Yoga Iyengar, meditation and mutual aid.
Holistic and inclusive approach
My spiritual quest began at the dawn of my twenties. It led me on a pilgrimage through the Americas; I traveled through South America, Central America and North America by land for over two years. I left my homeland, Chile. I left behind everything I knew from birth: my family, friends, heartbreaks, personal spots, the Pacific Sea, my job, basically, Everything. At the time, I remember feeling immense loneliness, even though I was surrounded by people. I felt profound nostalgia. I didn't know who I really was. Previously, I had identified with people and things outside of myself. At the age of romance, I mingled with the men I thought I loved. I looked to them for the love and acceptance that I no longer had for myself. I couldn't find myself, despite my strength and determination. I have benefited from these qualities which have served me well, but the arias of life can, momentarily, alienate those who seek self fulfillment.
It is not easy to let go of your old landmarks and adjust to new references; recreating a new existence requires enormous rethinking. I needed to prove to myself that I was capable, someone, inhabiting a woman's body, able to rebuild a life elsewhere. I challenged myself; I wanted to get rid of my fears, as well as my emotional and physical dependencies. I knew that if I managed to rebuild my life from scratch, I would always be able to rebuild myself in the future. I knew, deep within, that by accepting our destiny, with the net losses and benefits, we remain true to our deepest inner core. My instincts allowed me to be in tune with this, and to live in harmony with nature, the divine force, and to stop resisting, to listen, to learn and to live without fear of change. This was the beginning of my journey towards self emancipation. Change is the only natural law we all respond to; we cannot escape it.
Dharma, in Buddhist philosophy, claims that developing equanimity towards the events of our life, heightened by our understanding of impermanence, and of the continuous change of all things, leads to genuine peace, and true joy, and love.
I was introduced to alternative practices very early on in my life by my parents. Both are masters of Reiki. Growing up, I always received an energy treatment before I was given medicine. Also, my father has been practicing meditation for as long as I can remember.
After a difficult adolescence, I became interested in alternative therapies when I was 21 years old. I was to continue on the path my parents had initiated me to. I have studied levels I-II-III of Reiki. In Chile, I volunteered at a Japanese center that focuses on healing through energy transmission. In those years, I also started to meditate. I finally discovered yoga a few years later. Since then, yoga, the practice of asana postures and dhyana meditation, have been an integral part of my life.
Being a professional photographer, my observation skills have been well-honed. A photographer must observe the subject carefully, observe their movements and watch for the unspoken, in that way, they can recognise and capture a moment that they are trying to immortalize. Yoga practice has heightened my careful observation. The routinary practice of postures has taught me to observe myself in action, in movement. I am still learning to know myself through my body, learning to recognize my limits and my strengths. Yoga is a clear and sharp mirror. It takes us from the grossest levels to the minute detail and opens a door to deep meditation. We come to inhabit the present. The practice of meditation refines our sense of observation. During meditation, we observe our movements, ever more subtle movements, like our minds, our breath, and sensations. This is done in stillness and darkness, as our body remains still and our eyes remain shut for a long time. Our senses disengage from the outside, and travel inwards. In yoga this is called pratyahara.
In svadhyaya, the study of the self, self-observation is key to transformation. Yoga and meditation are the path. It takes courage to look at oneself objectively and create the change one needs to improve their life. In any case, I know that all change is for the better. Changes come from choices made, or sometimes changes are imposed upon us. No matter their nature, change always happens; it makes us evolve and exposes us to our own reality. Changes are a wonderful opportunity to align us with our deepest dreams, and through which we can become a better version of ourselves.
Yoga is a wonderful tool for navigating life - at times calm, and other times, tormented. However, the path remains very personal. No one can walk it for us, it's our own responsibility. There is no miracle that happens without some effort. We have to work to create it.
I feel privileged to be able to guide you, and I humbly share with you what I know about this yogic discipline, so that you may walk your path of life with confidence and benevolence.
Thank you for your trust.
Carla Ramirez
May we all be happy
May we all find true peace
May we all be set free.
Goenkaji, Vipassana meditation teacher
Previously, I had identified myself with people and things outside of myself. At the age of love, I merged myself with the men I thought I loved. I sought in them the love and acceptance that I no longer had for myself. I no longer found myself, despite my strength and determination. I have indeed received these qualities that have served me so well, but the arias of life sometimes momentarily distance from themselves those who seek fulfillment.
It is not easy to give up your old landmarks and have to adjust to new references to recreate a new existence, this requires enormous questioning. But I needed to prove to myself that I was capable as an individual inhabiting a woman's body to rebuild a life elsewhere. I set myself this challenge: I wanted to get rid of my fears, my emotional and physical dependencies. I knew that if I managed to rebuild my life starting from scratch, I would always know how to rebuild myself afterwards. I knew internally that this would confirm to me that when we follow destiny with acceptance, as much of the losses as of the gains to be made, we remain integral to what is deepest within us.
My instinct allowed me to be in tune with this life, to live in harmony with nature, a divine force, to stop resisting, to listen, to learn and to live without fear of change. This was the beginning of the journey leading me towards the emancipation of my identity. Change is the only law we all respond to, we cannot escape it.
Being a professional photographer, my sense of observation has always been well trained. As photographers, we must observe the subject very carefully, observe their movement, their unsaid words, in order to recognize and capture this moment, this precise image that we seek to immortalize. So, the practice of yoga heightened careful observation in me. Through the practice of postures, I learned to observe myself in action, in movement. Through my body, I am still learning to know myself, to recognize my limits and my strengths. Yoga is a clear and sharp mirror. He takes us from the grossest to the smallest and then opens the door to meditation. We become present. The practice of meditation refines the sense of observation.
It takes courage to look at ourselves objectively and to create the change we need to make to live better. However, I know for sure that all change happens for the better. Changes sometimes present themselves as choices, other times they are imposed on us. No matter their nature, changes always happen to make us grow and expose us to our reality. They are a magnificent opportunity to align ourselves with our deepest dreams and thus become a better version of ourselves.
Yoga is a wonderful tool for navigating this life that is sometimes calm, sometimes tormented. However, the path remains very personal. No one can go through it for us, it’s entirely our responsibility. There is no miracle that happens without effort, we have to work to create it.
Know that I feel privileged to be able to guide you, to be able to humbly show you what I know about the discipline of yoga so that then, in total autonomy, you can navigate your life with confidence and kindness.
Thank you for your confidence
Carla Ramirez