Inner Light Outer Peace Yoga Blog

Sam Colon is the Director of Camps and Clinics at Bobby Valentine’s Sports Academy, Head Coach of a 15U AAU baseball team, Instructor, Fitness Trainer, Daddy and all around nice guy.

New to the Connecticut baseball scene, Sam is a highly regarded coach and instructor in Westchester County. He brings with him a strong baseball resume, see below. My son has taken lessons with Sam and came away from 30 minute lessons with knowledge and wisdom that will cary him through the season and beyond because Sam not only instructs skill but also strategy for baseball and for succeeding as an athlete on field and off.

Sam has just begun attending Dew Yoga classes with a commitment to make Yoga a part of his weekly routine, I am sure it will complement his active and busy life!

I asked him about his Yoga practice.

Q: How long have you been practicing Yoga?

A: 2 weeks

Q: What fills your time off the mat?

A: Baseball at Bobby V’s, my son on Thursday’s and Saturday’s, and food and drinks during the night’s I don’t do either.

Q: How has your yoga practice affected your life off the mat?

A:The two times that I have done it, has left me with a feeling of relaxation. Less stress, and more positive thinking

Q: what would you like to share with others about Yoga?

A: Yoga is about mind, body, and soul. That’s your own mind, body, and soul when you get to focus on yourself and no one else. It is a time to let yourself go, and that is where the real relaxation takes place.

Sam began his baseball career at Cardinal Spellman High School in the Bronx, where he was named to the NY All-City team. A 2002 graduate of Concordia College, Sam was a four-year starter twice being named captain and once earning All-American recognition for his outfield play. Sam helped lead Concordia to four straight regional appearances and three NYAC Championships, while leading the school in a number of hitting categories. In 2002 Sam received the NYCAC Scholar Athlete award along with three All-NYAC selections, and two All-Region selections. Over the past three years, Sam has coached for the Diamond Buddies in the WBA and in 2005 served as the Assistant Varsity Baseball Coach at Harrison High School.

To contact Sam about baseball, instruction or training, give him a call at BVSA or send him an e-mail at samcolon @ myway . com.

Visit BVSA website here.

Today is Earth Day. Honestly I think we should be aware and love Earth every day so forgive me for not writing some blissed out, flowery tribute to the ultimate Mother.

Today I was very angry.

Mother’s have many roles. Sometimes it is a mother’s job to nourish, feed, shelter and support. Sometimes her job is to hold space for childish tantrums and to hug you after you’re done raging.

Grrr. Continue reading “It’s My Blog, I’ll Rant If I Want To”

Ann Russell’s Workshop, Breathing into a Deeper Kripalu Experience, has been rescheduled. It will be held on Saturday June 7th at 9:30am.

Borrowed from a very interesting site, Philosophy with Fur by Dharma the Cat. Visit here.

MULTI-FAITH LIGHT BULB JOKES:

Q: How many Zen masters does it take to change a light bulb?
A: Two, one to change the bulb, and one to not change the bulb.
Q: How many Taoists does it take to change a light bulb?
A: No takers. The idea that the bulb needs changing is merely a human mental formulation. It is not the Tao.
Q: How many psychiatrists does it take to change a light bulb?
A: One, but the bulb must want to change.
Q: How many Jewish mothers does it take to change a light bulb?
A: (with mournful Yiddish accent) Don’t worry about me; I’ll just sit here in the dark.
Q: How many lawyers does it take to change a light bulb?
Q A: How many can you afford?

GRACE.

Do you know that Webster’s has 32 definitions for the word grace? Here’s the definitions that pertain to my week.

Theology. a. the freely given, unmerited favor and love of God.
b. the influence or spirit of God operating in humans to regenerate or strengthen them.
c. a virtue or excellence of divine origin: the Christian graces.
d. Also called state of grace. the condition of being in God’s favor or one of the elect.
9. moral strength: the grace to perform a duty.

It has continued to touch me all week and continues to reveal it self still.

Someone very dear to me lost her husband after a long, diligent battle against cancer. To witness her go though this over the last five years, has been nothing short of grace. Her faith is as strong as titanium and as deep as the Mariana’s trench. (look it up-geography lesson). She has grieved publically and privately and will continue to do so for a while, but to watch her live her life in the very real and present moment, has been not only a testament to faith, but to life. She radiates in her faith from which derives this strength. If we could all live in faith, what a wonderful world it would be.

In class yesterday I was again blessed by grace. I had a new student who came to try my class. I was told at the front desk, she was here and had brought her son. Her 36 year old autistic son, who was also going to take the class. I entered the studio, filled with a lot of bodies and saw them. At the side of the room, mat by mat and all ready to go. They appeared to glow. The love between mother and son, the compassion and the grace. They did the whole class but it was in savasana that I lost it. Yes, dear reader, I lost it. The tears coming down my face as I watched this young man settle into savasana, head turned to face his mother, with such a look of love and gratitude. It was a privilege to witness this expression of grace in action.

As I think more about grace, I am convinced that all of life is grace. As Ramakrishna says “The wind’s of God’s grace are always blowing, it is for us to raise our sails.” We are alive through grace. If you don’t believe this, take one look at your amazing body and all that it is!
Rumi reminds us “Give up to grace. The ocean takes care of each wave till it gets to shore. You need more help than you think.” Sometimes the waves on the sea of life get rough. Life can get overwhelming, we find ourselves in situations that are more than we think we can handle, we lose loved ones, we grieve and we get depressed. Yet in the middle of it all, God is present. When we surrender to the divine, we can claim the exquisite consciousness that we are living in grace. The divine is steering our boat in the storm and we are safe. We are safe in the divine and grace is the natural state of our lives.

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