Tuscon Immersion Day One

We had our first day of the Immersion today. What group. 46 people are signed up and so we were packed in the room pretty nicely. About half the group is from Tucson and half the group is from out of town- Texas, Canada, Australia, Colorado, Montana, California, New Mexico... Very cool.

I always love teaching here at Yoga Oasis because it is such a strong community of Anusara Yoga practitioners and teachers. Darren has been the director or Yoga Oasis for over ten years now and it is really thriving. For me, so much of my yoga training happened in Tucson during John tours here and one of my very first ever out of town workshops I taught here on Darren's invitation so Tucson holds a very special place in my heart. Stepping into the yoga room at Yoga Oasis to teach just feels to me like stepping into a place that holds the energy of yoga. Transformation and dedication to the Path is in the walls there for sure.

I spoke with John Friend on Sunday and told him our Immersion would be starting on Wednesday and did he have advice or feedback for us. He paused, thought about it and told me, "Never underestimate the power of the basics. Just make sure you cover them well and they will lead the way to the deeper work." So today I told that to the group. And then we spent the day on foundation and basic form and working on intention and muscle energy.

I was very impressed by the work ethic of this group; of their willingness to just jump in, go for it and follow where me and Darren were leading. People asked intelligent questions, worked very hard, followed instructions well and they were so engaged it was just a pleasure to teach. And teaching with my friend Darren is just one of the funnest thing I do all year. He is such a dedicated practitioner and we both share a love of the poses and enjoy exploring how they relate to one another and it is so fun to have another set of eyes in the room, another person's insights and experiences to draw upon and another person's help in assisting and adjusting. Twice as good, twice as fun.

So all in all the week is off to a great start. The foundation has been laid.