Back to Nature

Whenever I feel stuck, miserable or get a case of the blues, I head over to where it is blue… the place where blue skies meet the deep blue water.   When I was about 14 years old, I visited California for the first time and got to visit the cold and windy Ocean Beach in San Francisco and ever since that day I have had this longing to be nearer and nearer to the ocean.  If I had to choose, I would be on the beaches in Maui but most days I will settle for any coastline with sand, sun and surf.  There’s always something magical about a beache’s vastness, sounds and smells that dampen out my blues and melt my stress away.  Mostly I like to stare out towards the horizon and see nothing but also see so clearly.  

Last week I finally made some time to get to the coast for the first time since the studio opened 6 months ago.  The kiddos and I went to explore a new beach in Santa Cruz, Natural Bridges State Beach Park.    It’s no Maui beach, but her beauty was breath taking.  Although the winds were strong that day, there was no other place I wanted to stay that day even if it meant throwing an extra jacket and beanie hat on.  

All the questions, the doubts, the fears, and the uncertainties I’ve had brewing in my head disappeared for that day.  I didn’t even have to ask them again, the answers were pretty clear to me… let it go.  And it was easy to just let the wind blow them all away and it was hard not to be present in the moment with all my senses being awakened by the sounds, textures and smells.  

 

We walked around the cliff to a little cove area.  There was one family hanging out with their kids.  I walk past them towards the cliff because I’m drawn to the colors, the green moss and mussels growing on it and the shield it could provide from the wind.  

 

 

 

As I lookekd closer, I see a lump roll lying there on the sand and wondered if it was a dead animal.  I get closer and saw him:

 

He was sleeping soundly.   I took a few pics and left him alone but wondered where the rest of the Harbor Seals were.  About 10 minutes later, a lady walked towards us shouting “Have you seen a baby seal pup here?”   She was with the marine mammal center and came to rescue the pup who was abandoned.   Apparently seal mothers often abandon their young when they are hunting for food and see humans on the beach near her pup.   Awwwww!!!  Look at his whiskers…

 

 

 

The lady let us choose a few names for him.   I choose Chocolate Chip  don’t know if they will use it but that’s what he reminded me of… or maybe it was because I was craving chocolate chip ice cream at the moment.  I was happy they were going to care for him before releasing him back to nature. 

The encounter with Chocolate Chip and the feelings of joy, wonderment, and happiness stayed with me the entire day.   Nature does that to me.  Here’s promising to not waiting too long again before I go back to nature.

An artist and her canvas.

Love can always be found in nature.

Lots and lots of beauty around… we just need to open our eyes.

 

Happy Earth Day 2013!!

Elephants, A Forgotten Dream Come True

I love elephants.

I’ve always had an obsession with elephants ever since I was a child but probably more obsessive when I was in high school or so.  Here’s a small portion of my crazy collection of elephants that I acquired but mostly others have given me (it was quite easy to shop for me during those years).

I dreamt to meet one.

During those “madly in love with elephant” years, I often dreamed about meeting one in person, and not at a zoo behind a cage.  I wanted to hug one, to look one in the eye, and to stand in his/her presence.  I did ride an elephant once when I was  about 10 or so but I vaguely remember the magnificence of being so close to such a creature… probably because it was at a zoo and all I remember was standing in line for what seemed like days and then we were piled into the riding box and the elephant walked around in a circle.   My heart is aching just saying that now.

A dream forgotten.

In the midst of moving so many times in the past 7 years or so, I stopped collecting elephants because I just got tired of packing and repacking all my stuff.   Naturally much of the “junk” that I collected got thrown out, except for the elephants.   They were wrapped up neatly and stored in a box for the last 7 years.

A forgotten dream come true.

Last week, I traveled to Bali on a yoga retreat.  I had no idea what was in store for me.  I was intrigued by the culture, the people, the sites, the smells, the food, etc.  Then half way thru the week, I learned that we were going to the Elephant Safari Park to visit a baby elephant that was just born two weeks ago.  How exciting is this?!

