Last night's classes were fun. I really missed seeing everybody last week so it was good to be back. We had a nice big group of folks in the 4:30 Flow for a full-spectrum kind of practice. We did sun salutations, standing poses, a few arm balances, back bends and some forward bends and believe it or not, there was even time for savasana.
We had smaller-than-usual group for the advanced class but it was super fun. Mike, Susan, Pamela, Katherine and Susan Snyder all double-dipped and even though some folks were "missing" we had a fun time and worked on ekapadarajakapotasana 1. (For the non-yogi's reading, that is an advanced back bend where you grab your foot behind your head.) See Below:
One of my favorite things about teaching this pose is watching people touch their toes back behind their heads for the first time because it is kind of shocking.Really, when in your life have you felt your toe behind your head? Not that often, right? Lots of folks glimpsed the possibility of the pose. I think this was the third or fourth time I have had Jesse in a class where we practiced this pose and each time he has gotten closer so it was a real thrill when last night he actually got a hold of his foot! And Rusty rose to Mike's challenge, performing a beautiful pose even though his rational mind didn't think it was possible. Soon we will have to bring a camera to this class to record these moments!
I love teaching these advanced poses to such eager and capable students. I am modeling this class after a class I used to take with Desiree. She said that when she was learning advanced poses the only place they were ever taught was in workshops. So she decided she would teach them in an ongoing class. A lot of the advanced poses I learned were taught in that class of hers. So in keeping with that great tradition, I am teaching theses advanced classes like that. Which is good because by the time you get to advanced workshops with John, he does not teach you how to do all this stuff anymore. He just says, "Okay everybody, ekapadarajakapotasana" and 75 people in the room just do it. Now that is a sight to see.
Anyway- I will be teaching all of my classes in Austin on Thursday this week but I have a sub request in for next Tuesday so I can be with my parents while they are visiting. Kim Schaefer will teach the flow class on Tuesday and I will keep you posted about the 6pm.
Have a great day.
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