KonaYoga.com

"Loved the class, hated the teacher"

A master can tell you what he expects of you. A teacher, though, awakens your own expectations.-Patricia Neal




I got this remark one day from a man I follow on Twitter:

"Did I tell you I had my 1st yoga class? Loved the class, hated the teacher."

As it often occurs with written words, I was left to shade in the possible emotions within the lines formed by his sentences. Was he being funny? Could someone actually hate a yoga teacher? I decided to simply reply:

I think that was a good outcome: love class/hate teacher. The teacher sounds interesting to me. :)

I truly was interested in the teacher. How did he/she manage to deliver the message while being rejected as the messenger? When I brought it up in one of my classes, there was general agreement. Despite the unkind and impatient teachers they may have encountered, folks said they loved the yoga that filtered through. They may not go back to a particular teacher, but they will continue to go back to yoga.

It sounds a lot like life. Although our teachers may be disguised as children, bag ladies or terrorists and the lessons sweet or vile. We love the class and Life can be our master and teacher, unless we decide to take on those roles for ourselves.

Photo: RafNap

Sylvia Earle's 'One Wish to Change the World'

Our past, our present, and whatever remains of our future, absolutely depend on what we do now.
-Sylvia Earle

Every year at the TED Conference, three people are awarded $100,000 and the granting of "One Wish to Change the World". Oceanographer Sylvia Earle is one of the 2009 winners and this is her wish:

I wish you would use all means at your disposal - films! expeditions! the web! more! - to ignite public support for a global network of marine protected areas, hope spots large enough to save and restore the ocean, the blue heart of the planet.

Watch her presentation and find out what she means when she says, "It is the worst of times but it is the best of times because we still have a chance." The video is a little over 18 minutes long: Sylvia Earles' Wish. Then take a look at Google Earth's new Ocean layer and dive deep into the ocean off Lanai: http://earth.google.com/tour.html#v=3

When you look at an expanded view of the earth, don't you think Hawaii should naturally be the lifeguard for the Pacific Ocean? Kona Yoga would like to acknowledge the following Kona residents who have a passion for the sea and share their photos and videos with the rest of the world. Let's make Sylvia's wish come true!

• Carlos and Margaret Eyles
• Bryce and Jen Groark
• Sea Pics.
• Deron Verbeck
• Eric Franke
• Everyone who does their part to reduce the amount of plastics going into the sea.

Photo: eFranke

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• Google Earth 2.0: Google Ocean? (appscout.com)
• TED: Change The World With $100,000 (cbsnews.com)