In 2002, a door opened in my life and I transitioned into teaching yoga full time.
I found myself living in a loft in Newark, New Jersey, in a building of artists lofts with “do it yourself” everything – from plumbing to heating to creating makeshift kitchens. I’d come with the intention of building a yoga studio there. It was beyond my ability to implement my vision So, I hung out an imaginary shingle and opened “The Joyful Planet” – with the space just as it was. It never attained full-fledged yoga studio status, but for a short while I taught yoga a smattering of citizens of Newark. In return they taught me, life. There were social activists and professors. Lawyers and schoolteachers and artists. Most wandered in for a while and then got busy and wandered out, and then wandered in again when the world became overwhelming and they needed to ground.
There were diverse ages, religions and colors. I met peoples’ mothers and brothers, children, and visiting guests. There were days when we celebrated elections, and a day or two when I made food. One fine night we sat on the roof under the moonlight and had dinner. It was a most remarkable time.
At a certain point the demands of my life took me into other directions. But the experience stayed in my heart. As I had intended, the Joyful Planet had been a place of true heart connection.
In these uncertain times, the yoga studios are closing, all over. They will reopen, and some will never close. I love teaching online. I never gave up The Joyful Planet in my heart. So, I have resurrected the Joyful Planet as a Facebook group for the people who take class with me online. We need to connect, and yoga classes and communities will continue to be profound means of connection for all of us. I’ll be posting things and working on engagement, and I hope that you choose to connect with myself and other journeyers online there.
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A little addendum: As the months of the COVID shut down unfolded in conjunction with the yoga studies I do, I was called deeper and deeper into my studies of A Course in Miracles and A Course of Love. As I recalled the days in Newark New Jersey when I taught and conducted healing session in the loft, I remembered that those days were filled with miracles. I began my studies of A Course in Miracles there. I am called more and more frequently to write about my miracle experiences. They will be posted here. and connected to the Joyful Planet. Part of that was that I finally realized what “The Joyful Planet, where it all connects was”. The inspiration to create it happened but I was never sure what it meant. There was a missing piece. Through miracles connection is revealed, and if one of us fully and completely embraces the idea of love, well then the whole world is healed. That is a paraphrased overview of A Course in Miracles. So, now I understand what that was about. We’ll be speaking of miracles here as well, with the intention that miracles spread throughout the world.
Come backto this page for links to posts about miracles!!
If you have been taking my classes and I have not sent you an invitation to join the Facebook group, please let me know.
With love,
Natalie
Natalie Ullmann 