Not only did I get to meet an elephant, but they cuddled me, looked me in the eye, and let me feed them.  Elephant Safari Park was built to save about 30 elephants from the island of Sumatran who would otherwise be killed from deforestation and habitat loss.   Sumatran elephants are the smallest of Asian elephants and have recently been moved from the endangered to critically endangered species list.  

Just as I was about to explode with happiness, I met her:

Baby Fajar.

Her name means Dawn as she was born at 5:50am.

Why I love elephants.

Elephants remind me of who I want to be.  They are so magnificent and their commanding presence says so much.  So big but yet so gentle.  Their eyes tell the story of their journey.  Sometimes you see love and compassion and sometimes you see sadness and fear.  They are definitely expressive.    I love how they play and how they care for each other in their tightly connected family pack.  They are wise and passionate creatures.  Did you know that elephants mourn the death of their loved ones and go back to the site of death every year?  It’s so amazing that they are intuitively connected to each other and also connected to the mystical spirit world around them and they never forget.

I’m so glad the elephants didn’t forget about me and my dreams.  I will never forget my magical moment with the elephants from Bali.

Warning… you might just die because your heart will burst with so much love from watching this video.

 

Practice Makes Possible

I’ve been hanging out in Bali the past 4 days on yet another yoga retreat, teaching and assisting Deb’s Yoga Life Coaching retreat.  Other than the longest plane ride I’ve ever had in my adult life, I have no complaints.  Even though it was 30+ hour flight from take off to landing at my destination, I knew that it was gonna be worth it even though the thoughts of “are we there yet?” crossed my mind what seemed like every 5 minutes.  

 The whole trip was definitely a practice of patience for me and it reminded me of the moment I kicked up into my first handstand last week without a wall and falling for the first time into upward bow/wheel pose and then standing up for the first time without any assistance. 

I started practicing handstand regularly aroundaugust 2011 and committed to doing one handstand a day for 365 days in 2012.  During the whole time I practiced, I never fell once.  I was scared to fall and never let myself fall without control, meaning there was not someone to catch me or guide me from a handstand to falling into a backbend.  In theory, I knew that I could exit a handstand gone wrong by either cartwheeling out, falling into a backbend, or walking on my hands.  Never had the guts to try it so I never practiced without a wall or an assist.  So through out the last year or so, I kept practicing not only the pose, but also the strength and alignment that is required to hold a handstand.  I got stronger and I got more skilled at noticing how my body is responding and how I am stacking my body over my hands.  The 365 day challenge taught me patience because on those days that I could barely get my feet up in the air, I felt defeated.   Mostly I learned how to let go of fear and let joy flow.  This meant that I turned my fear into excitement. 

 So last week while at the park with the kids, I had the urge to practice on the grass.  No one was looking and the grass looked soft enough if I fell but the thought that went through my head was, “what do you have to lose?  you’re not gonna die.  If anything, the flight to Bali is gonna kill you.”  So I grabbed my iPhone (just in case, I did fall and die, there was evidence of it for the life insurance)… kicked up a few times, held for a few seconds and finally mentally said GO!  Something shifted inside and I fell over.  It seemed as if my body knew what to do.  I felt my toes point and felt like a cat who will land on their feet… so I did… right into upward bow/wheel.   Then I said, “what the heck, let’s try to stand up… and so I did.   I couldn’t believe it and I looked around to see if anyone saw that so they could confirm that’s what really happened…. oh wait!  I have it recording     Check it out:

I’ve been videoing my journey and progress on handstand, but I can’t seem to find all the video’s now.   So bummed because I wanted to be reminded that practice makes possible and that it doesn’t happen overnight without commitment and passion.  Oh well… perhaps this is a telling that it doesn’t matter where you’ve been or what you weren’t capable of and what matters is what’s happening today and how you’re going to move forward tomorrow.   

