Hay Loves,
Recently I have done an Interview with the amazing Nicky from BE the practice; A former student, dear friend and even a colleague of mine who has been organising the Madrid workshop. It´s so much fun to do interviews like this which inspire me and that turn into a great conversation – Thank you so much Nicky, this was great!
In 2015, through a string of unexpected life synchronicities, I got led to do my 200 hours Yoga Teacher Training with Meghan Currie in Nicaragua (ah those lovely little nudges from the universe). Meghan was exactly the teacher I needed. Her teachings and my training with her profoundly changed me. Today she is still my teacher and a friend. Bringing her to Madrid was my dream from the day I finished my training and here we are. Meghan is coming to Madrid 29 June – 1 July as part of The Majesty of Being European tour and she kindly gave me some of her time to do this interview where we discuss things like our majestic being, energy, intuition, nature, the yoga journey, breath being boss and of course THE practice.
Thanks, Meghan, Madrid is waiting for you with open arms. For those looking to join there are a few spots left and The Class and BE the practice, we would love to see you there.
OUR MAJESTIC BEING
BE THE PRACTICE: Could you tell us a little about the workshop The Majesty of Being which you are touring in Europe this summer?
Well, The Majesty of Being is thematically all about how we’ve forgotten what it is to be rich. We are conditioned since we were brought into this world to understand that wealth is something you accumulate in the form of money and matter and possessions, and also education and belief systems. We collect all these different layers of identities and external objects and that is our idea of the human experience of wealth. We have really forgotten what the essence is. What it is to be rich, what it really means to be wealthy and what is the essence of our being – our being, not doing, not buying, not adding anything and not taking anything away.
So the Majesty, like the royalty, the richness, our being, is what the whole workshop is about. It will be a weekend with many different practices, some deep conscious breath initiated movements, some pranayama, meditation and lots of deep deep work. We will also do some Yoga Nidra and Yin Yoga and some awareness exercises.
All of these things are folded into each other and their purpose is to bring us back in contact with this wealth. That wealth is always there, but it is so noisy, there are so many distractions, there are so many layers of ourselves that we are always faced with. So what these exercises do is that they calm down all of that noise, and I don’t mean to get rid of the noise. Because that is a part of our wealth also: our thoughts, our systems, everything that is going on, our complexities, our vulnerabilities, our triggers, our insecurities. That is all a part of our wealthy experience of being. It is not about getting rid of those things, but instead of those things being the things that we are giving all of our attention to, those things can play, and then they can almost like can merge altogether for us to then be able to redirect, I’d say, steep in the ‘wealthiness’ that we just are.
That is what the weekend is all about. There will be lots of fluid graceful, slow, juicy deep work and movement and breath and music.
EVERYTHING IS ENERGY
BE THE PRACTICE: Having trained with you there are a few key themes that stand out in your teachings which I love. Our connection to nature, the concept of the body-mind and energy. In relation of the concept of energy, could you tell us a little more about what is energy for you and how it comes into your practice/teachings?
It is a big word, you know. Energy.
It depends on which direction we are looking at it. Are we looking at it as the big forces of energy that are in the body, the forces that have been classified in specific containers? Or are we looking at it like energy is everything, the energy that flows through and animates everything?
When you say energy, the place I go to is to that second place, where everything is energy, there is nothing that is not energy. Everything is composed of energy, so then when we talk about how do I get more in contact with it, how do I become more energetically sensitive, the first thing is just realizing and contemplating this idea or this fact, that everything is energy and that is what connects us to everything. That this interconnectivity is not so kind of “out there”, it is right here, and it is quite practical in a sense.
I think to develop sensitivity to subtler forms of energy or to develop sensitivity to be able to, let’s say perceive or experience energy or other frequencies, in my experience it has a lot to do with how I am positioning myself and how I am positioning myself with regards to everything around me. What I am putting in my body? Because higher vibration or clean consumption allows for sensitivity to rise up. Then, how I am positioning myself with the work I am doing on myself. So my thought systems, programs and triggers. I am working through them or am I running away from them. Running away from them is like when I run away from something that is coming up within me and that in a way is creating more density. But when I go into that which is erupting up, and I start letting myself slowly dissolve away and get to know the deeper layers of myself, than an inner density sort of bubbles up and creates lightness.
