In the Thick of It

We are in the thick of Teacher Training here in Tucson and I am having an amazing time.

I think the thing I like most about teaching Teacher Training is how much I learn every time. Not only do I get a chance to reflect on the practice of teaching, clarify what I think about it, and refine my articulation of various concepts and challenges related to teaching, I also get a chance to practice my skills all week since we do some much skill building exercises throughout the week. Its like getting a teacher training for myself!

I re-worked the curriculum for this training and strream-lined it, simplified it and I think its the best Part One me and Darren have ever done. I think the material is perfect for the group- manageable, appropriately challenging, informing and inspiring. I feel really good about it.

One recurring theme for me that keeps coming up is how important the basics are. I actually love refined teaching and interesting sequences and nuanced instructions but it is very clear to me that Part One Teacher Training is not about that at all. It is about teaching people to do a good job with the basics- like getting people into and out of the poses well, instructing with the breath, being economical with ones words and so on.  The better we are at the basic skill set, the more effective our teaching is going to be.

So its been a big foray into super basic teaching fundamentals and the students are doing well with it. As the year progresses we will get to add more details to the instructions and more refinement to the presentation but I am firmly convinced that if teachers everywhere were doing the basics well, the world of yoga would be a better place. Just like in asana, the basics are not necessarily easy to do.

Its tie for me to get some sleep so I am not going to write for very much longer. Tonight I taught a class at Yoga Oasis East which was super fun. We had 48 people show up which packed the room to capacity and we worked on drop backs. I used the theme about creating refuge within our bodies and becoming beacons of light as a result of being anchored. We worked a ton with Inner Body Bright and just about everyone in the room learned how to drop back and stand up. It was super fun. The students were receptive and joyful and  we really had a good time.

Well, I have lots of gems and insights rockin' around inside but I need to turn my mind off for a while and so perhaps tomorrow I will dive into that treasure trove. I had so many very interesting conversation that made me really think this week. I think thats the sign of a great training- getting asked interesting questions! Sure there are the predictable, always-asked Level 1 appropriate questions that we expect. And then there are the deeper questions of personal inquiry that people explore and invite me into and that is rich territory indeed.

I am thinking about a lot so stay tuned.

Anusara Yoga Teacher Christina Sell teaches a workshop at Sundance Yoga ...

Worth, Worship and Worthiness

We had a great day one of Teacher Training here in Tucson. I have a bunch to do tonight and so instead of a full blog entry about the day I thought I would post this little clip from the weekend in Friendswood.

Enjoy!

Responsiveness and Necessity: Kayaking and Yoga

I had a really good morning down in San Marcos. Kelly and I  spent some time on the river which is always super fun. We are in desperate need of some rain around here and so the water is getting lower and lower but there was still some wave to play in and it was refreshing to be in 72 degree water. That is a cool thing about The San Marcos River- The water is spring fed so it is 72 degrees year round which is pretty mild as far as rivers go. I still wear a wetsuit even in the middle of the summer since I get cold easily but is not a frigid experience by any means. Plus, I suppose that after 40+ days of triple digits already this summer, cold is welcome!

One of the things I like most about whitewater kayaking is how alert I have to be. While yoga requires focus and concentration for sure, kayaking has a whole other element because the medium we are working/playing in is moving.  Balancing on one leg on a stable floor is one thing but a river is never the same- the water is moving, the current is changing and the  kayaker must be continually responding to those changes.  For instance, what worked in the wave when you first get into it  will not necessarily work all morning long. In white water  kayaking, one has have to rely on their skills and not on formulas or habits. Its like in teaching yoga- we teach with principles of teaching, not rote sequences, rote instructions or formulas guided by "always and never". Discernment and responsiveness are the guiding principles in my opinion, not rules or standardized, predictable answers.

And the responsiveness is key because while a lot of us can get scared or freaked out in yoga doing a new move, in kayaking you are  not just be upside down but you are often upside down, getting pummeled by a wave and under water holding your breath! So maintaining composure is both more difficult and more necessary.

Lee talked a lot about Necessity as it related to spiritual practice. He was fairly adamant that a life of true spiritual practice was difficult and the easier thing was to simply allow one's desire for comfort, ease and unconscious  mediocrity to take over and be the order of the day over and above self-scrutiny, self-sacrifice and surrender. (He was not saying and I am not saying that we should never be comfortable or anything like that- he was simply talking about the force of habit we have to overcome if we are going to align with who we truly are over and above who we think we are.) 

