A Deeply Grateful Student

I dedicated this past weekend to teaching the foundations of Thai massage, and was warmly received by a classroom full of enthusiastic students. I felt strongly about offering a Thai massage workshop in NYC, and affirmed my intuition by the response from the students. It was a transformative journey for all of us, and I was honored to create the container.

The comedian inside me made several guest appearances, and created many opportunities for us to laugh together throughout the weekend. The teachings which have been passed down to me emerged in such a beautiful way, and I saw the students assimilating the principles and gaining perspective on this path. To develop mastery in the art Thai massage, one must make a substantial investment of time, both in study and more importantly, in practice.

When I left Bali this past September, Arno reminded me that practice was the essential ingredient to transforming my Thai massage practice and taking it to the next level. As he says, "Be humble, and repeat." Since then, I had been teaching very little Thai massage, and doing bodywork as often as possible. I know that my practice is the foundation for myself as a teacher, and following Arno's advice, I felt in no rush to share what I have been learning.

This weekend offered an affirmation of just how precious a gift I have received to share. The practice of Thai massage is deeply healing, for both the giver and receiver, and creates an extraordinary medium to communicate love through touch. In the presence of this kula, I felt the teachings emerge effortlessly, and I felt more like a channel than a facilitator. I heard my teachers voices guiding me along, and witnessed the magic unfold.

At the closing circle, I asked the students to reflect on the weekend, and to affirm something that they experienced which brings more joy and meaning into their life... something that they would like to integrate more fully into their life. As soon as people began to share, I felt myself choked up with emotion, and overflowing with gratitude... the tears streamed down my face, a deep resonance of joy beat in my heart, and I felt such gratitude and homage... homage to all of the teachers in my life, and then towards all those who have dedicated their lives to share the teachings in this lineage.

My heart goes out to all those who have helped me to advance on this path, and especially to Gwyn & Arno who model the way, and offer such a brilliant inspiration for so many.