I was so fortunate to do Eoin Finn’s workshop when he was in Melbourne a couple of weeks ago. He is my all time favourite yogi, but what he teaches goes beyond yoga – he is a modern day hero in my eyes.
He has a way of being that just lights people up inside. He has a true gift of connecting us to ourselves, and to each other. He is just so beautifully HUMAN.
I love his ability to teach an alignment focused yoga class, and also incorporate laughter, enlightenment and a truck load of love. He truly takes yoga to the next level for me. I feel so grateful to have come across him and experienced his teachings over the years.
We laughed, played, sweated, hugged and challenged both our minds and bodies. But it was after the physical movement ceased that the true essence emerged. We slowly came out of our dreamy savasana, and closed the workshop with a mesmerising candle lit meditation.
Huddled closely together cross legged on floor, one hand on the body on my right, one hand on the body on my left, we were led through a heart felt meditation that brought tears to my eyes. We sat there at the end of the workshop in silence, eyes closed in the soft candle light, feeling the energy pouring out from everyone in the room. I’ll never forget Eoin saying that THIS is why he practices – for this sacred prayer at the end. He said “I don’t even know why I do it, all I know is that I have to.”
We all left that evening with Eoin floating high on a cloud, yet deeply grounded and so connected. My heart felt like it had been cracked wide open, my inner light bursting out of the seams.
The ego blinds us from connection to others, love binds us.
I’ve had thoughts and feelings swirling around my head and heart ever since the workshop. I came across this video today which completely cemented it all for me. This is why I love this man. Check out Eoin at his speak easy “Love is the ultimate renewable resource” at Wanderlust from 2014 in Whistler – and prepare to fall deeply in love with him, and his message to the world. It’s 40 minutes of bliss, so set some time aside on this long weekend, put the kettle on, get comfy, and enjoy all your heart experiences.
Eoin’s life mission is to connect people to nature, and the love force that flows through it to us. He speaks of the nature deficit disorder sweeping the world – since 1996 over half the worlds population now reside in cities. We are becoming more disconnected from nature than ever before.
Nature is the most healing force, it makes us feel whole.
We are love, and all we have to do is diminish our egos and we will feel this. And this is what happens when we get outside in nature and feel small.
He has a deep appreciation for the ocean that really resonates with me. He is an avid surfer, and speaks often of the feeling that comes over him when he is by the vastness of the ocean. Eoin has a beautifully wise understanding of the ocean. “The ocean is a shrine of interconnection, I workshop there often.”
A rabai once asked ‘What if we stopped pursing happiness, and just slowed down enough for it to catch up?’. When we slow down, sit in a hammock under a tree and look up – we realise that all the happiness, all the joy, all the love is already there, and searching for it is ridiculous.
So why not schedule some time-out in beautiful mother nature?
Take yourself to the nearest mountains, lake, ocean or countryside. Or walk around the corner to your local neighbourhood park. It is by getting out into nature that we realise who we really are. Get outside, sit down on the grass, and just BE. Relax, breathe, observe something beautiful, and receive. We need to be still in nature, to keep our nervous system open to receiving. So no trail riding, mountain biking, or lap swimming – just be still.
“Relax and breathe. Observe and receive.”
When you find your spot in nature, repeat Eoin’s mantra:
Thank you ocean, thank you nature, thank you for teaching me that I’m not my problems, I’m not the 4 walls that I keep myself in, I am this openness, this vastness, deep in my soul, and even though I don’t know what it is, this is who I am.
I agree so much that natures is so healing for our soul. I notice when I spend too much time in doors working, I eventually start to drain my energy and just don’t feel as happy as I do when I go outside for physical activity or just appreciating the smells and beauty around me.