Just like the how the long flight from hell was worth it, the year journey to handstand was definitely worth it.  Now to keep practicing and creating more possibilities.  Yay!

Dreams Do Come True

“All our dreams can come true, if we have the courage to pursue them.”  – Walt Disney

Nicely said Mr. Disney.  Actually it even kinda sounds cheesy and cliche’ish until one day your dreams do come true.   Things start to materialize before your eyes and all of a sudden you realize your dream is no longer a dream.  You pinch yourself and it hurts… because your dream is now your reality.

I wish upon a star…

I’m not talking about the dreams you have of bears chasing you or those graphic dreams of dark shadows lurking in the alley ready to pounce on you type of dreams.  Thank goodness those don’t come true.  I’m talking about those “I wish upon a star” where I really really really want something badly type of dreams.

Well even the shiniest star alone won’t make your dreams come true.  You won’t just attract your dream to life but there’s something to be said about declaring your dreams and whole heartedly wanting them to come true.

Some of My Dreams…

I don’t want to boost, but this past week has been a domino effect of my dreams coming true.  Is it even possible that 3 dreams can come true in one week?   I’m pinching myself and *ouch* it hurts… I’m awake so it must be real.   As far as I can remember, I’ve always dreamt about being an entrepreneur.  Never in my wildest dreams did I know I would own a yoga studio.  When I realized that owning a yoga studio was THE dream, I dreamt big.  Not big as in the Taj Mahal of studios, but big as in BIG on love, community, and friendship.  I dreamt that people would practice next to each other, mat to mat with the sound of the breath filling the room, sweat dripping on the floor  and no one would even gringe because they were all friends.  I am still in awe as I witnessed the room fill up this weekend and we packed the studio to maximum capacity.  It was the hottest mess I’ve ever seen and no one complained once that it was too crowded.   I am grateful!   Then, I found out that I accidentally completed my 500 hour teacher training.  I started my 500 hour about a year and a half ago and just kept on attending trainings.  I enjoyed them so much that it didn’t behoove me keep track of the modules I had completed.  Nice surprise!  and definitely one of my dreams that I wanted to fulfill.  The 3rd dream just came true today as I write this post.   I am going to Bali in a few weeks to co-facilitate a yoga retreat with my teacher Deb.    She had asked me a few weeks ago to go with her but <insert a long list of excuses of why I can’t go even though it would be huge dream come true>.  It’s interesting to see what happens when you share your dream out loud with others.  The Universe does really conspire to make it happen especially if you whole heartedly want it to come true.  And so I am going to Bali.  Don’t be so jealous cause this is the trip from hell!!!!!  38hours of travel time!!!!   <— a little ounce of sympathy please  BTW, you can come too.  It’s not too late to book the Bali trip.

Dreams really do come true….

They come true all the time.  I look back at the last month and I could list a handful of dreams that have come true.  They may not be those big whopper dreams but each little wish I’ve made have manifested.   One of them is that I got to share yoga with my mom.  Ever since I started to practice yoga about 10 years ago and even in the last 7 years of teaching, I never asked my mom if she would like to come to my class.  I assumed that she would not enjoy the power vinyasa style I was teaching.  I assumed these things because of what she has said in the past about yoga and her limited movement, etc.  But last month she came to visit me and saw my studio for the first time.  She was very excited for me and in her joy, I asked her if she wanted to come take a class.  ”YES!” was the immediate response.  I couldn’t believe it.   Having my mom in yoga class was a dream I’ve secretly had but never had the courage to ask her for fear of her rejecting the idea.  Boy! was I wrong!  I will never ever assume again.

