Class Plan – Week 40.1: Becoming Omnipresent
Opening

Mantra ““I move with ease, I live with courage.”

“Welcome. Tonight’s practice is about progress, not perfection. Too often we judge ourselves by impossible standards, chasing the ‘perfect pose,’ the ‘perfect body,’ or the ‘perfect life.’ But yoga isn’t about perfection or overthinking — it’s about showing up, step by step, and honoring the progress we make along the way.

We live in a world where many of us enjoy material wealth, yet still feel a kind of spiritual poverty. The body is fed, but the spirit feels empty. This is why we come to the mat — to nourish the inside as much as the outside.

Tonight, we’ll explore what it means to live fearlessly, to trust the natural flow of life, to accept impermanence, and to honor our own transformation. Together, we’ll practice not to get it ‘right,’ but to be fully present with each breath, each step, each moment of the climb.”

Topic 1 – Fearlessness

Metaphor: Fear is like a shadow on the wall. It looks bigger than it really is until we turn on the light and see what’s truly there.

Reflection: Fear only lives in the past and the future. Here and now, it has no ground. When we breathe into the places where fear lives in the body, we soften its edges. Fearlessness doesn’t mean recklessness — it means choosing courage in the present moment.

Quotes:

“Fearlessness is the first prerequisite of a spiritual life.” – Gandhi

“We think too much and feel too little.” – Charlie Chaplin

“Fear dissolves when we accept that all things are temporary.” – David Scott

“Courage is knowing what not to fear.” – Plato

Topic 2 – Omnipotence (Effortless Flow)

Metaphor: Imagine a centipede with 100 legs. If it had to plan every single step — left, right, back, front — it would collapse under the effort and never get anywhere. But the centipede doesn’t think about it. It simply walks, trusting its nature.

Reflection: Our bodies do the same. The heart beats, the lungs breathe, the cells heal — without our command. The more we try to control every detail, the more tangled we become. But when we loosen our grip, life flows effortlessly. This is the teaching of wu wei, non-forcing. Like floating in water — when you try to stay on the surface you sink, but when you relax, you rise. Tonight, let your breath carry you the way the centipede’s steps carry it — without thought, in harmony with what already is.

Quotes:

“Yoga is a light, which once lit will never dim.” – B.K.S. Iyengar

“No one saves us but ourselves. No one can and no one may. We ourselves must walk the path.” – Buddha

“Grow through what you are going through and do not listen to your fears.” – David Scott

“The goal of yoga and meditation is not to control your thoughts, but to stop them from controlling you.”

“When you try to stay on the surface of the water, you sink. If you try to sink, you float.” – Zen saying

Topic 3 – Impermanence

Metaphor: Here in Miami, we’re beginning to feel the cooler mornings and evenings. Summer’s heavy heat is giving way to gentler autumn air. We can’t hold onto the season we prefer — change will come, whether we welcome it or not. Each shift is part of the whole.

Reflection: Life is the same. Our bodies, our emotions, our relationships — everything changes. Clinging creates suffering. But when we release and accept, we find peace. Just as we welcome the cooler breeze after the heat, we can learn to welcome the natural flow of change. Tonight, notice where you may be resisting change and let your breath soften you into acceptance.

Quotes:

“The only constant in life is change.” – Heraclitus

“The wave does not need to die to become water. She is already water.” – Thich Nhat Hanh

“Life is a series of natural and spontaneous changes. Don’t resist them.” – Lao Tzu

“Thanks to impermanence, everything is possible.” – Thich Nhat Hanh

Topic 4 – Transformation

Metaphor (Personal): Two weeks ago, I was hiking a mountain trail in Wyoming. Deep in the trees, all I could see was the uphill path right in front of me. It felt endless. But then I reached a clearing above the tree line. I looked back and was astonished at how high I had already climbed. The progress was always there — I just couldn’t see it while I was in the forest.

Reflection: Transformation is like that hike. Day to day, progress feels invisible. But with time and perspective, you realize how far you’ve risen. It isn’t about perfection at the summit — it’s about each step you take with intention. Tonight, let your practice remind you that even when you can’t see the view, progress is happening.

Quotes:

“Change is the essence of life; be willing to surrender what you are for what you could become.” – Reinhold Niebuhr

“It is not the strongest that survive, but the ones most responsive to change.” – Charles Darwin

“Nothing can dim the light that shines from within.” – Maya Angelou

“Every shortcut is an illusion. Do the work and all is coming.” – T.K.S. Desikachar

Closing

“As you leave tonight, remember: fear is only a shadow, flow is your nature, change is your teacher, and transformation is already unfolding. Trust the climb. Honor the steps. Progress, not perfection.”

“May your joys be as bright as the morning, and your sorrows merely be shadows that fade in the sunlight of love. May you have enough happiness to keep you sweet, enough trials to keep you strong, enough sorrow to keep you human, enough hope to keep you happy, enough failure to keep you humble, enough success to keep you eager, enough friends to give you comfort, enough faith and courage in yourself to banish sadness, enough wealth to meet your needs and one thing more; Enough determination to make each day a more wonderful day than the one before.” Irish Blessing