Take Flight with Sheri Celentano

I once asked a bird,
“How is it that you fly in this gravity of darkness?”
She responded,
“Love lifts me.” ~ Hafez

Taking flight means so many different things to me. It means spiritual flight, the places where I feel Supreme Connection to all living things around me. Where I can breathe into all the spaces of the heart, even when it is scary. Flight means allowing myself to live my dreams. To not stifle or push down or squeeze myself into some box that does not fit. Fulfilling ones dharma, loving what I do and doing what I love. That’s Flight for me.

The physical practice of “flying” is only interesting to me because it has helped me feel more aligned with all parts of the practice. It was not easy for me to approach the inversion practices. I was in awe of them. A bit scared… Ok. Very Scared. Like the relationship I have with the ocean. So majestic and magical, yet I wasn’t gonna mess with her too much. I kept a healthy distance. There came a time where I allowed myself to go deeper into the water, but I kept a healthy respect. I feel this way about the inversions and arms balances. I needed to build strength, overcome fears and learn how to align. Then I was able to go deeper, and yes, it is a magical place. There is not much room for outside thoughts when balancing on my hands. This is a still point, a focus point. Concentration. Helps me out of that monkey mind.

As a teacher, sequencing Lotus Fly is always an amazing creative experience. How do I help to get students lifted? How can I sequence a class to get people strong yet supple and full of breath. How we we face fears, not quit on ourselves and at the same time not be ego driven or competitive in this physical world of asana. How do I get people ready to align? These are the questions I ask myself when preparing for FLY.

Lotus Fly is a Lotus Flow class peppered with inversions arm balances, advanced standing poses, back bends and hip openers. It’s for students and teachers who are interested in taking the physical practice to their appropriate next level. You don’t have to be a “Flyer” to FLY. It’s about opening up to all the possibilities.

FLYING to San Francisco this Friday to share my passion with my beloved Lotus SF Family. Come Fly with me Saturday and Sunday, March 16th and 17th. Let us take flight right into Spring!