Friend has generated clarity on what modern yoga is.

“I live by my yoga principles in everything I do—my personal relationships, my leisure time, and my work. It is not like I practice yoga philosophy only on my sticky mat. . .Yoga is my life.” — John Friend

Hindu mythology offers the the holy trinity of Brahma the creator, and amongst thousands of deities, Vishnu the maintainer or preserver, and Shiva, the destroyer or transformer. Vishnu’s distinguishing characteristic in the vedas, is his association with light.

John Friend is a preserver of ancient lineage by making the old new again—by continuously immersing Spirit and heart into yoga. Friend tells us, “From my perspective I see a lot of people wanting to go deeper into their hearts. I meet people every day around the world who love to feel the connection of Spirit within themselves and their relationships. People can align themselves energetically through yoga and revelations certainly occur. Grace is what I think of as the revelatory of power of Spirit. When there are balanced alignments, the curtains open. Align with the Divine in thought, words, and actions and Grace flows in. It is an alignment of body, mind, and soul that opens the curtains and lets the Light pour in.”

The recent NY Times article on John has sparked much conversation, which in turn has generated clarity on what modern yoga is and what it means to us. What I realize more every day is that we yogi’s are a global community of sincere people who are committed to health, purity, evolution, and love. It’s not an easy path. We need each other, and we need centered, solid leaders to keep shining & teaching us by example, he says:

“Our community is tightly-knit and there is a real enjoyment sharing in the yoga practice together. I just taught in Denmark, Germany, France, England, and Italy and in every culture there is a desire for connection of like hearts. So, the kula is tight. The people that are closest to me are those that I can trust the fullest. At the same time, Anusara has no barrier to entry. I am constantly making mistakes in relationships so I am constantly learning and getting better. I am often too open and looking for the good in those who are looking out for themselves. It is by going through tests in relationships we find our dearest friends, those that we spend the most time with. So, Anusara is improving every day through amazing relationships. And no matter the level of a particular relationship we are often in delight.”

Three of Vishnu’s Superpowers are:

Shakti (Energy), or power, which is the capacity to make the impossible possible

Bala (Strength), which is the capacity to support everything by will and without any fatigue

Tejas (Splendor), which expresses His self-sufficiency and the capacity to overpower everything by His spiritual effulgence

The Yoga’s Rock Star Super Hero’s effectiveness lies in their ability to evoke change and awareness in our own hearts. Another magical weapon from your “yoga arsenal” is the beautiful invocation given before Anusara class.

Om namah shivaya om namah shivaya… Essentially this chant means, “I offer myself to the Light”.

The repetition of this chant is thought to salvage the soul from bondage of the treacherous instinctive mind and the steel bands of a perfected externalized intellect.