"...maybe you are searching among the branches,
for what only appears
in the roots."
-rumi


Hello friends and fellow travelers ~

My heart aches a bit as I write to you right now.

The template for this communication was created a few weeks ago and the intention was to send it about a week ago. I've just now finished deleting all the copy I had - and am beginning again. Originally, this was a newsletter of joy and anticipation - I've created a structure to support you in your practice in an incredibly meaningful way. I was also excited to share about Love Shine Play returning this summer!

I will still share about those two things (Tulasana Sadhana)
and Love Shine Play ~

but

I've got to back up a bit and share a bit of how my life took a bit of a turn and tumble.

So. Here goes.

Where to start? Perhaps at the start of what feels like an epic unwinding of the life that I thought I was going to live. That would be in October of 2018. Without getting into details (they simply don't matter at this point) ~ I was forced to view my marriage of 25 years through a different lens and in this viewfinder, it was clear that the marriage was over.

My heart was truly broken. I felt shattered. Yet ~ am I not so fortunate? I have a practice. My yoga was my lifeline, each and every day. And for months, even into years, until June of 2020, somehow, I woke up each day and found beauty within the wreckage, peace within the disquiet, and a thrum of a better way of living and loving calling me forward.

I know the pandemic was hard on everyone but honestly, I was in so much pain when it began, that it was almost a non-thing for me. I worried for others but I was alone on a mountaintop simply hoping not to break into a million pieces. The curiosity as to whether my 30 some years of yoga practice and dedication to the practice would sustain and hold me, help me to keep showing up - that was the most alive thing for me.

And somehow, June of 2020, there was a resolving, a point of closure and a tiny spark in my heart of moving forward.

And then, in August of 2020, a student of mine went off the rails - so to speak. He had always made me a little uncomfortable with his enthusiasm for me (rather than the practice) and his efforts to spend time with me outside of class, to insert himself into my life in inappropriate ways, yet never really doing anything "wrong". At the end of last summer, this man made it known to me that all along, it was me that he was interested in and not yoga. He was threatening, violent and unstable. I attempted to work with his family to get him counseling, therapy, support for a return to wellness - yet, my efforts were rebuffed. I banned him from class and ceased all communications. Yet, he persisted. I locked my doors, looked over my shoulder, changed my running routine. I told my family and my closest friends what was happening and began spending hours and days with numerous law enforcement agencies and social support services - really to no avail. The threats, alternating with disturbing messages of "love" and desire continued. In January of 2021, it escalated to the point that I had to swear out a warrant for his arrest. And thus commenced the darkest, hardest, most terrifying leg of the journey.

On May 25th, I faced him in a court of law and he was found guilty on all three charges. He was held for 3 days in jail (I slept soundly, deeply for the first time in almost a year) and then 90 days of house arrest and a year and 1/2 of probation. He is not allowed to contact me or my family and must come no closer than 1,000 feet.

For the first time, in a long time, I felt a relief, a tentative safety and the ability to pick up the pieces of my life and begin again.

All the while, since just before the pandemic, I've been writing a book and also thinking of how I can take what yoga has given me and unfold it for you. And the original intent of this newsletter was to share that with you.

Yet again, the ground has shifted, the forces of the universe will have their way and I can only trust in beauty, in kindness, in truth, in the wild tangled green of earth as my summer looks to be much different than I thought it would be.

On Monday, May 31st, I was in a bicycling accident that I really don't remember. Paramedics came and took me in an ambulance to the hospital. I have no memory of any of this, only of regaining consciousness in the emergency room.

It's not so bad - I suffered a major concussion, head lacerations and stitches and two fractures to my hip. I can only walk with crutches right now and am grateful for the sweet blessing of being able to move, even if it is slow as molasses and limited.

And here I sit, tapping away to you on my laptop, knowing that it will be a little while before I can do yoga with you again. I was discharged from the hospital a day later with the instructions that I wouldn't be able to practice for 3 months. But I am deeply and mightily resolved for it to be a matter of weeks before I return to kriya and flow and practice.

So - please wish me well in my physical healing. I have a previously healthy body and I eat so very well. Food is medicine.

Please keep practicing, keep showing up on your mat, your efforts at yoga are not in vain, they are a continual investment in who you are and what you have to offer.

I have found a wonderful substitute teacher to take over my classes on the Core to Coeur platform. A dearly loved old friend and colleague. I'll share more about him later in the newsletter.

I'm so sorry for how long this has been, this narrative, all about me ~ but goodness! You are all caught up now and whether it was the concussion or just my life, I wasn't quite sure where to start, so it seemed best to go back to the extreme pivot of 2018 and begin there.