So you can look at it like certain things you consume, and this is not just consumption of food like I mentioned, but like watching TV for example, all of this bombardment of media and the outside influence, that is all information. It is just like putting something in your mouth and eating it. It is the same, but a different form of information and it can create more density for the body-mind.
One thing that I did many years ago, like well I think 20 years ago, I quit watching TV. I was really experiencing a lot of depression and anxiety and I noticed that when I cleared these outside influences I felt better. So I stopped watching TV. Now, of course, I can watch TV but I have no interest to watch TV. To me it is insanity – like what is going on? is this for real? Hahahahha. But now I can see through all of this. Through all of the spoof, through all the conditioning, but in the past I couldn’t see through it and I just took it on and that was creating more density.
To develop our interconnectedness, our ability to remember that we are connected to everything, to connect to the network of energy, we need to clear away the things that are unnecessary. This just popped into my head. Like Coca-Cola, I used to drink pop when I was a teenager to the level that it would bring me wild emotional breakdowns, up and downs, highs and lows. We need to become aware of what we consume, in whatever form, and whether it brings us down or up, or down and up and down, and just become aware of them. So we can build a foundation for learning about ourselves and how things affect us.
I would say that now in hindsight and moving forward, the most rewarding part of the journey is realizing the triggers and what gives us the highs and lows.
RECONNECTING TO OUR SENSES
BE THE PRACTICE: On the theme of interconnectivity, tell us a little more about our power of connection and how to access it?
Yes, there is another piece of that which is so important, about developing or bringing our connection back to ourselves and our powers of sensitivity. Because the connection is a power, a huge power, to be connected to nature, to be connected to each other, to be connected to ourselves.
So the other piece that it is important, in addition to the awareness of what we are consuming, of what kind of density or lightness we are creating and how that is disturbing us, the other part is going inside and sitting, closing the eyes down and listening and feeling, and letting feelings express themselves without controlling them. Letting our inner atmospheres come to life.
We are like a planet where there is much abundance, there are many life forms, there is much intelligence, complexities, and migrations. It is amazing this body where we are. I am amazed to go in there more and go into journeys just closing the eyes. That there is also a way to tap into our power of connectivity or sensitivity.
THAT THING INTUITION
BE THE PRACTICE: When I hear you talk about all of this, becoming more vibrationally clean with what we consume and allowing time to sit with ourselves, our inner landscape, it seems to me that this is also the path to tap into our intuition?
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I would say yes, by listening, and also the processes of working with intuition is like any other process, where the processes of learning is trial and error and they are not perfect. To learn anything, it can’t be perfect – then where do we learn? There has got to be a growing edge. I work with a woman called Kim Stanwood Terranova, she is my coach and she always says, “Where is your growing edge?, Where is your growing edge right now? How is the universe asking you to grow right now?”. That frictional place, is the place of growth. So the process contains these frictional imperfections and I just want to clarify that my process of becoming more connected to my intuition and trusting my intuition more, it is not a perfect process. It is a lot like fumbling and falling and like walking around in the dark and feeling for the light: “Is that it? No. Wait. Is that my intuition? Wait. Is that my intuition?”.
I think it is a life-long journey like to say getting to know another human, there is no end to it because we keep changing, we keep evolving, the deeper we go, the deeper it goes. Nothing ever stops becoming more deep more extended, or more magical, so that is also the process. I don’t think there is an end of the road, OK now I know my intuition, here it is, I am connected, and after that bang bang.
BE THE PRACTICE: It is comforting to hear that you also find tapping into your intuition an imperfect process as at times it is something I struggle with. I can be very intuitive, but sometimes I feel I can’t access the answers I need when I want them. Particularly when making decisions as to what is good or not good for me, or this idea of what will help me to stay on my path or not.
