If you have been following this column, you would notice we have been visiting various landmarks throughout the North County on a quest for enlightenment. We would be remiss if we didn’t also stop into The Soul of Yoga along this path. It is lovingly known as The Soul, and is a landmark for thousands of seekers who have accredited themselves through Soul of Yoga’s training school to become teachers of the ancient practices has been an Encinitas community staple since 2000.
The philosophy here is realizing that we are already Divine Beings and can be fully realized when embracing the spirituality of the practice of Yoga. Started in the home of retired Self Realization Fellowship monk Tom Kelly and his wife Trisha, the two were called to share their love of God and love of yoga.
Interestingly enough, Trisha’s sister, Flossie Parks, and brother-in-law were following the same path in Medford, New Jersey. It wasn’t long until they moved to California and joined forces with the Kellys and Soul of Yoga grew into birthing hundreds of practitioners. Types of yoga include hatha yoga, kundalini yoga, yin yoga, vinyasa yoga, gentle yoga, restorative yoga, prenatal yoga, meditation, yoga nidra, yoga therapy, and the list goes on.
Sound healing, qigong, and more are offered at the sister center, the Sound Healing Institute. Offering one of only 25 IAYT Accredited Yoga Therapy training in the world, Soul also offers Sound Training and Ayurveda certifications, all launched as a result of this labor of love in an Encinitas garage. God really does move in mysterious ways.
Believing that our highest potential can be achieved now, in this lifetime, graduates of The Soul’s Advanced Teacher Training become space holders for seekers. They hold the frequency of unity and Christ consciousness and then anchor a new consciousness into the planet. This community has been consciously creating a new global paradigm with awareness, not by default, but with a hero’s journey.
“There is a place that’s been untouched by your B.S. (belief systems),” Flossie said. “The body is designed to process feelings and emotions through the filters of everyday living. We are the ones we have been looking for. Go inside.”
Referencing the importance of opening up, not just physically, but mentally and allowing yourself the human experience in our bodies, it is said that the spirituality of yoga is a fully realized soul. Yoga at The Soul is more than Asanas and Lululemon. The Bhagavad Gita says that, “Yoga is the journey of the self, through the self, to the self.”
Once the soul awakens, it longs for union with the God of its understanding. It’s hard to come to that place when your body is tightened up with unprocessed layers of emotion and foods that have been trapped. One needs to peel away the layers — not by spiritually bypassing, but real processes of discovery.
The Soul holds that sacred space so that the student is allowed to be in their heart … and soul. Students here are encouraged to live their yoga — to take it off the mat and into the world beyond 3D and into the world of the spirit, where the soul and intuition lead the course of life.
The Soul of Yoga offers customized yoga that has evolved beyond the 5,000 years of its origination.
The world will be learning many of these advanced methods that The Soul has been pioneering since its humble beginnings where chiropractic or physical therapy services will be replaced by specific yoga therapies. Taking into account back pain may be related to an emotional element or lifestyle choices, advocates of yoga therapy believe yoga is a holistic discipline — that the mind, body and spirit are all connected.
Looking at our shadows and having the human experience is sometimes easier with cells that are aligned with a good sound healing bath versus going to a psychiatrist or popping some pharmaceuticals. Learning your body’s dosha and matching nutrition with appropriate food combining rather than suffering from allergies or illnesses is another element. These are just some of the gifts of the evolution of The Soul of Yoga. More will be revealed with new ownership that is taking this movement even further and reaching the masses with a global reach.
Seeing as Encinitas is the yoga capital of the United States, and maybe even the world, it is no wonder this is another spiritual vortex amid the many we are featuring in this column.
We will be visiting the campus of Seaside Center for Spiritual Living in our next installment of Soul on Fire. Stay tuned.