Walt was right…

Dreams do come true.  But not by wishing upon a star… but by having the courage to pursue them.  Dreams require you to be in action in order for them to come to fruition.  Sometimes it takes a lot of money to make a dream come true.  Sometimes it takes a lot of patience.  Sometimes it takes a lot of commitment.  Sometimes it takes a lot of hard work.  Sometimes it takes a lot of support from those who care about your dreams.  Sometimes it takes a lot of passion.  Mostly it takes a lot of belief.  Believe in yourself and your dreams.

Thank you for helping my dreams come true… you know who you are.

Ashtanga Confluence 2013, Day 2: Be Lazy

End of day 2 and all I can say is that I’m grateful this confluence is only 3 days long!!!  I need another weekend away to process all the golden nuggets I’ve gotten.   Today’s most profound things I learned:

1.  As a student, I’m rediscovering that it’s not the teacher’s fault that I didn’t have a good practice.  Yes, to some extent, the teacher sets the tone, but ultimately it’s my own practice and I am the person in control of my own practice.  I saw where I let external factors control the outcome of my practice and I could see where I let external forces (i.e. people, situations, even the weather, etc) dictate my outcome and even my happinesss.

2.  It is really about the breath.   The answer to all your problems lies at the root of how you are breathing.

3.  True freedom is not about doing what you want, whenever you want, however you want.

4.  We really are more alike than different.  The concept of ONENESS makes more sense now.  We really are one with every living person, creature, and cell in the world.

I’ll have to expand on the above in another post but my most favorite one that made the highlight of my day:

5.  Be lazy like cats as David Swenson pointed out in the Flying, Floating, and Handstanding workshop.  Watch how cats move.  They use the “lazy” method… meaning they engage just enough to move and then immediately relax… giving them the sluggish, lurking around type movement.

Why would you want to be lazy in asana?  Next time you’re in a pose, become aware of how you engage your body.  Notice how you might be all tense with too much contraction and trying to hard.  This type of engagement doesn’t give you much room to relax.  Isn’t this what we came to yoga for?   David’s suggestion is simple:  activate and then let it go.  Activate where necessary and relax when possible.  It becomes a continuous “vinyasa” within the holding of the posture.  Activate then relax, activate then relax.. a true concept of stira-sukha concept (strength-ease).  Eventually after several cycles of activate-relax, we get to a spot where the whole body is at ease but yet strong and grounded.  What becomes apparent is the body and the self is breathing so peacefully.

One can practice Ashtanga and be at peace… who knew!?!!  I absolutely love David and have found my next teacher that I want to study with.  He has a ridiculously funny sense of humor, practicality and simplicity  that makes the whole practice of Ashtanga pleasant and enjoyable.  I’ll share more on what I learned from David in future posts.  There’s too many to list here.

After today’s workshop with David, I feel like I’m floating on cloud nine even though I might not be able to float and jump like he does.  I’m feeling so lucky to have had some one-on-one time with him.  Check it out:

Now to practice, practice, practice… because practice makes possible.  Jump back quick tips: cross higher at mid shins not ankles, flex feet, push into hands, top leg pushes back to create momentum (bottom leg relaxes — the concept of active-relax), look down and back to start and then up to end, you don’t need to lift that high off the ground in order to jump back successfully, and finally (my favorite).. bandhas help but they’re not the main reason why you can or can’t jump back and it’s definitely not about your arm length.

Oh and can you believe he walked by my group I was working with and farted on us.   Maybe I’ll wake up tomorrow and will jump thru with straight legs after being blessed by David’s fart.  LOL

Ashtanga Confluence 2013: Day 1, Feeling the Transformation

6:00 am – get up and do my morning ritual: stretch a little.  Start hydrating.  Get centered with a short meditation.   Wash up before class.

7:00am – two hour primary series practice with Dena Kingsberg.

Led Primary with Dena

9:00am – hot shower

10:00am – breakfast on the patio under the sun, blue skies and the crystal blue bay sparkling in the distance

11:30pm – A panel discussion by the Ashtangi masters on the legacy of Pattabhi Jois

The panel of Who’s Who of Ashtangis

1:30pm – Relax

4:00pm – Bandhas with my teacher Tim Miller

6:00pm – The Hanuman Chalisa with Tim Miller — *the highlight of my day

Dreams do come true.  My body feels great and my mind feels as though it has been cleansed.