I don’t think there is falling off a path in a sense, when I think about my life and I observe all of us here in this life, it doesn’t make any sense in my mind that there is a mistake, or there is like a falling-off the path. When I was young it was like riding a wagon and I would constantly fall off the wagon and hit the ditch, and then I got back into the wagon. When we think, or when I think, in terms of falling off my path, that automatically creates guilt or a bad feeling inside of me, and that just wastes more energy than needs to be wasted. Whereas if we were taught to have a perception more like, here we are, we are born into this world, you are always on your path, but on your path, there is going to be trees falling, scorpions, spikes, twigs, etc. You are not going to see them and you are going to fall on them, and you might fall on them on the same twig thirty times because you have to, rather than because you shouldn’t. Because every single time that I tripped over the same twig all through my twenties, and I fell flat on my face and hit the ditch, every single one of those falls changed me a little bit more, and a little bit more, and that is how I see it. I think of it in terms of sediment or like a rock formation where there are all these different layers. That each fall has created a layer and that layer is like power and wisdom and each layer is necessary for the next layer, the next layer, and the next layer. Then we blossom and we bloom and we ripen into the powerful beings that we are.
REMEMBERING TO STAY AWAKE
And related to this, the magic of it is, can I remember to stay awake during all the falls? That is my whole practice.
Yesterday I had a hard day. Yesterday I cranked up my practice from 1 to 48 and said to myself, look, Meghan, stay awake, stay awake, stay awake in there, stay connected to the magic, stay connected to your breath, to the trust that you know, stay awake, stay awake. Through everything. All the trips and the falls.
MEGHAN’S YOGA JOURNEY
BE THE PRACTICE: Could you tell us a little more about your yoga journey? Also, what is your view on all the different schools of yoga and what may be the difference to follow say an ashtanga or kundalini practice when it comes to developing our spiritual path?
I did my first asana practice when I was 19 years old. I started with Ashtanga and I took my first class with a teacher called Nancy Goodfellow in Costa Rica and from there I went back to Vancouver where I started taking more Ashtanga. I was doing Mysore every morning and I had some great teachers. That is kind of how it started. I then started practicing Bikram but in that same studio they started doing Vinyasa, so I practiced both. I also practiced some Hot Yoga and Moksha yoga, at the Moksha Yoga Studios. After that I practiced and studied Anusara and some of my alignment cues have been inspired from that style. Now I practice a lot of Hatha and a lot of Yin.
With regards to your second question on the different schools of yoga and what is a good place to you start, or the difference between the different paths, mother nature teaches me so much. My mind always go to her first when I am asked questions like this or when I am contemplating something like this. When I think about the planet I think there are so many different types of flowers and they are all growing, blooming and expressing their beauty. I don’t see through all the examples or the reflections of mother nature, that there is one way for anything. We are living on this beautiful planet, bursting with expression, it is just bursting with genius, most of that is untouched and not yet understood. There is so much greatness here and I can’t say there is one path that everyone should take. I see a beautiful creative world and I am all about following urges, because we are equipped with these urges, we have these urges. You might be walking down the street and suddenly have the urge to turn right, you don’t know why, or suddenly have the urge to go into a store and you meet someone there, or we see an ad for something. Our urges lead us places.
So, coming back to the practice, if we are following this idea of ‘shoulds’, if we have heard from some teacher, this is the lineage you should do, this is the practice you should do, this is the way you should do it, that is the only practice that gives you this. Then I think it just has to be looked at, that is all. A ‘should’ is influencing your decisions. Because a should be a contrast, it could be coming from an external influence rather than an urge, an organic burst, like an internal guiding system that doesn’t take you in straight lines. My journey has been like a little bird picking all the flowers. I went to this flower and I went to that flower, but some people don’t have that thing, urge, or the same pull. So, they visit one flower and that is where they get their connection.
I think that to give oneself the freedom to be able to explore is what is important and if that means just exploring one lineage then that is a beautiful thing and there is nothing boring about that. There is something so beautiful and really powerful about choosing one yoga lineage. But I think at the same time, if that is not your path then that is ok you know. It is wild beautiful earth with its differences, contrasts, contradictions and mystery. We never know how we can get there.