I think in 12-step recovery a lot of what gives Necessity is the fact that one has reached a point of despair or a "bottom" of sorts where the negative pattern or behavior has escalated to such a degree that the person is "sick and tired of being sick and tired." Keep in mind, this is not limited to outer behaviors or substance addictions. We might be sick and tired of feeling unworthy, of feeling unimportant, etc. These bleak moments often yield a stark clarity of insight where we know we need to change something, even if it is "just" our perspective, context or attitude. It is in these moments of clarity where we actually see the that the stakes are higher than we thought and there is a cost to our habits that is greater than we realized.

And yes, I  think we can also grow from a place of longing to be greater and from the recognition of goodness within us that we want to bring forward. I definitely think we can feel a creative resonance with something profound and want to bring that awareness into our lives and that longing can create Necessity as well. I have felt that also, that deep yearning to really love from the expansive quality of my heart. 

So the point is not so much what gives Necessity as much as that we have it. And that we stay tuned into it because it gives us a lot of fuel to keep walking the path when it gets difficult.  And it will inspire us to stay responsive, not reactive and to maintain our connection and composure when we are upside down in a rapid getting a bit pummeled!

So here is a picture of me in the wave.

We also checked in on The San Marcos School of Yoga to see how its paint job is progressing. The property is a corner lot and there is the yoga building (pictured below) and a house on the lot. Both are getting painted and they had made a lot of progress. When we have programs here we will use the house for meals, massage, acupuncture and community space and the yoga space for asana and morning meditation.

Here are a few shots of the inside. These are taken with a wide angle lens so it looks a bit bigger than it is but we laid down mats. 40 people will fit with room to spare. Good times.

When you first walk in the door, this is the view.

And when you are look back at the door, this is what you see.

We have a huge space for prop storage as well. So  I am going to outfit the school with chairs for 40, blankets for 40 people to have 3 each, 80 blocks and straps and so on. Just think of the fun we can have!

I am really excited to be able to create a training center like this right here in Central Texas. I will be able to offer a variety of trainings, intensives, immersions and educational courses to help us grow as a community in a down- to-earth, intimate and rigorous setting. The cool thing about San Marcos is that its close to Austin- about 35-45 minutes- but it's low key, relaxing and connected to closely to the life of the river. Its such a great place.

More soon. Off to Tucson.

Monday Morning

Well, it was a busy weekend with no time to sit and write. I am behind on emails and I haven't written a blog entry in a week.  And I decided instead of chaining myself to the computer this morning that I would take a trip down to San Marcos to get some time in on the river. I am always happier when I get some time each week paddling. 

Plus The San Marcos School of Yoga has been getting a new coat of paint and I am excited to see how it looks now. I am getting really excited about the re-opening of the school. Sam and Anne will be offering some classes there this fall  and I am going to be offering more and more trainings there. Teacher Training 1 in December, Int/Adv Asana Intensive in March and Teacher Training 2 in April. And lots more to come so stay tuned. I am so thrilled to be able to offer high quality training in an intimate, community setting here in Texas. My vision is that many of you from all over the world will come and join us at these events and enjoy the simple, down-to-earth setting. So fun.

I had a very full weekend. Thursday night I taught a class at The Woodlands Anusara Yoga Studio . We had a great turnout with people from all over which was really fun. The studio used to be owned by certified teacher Vicki Beilharz who ran it for years. When I first moved to Texas she was the owner there and I taught a workshop there then. Vicki moved and the studio has passed through two more owners and was recently taken over by Anusara Yoga. It was so fun to be invited to teach there again, to see some old and new faces and to be part of the new wave of inspiration that is happening there, now that it is Anusara Yoga's studio, right down the road from the main office. We had great students, good times, and lots of learning together.  We also did a group practice on Friday morning which was a dynamic blend of vinyasas, pose analysis and explanation as well as some sermons and pep talks!

Skip back to yesterday's post and you can see some footage from the classes.

After lunch on Friday Kelly and I went to Friendswood, which is about an hour away on the other side of Houston from The Woodlands. Valerie is a good friend of mine and was the first person in texas to invite me to teach at their studio once I had moved here. She reached out to me with such love and acceptance and we have been close ever since. This is the fourth year I have gone to teach at  Sundance Yoga.  It is so fun to go somewhere every year around the same time because it provides such a touchstone for one's growth and development. Valerie is a very loving and nurturing person and teacher and her students are really great. I gave them a big dose of fire and passion which they seemed to receive well. We had four sessions together and covered some major territory inside and out.  Good stuff.

Kelly's working on a video now so we will get that up soon. 

I have lots on my mind and all kinds of insights percolating around that I cannot wait to get down on paper (or computer) but right now, the river is calling. If we don't get there early, all the tubers are in the rapids and we can't play.  

more soon.

