I am honored to introduce Elian Zach, a spirit so authentically full of zest for life it’s an honor to be one of her students. Her challenging and nurturing vinyasa flows are designed to mirror the intention she sets at the beginning of class, and the beats and vibrations so beautifully complement them. After spending several Thursday mornings with Elian, I asked her to set an intention and curate playlist for WELL / AWARE that reflected our values of being at ease in the body in order to exist without inhibition and with consideration for all other beings.
Come hang out with us at Y7‘s Flatiron studio every Thursday morning at 7:00 a.m. Without further ado, here’s Elian.
Pièce de Résistance – give it a listen while you read.
It all comes together, in the end.
Well, no. That’s not entirely accurate. It is already together, and it has been together all along. Flawless, really. Life’s smooth and rough, straight and twisted, light and dark, are all perfect.
Phew.
Now I can finally begin practicing this gratitude thing everyone keeps raving about.
Gratitude. It’s been very appealing to me in theory, but in practice it fucking pissed me off. I mean, come on. Grateful schmateful. If everyone around me is so damn rude / selfish / needy / mean / delusional / shortsighted / aggressive / boring, and the world is so obviously against me, what is there to be grateful for? And besides, who has time for grateful when angry is a full-time job?
One warm night this July, the universe shifted. Well, maybe it was I who shifted, or my universe that shifted, but it suddenly became incredibly clear that every bit of resistance that I encounter is there to veer me toward the right path. And this path is truly aching for me to start marching it. All of a sudden, there was only one answer to all of my relentless questions, and that answer was so damn simple, it was borderline infuriating.
I’m well/aware of how abstract this all sounds, but the manifestations of my insights from that night are rather concrete. In fact, these written words are proof of this divine order that I’m so desperately trying to describe. Without my life’s struggles and challenges, wrong turns and interesting detours, I wouldn’t be here, at this very moment, joyfully uniting all of my passions. Thanks to resistance in the forms of confusion, fear and pain I have found myself here, perfectly balancing all of my personal elements; writing an emotional and wordy forward for a delicious playlist I have curated especially for the wonderful WELL / AWARE, which was created by a fellow teacher, student and seeker, an inspiring new friend.
The divine order is always there. It is beyond time. It was just me who couldn’t see it, as I shut my eyes and waited for the resistance to go away.
And so, I am beyond grateful, for every bit of resistance in my life:
For quieting down so I would finally need to shut up and listen.
For cracking my mind open to new thoughts and ideas.
For dragging me back in time, in space, reminding me where I came from and where the hell I’m headed.
For being strong enough to push away, pull toward, lean against, and land on.
For allowing me to surrender and be carried through exciting unpaved paths and unfamiliar territories.
For keeping me on my toes as the scary, rollercoasterish ride took its sharp ups and rapid downs.
For moving me, inside and out, to the frequencies and vibrations of harmonies, dissonances, whispers, belts and shrieks.
For not skipping a beat, for changing up the melodies, and for infusing it with sounds and voices of wisdom.
For revivals, reincarnations, reunions, remixes, hallelujah!
For setting me free of my patterns, habits and comfort zones.
For showing me that there is only Love, and that it is indeed the answer to everything, even when it seems unlikely or hard to accept. Nothing will come between us ever again.
For proving that clichés are but lost truths looking for their ways back home, looking for their right place.
For offering the choice to let go at any given moment, without letting me go.
For all that, I am grateful.
Elian is a Laughing Lotus and Yoga to the People certified Vinyasa Yoga guide.
Israeli born and raised, Elian has been living, writing, and teaching in New York City for a decade. Her spiritual philosophy is an ever-expanding database, and includes Burning Man, Kabbalah, Human Design, and the human experience. In short, Love & Light.