switching roles

gray wolf said,
why do we always do everything
in exactly the same way?
raven said,
steady on.
gray wolf said,
maybe we should switch roles sometimes.
somebody else could be the teacher and
you could just be one of the students.
raven said,
it's happening.
          ~ zen master raven
              robert aitken

i am often asked why i do not
offer a teacher training program..
actually, i have..
years, i mean..years ago in los angeles
(when i had no business doing so!)
a one-on-one
teacher training course
with a few practictioners..
they were certified thru my teacher's
yoga shala in delhi..

and actually...
i do have a teacher's training course..
whenever i take off
~ leaving a studio or a class behind ~
another blossoming teacher takes the reins..
this is the very best training!
they are in the present moment
actualizing the practice..
of teaching..
of learning ..
of studying self while studying others..
( is there really a difference?)

when i return,
finding another studio or
generating yet another class..
it begins again..
students
practitioners
teachers
~ certified thru
the flying elephant
wing and a prayer
yoga dharma shala
!!!
nothing to hang on the wall -
simply an imprint and a blaze
in heart and bone .....

the question also arises as to why
i no longer offer workshoppes and retreats..
does anyone remember
year of the fire tiger?
1986
summer solstice 
full moon
energi mountain
7 days 7 hours a day
! 49 hours !

these days,
it's the quotidian i savor ~
(average, run-of-the-mill, standard, typical, 
middle-of-the-road, workaday, undistinguished, 
commonplace, mundane, prosaic, garden-variety)
a weekly practice ~
with dharma friends ..
together - practicing what is rare to practice..
each session is retreat..
each practice - a workshoppe -
a most stunning and unimaginable way
to be with one another ~

sooner than soon perhaps
i'll be a barista whipping up mantras in the creme -
maybe walking frisky dogs to the metronome of meditation
or polishing electric cars running on OM ~
certainly one day
i'll be mulching my way
back to earthclay
under a shade tree
of jeweled compassion....

gray wolf made one of her rare visits to the circle,
and after a talk by raven she remarked,
the goal of practice seems to be just more practice.
raven bobbed his head, well?
gray wolf hesitated, then asked,
so there's no end to it?
raven hopped down from his perch 
to a little hummock beside gray wolf,
put his beak to her ear,
and murmured,
thank goodness.
                  ~ zen master raven
                        robert aitken

one by one, all is coming..
             sri pattabhi jois