My biggest lesson today was sparked by this question:  Wouldn’t it be great if our minds would go where are bodies go?

Even after practicing for the past 10 years or so, I still notice moments of time where my body just goes and I perform the asanas.  Sometimes I even perform them very well and I’ve gotten really good at multitasking, thinking about other things besides being in the moment where I am.   The mind will do it’s own thing when left alone.  This is true.

We see this in asana.  Nancy saw us lifting our hands when we jump back/thru.  Our minds are eager to perform but she encouraged us to not do so.   There is no short cut to transformation.  One must do the work and feel every step of the way.  This may mean work on keeping your palms flat on the ground and do the work to really lift up before the jump.  It may not look as graceful but the illusion of looking graceful or the illusion of a successful jump thru/back does look graceful and successful but it does not help propel you into lasting transformation.

Mostly this shows up when I’m gone for weekend retreats and leave my family at home.   Mostly I feel guilty for indulging in myself.  My body loves the practice but my mind is left at home… worrying about my classes, about the kids, etc.

I’m so glad Dena, asked this question on the first day because it allowed me to just let go and fulfill the intention of why I came:  to be a student, to let go of all my responsibilities back home and to just indulge.   No guilt!  I’m being present.  My body is at the confluence and so will my mind because after this weekend away as a student, I will go back home a better teacher, a better mom, a better spouse, a better friend, a better human being… and the process continues as I integrate back into my life where the real work begins.  Then every few more months, I will do it again.  I will pry myself away from my studio, away from my students, away from my friends, and away from my family in order to reflect on who I was being and then reconnect to myself to redefine who I am and who I will become.

Keep It Simple

I’m fortunate to immerse myself as a student of yoga this weekend at the Ashtanga Confluence 2013.  Immediately upon arriving at the airport, I am reminded of a lesson I learned several yoga trips ago… and that is to pack simply.

Keeping it simple…

No more heavy bags, extra bags, no more high maintenance personal items.  Just the bare essentials.  Security was a breeze and I kept my peace of mind while everyone else was fumbling with their belt, shoes, laptops, etc.

Simple actions…

Prior to the trip, I was feeling kinda grumpy because I had purchased two tickets.  The other person was not able to come anymore and now I was stuck with an extra ticket that the conference was not going to refund.  It sucks!!  So when I arrived, I had asked again about a possible refund or credit.  I already knew what the answer was going to be, but thought “why not ask again in person” hoping I could bat my eye lashes for some sympathy.  They still said ‘no refunds’ but she offered to let me know if someone was going to buy a ticket during the weekend to buy mine.  This simple action she took made me feel some what better about the situation. I tried, she tried and if I don’t get any money back.. oh well. I’m not going to waste my energy getting upset over it.  I’ll see it simply as a donation to the conference.

Simple ideas…

The first night began with a Ganesh Puja performed by Eddie Stern.  A puja is a ceremony/ritual/offering.  Ganesh is the elephant god known as the Remover of Obstacles and The Lord of Beginnings.  He was honored tonight to insure an auspicious beginning and successful completion of the weekend.

Ganesh adorned with offerings from the puja.

This was the first time I’ve participated in a puja but the idea is not foreign to me.  I’ve seen this type of ritual performed at Buddhist temples while I was growing up but have never been interested in this sort of activity until I saw what a simple action and idea like this could do. I like the simple idea of rituals and how they can increase our happiness and change the world around us.

Simple actions and simple ideas can make a huge impact and possibly change our world.

