Hallow Bone/Clay Vessel of Transformation Yoga - Green light from Government for Lo's Yoga

Hallow Bone/ Bamboo Stick/ Clay Vessel

In the Indigenous and shamanic traditions, the “hollow bone” means becoming empty of the ego, control, roles we play, titles we’ve earned, and handing yourself over to be a vessel for love or divinity to work through. I’ve heard the term used mostly by people who practice shamanism but didn’t have a direct relationship with this feeling yet. Recently, when I asked my dad about his spirituality, he told me he is nobody. This sounded troubling at first, but now I understand it is a work of clarity, perhaps in Catholicism a sacrifice, a way of being in complete humility and free of attachment.

Ancient cultures made flutes from the bones of birds, vultures, swans, eagles, even mammoth ivory. The hollow of the bone allows air to pass through to create sweet music, sounds, callings, and prayers. In some traditions, it's believed the breath blown through the bone brings the spirit of the animal back to life and delivers the prayers to the heavenly realm. As a living, breathing conscious being, I've been used as a hollow bone to deliver messages, and I have had messages delivered to me through conversation with people. Often when I teach yoga, I teach with my eyes closed and feel a flood of words, messages that flow through me to the people in front of me that are not my own. I become a hollow bone for transformation through my words that have been gifted to me from generations of teachers, spirits, and God. I allow myself to connect fully, body, mind, spirit, and honor the work. It's been happening since I started teaching yoga, giving dharma talks, and on this spiritual path. It's usually fleeting and in passing. I can't force it; it just happens. I'm learning to refine the skill and getting better at being unattached to scripts so the magic can freely move through me. Like the bones of the birds, we as humans can be the hollow bones that spirit moves through. One day at work, I remember talking to a groundskeeper while I was gathering bird feathers, and he delivered a message to me that I had asked for from God earlier that day. This was just a few weeks ago.

When I was first being tested for Transverse Myelitis in 2012, I had to take some tests at the local hospital where they attached a bunch of wires and equipment to my head to check electric pulses. The test is called an Evoked Potential test, or Evoked Response. The test tracks signals on a computer to measure exactly how long it takes for information to travel from your senses to your brain. The test was inconclusive at first because I was so nervous it would say I had Multiple Sclerosis that I tried to force the results to be in my favor. They sent me outside to take a deep breath and walk in the garden to calm down. I walked into the garden, and another groundskeeper asked me what I was doing. I told him, and he said you are healthy, you are fine, don't worry. I listened to him, went back inside, and retook the test. The test was negative for MS. The groundskeeper was the hollow bone to deliver those words I asked for from God to help me get through the test. I bow to this hollow bone in human form.

Recently, I decided I wanted to volunteer at a local food bank. I started researching on the computer and learned the process to do so was much harder than I expected. I found that every place wanted an application and you had to go through a vetting process. I was surprised how hard it was to volunteer my time. Literally the next day while driving to work, a delivery van was stopped in front of me. It was a Meals of Hope food van, and it had a phone number to call for opportunities. I immediately called, and a person answered and said sure, just email me and you can come Wednesday. Done. Easy. That was no coincidence. I drove to the warehouse to volunteer my time. I had no idea what to expect; I just showed up with my work clothes and shoes on as she suggested. The volunteer work allowed me to experience something I hadn't felt in a very long time. When I was making Meals of Hope packages, I became hollow. I was nobody. I wasn't a yoga teacher, a mother, a daughter, a wife, a neighbor. I was nobody. I was a servant. "It was a blessing of humility, another small death of my ego."

 I was the hallow bone and I felt complete freedom.

We can create and be anything. I loosened my grip on who I have been or think I should be, and became available to something greater. I've attempted practicing the empty vessel, hollow, unrestricted through pranayama techniques. During yoga classes I've scratched the surface of understanding, imagining we were a bamboo stick free of any hooks or obstructions. I share from the Eastern traditions about how a bamboo stick is flexible and can withstand strong winds because it is rooted and strong without rigidity. In my backyard, I have bamboo trees that have withstood hurricanes Irma and Ian because they move with the wind instead of resisting it. When offering at Meals for Hope, I became spacious and free of my stories. Unobstructed like the bamboo, like the bone, like the clay vessel. I felt alive without performance. We can choose to be vessels of God. A channel of love, for healing and the ability to connect.

In Christianity, the clay vessel says you are fragile but still chosen to carry something sacred. Unlike metal or stone, clay must go through fire. Even a cracked clay pot can carry water. We, as human beings, are tarnished, cracked, fragile, finite, and still capable of being holy and sacred. God places divine treasure and gifts inside fragile human beings. Mary Magdalene, Peter, and John were all imperfect but perfect vessels, as are me, the groundskeepers, and you. Without the fire, the clay pot remains soft and unstable. The fire transforms us, offers new life, and purifies. The cracks are where the light is seen.

"But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us." -2 Corinthians 4:7.

The hollow bone is empty to carry Spirit. The bamboo stick is flexible so the winds can move through it. The clay vessel is shaped through suffering and fire so its strength and power can be revealed. I am a powerful, connected, and loving woman.

Starting June 1 Laura and Sheila will be traveling. Please see below schedule for June.

Great News about Beach Yoga: Lo's Yoga has received approval to officially resume our beach yoga sessions. I visited Collier County Growth Management last week, and they informed me that all complaints have been dismissed, and there are no issues with us conducting classes for our wonderful community. Thank you, Commissioner Chris Hall. I appreciate all your supportive letters, calls, and emails. It made a difference, and I am extremely grateful. It has been a challenging few months of back and forth, but we are here to stay, yogis, friends, and community. God bless you all. Please continue to set up away from the entrance of the Beechmore Condos. We must not block their entrance, please.

Meet my friend Cyndee. She is an intuitive card reader and is ready for appointments. She is a loving, connected, and gifted Reiki practitioner. To make an appointment, call Cyndee at 484-477-3523 or email her at cyndeefreeman9@gmail.com. 1/2 hour $50, 60 minutes $100.