Every time I stand in front of the wall length studio mirror and gaze into my own eyes, reality as I know it begins to fade.

No, I’m not one of Bikram’s faithful followers - far from it. My near poverty, proletariat status prices me out of teacher training.

I’m just a regular, highly intuitive yogini who recognizes a deeply spiritual and classical yoga sequence when I practice it.

Sometimes, when my arms are above my head, preparing for Ardha Chandrasan (Half-Moon), I see a pale blue goddess, glowing bright from her crown, her heavy, fixed gaze glaring back at me.

Then there are times when I cross one arm under the other for Garudasana (Eagle pose )and I see Ganesh, jolly, full bellied and bright, on the other side of the looking glass, close enough to touch.

“Aum Ganesh, lord of change please help me to recall this discomfort when I resist plunging deeper into everything I am running from in life. Aum.”

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Seva

Pronounced save-awe : Selfless service for altruistic purposes on behalf of, and for the betterment of a community. 

I’ve always been a bit of a recluse, hiding behind books and computer screens, finding comfort in my own little cozy corner of the world, an invisible ”do not bother me” sign evident in my tight smile and soft voice. 

Then, I started practicing yoga and things began to shift. 

One afternoon, after a blissful yoga class, I walked back out into the busy streets of Philadelphia and the world around me didn’t feel so big, for the first time I didn’t feel so alone and I could actually sense my connection to everything and everyone around me. 

Call it a yoga-high if you want to, but whatever “it” was, it kept me coming back to my mat for more.

From that point on yoga became a permanent in my life. I began to sense that I could stay connected to this feeling through my practice and that it would change everything. 

This year, I have the opportunity to go even deeper into this journey by raising funds to donate to buildOn, an organization that helps support education opportunities at home and abroad.

Through this exercise in selflessness and service I hope to open yet another door of understanding in my own life and help support the opening of educational doors in the lives of children abroad.

Here’s how you can help 

1) visit my buildOn donation page and make a love offering today 

2) buy a t-shirt (order through pay-pal to the left)

3) do both

With Love, 

Jazmyn Burton 

Jazmyn Yoga