This idea of rituals can be as simple as brushing your teeth.  Rituals are things/actions we do everyday.  They are a part of our “routine.”  The problem is that our daily routines have become mundane with a “go thru the motion” mentality.  We lose ourselves and the present moment.  A simple act of brushing our teeth every morning can be a meaningful routine… a ritual…  and instead of losing yourself and mindlessly performing the task and lose the present moment, get lost in the present moment.  Get immersed in the present moment.   Can you imagine if we woke up every morning and made teeth brushing a ritual?  That simple 2 minutes or so can become a sacred time to connect to ourselves and get grounded for the day.  Can you imagine what type of impact you would have on the world if you left your house feeling connected and grounded?  All because you brushed your teeth in the morning

Ganesh waiting for the Puja to begin

Don’t turn your back on the present moment… keep things simple so you can face the present moment mindfully.

What Does It Mean To Practice Off Your Mat

What does it mean when your yoga teacher references, “Take your practice off your mat or practice on and off your mat.”

Practice on your mat:  asana (postures), pranayama (breath), meditation (flow)

Practice off your mat: love, forgiveness, compassion, 5 niyamas (personal observances:  santosha – contentment, tapas – heat/austerity, svadhyaya – study of oneself, ishvara pranidhara – surrender to Divine/God) and the list goes on and on

Who you are being speaks louder than any words you’ll ever say.  

How you are being is your practice off your mat.  It’s probably 99% true that how you are on your mat is how you are in your life, off your mat.  If you curse and grump about yourself the moment the teacher calls a pose, you’re probably not practicing compassion for yourself in other areas of your life either.  Or if you fall out of a pose during practice, do you beat yourself up over and over again?  Forgiveness seems to be a practice that most of us don’t practice whether it’s a small thing as falling out of tree pose or forgiving yourself for the past. 

You can also say the reverse — how you are in your life shows up on your mat. 

Who knew a simple rubber yoga mat holds the truth… it’s a mirror for me to see who I am and where I need to grow.

Do You Feel Flattered Or Annoyed When Someone Copies You?

He was flattered.

Happy post Valentine’s day.  Are you still feeling the love?   Yesterday, I had the opportunity to volunteer at my son’s Valentine’s party at school.  I was in charge of one of the craft stations.  The kids were making a bracelet out of heart shaped beads.  Of course all the girls loved it… pink, red, white, lavender, and sparkly beads of all colors.   My son came to my station with a few of his friends.   One of the boys just made a face and wasn’t very interested in making a bracelet until he saw my son making an all black bead bracelet.   At that point, the other boys thought it was cool and started copying him.  One of the boys said, “I’m making a black one too” and encouraged the other boy to copy as well.  My son said with a smile, “hey, they’re copying me.”   It was obvious that he felt flattered.  

She was annoyed.

My daughter, on the other hand, have in the past complained about other classmates copying her artwork, poetry, or would flat out steal her ideas and take credit for it.  She was clearly annoyed. 

I’d like to boost that I have been blessed with an extra “C” (for creative) chromosome.   While growing up, I loved to do arts and crafts and I made my own toys and played games that weren’t brought at a store.   I loved to sew, cook, draw and paint.   I love details.  I still do.  I love to think outside the box and do things that other people wouldn’t do.   I often have “cheesy” ideas, some of which people laugh at, some that have come to fruition while others still dangle in my dreams.

I’m usually flattered and don’t care if people copy me…

There’s been times when others would bring to my attention that so-and-so has copied me.   I just respond with laughter and a sense of flattery.   It’s fun and interesting to watch how the world responds to my ideas.   This came up today.  I learned that so-and-so has copied me again.  

But today, I was flattered then annoyed then embarrassed.

I felt kinda weird… kinda flattered and a little embarrassed for the copier because others have noticed this about them.  I’ve met many friends who have approached me asking about the ideas that I’ve materialized and we’ve collaborated and made that idea even better.   I’ve also been on the other end as a copy-cat.  I’ve approached others to inquire about their creative ideas and how I might copy it or use it to fit my needs.   Needless to say, many friendships and greater ideas were born and everyone benefited.   But today, I felt a little icky… almost like it was a sneaky behind the scenes kinda act.   Maybe that’s just my ego feeling a little bruised that the copier didn’t feel like collaborating or acknowledging my kick-ass idea.