EVERY EXPERIENCE GIVES US SO MUCH WEALTH
We were talking earlier about our experiences and triggers and this idea about falling off the path, every experience gives us so much wealth and growth even if it is something that feels hard or uncomfortable. It is the same with our practice. Every single practice gives us something. Before I slipped into a mentality where I would quit one practice, move over to another practice, and then to another practice and instead of looking back at the great things I learned. My mind was more conditioned to go “oh yeah, I don’t like that practice anymore”, “I don’t like having to do that”. Instead of raising the thought frequency and looking back to see, I extracted this nourishment, it taught me this, and it brought me here. That is also an amazing way to utilize experiences for our highest growth potential. Positive reflection backward takes us into a positive forward-moving direction. It builds our future in a positive way.
BE THE PRACTICE: BE the practice is all about habits and practices to help us be well in mind-body soul and to become the best version of ourselves. So I would love to know more about what is this practice for you.
Well, I don’t think of my practice as a practice where I am doing asana. That is no longer the practice to me. That is a practice or a part of the practice, but the practice to me is what I mentioned earlier, it is the moment to moment to moment, to stay awake. To awaken to my most awake abilities in any given moment and to stay awake. That is my practice.
So the lifestyle that I am slowly forming and chiseling away at, is one that helps to serve this practice of mine to stay awake. And that has been clarifying and cleaning; eating clean food, and doing a lot of personal work. I mean a lot of personal work, years and years and years and many coaches. I have a really strong desire and devotion to understand myself as deeply as I can, so that I can live in the clearest and truthful and pure way. It has taken me some time to get to know the programs that run my life. So the creation of a lifestyle that serves to help me to stay awake is my practice. I don’t drink so much alcohol anymore, sometimes I have some alcohol though, but it is a different relationship to alcohol than it used to be. But not everybody needs those things and because I do it this way today, it doesn’t mean I will do it this way tomorrow and it definitely does not mean that anybody has to do it the way I am doing it. Not at all. We all have to find our own way, get inspired from each other, but create our own lifestyle and practice, like making our own sculpture or piece of art.
BE THE PRACTICE: So are there any other alternative or natural healing therapies part of this lifestyle or practice that help you stay awake?
I wouldn’t say that consistently. It is not like a weekly part of my practice. I would say my physical practice and my breathing practice really help in that way and then the other piece I need help with is the conditionings, my psychology understanding, my wiring, my patterns. That piece I get from my coach who helps me to navigate that. I also having strong sisters that are really strong amazing women in my life, who I am so grateful for and know me, really know me. We help each other to support each other to really shine your own essence back at you, or you shine their essence back at them. Or there is something that comes up, a crisis a confusion, and for this, a support network is huge. Five years ago I was in a place where I was not allowing that kind of help. I was isolating myself and I was trying to do it all on my own and since, a softening and a new kind of maturation has been coming through. This allowance is for other people to help and catch you if you fall. One of the things I appreciate the most within this, is transparency and honesty to call you out when needed.
And regarding energy healing, I would say I don’t do it consistently, but I definitely do it and I like that support and now I also have an amazing tarot card reader.
BREATH IS THE BOSS
BE THE PRACTICE: I know you did an intensive pranayama training earlier this year. Has it impacted your practice and teaching?
It has big-time impacted my practice. Now in the morning I get out of bed and breathe for half an hour and then I meditate for about half an hour – it is not always that amount of time, but give or take – and yes, it has definitely impacted my practice. My practice has always been about the breath, a long long time ago I was always writing that ‘Breath is the Boss’, and really ‘Breath IS the Boss’.
So now, having a deeper and more full seeded breathing practice has given my movement practice even more depth and my teaching also. I am so excited to share what has evolved from all of this. My brain is kind of exploding with new content and a new kind of method around instructing and breath. So yes, it has impacted my practice and teachings.