Christina Sell

Well, Good Morning Everyone!

What a day it was yesterday.

Kelly and I had a chance to go for a walk in the morning and get the house somewhat clean and then we went to The Love Yoga Coop to meet up with everyone. We had about 40 people come to practice together. As people kept walking in I was thinking, "Wow, this really is the Gathering of The Tribe." I was so pleased because almost everyone in the room was a regular student of our local Anusara Yoga classes, many of them have done an Immersion or part of one, and so there was very little need to review a lot of the basic "how-to's" of the arm balances and so forth. Many of the people in the room have put in a lot of time to learn the how-to in classes and workshops and so practice was, well, just that.

We did a rockin' back bend practice which took us to scorpion. It was not my original plan. IT was much bolder than I had anticipated, not knowing who exactly would show up. But when when we were done with surya namaskar and into handstands and pinca mayurasana all these people started moving toward scorpion. So I gave a few tips about how to prep for it and changed gears just a bit to say, "let's go there today..."

Here is a clip of said tips:

So when we finally did get to the back bends G'Nell rocked the scorpion demo.

And here are some more scenes from the practice:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BX_Qmmw1n0U

After the practice, a few of us had dinner together at my house to talk about what it means to have a Common Vision for Anusara Yoga in Austin, Texas and how we might support a vision and how a common vision might support one another. It was a neat gathering with people from "several generations" of Anusara Yoga. I am completely convinced that if we are organized around Anusara Yoga and its teachings then no one gets left behind. But if, as teachers, we are trying to promote ourselves over and above the method, then we are in a competition and the likelihood of unity is slim.

Ever since I have moved to Austin, my "on the record" vision has been to grow Anusara Yoga here. To me that means more certified and inspired teachers, more Anusara Yoga classes for all levels throughout town, and more exposure in general. Most importantly, I want that growth to be a result of a commitment to excellence, a passion for practice, a dedication to teaching and serving and an unrelenting willingness to do the Work necessary to manifest the highest expression of community. So we talked about that which was somewhat enlightening and very powerful for me. I think for all of us.

Anyway, the discussion will continue and will expand to include more people I am sure. One thing I know is that we have an amazing group of people here who love this method, who love one another and who share in the calling that it is to teach yoga. So- from the High Vision to the nitty gritty actions steps like making videos, getting feedback, going to classes and trainings, getting on the mat and learning to trust one another.

All right. Speaking of the nitty gritty. Time for me to get down to it.