A beautiful share from one of my first yoga students, Lisa Chottiner.
Peace,
EP
“Do yoga,” said the infertility doctor. “You need to calm down to become pregnant.”
I was willing to do anything to have a baby. So I prepared my Type A overdrive for chanting, meditating, and levitating with a tiny man in a robe.
Instead, I found myself rocking poses to Cat Stevens, The Stones, and Jay-Z. My tattooed teacher seemed more suited to hang with Bret Michaels than the Dalai Lama.
This everyday guru, Eric Paskel, was the rock star of yoga. It wasn’t because of his killer good looks or his awesome playlist. It was because of his words. Eric was the first person to say he was full of sh**.
But he understood the human spirit and he had the power to express it in between calling out the poses.
Eric scraped souls.
He scraped mine.
After years of yoga classes, five failed IVFs, and a surrogate attempt that belongs on Dateline, Eric said, “wanting to have a child of your own is a selfish act when so many children need your love.”
I hated him.
He didn’t care what I thought. He spoke the truth.
Eventually, I knew it too.
So when the phone rang and the person on the other end said, “A baby girl was born.” I took a deep breath and was ready to welcome her home with less than 14 hours notice.
Three months later, the doctors said my baby girl was blind. I took another deep breath and knew this was a very special call to service.
My daughter is six years old. Each day brings new challenges, but also new joys.
It’s all because of the wisdom of my everyday guru.
This is why Eric is my everyday guru as well. He’s not afraid to tell me all the things I don’t want to hear but need to, and I know it’d with love. Check out his amazing training! You won’t regret it.
I can honestly say “scraping your soul” is a legit way of putting it. I was blessed with the opportunity to meet Eric about 3 years back, just stepping foot into his studio in Studio City, shortly after I moved to Los Angeles, with hopes of pursuing my personal training and yoga career, But at that moment I was new, and unsure, and feeling semi lost in LA and just wanted a good ass yoga class. I chose the perfect one for that moment. And through an hour, of sweat, epic music and an ending that captured my heart with his live guitar playing, I ended on my mat in tears. This man moves souls just by being himself and allowing you a space to be yourself. I think he, among his whole family at yoga shelter deserve a reminder of how incredible their mark is on people. I am forever moved by his nature and the yoga teacher training and retreat I took in Mexico this past spring. Much love and light to you and everyone who graces this site. Remember to remove the “I” and focus on the “WE”. Aho! 🙂
I would be lying if I said that shares like this don’t matter to me. They do! As much as I know I must do what I do and be what I am whether people accept me or not, love me or not, it still stings when rejection knocks on my door. It still brings a warmth that penetrates the deepest part of me to read something like this.
Peace,
EP