presence of your love and compassion for yourself and others
• Release the need to change others and instead find yourself inspiring change from within
• Experience your work in the world as service to the Divine, no matter the field
• Strengthen your ability to engage in conscious activism without fear of burnout as you release attachment to specific outcomes and move with love
• Bring yogic virtues – such as courage, commitment, peace and love – to every action
• Overcome inertia, depression or dejection caused by your beliefs that your desired goals are unattainable or imperfect

Turning to nature as friend and teacher is a healing practice for the soul that will orient you to the trees, stars, galaxies and all of humanity as one interconnected web. Consciously connecting with the amazing diversity of the Sacred as it manifests in birds, flowers, trees, rivers and mountains is an essential practice for healing yourself and the planet. Using your senses to absorb all that is available in your environment, you will gain a spiritual richness and a deeper connection to yourself, others and the planet.

In this module, you’ll learn how to:

• Gain insight into the shimmering quality of nature through new practices of open sensory awareness
• Receive wisdom, love and guidance from the spirits of the elements, earth, plants and animals
• Access energy from the soul-force of the planet by being in unity with it
• Befriend a local tree (whether you live in the forest or the inner city!) and experience true strength and companionship
• Allow a mountain to teach you to meditate
• Experience the vitality of nature’s life force wherever you are – a mountaintop, beach, river or urban park – through new practices for opening sensory awareness

Conscious connection fosters a sense of community that can help heal the tremendous isolation of our age. Those who come together generate growth and conscious living practices, provide support and assistance, and give back to each other and the Earth through teaching and practicing of compassion. Conscious community is the best tool we have to evolve our species and planet for the better! We will need this more and more over the next 100 years, as ecological and economic shifts continue to emerge.

In this module, you’ll learn how to:

• Practice loving communication of needs and feelings, and increase your intimacy with others
• Expand your conscious connection with others by practicing yoga in a circle or with a partner
• Enhance your experience of vulnerability and empathy as the best way to build intimacy and connection
• Partner with others to consciously create the world we long for, sharing ideas and potentials to help move us forward as a species and as a planet
• Experience the power of the circle to resolve conflict and deepen support
• Build yogic friendships near and far, and expand your resources for love, support and growth

Tantra recognizes the Divinity of all that pulses through you and the world, and it affirms the possibility of spiritual realization with a focus on being in the world, rather than pulling away from it. By embracing and unifying the opposites – Spirit and nature, male and female, light and dark, grief and joy – you unify the disparate parts of yourself. By honoring the immanent (feminine) and transcendent (male) energies of yourself and the cosmos, you can move toward spiritual transcendence and an underlying sense of both peace and ecstatic bliss.

In this module, you’ll learn how to:

• Embrace the opposites in your life, such as striving vs. contentment, to find true peace and joy
• Abandon all concepts of right and wrong, pure and impure, to experience freedom beyond what you ever imagined
• Open to the wisdom of your inner demons – the parts of yourself you most want to avoid – and experience renewed energy and bliss
• Play with the subtle energies of masculine and feminine in your own being, so you become fully balanced and alive
• Experience the qualities of yin and yang, activity and rest, in the subtle energy centers (nadis) of the body, and learn to run energy through the central channel of your body
• Experience your sexual essence as part of the core life force of your body, and engage this force for your spiritual evolution – whether single or in relationship, and whether you choose celibacy or an active sex life