be still and know
every teacher has a teaching
By Lex gillan, Yogi and Peter Gillan, PHD
I don’t usually find myself doing book reviews very often. But every once in a while, a book comes along that resonates in a different light; one that is worth savoring, pondering, and sharing. I love being a deep reader and am not into skimming through the noise to get to the essence of a story. So when such a book is birthed into the world locally, I find myself doing a little dance of joy.
My approach to this blog post is not as a yoga practitioner (although I have participated in the past), but in appreciation of all that yoga gifted humanity through eastern philosophy. Layered over that essence, is also how traditional yoga practices have been translated into western style ambition.
Enter Lex Gillan, Founder of the Yoga Institute of Houston and his retrospective on fifty years in Houston Yoga Scene. His lovely new book is brimming with historical context interlaced with personal anecdotes. Lex Gillan is a dear long time friend, although I didn’t know him during his early years, our paths did cross several times during the 80’s before his wife Cathy and I became friends.
Lex is a great storyteller with the heart of a wrestler. How else could one explain such inner tenacity, perseverance, laser focus and determination? ‘Uncle Lex’ has devoted his life to the embodiment of strength, resilience, balance and poise. The book sites impressive statistics as a testament to Lex’s methods, impacting Houstonians and the awakening process as individuals and wider community well-being.
The Yoga Institute, together with the Institute of Spirituality and the Jung Center of Houston, provided rare opportunities to safely explore meditation and develop facets of the human psyche, that shaped the Houston we know today. While the book shared interesting history of the spread of yoga throughout Texas and beyond, it was as if each successive event cumulatively built the next stage of Lex’s teaching path.
When I think of all the souls set on the path of self responsibility, empowerment, and coherence between mind and body through their yoga classes and retreats, I also think of how many other downstream benefits from the teachings and experiences reached the broader collective. The art and science of planning and then conducting curriculum and retreats alone is a master’s class in project management. Yet, the ‘being here now’ makes the quantum impact of practicing and sharing the light is immeasurable.
If the proverb that says ‘when the student is ready, the teacher appears’ is true, then there must have been a lot of folks ready for Lex, when he first appeared on the yoga scene back in the 70’s. ... No one knows if they were aware of their readiness but they soon must have felt it, because Lex was serious. He was serious about teaching, methods and quality of certifications, which set firm foundations for new yoga instructors.
There is also a theme running throughout this book of humility in the face of greater purpose. I also felt a tone of peering into the psyche of one who blazed an arduous path up the mountain face, where walking this earth is more than a dance of fate or seeds blowing in the wind. Lex’s light drew to himself great teachers and experiences that rocked his world. And true to form, the wrestler in him found a way to embody that power and then in turn pass it to others. Then, from a higher perspective, this book could be seen as a tribute to facets of Divine Awareness. For, as Peter Gillan so eloquently states in the introduction, it helps us remember the path home to the NOW MOMENT of pure BEING.
Where can you purchase this little jewel? True to his philosophy, Lex wants to keep personal contact with every reader, as well as his students.\
So, contact Lex Gillan via email. lexgillan@swbell.net
He will gladly respond!
POSTED BY:L.S. Berthelsen (aka Linda Berthelsen)
Visionary Fiction author of The Häling and the Scottish Templars and Voyage of the Templar Guardians; writer, mystic, pragmatist ~ enjoy quantum thinking!