Day Four an Day Five

Here are some pictures from our Day Four. I had hoped to get them posted earlier but we have been going non stop since the morning of August 8th. Unfortunately, I even missed the opportunity to call my mother on August 8th and to wish her a happy birthday. We taught all morning, I did my practice at lunch complete with an acro-yoga lesson from Jeremy, we taught in the afternoon and then I taught a 2-hour evening class at Yoga Oasis East and then came home. We got up this morning and had a full day and then a potluck tonight. As we were walking out the door today I said to Darren, "I have this feeling it is going to be a long time before we get back here." And it was.

It is so hard to even know how to capture the last two days because they were so rich and so full. I have to sum up one thing about this group- I really sense that they are hungry for the teachings and for the opportunity to deepen their practice. Darren and I joked (sort of) with them a few days ago that they signed up for an intense format (6 straight days rather than a weekend a month) with two people (Me and Darren) who are pretty intense people and teachers and whether or not they were aware of it, they were in for a ride.

What is so obvious to me is that we keep asking for a strong effort and the students keep meeting us. They are making huge strides in their bodies and huge strides in the linear understanding of the method but also I see huge leaps happening in the inner world of the heart and spirit- tears, laughter, insights and connections are happening at such a rate that it is truly inspiration to be a part of. I could not imagine a better job. Experiences like this make me so amazed at the way m life is unfolding and so honored to do what I do. An unbelievable blessing.

Yesterday we covered all the arm balances on the Level 1 syllabus in the morning asana class, we talked about the malas, the tattvas and finished the day with a 5-minute sirsasana and a 7- minute sarvangasana.

My acro yoga initiation...

Well, there are some more pics from today but that is a glimpse into yesterday. Today was as full. We did drop backs in the morning with lots of work in the shoulder principles and then Darren taught inversions after lunch and then we ended the day with a Q&A from fiery Christina Sell. I think the real theme of today was about community but also a huge teaching was about empowering yourself to practice. and to cultivate a love and passion for the work involved. Going to classes and workshops is so important. It really is. But practice is something else entirely and going to your mat and trying to sort through your confusion can be frustrating but also it is essentially very empowering. It is the process through which knowledge become wisdom. You begin to know something because you have worked for it, you have become intimate with it you have been willing to stay with the frustration of not knowing until the clarity was revealed through your efforts. And an Immersion is just that is like 6 months of yoga packed into a week and so the way to sort it all out, the way to make sense of it is to take the ideas, the principles, and so forth to our mats and to empower ourselves to practice.

Well, I could go on but it is time for rest and I will sound like I am preaching which is NOT what I want. What I am so on fire about is the gifts that practice can give us and the empowerment that comes from really engaging these practices to any degree.