Got My Back? Pledge Matching Begins Today!

I am so excited to announce that I now have a backer who is willing to match new pledges for my Kickstarter campaign!

Between now and May 2, every Kickstarter pledge made will be matched, up to $8,000.

So, please help me get the remaining pledges needed for this project! If you've already backed me, but want to increase your pledge, that will count towards the matching. If you haven't backed me yet, please consider doing so. These videos will help so many people. If you cannot back me, please let people know about the campaign so that others can.

Send this email to anyone who:

• loves yoga
• has chronic pain
• has physical limitations
• is healing from injury or illness
• has chronic stress
• has difficulty getting to a yoga class
• is taking care of someone with any of the above situations

I can't wait to get this funded so I can share these videos with people in hospitals, clinics, support groups, as well as anyone going through challenging times.

Here is the link to the Kickstarter page, where people will need to register and pledge: http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/yogabylorien/healing-yoga-for-wellness-video.

No money will be exchanged unless I receive my goal of $18,700 by May 2. Please help me get there!

Yoga & Filmmaking, How "Healing Yoga for Wellness" Began

In February of 2010, I began working with a 9-year old girl who had recently recovered from surgery to remove a brain tumor... only she hadn't really recovered. She was have lasting effects from the surgery, so her family contacted me. Through support from friends, family and even strangers who heard about her situation, I was funded to work with her and her parents. When I was with her, we worked on breathing, swallowing and balancing. When I was with her parents, we worked on stress management. Getting the opportunity to meet and "play" with her and her parents changed my life in many ways. As I got to know them,

I learned that her father makes films for a living.

Around the same time, I met a fellow yoga teacher named Cindy Campbell, who runs a non profit organization called Human Connexus; I was deeply inspired by how her organization supports people who are facing medical emergencies by offering financial aid, so they can focus on what really matters. I told her I wanted to help. I offered yoga to her clients, but we quickly realized that these people are spending long hours in the hospital with their loved ones, and cannot plan to be at a yoga session. Help would need to be on their terms.

The idea of a video was born, as a tool for the caregivers to remain healthy during stressful time.

I immediately thought of my client and contacted him to see if he was interested. He was, and had many questions and ideas about it. I was impressed with his enthusiasm and we began making plans right away:

• Calling on my students to play the roles in the video was the easiest part; they were eager and supportive and very willing. (I'm sure that's not always the case with "talent" on screen.)
• I contacted people who I knew made beautiful music and asked if they would consider donating their talent to this project, and I was so moved when they said yes.
• I asked the owners of Breathe Los Gatos if they would donate their space, because I knew it would look lovely when filmed.
• I contacted several yoga clothing companies to see if they would consider costuming us. be present, a company based in Colorado, replied almost immediately with a yes. I was thrilled!

We rehearsed, filmed, edited, recorded voice over, collaborated on music, and - finally, made our video. It took 2 years from its inception to produce, but I feel it is a product I can be proud of. The funding I am asking for is mainly to pay the filmmaker, plus the cost of pressing the DVDs, packaging and shipping them out. Along with so many others, my hours dedicated to this project are voluntary.

At its roots is the idea of serving others, on their terms. 

When these videos are made, I will continue that idea. I will donate several copies to cancer centers and hospitals. Human Connexus will received a collection of the videos to distribute to their recipients, and a portion of every sale will go back to their organization.

Please help me get these videos made. The following link takes you to my Kickstarter page, where you can pledge any amount between $10-$1000 to help get this project funded and going. Share this post, or the link (or both), with anyone you know to help spread the word. Namaste.
http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/yogabylorien/healing-yoga-for-wellness-video

Healing Yoga for Wellness DVD Project: Not the Virus I Was Looking For...

"I need a virus," I said, glibly. I was speaking about my Kickstarter campaign to raise $18,700 by May 2, referring to the concept of going viral, a method for spreading the word about my project to more and more people. I need lots of people to donate small amounts in order to reach my goal.

Well, I got my virus, but it wasn't the one I wanted.

Instead, I came down with a cold. You really need to be careful what you ask for.

I rarely get sick, but when I do, it's usually fast and furious. This was no exception. People were raving about the nice warm weather, but I was shivering. It hurt to blink my eyes and I kept leaning towards my left, if I tried to stand up. There were a few of my yoga classes that I couldn't find a sub for, so I taught them, keeping my distance from the students, and my hands and energy to myself (the opposite of my normal intention). I told my kids they would have to find their own rides, that the Mom Taxi was out of service. I huddled under a blanket and a 50-lb. dog and did nothing.

