I’d like to tell you about the happenings in my life from March this year and up to the present day. It’s simply another example of how we work with God…The Universe, Love, whatever you want to call this unfathomable existence…to create our lives with our thoughts. I hope that it inspires you in one way or another.

On Saturday, March 3, 2012, I went to a Yoga Flash Mob at the Houston Rodeo. I’d RSVP’d via Facebook in reply to an invite from the instructor, Loraine Frow, whom I had not yet met in person. I didn’t know anybody that was going to be there. I just decided to step outside of the box and go. A couple of days before the event I’d seen a post from Loraine asking anyone about supplying music of some sort. I commented that I played guitar and would be happy to bring it, an offer which she so very gratefully and openly accepted.

So there I was, walking through the parking lot with a herd of rodeo-goers (…in classic rodeo gear, of course, but who’s judging? If you’re not from Texas, we don’t all dress in cowboy boots and big belt buckles. Haha.) dressed in gym clothes with an acoustic guitar strapped around my back and a green yoga mat under my left arm. I felt right in place. As I approached the intersection where we were all to meet, I spotted a lovely lady walking in the same direction with, you guessed it, a yoga mat. I don’t remember what color hers was though. Sorry, Judy! She spotted me as well, so I waited for her to catch up and we  introduced ourselves and walked together. It was a nice walk and talk. Beautiful lady. We came to the intersection where we were all supposed to meet and Judy spotted Loraine across the street. Loraine and her crew came up and we met with the most joyful hugs and smiles. We all agreed on a spot to set up yoga camp and got the Vinyasa party started. It was quite fun. There were trolleys passing by filled with cowboys and cowgirls. Everyone was smiling. I don’t know what they were smiling about, but it doesn’t really matter as long as they were smiling, right? After the class, Loraine and I spoke and she asked me if I’d like to play in her class at Joy Yoga Center the following morning at 10:15. Before allowing myself to think about it too much, I replied, “Yes!” It was a great joy to experience someone so thankful and free.

The class went amazing. We decided on an area and I set up my guitar and amplifier as the students rolled in. This was a first for me and something I’d envisioned for quite some time, so I had a little anxiety, not too much, but it was definitely present and trying to make me feel full on nervous. As the people gathered in and laid out their mats for their practice, my tension pretty much vanished. Their positive energy set me at ease and I was able to be completely present. I began playing and soon after, Loraine started speaking to the class. She led them into pranayama breathing exercises and I began to realize how it was not only me making this music. It was all of us. I could hear their breathing becoming one with the sound of Loraine’s voice and the sound of my guitar. I have trouble describing what that feels like to me. Amazing? Blissful? Beautiful? Nothing seems to do it justice. Heavenly perhaps?

Since then, I’ve been playing in the same class every week except for a few I’ve had to miss. Loraine had asked me, and I agreed obviously, to play in the class every Sunday, ran it by the studio founder and owner, Joy Winkler, and that was that. I’ve made so many new friends and had so many awesome experiences in the last several months. I’ve done a decent deal of yoga too. Not as much as I’d like, but enough to keep me in check and constantly learning new things. It’s been my introduction to vinyasa flow. (My previous experiences were ninety-something percent at Dahn Yoga, which is a Korean-based yoga that focuses a great deal on the human mind as well as the physical body…about 60/40 perhaps, but don’t quote me on that. More on Dahn will come in future blogs, I’m pretty sure.)

Recently, I had the pleasure of playing in a couple of extra classes at the studio and for some new-to-me instructors. The first class was Melissa Riedel‘s Monday night Gentle Flow class and the second, Natalie Maisel‘s Thursday night Beginner’s class. Both classes went pretty damn awesome. The two instructors and their classes were very unique in their styles. Beautiful. It is such an awesome experience to collaborate in such a way. I’ve realized that playing with different instructors and students is very similar to being in a musical band or project with other artists, but simultaneously on another level completely. No other combination of people will create the same sounds and vibrations. Even the same musicians playing the same song for the one-millionth time will never play it the same way twice. This is how our vast universe flows and paints.

After the success of these two classes, and reflecting back on how my regular Sundays had been going, Joy & I discussed and solidified our working relationship to another degree. She put me on staff. I now have a part-time job as a musician at what was recently voted “Houston’s Best Yoga Studio” in the Houston Press. Crazy, right? It’s been a dream of mine in the past few years to somehow use my musical abilities in this way. My recorded music has been used in Dahn Yoga practices, but never had I actually played in a yoga class. I created this possibility by stepping outside of my box and going to that Yoga Flash Mob. Loraine created this possibility by simply being her true self, creating the Yoga Flash Mob event and inviting me to it. The Universe at work.

In addition, I’ll be playing live at Joy Yoga Center for Joy Winkler’s sister company, My Universal Joy. Joy teaches and has these classes filmed for those who cannot make it to a studio, but can subscribe online and take these wonderful classes in the comfort of their own home or office. Sweet, right?

This is all simply one example of the truths that I’ve been learning and reading about…about how we create our own lives by the decisions that we make. The Secret. The Law of Attraction. The Power of Now. Taking action in the current moment with positive intention and faith. Awareness. I’m so thankful that our Creator has so elegantly laid out these road maps for us. It’s up to us to choose to seek and find our truths. Once we take action, in his mysterious ways, he shows us truth.

Namaste~

Anthony Rodriguez~

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