Please keep reading for:

~ Tulasana Sadhana unveiling

~ Love Shine Play Magic

~ Sujjan Saroop! the wonderful teacher who will take over my classes until I can return


Thank you for reading this far. You are in my prayers, my meditations. I wish a life of beauty for you ~ may you walk in beauty, may you see beauty, may you be surrounded by love and kindness.

With all of my love, always, all ways,

Sierra
Tulasana Sadhana
From the deepest part of my soul, from the altar of my heart ~ I have created Tulasana Sadhana to support you in your learning, knowing and practice of Yoga. Tulasana Sadhana practices are designed to support you in experiencing the yoke and union of Yoga, the luminous and breathtaking beauty of the greatest treasure of all, that which is within you.

Tulasana is a Sanskrit word sourced from two important roots ~ “tula” is balance and “asana” is posture or seat. Sadhana is the Sanskrit word for practice, yet implies much about our practice: dedication, devotion and daily dwelling.
Each Tulasana Sadhana has been curated to support you in different ways. Our daily practice offers us a wealth of tools, including but not limited to:

~healing (our bodies, our wounds, our samskaras, our past and our present). These practices are known as Bhishajyati.

~alignment to Earth, Moon, Sun and the cosmic principles. These practices are known as Ritucharya.

~exploration of the many facets of our being (subtle body anatomy, destiny, abundance, answering the call of our soul). These practices are known as Amrit.

Tulasana Sadhana practices are meant to hold you and guide your practice in specific ways. Some of the sadhanas will offer completion in a specific area, others are meant to be practiced during specific seasons or times, and still others will call you back, again and again, for the rest of your life. All of the practices will offer you equilibrium – a “balanced seat”, a steady way forward in accomplishing a rewarding home practice. You can draw from more than one Tulasana Sadhana at a time.
Each Tulasana Sadhana has been curated with the principles of yoga, Subtle Body anatomy and Ayurveda at the forefront. All Tulasana Sadhana’s include a specific warm-up, specific vinyasa, several kriyas and a meditation as well as a PDF file rich with resources to deepen your immersion into the practice. 

The very first Tulasana Sadhana is up and available for practice ~ Summer Ritucharya. There are recorded classes, to do whenever you want, again and again, that align you to the energy of summer. There is a PDF rich with energy consideration and application as well as recipes. And two additional practices in PDF form as well. I think (hope) you will love it.
Love Shine Play Festival
It's on!

Love Shine Play is happening this summer ~ hooray!


July 22-25 in downtown Asheville ~ days of yoga and song and movement and chant and meditation ~ all in person!

You can use the code sierra2021 for 15% off of a weekend pass

At this point, I am scheduled to teach an immersion with my dear friend and fellow teacher, HawaH on Thursday. I will also be offering a 2 hour workshop with Luna Ray, and several shorter classes.

Being all healed up and ready to go for this festival is my very doable intention!

For more information on the festival, to learn about all the extraordinary teachers, to check the schedule, or to purchase tickets, please click the button.
Weekly Classes
on Core to Coeur
My longtime and dearly loved friend and colleague, Sujjan Saroop, has graciously offered to step in and teach my Monday and Wednesday 10:00 am classes until I can resume them.

To give you an idea of the teacher that will be showing up for you and leading you on the Kundalini adventure for the next few weeks ~ keep reading ~

After dabbling in and out of Yoga classes for more than a decade, Sujjan Saroop decided, in December 1999, to suspend judgment for a 30-day intensive exploration… and he has maintained a regular practice since. Having travelled and lived in a variety of places, he practiced a multitude of Yoga styles. He was drawn to Kundalini Yoga through the Naad; through proficient, compassionate and wise teachers; through the community connectedness that Kundalini Yoga engenders; through experience of Kundalini Yoga’s efficiency and effectiveness; and through the grace of Divine Consciousness. 
Consistent personal and group Kundalini Yoga practice brought profound transformations to his life in multiple dimensions – including living more directly, more confidently, more calmly, more honestly and more meaningfully. He completed the Kundalini Yoga Level One Teacher Training at Radiance Yoga Studio in 2012 and completed the Kundalini Yoga Level Two Transformation courses in 2017. He is a Professional in the Kundalini Research Institute’s Aquarian Academy (a multi-year, multi-step, multi-dimensional training and development program for Kundalini Yoga trainers) and is a student of Sat Nam Rasayan as well as Kundalini Yoga Therapy. 
Sujjan Saroop witnesses in his students their transformations – of enhanced intuition, security, creativity, and connectedness to Self and community – of deep healing – of living more joyfully and lovingly. Sujjan Saroop’s classes energize and relax, affirm and support, ground and elevate, strengthen and loosen up… and help students connect to the spaces in which there is wholeness, integration and synchronicity. 
His spiritual name (Sujjan Saroop) means “Listening to, and Becoming Completely Absorbed in, the Wisdom of Your Soul.”
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