It took 2 days and countless holistic treatments, including acupuncture, to feel human again. I'm amazed at how quickly a virus comes and goes. In the middle, it's easy to think that it will be this way forever, and you learn that breathing is not to be taken for granted and skin really is the largest, most sensitive organ.

I kept imagining that I was watching a great football game, with my immune system as one team and the virus as the other. I felt when yards were taken and given, and I tried my best to cheer on my home team, supporting them with all that I knew how to do.

And then it left. Our bodies are incredible at finding equilibrium.

Now that I feel better, I'm attacking this Kickstarter project with the same enthusiasm. And I'm rephrasing my request:

"I need word about my project to spread like a virus."

You gotta be specific when asking the universe for help!

Here is the link to the Kickstarter project; please help me spread word about it:
http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/yogabylorien/healing-yoga-for-wellness-video

Indra's Net & Lorien's Kickstarter Campaign

Far away in the heavenly abode of the great god Indra, there is a wonderful net which has been hung by some cunning artificer in such a manner that it stretches out infinitely in all directions. In accordance with the extravagant tastes of deities, the artificer has hung a single glittering jewel in each "eye" of the net, and since the net itself is infinite in dimension, the jewels are infinite in number. There hang the jewels, glittering like stars in the first magnitude, a wonderful sight to behold. If we now arbitrarily select one of these jewels for inspection and look closely at it, we will discover that in its polished surface there are reflected all the other jewels in the net, infinite in number. Not only that, but each of the jewels reflected in this one jewel is also reflecting all the other jewels, so that there is an infinite reflecting process occurring. ~Francis Harold Cook

The Buddhists use the symbol of the net of Indra as a representation of our interdependence.  Each jewel in the net contains within it the reflection of all the other jewels, and each reflection is dependent on the other jewels. It’s the same with people:

We are all dependent on each other and our actions ripple through everyone to eventually reflect back at us. Today I’m asking you to help me make some ripples that will, in the next few weeks, return with abundance.

As some of you may already know, I launched a Kickstarter campaign to fund a yoga video project of mine. Kickstarter is a website that allows people with ideas but not enough funds (like me) get the visibility they need to raise enough money to bring their idea to market. People pledge to pay a certain amount of money and, if the total amount is raised, the project is backed and the pledgers contribute. In my case,

I need to raise $18,700 in pledges by May 2.

Certain pledge amounts come with certain rewards (just like on PBS). If I don’t complete my goal, none of the money pledged to my project will be available. But that’s not what I want to reflect, and I need your help to make sure that I do meet my goal. As of writing this, 23 backers have pledged $1,268! I’m extremely grateful to all of you who have backed me. I’m asking that you now help me spread the news about this project far and wide by emailing, posting on Facebook or tweeting on Twitter about my project, found at 

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/yogabylorien/healing-yoga-for-wellness-video. 

In other words, help me build a net like Indra’s, reflecting support at each eye of the net. With your help, I know word of this project will ripple through our independent webs and eventually connect into the dependent web that really exists. Thank you!

Update:

To share this post quickly, scroll to the top of the page and click the drop-down menu titled "More", then select your method of sharing (email, Twitter, Facebook, etc.). Thanks again!

The Abundance of Spring

Lorien in 1980

When I was growing up, our home had many small farm animals, even though we weren't on a farm. We had cats and chickens and rabbits and some geese, for a while. We also used most of our backyard to grow fruit and vegetables. What was great about all of this is I was a witness to nature's rhythms. Each spring I watched the green shoots poking through the ground and the tiny balls of fur that would later become cats or rabbits. Each summer and fall I watched the leaves dry out, and the food that we couldn't use returned to the earth. 

Spring has always been my favorite season, with its showy promise of things to come and its wild abundance. This spring is no exception to me. There are so many things happening that I am tempted to become overwhelmed. Then I remember the cool, introverted times of winter and I am grateful for all this opportunity! I hope you find your abundance this spring, too.

Announcements

Please see the Events page for more information about these upcoming special programs:

• NEW: Kickstarter campaign launching this week!!! I have a project to be launched on www.kickstarter.com and would love you to be a part of it. I'll be sending an email out soon, so look for the details in your inbox shortly.
• Saturday, April 6 - Sunday April 7: Yin Yoga 14-Hour Immersion; this is open to everyone interested in yin yoga, and there is space still available.
• Saturday, April 6 - Sunday April 7 AND Saturday, April 13 - Sunday April 14: Yin Yoga Teacher Training
• Sunday, April 28: Yin Yoga 1-Day Workshop