Sunday Morning

We had a great time at the Immersion. We spent the first hour in a general discussion about shoulder anatomy and a detailed exploration of shoulder principles with a lovely discussion n the spirals of the arms. Either I am getting better at explaining it or people were lying to me that they understand, because that particular talk went more easily than ever with very few people expressing frustration, confusion, or despair like "the arm discussion" has had had in the past. hmmm...Then we did a shoulder principles class working on standing poses like prasarita padottanasana variation 2, parsvakonasana, parsvottanasana with hands in pascima namaskarasana. We gave some attention to two different forms of parighasana and made a great foray to visvamitrasana. Then we had some fun with ardha bhekasana, ardha bhekasana in setu bandhasana and full bhekasana with eka pada rajakaptasana being the grand finale. I think just about everyone in the room touched their foot behind their head- many for the first time- which is always fun.

After class Kelly and I walked on the greenbelt, came home and made dinner and I watched a Star Trek episode while working on some projects online. All in all it was a very lovely day.

As much as I love travelling and visiting other communities, I must say it is a special treat to teach in Austin on the weekend and to be part of this lovely community. The Austin Anusara Yoga community is much on my mind these days. How it seems to me is that there are a lot of great people, practitioners and teachers being attracted to the method and to one another. There are awesome folks in the stream of certification- anywhere from taking tests and preparing videos for assessment to honing one's skills as an Inspired teacher and offering great classes and workshops to preparing to apply for Inspired status to diving in to the Immersion process with the goal of becoming an Anusara Inspired teacher.

I feel like we are on the brink of great possibility around here but truth be told, it could go either way, really. Lots of seeds have been planted- some have sprouted, some have grown, many have born fruit; others, left unattended have withered. So anyway- I think the real thing on my mind is how we can really join together to create a common vision that will take us forward together. I tell people that all the time in the different areas that I have supported in developing Anusara Yoga programs and communities. With a common vision we can apply our individual efforts to something that in turn will support us all. But without a common vision, what happens is teachers are unconsciously competing with one another. (Or sometimes it is not unconscious at all... but I digress.)

I think that is why Anusara Yoga is such a unique paradigm of yoga. Way beyond the loops and spirals is the invitation to function in a positive way as part of a community. And because so many of us are making a living at this (or want to) we are called to function positively in community where money- and therefore issues of security and so forth- are involved. But the thing about community is that it has to be cultivated and it has to be prioritized and people have to give to it. We have to come together-- as interested in learning from one another as we are in supporting one another-- and seriously, it is a tall order. And it makes us really strong when we do it. We will always be more powerful as a group than we are as individuals.

Just to be clear, I am not saying it is not happening. Just musing about how there is always a new level, a new challenge a new growing edge that calls us to expand in order to rise to the occasion. Maybe the expansion is internal, maybe it is about outward actions, but for sure, growth on the path requires expansion.

All right- enough musing. Time for asana practice before teaching.