A couple of months ago I saw a really fun video featuring Rosario Flores, famous daughter of our top flamenco singer Lola Flores. It must have been the end of the sixties when it was filmed and little Rosario was probably five years old. It was during a typical gypsy party when someone asked the girl "What do you want to be when you grow up?" The little one answered "Me? A groovy gypsy?" I have always been a great fan of flamenco, but this anecdote touched my heart because holds the essence of evolution. On one side, she honored and maintained the sacredness of the gypsy lineage. On the other, she gave continuity to the past because the term "groovy" talks about all that is new, opening a space for creativity. Groovy adds a touch of freshness and joy to life. 

You are probably thinking What does this have to do with yoga? Well, yoga is also a discipline in constant transformation. Current time yogis give full meaning and value to it. Without us, it wouldn't exist. If the yogis from thousands of years ago could see what is going on, they would marvel about how far we are reaching. We have access to an immense number of texts, old and new; we can take yoga classes everywhere we go, but can also attend online or even using our smart phones; very advanced practices are accessible to us and they come from various traditions as well as being transmitted directly by enlightened beings that are alive nowadays. We are so incredibly fortunate!

Many people talk about the state of yoga, if it is good or not, if its wisdom is diluted or not. Some criticise the emphasis given to the physical body when, among other reasons, it is due to how much occidental people need to move consciously. Personally, I love how yoga is growing nowadays. Khrisna Das just performed in the Grammys; you can hear  words like "karma", "tantra" or "ayurveda" being used freely; and my students come from all professions and places in the world. Someone even told me -half joking, half seriously- that there is a revolutionary freeing yogi army changing the world by means of using lots of Light, Wisdom and Love. 

Yogis lived inspired, in union with spirit, with their soul. Flamenco artists have "duende" (flamenco word for charisma and specialness) and their art flows from within, from their soul. Both live in a state of presence, which is where the creative magic of Grace starts to flow.  

May we continue evolving and adding incredible value to the yoga world!

Namasté y olé

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