We have the capability to shift our consciousness.

There is nothing like a good old sex scandal to get people in an uproar—add some pot smoking and pension freezes from the head Guru, a mass exodus of Anusara Inspired and Certified teachers, and the uncertainty about the future of Anusara Yoga, and what is left? A massive Kula of heart oriented people that are angry, scared, and feels betrayed. I am part of the Kula and I too feel angry, yet with any upheaval of circumstances it is human nature to feel that way and it is not wrong to do so.

We, as an Anusara Kula, have the awareness that we can feel what we feel and also put out love, shri and positive energy back into the community. How? It’s simple.

I use this technique with both my school age children and anyone else who has intense, negative emotions towards someone else. I don’t tell them not to feel what they are feeling. I simply ask them to think of five positive attributes of the person that had wronged them. In doing so, it shifts the negativity of the situation to a more opening, forgiving way of dealing with the circumstance. So here it is…

My five positive attributes of John Friend:

1.) He dedicated his life to build a community of people who want to create Shri together.

2.) He taught us how to see the good in others, even at the darkest of hours.

3.) He’s funny.

4.) He’s an awesome Hatha Yoga teacher.

5.) After his workshops he gives people time to talk to him, ask questions, speak their peace…all in good faith of helping others live a more enriched life.

I ask other people of the Kula to reply back with five optimistic attributes of John Friend. It might just be the best thing this community can do for the future of Anusara.

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Sharon Kuchar graduated from Syracuse University College of Nursing in 1995. She continued her nursing education by achieving a school nurse certification from Seton Hall University in 2003. After the death of both her parents, Sharon began practicing Hatha Yoga and Meditation. In 2008 she received a M. A. In Experiential Health and Healing (Integrative Medicine) from the Graduate Institute. In addition, she earned a Reiki Practitioner certification under the late Margaret Ann Case at the Open Center in N.Y.C. Sharon recently left her job as a high school nurse to pursue a career in Yoga. She is a single mother of two beautiful children, Kyle (12) and Megan (10).