Serving the Divine Energy Within

From a cramped NYC living room to countless countries around the globe, Twee Merrigan surfs the wave of yoga in service of the divine energy flowing within us all. She sits down for a chat with Leah Kim to tell us about her mission.

How did you start yoga?

I was living in NYC, and I would want to go out and socialize after work whereas my boyfriend at the time would stay home and practice yoga. I would watch him move furniture around in the living room, so dedicated to practicing even in a cramped, hot space, and I decided, “If you can’t beat them, join them!” Even though he wasn’t a teacher, he was my first teacher. He taught me because yoga had changed his life.

I then went for my first yoga class at The Jivamukti Yoga School. It was definitely not a beginner’s class!

Tell me a little about Prana Flow. It originated from hatha, tantra and ayurveda?

Yes, and bhakti and of course Shiva Rea. Prana Flow is a reflection of all of nature and our embodiment of nature. As Shiva says, “It is an evolutionary and transmutational method of embodying nature and all that is within us as us…through the use of balanced and creative sequencing, movement, music, mantra, visual arts, poetry, and inspirational language, we deepen our connection to the flow of our own body and stay present and truly receptive to this moment, living fully in a joyous state, loving and serving all life forms.”

Even the wind and the rain are our teachers, or the giggles of children, or heart-wrenching pain. We integrate all teachings from all teachers and sources. The practice is always evolving as we are always evolving.

How would you describe your style in a few sentences?

Liberated, heart-provoking as opposed to being thought-provoking, not agitated. Awakening, staying wide awake, being as conscious as possible in every moment. Offering every movement to serve the Divine. Realizing you’re not doing it by yourself.

What is your philosophy in yoga and in life?

How you practice your yoga is how you live your life. Have fun! Let go of more than you think you need to let go of. That’s especially true if you live in a western society where so many things around us are giving us messages of what we should aspire towards and fix, rather than reminding us to be inspired from within and trust. When something within you says, “This does not resonate with me,” then listen to that inner voice. Even if you’re unsure, go for it anyway. If it turns out to be a mistake, learn from it, try not to walk that path over and over again, and let go. The beauty of walking the so-called wrong path is that you’ll learn the right path; ultimately the entire path is your path. Keep following your path, and along the journey, be compassionate. Relax.

Enhance your life; know that there is nothing to fix. Look at life as best as you can. You have that choice at anytime: to see the fullness or to see the emptiness. And it’s okay if for a moment, you see the emptiness. Just take the next breath and receive the fullness.

Figure out what you’re grateful for, and with that understanding, serve the world. The more you serve others, the more you become abundant inside. Every action has a reaction or a response. It’s a cycle – a wave – of love. Transform your yoga practice and your life from self-service to selflessly serving others. Live in that service, live in love, live in abundance.

What is your mission behind yoga?

To be a change agent. To be real and unafraid of my experiences. To reveal as many aspects of myself to others, so that we can all support each other in being our authentic selves, and shed all costumes, masks, and roles.

You mentioned that we transform our yoga practice from self-service to selflessly serving others, and to live as one wave. How is that reflected in your yoga?

If you are going into asanas – or what our tribe calls body mudras – and it hurts with red flag pain, but you keep going into it because something outside of you says so, you are letting ego, aspirations, and the outer world drive you. You are wearing your costumes and strengthening the reasons that you have them. You have detoured away from heart. This is using your body not as a vehicle of service towards peace and harmony, but rather towards a limited, externalized goal, a well that will run dry.

Every expression of asana, chanting, mudra, or meditation reflects how you want to live your life, how you want to serve the world. When you unroll your mat, when you give offering to the Divine, when you move your body. So if something inside says, “Please don’t go any further,” you must honour that humbly. Would you look at the Divine and say you’re going to push them until they’re off-balance, push them away from harmony and peace? No. You would bow humbly to them, kiss their feet, comb their hair, offer incense and oils. As you are the Divine, why would you do anything less for yourself?

In our yoga practice, can we bow to the Divine and remember that this is to serve the Divine? Can we keep asking ourselves, “Am I steady? Am I at ease? Am I bowing to this divine energy inside of me?”

We can choose to simply act, or act knowing that we can serve a higher purpose.

Through our practice, we embody the selfless serving of others and the divine energy that flows through us all. We stay wide awake. And if we fall back asleep from time to time – no worries. Just recognize it, catch it sooner every time, and awaken again.

Twee will be teaching in Australia and New Zealand in November/December. For more information, please go to: www.tweeyoga.com