“The universe is a big ball of pulsating bliss”

Last week I went to Tiffany Woods (an Anusara-inspired teacher who is going through the certification process) class at The Shop in Park City Utah. It was my first time at The Shop and it was phenomenal. Tiffany mentioned she was on a teleconference call with John Friend talking about the newly named Shiva Shakti Tantra of Anusara yoga. She said that at the end of the phone call someone asked John how to explain this Shiva Shakti tantra to our Anusara students, and well spoken, articulated John Friend replied, “The universe is a big ball of pulsating bliss”. I absolutely loved this! I am so grateful Tiffany shared this with us. All week in my practice on the mat and in my life of the mat I thought about how the universe, the trees, the trash, the sun, me, everyone….is all a part of this pulsating ball of bliss.

I focused and meditated on this pulsating ball of bliss. This pulsation is like a dance of Shiva and Shakti. Shiva is like the sun. The one energy, consciousness, the masculine principle of stability, stillness, and that which never changes. Shakti is like the sunshine. The dynamic expression of the oneness, the feminine principle of freedom and is in constant motion. I thought about how this pulsation (spanda) explains the ups and downs, the contraction and expansions of life.