Le Guru is You!
I want to take this moment to thank all of my loyal yogis that have joined me as I shared my expression of hatha yoga for the last 20 + years. Needless to say you have been and are the wind that fills my sails!! It has been lovingly suggested over the years that I put my classes to film, and lovingly I have declined quoting excuses too numerous to mention – but a little lazy and a little afraid were definitely in there somewhere.
So life and the current circumstances have asked me to work through that fear and put my toe in the pond to truly realize what is here for me.
A boat-load of gratitude to my loving wife and my hanai-daughter Gabby for holding my hand and helping me put this together.
This is the first and certainly not the last. You are all more than welcome to give me your critique and thoughts as we will hopefully make this a loving weekly operation.
Those of you that have taken yoga with me and remember the donation basket at the edge of our lanai in Waimea – well – we have a cyber version;
Pay Pal: paul@unlimited-ideas.com
Venmo: Paul-Reynolds-26
Eventually this hectic time will sort itself out. Once again we can bring our mats to the deck beach side (or wherever) watching whales breech as we get our asana -on! And when we rise from savasana we will be so grateful that we can give each other that deserved hug for a practice well done.
Namaste+Aloha = Namahola!
Yogi P
Some 20 years ago on the Big Island of Hawaii, Hatha Yoga “found” Paul Reynolds (or was it the other way around?). Either way the “connection” was made and he had found ‘home’. His grounding in form and philosophy has come from the White Lotus teacher training, advanced teacher training and Thai Yoga Therapy programs. He received his certification from master teachers Ganga White and Tracey Rich and co-taught the 16-day teacher training sessions at White Lotus with fellow teacher Kent Bond before moving to Kauai in 2005.
Paul’s yoga practice and teaching philosophy are rooted in the knowing that we are all Unlimited Ideas and that the truly effective teachers are our ‘gurus’ within. His eclectic, innovative, intuitive style is committed to creating a safe place to launch ones’ personal discoveries; inspiring students to find their own distinctive voice as they deepen their practice and find their own answer to the age-old question “What is Yoga?”
“Life is a weaving of similarities and the unexpected. We ride a wave of … possibilities. The body has an opportunity to “speak” to us through effective opening when the mind/body dynamic doesn’t get too comfortable with patterns.” Using ‘traditional’ asana and sequencing opens us in certain ways and focusing the mind on certain patterns lend it a certain texture. However the patterns can become familiar “crutches” if we are not careful. As we develop and begin to make the practice our own, feeling the bodies’ rhythms, new openings present themselves when we (our thinking mind) least expect them. This allows oneself to be totally “in-the-moment”. It is in this way that a deeper form of learning can avail itself.”
“I strive to approach each class as an opportunity to invent ways to access the body uniquely, and these opportunities are made manifest by the energies of those that show up to our practice sessions. It is truly an exercise in relationship where the demarcation between ‘teacher’ and student’ disappears. The practice finds its way through the structures we call asana, some are the classic forms while others ‘appear’ at the moment, and I find myself as just a guy passing out the sheet music, guiding people in tuning up their instruments, then stepping out of the way to witness the miracles as we all open to our special compositions.”
“Yoga is the realization , or the remembering of the connection of energies once thought to be opposites. Yoga is a dance in the land of paradox!” —Paul Reynolds
“The poetry of Paul’s soul expresses itself through his heart, his hands, and his insightful guidance. He is known for his uniquely sensitive, caring and attuned approach. He weaves a magic with his words and his compassionate touch that makes class a deep, sweet journey to the self. “
Ganga White & Tracey Rich- White Lotus Foundation
A Yogi’s Welcome
Please allow your stories to be left at the door with your shoes.
You may pick them up if you really want them on your way back out.
They are not required to enter here.
Kiss your ego and allow it to be still.
As you achieve your comfortable seated posture
and consciously take in your next breath, also take in this assurance.
There is no need to achieve anything here…
There is no need to defend anything here…
This is a safe place.
All is one, in breath and life. All is here now.
If there is any request of you
It is to allow yourself to remain
as present
and as open as you can … to you!
It may be that you open wide to you today.
It may be that you peek through a crack and find a glimpse of you today.
The door opens as you are ready.
No sooner. No later.
And thus we create the connection- the YOGA –
between the anxiousness to see and
the patience needed to wait for the understanding.
It’s that space between the in-breath and the out-breath.
It may be uncomfortable at times.
Opening to ‘us’ can be so damned uncomfortable,
but it is in this space that we remember and receive.Listen for it with your heart.
Feel it in your body.
Relish it with your spirit.Namaste,
Paul Reynolds
My deepest thanks, respect and love to those who have guided me along this path; Ganga White and Tracey Rich, Kent Bond,Eric Schiffman, Saul David Raye, Sarah Powers, Tim Miller, Cheri Clampett, Robert Brook, Klaus Lehrach, Duncan Wong, Michael Lechonzak, Jill Miller, Master Hong, Max Thomas, Paul Grilley, John Friend, Patricia Howard and Richard Freeman, to name a few – all have been the bright and shining mirrors to help this yogi see himself and his surroundings a little more clearly!
