There are some people who come into your life for a moment and others for a lifetime. Some people come into your life and change your life forever. We seldom ever know that our lives are just a sequence of choices that forever move us in a direction for our highest good. I always remind myself to hold the future loosely but to honor the intention of an inner guide that is directing me if I only listen. I am forever grateful for listening to my heart when I met my dearest friend and fellow yoga teacher, Michael Taylor.
There is a quality to this “knowing” that is often ignored unless one can trust the experience of what I refer to as my “Truth Meter”. This inner GPS, which has been my best friend, arises as a visceral experience when my entire body is embodied with goosebumps. Some people call them angel bumps. When this happens, I have no choice except to surrender and welcome the mystery that something greater is arising in my soul.
Life is just a series of these remarkable moments guiding us as we journey through life. The effort is in trusting the inner voice. This takes a willingness to know the difference between the striving to get something and the surrounding into letting go of the outcome.
J. Michael Taylor
This April marks the beginning of a new path without our beloved Michael. In 1995, I had the great pleasure of meeting Michael and Doris, his wife, when I had just arrived from CA without any idea of where to begin my teachings.
I had been a yoga teacher in LA for many years but came out here to find a wasteland of healing arts. I first began my teachings by offering yoga classes in a small chiropractic office in Lisle. From there, I rented space on Main Street in Downers Grove in what was an Hapkito Academy. I will forever be grateful for those moments of faith and the early friendships that inspired the seeds for YAF.
When I met Doris, she quickly shared that her husband was a yoga teacher as well. Michael then came to my classes and over the next couple of years, a valuable friendship was established. And when I wanted to open up a studio in 1997, Michael was on board. From the moment I signed that lease, I knew I had a loyal and trusted friend to share the adventure with. The bond that developed over the years is filled with unspoken love and gratitude. He has been the steady rock of this studio. I often think of him as my “yoga husband”.
Yes, nothing is ever done alone. His amazing humor, dedication, and incredible gifts as a teacher have been a guiding force behind our community. Sometimes we just know that destiny is playing her hand and we just need to respond. Yoga Among Friends has been that siren call from the soul. Sometimes, the truth meter sounds the bell that resonates for a lifetime.
Today as we renew our intention, I want us to hold the space of vigil for his complete health to be restored. As we move into our next year, Michael will be on a huge spiritual and physical pilgrimage of his own as he undergoes his bone marrow transplant for a rare blood disorder. His yoga practice is a testament to his overall well-being, and we commit to keeping our studio active and vibrant as he takes the months away to nourish his new immune system. We are family, and as we take our next spin around the sun, let us continue to commit to our practice of mind and body through the yogic tools.
I am so grateful for all our teachers who serve in sharing these much-needed practices. Keep supporting our studio so we can continue to meet within our space for that essential hug. Let us also continue to chant for the world while we send courage and love to Michael and Doris.
In out-of-the-way places of the heart,
Where your thoughts never think to wander,
The beginning has been quietly forming,
Waiting until you were ready to emerge.
Though your destination is not yet clear
You can trust the promise of this opening.
Unfurl yourself into the grace of beginning
That is at one with your life’s desire.
Awaken your spirit to adventure;
Hold nothing back, learn to find ease in risk;
Soon you will be home in a new rhythm,
For your soul senses the world that awaits you.—JOHN O’DONOHUE
Blessings of the heart,
Laura Jane