Certified Anusara Yoga Teacher Christina Sell teaches a workshop in The ...

Monday Morning

So let's see- what is going on.... I had a great weekend home teaching in Austin. I was pretty tired from the festivities of The Anusara-Inspired Teacher's Gathering but by the end of the weekend I felt rested and  back in my stride a bit. The Immersion group here continues to inspire and impress me with their capacity and studentship. They worked so hard on so many levels. And yet,  even as I write that sentence,  I am aware that "hard" may not be the best adjective to describe what I saw. They worked deeply. Yes, there was a physical effort for the asana but they were also so willing to explore their inner landscape and to open up and share how the teachings were taking hold inside of them.

A few months back I hosted Manorama to teach a course on the Bhagavad Gita in the Teacher Training Program in Corpus Christi. I was, as always, struck deeply by her and her teachings. (More on that later as I plan to compile and comment some of my notes from that soon but suffice it to say that I think she is a total badass on every level and she is totally my cup of tea as a teacher- strong, loving, funny, smart, compassionate, uncompromising, soft, strict, etc.)

Anyway, one thing she said that weekend was that the job of the student was to "get inside the teachings, not to defend against them." I thought this was so great. Obviously, we are not talking here about blind faith or accepting everything at face value just because it "comes from the tradition." Hopefully, it's obvious by now that I am a fan of discernment, discrimination and conscious engagement of the teachings.

So that being said and assumed, her point really hit home with me. When we engage a text like the Gita or Patanjali's Sutras or any of our source texts, it is easy to react to the language, the terminology, and  the uncompromising demands they make and, without even realizing it, defend ourselves against them. Her instruction or invitation, was to find a way into them instead.  Often that "way in" involved honestly acknowledging what words created reaction inside us and why.

 For instance, there is a lot written about "self-control" in the Gita. And anyone who has been through some therapy or some 12-step work or has a introduction to spiritual concepts like "Let Go and Let God" often sees "control" as a negative thing. And so the text uses a word that triggers a certain response within us and if we are unaware of that trigger  we are defending against the text before we even know it and missing a chance to benefit from the Teaching.

If, instead, we pay attention to our mind and its reactions, we get to ask a few deeper questions like "How is the text using that word?" and "Is the yogic application the same as the modern vernacular or common usage of the word?"  What, for instance, does self-control mean from the perspective of the Gita? How, from a yogic perspective, is self-control absolutely necessary and beneficial?  When we ask those questions, we being to find a way into the text.

Same with the Sutras where  Pantajali outlines our "afflictions" and it can be so easy to recoil away from some of its language because- well, let's face it-- who among us likes to see ourself as afflicted? It can trigger a whole host of associative feelings that were not intended at all. We may feel criticized, ashamed, depressed, defensive and so forth. But that text, like I always say, is a "just that facts" kind-of -explanation and has no interested in bolstering our self-esteem or making us feel better about our lives or anything like that. Nope, its more about laying out what we are going to face when we set out to experience samadhi and dive into our inner lives. Lee used to say, "forewarned is forewarned" and the sutras are saying, "be ready- you are going to met some obstacles and afflictions within yourself!"

Another very cool teaching Manorama gave about The Gita was that "This is your story." And if we accept that premise when reading the Gita, we get to ask ourselves a very useful question as we study: "In what way is this my story?" In what way am I sitting on the battlefield of my inner life facing a choice that seems to have no easy way through it? In what way am I a warrior of great integrity battling with the forces of darkness and doubt and having to rely only on my duty, my connection to Spirit and my values to guide me? And so on. Truth be told, we are every person on that battlefield, as Mandy reminded us via Douglas Brooks' teachings.

I think that is the thing I love about the traditional teachings like The Gita. They are so real and applicable. There is this new-age idea that if we are ourselves and if we are authentic "everything is going to work out great." And sure, on some ultimate level, that is totally true. And, of course, The Gita speaks to this also reminding us time and again that the Self cannot be injured, killed or abolished and so on so do not worry. But the Gita also reminds us that here on earth, while we are  in bodies, and living our lives as humans, when we set out to be ourselves, to live authentically and in alignment with our dharma, we are going to be on a battlefield and there are going to be times when we must act in ways that are not easy, that will create pain and that it may not always "work out" right away. The truth is that me walking around in my authenticity is going to rub against you walking around in yours and we are going to have sort that out from time to time. Its naive to think otherwise, in  fact.

So- enough on that for now. We had a great Immersion weekend and I am still processing things from it and the week up in the mountains. And what better way to process things than through the lens of The Bhagavad Gita?