Normally, teaching at 7am is not one of my favorite things to do. That aversion left when I walked onto the foredeck of the Polynesia (one of Windjammer’s sailing vessels) last September. All the gateways of the senses were fed with spiritual beauty. I gazed at the sea mirroring the burnt orange sun rising on the horizon like Vishnu himself. It is one of the most interesting places I am privileged to share the teachings of yoga. Students’ spines undulated to the invitation of Thai Yoga Master Michael Buck’s drumbari beat and soft bijans as we began our round of surya namaskar (salutation to the sun). The drum beat was soft and danced with us without taking us out of Atha, which is a special gift Michael has. The bijans set a holy bhav that opened the door to the asana practice that followed. Whatever sequence I thought I was going to teach was divinely replaced with what was needed as I too was transformed and moved out of my own way.

Being suspended on water changes a yoga class experience whether you are playing the role of teacher or the role of student. I am not the same self who walked unto Polynesia’s deck to teach last September. It is not without a certain excitement and trepidation that I am ready to be a student of Ma’s wearing the guise of teacher once again this August, this time teaching on the sailing vessel, Manadaly in the Leeward Islands. The only thing certain about any of this is change. And just like a yoga asana, we can relax into it, or we can resist it by staying the same. Water will inevitably wear down our resistances. She can do it quickly, or persistently over a long period of time. Water represents all possibilities of creation.

Any time one is surrounded by a body of water it is the perfect environment to give birth to a new self. Water is the embryo, the mother of us all. She protects us, nurtures us, pushes us about when it’s time, dunks us under in purification so that we too may merge in the sea of larger consciousness. If you are open to the purification of the salty ocean you will be cleansed and the dredges of misknowing can be washed away. If you resist you can linger too long in the second chakra (water element) and miss the divine call like a sailor at sea who crashes into the rocks chasing illusory sirens and desires as your precious cargo is once again lost. Water is a tricky element. It can drown you in your own samskaras (habits, karmas), or it can lift you up and give you new life. As with anything, the intention behind any action will determine its outcome.

Living in Florida I have learned to have great respect for the balance of the elements—especially the water element. I like to teach asanas for chakra tuning and elemental balance in this particular backdrop of the primordial ocean’s womb. One of the most cleansing mantras for water is from the Vedas: "Apo Yacami Bhesajam" – I invoke the water to purify me. RV.10.9.5 Water is a reminder to purify ourselves to follow the sun of our own divine natures in the form of I-AM consciousness. Chanting to the water element is a way of clearing the lunar path in preparation for the brilliant sun energy we evoke with Surya Namaskar. They are like day and night. As the great poet Rumi said of day and night, "The Way The Night Knows Itself With the Moon, Be That With Me." That is how the element water knows itself with the divine fire of higher consciousness. And that is what I saw that first morning when I looked out at the sun rays dancing on the ocean.