Now I know how my daughter felt.  I had a talk with them today about this subject and asked how they felt about it.  My son said he felt cool that someone wanted to copy him. My daughter said she doesn’t mind sharing her ideas but it bugged her that they took her idea and made it their own without crediting her. 

All great ideas were born from someone copying something from someone else.

What I love about my teacher, Debbie, is that she has some crazy, fun, and out of the blue ideas that no one has ever thought of and she freely says, “go ahead and steal it, copy it, and make it even better because I’m gonna steal it back.”  I just love this because all great ideas just make the world a greater place to be.  

So why did I feel a moment of ick?  I think because when I steal ideas from others, I acknowledge that person.  I credit them.  I thank them for their contribution.  I don’t remember a time when I didn’t (and I’m thinking hard)… hey!  even facebook credits the original poster when you share something of theirs.  

I still feel flattered.

I’m glad so-and-so thought my idea was so good that it was worth copying, even if it was sneaky because in the grand scheme of things, it would make the world around us better. 

I’m thankful for copiers.

They keep my creative juices flowing.   They challenge me to come up with bigger and better ways to do something.   They help me stay innovative so that I can inspire others.  They validate that my ideas are working. Mostly they remind me to be exactly the way I am… to not think like others, to not want to be like any other, to be the one with cheesy ideas and to be the one who questions the norm.

A note to all you copy cats…

Go ahead and steal my ideas, copy them because I hope you can come up with a better idea.  If you do, please share it with me.  Better yet, spend more energy in firing up your creative juices so that I can copy you  

Let’s do this!!!… TOGETHER!!  

(ha!  what a concept… people collaborating without feeling insecure or sneaky… the world would be a better place)

 

On Yoga Teacher Training, Day 1

I never knew how much I loved yoga until today… more specifically, I never knew how much I loved sharing my yoga with others until today.  Today was the first full day of facilitating my teacher training program at the studio.  I know that I love to teach (well, some days are better than others) but what a blast I had teaching eager students who want to be teachers.  It was literally a 13 hour day with barely an hour lunch break for me because when the trainees were on break, I was still working.  But the time flew by so fast that we didn’t even realize how much time had passed when we threw in the towel.

How awesome is it that you confine 9 people together for 13 hours a day in a room and there was not one complaint (that I heard of).   Is that even possible?!  Some folks can’t go an hour without complaining up a storm.  Can you go half day with no complaints?  Try it…

There’s so much that goes on, more than meets the eye, that goes into teaching yoga.  We learned today that teaching yoga is merely 20% technical knowledge and 80% attitude/psychology and mainly that teaching yoga can be FUN! and not scary or hard and you don’t even have to teach a single alignment cue to teach a powerful class.  Wow!!  I’m brimming with excitement and so much gratitude that I get to witness these 9 people grow into their seat as teachers.  Wow, wow, wow!

My biggest ah-ha moment today confirms the reason why I love teaching yoga… it confirms the reason why I opened a studio… it confirms that my long days teaching and my long nights working on the business end all serves a purpose.  I have a purpose and that is to “blow you up into pieces of possibilities.”   <— more on this later

We flirted with possibility today and we showed up when about a dozen urdhva dhanurasanas presented itself… who knew you can do so much?  My rule of thumb:  1 backbend a day to survive your life, 3 backbends a day to maintain your life, 6+ backbends a day to improve your life, and one backbend a day for every hour you sit to live a THRIVING life.  OH YEA!!  It’s all about the counterposes.

urdhva dhanurasana

 

If you cringe when your teacher calls urdhva dhanurasana, stay tuned… I’ll be back with some tips so you don’t end up in the ER after doing a backbreak… er backbend.