After lunch I did some work on my computer for a while and then went to Peggy's class. She taught a somewhat unusual sequence with A LOT of supta padangusthasana work and went into simhasana in lotus (which I covered in Sunday's session in LA-- the planets must be in alignment or something) and which was totally perfect after a day of traveling to release apana vayu and settle my nervous system a bit. Good stuff.
Kelly and I ate dinner and sdid some work last night and then this morning I met up with Gioconda, Zoe and Jenn W. for Gioconda's flow class this morning. And guess what she started with? Supta padangusthasna and guess where she went with it? Padmasana. See, I am telling you, it comes in waves like that.
After class I had some bodywork with Will and then mett Gia and Kelly fgor some food in the cafe and then Gia went to teach a private and Kelly and I went to Lululemon where they were having a sale. Lots of great deals and LOTS of cool new things in the store also. It was great because I got a chance to talk to the girls there about the upcoming Salutation Nation on August 7th at 9am. Think about it- almost every Lulu store in the country is sponsoring one of these events on that day. Salutation Nation- get your asana outside! We will have a great outdoor venue, lots of people, snacks and music and Christina Sell (yep, that's right, ME!) teaching the class from 9:00-10:00. So please plan to attend. I am super psyched about it and really honored to be asked to teach. I can't wait. Please come.
After that I came home and Anne came over and we did a practice. More work in the hips with some cool sorting out of akarna danurasana. Not an easy pose for me but I got some good insight about it, thanks to Light on Yoga. So look forward to that work in one of the advanced classes this week.
Other than that, I am just filled with a lot of inspiration and gratitude for the weekend in Los Angeles. Maria Cristina did a great write-up, I think some details of the weekend can be found there. The thing I am left with- over and above the content of the weekend, which I must say was pretty great (And you will actually be able to purchase it on Yoga Glo soon so stay tuned for that announcement.) -- is the profundity of the love that was present in the room and amongst the group of people assembled. Anusara Yoga is so well established in Los Angeles that the group was dedicated, sincere, well-trained, well-practiced, curious, open and ready to work very hard. I received such a warm-hearted welcome and such tremendous receptivity to my teaching that I was blown away again and again by the group. There was really something special happening.
Noah and I talked about it a little bit. One thing he said is that because there is so much yoga in Los Angeles-- yoga of every kind, with well-known and skillful teachers-- anyone who is doing Anusara Yoga is doing it because they really want to be doing it. There is every other choice imaginable there and so when a person finds Ansuara Yoga and its a fit for the,, it is easy to find lots of classes, to immersion oneself in it and the students are not there wishing it was flow because flow is right down the road in abundance! As is Iyengar Yoga. As is Ashtanga Vinyasa. It makes sense and whatever the reason, it made for a fantastic environment in which to teach and the community assembled there was a picture to me of some of the best of what we have to offer as a method.
Add to that, teaching with Noah was fantastic as always. Noah is smart, creative and potent as a teacher. I always learn a lot from him both in the classroom and in our conversations when we are "off duty", so to speak. He has been one of my best friends in Anusara Yoga since the very beginning of my involvement when I went to workshops with John. We had an immediate connection because we both went to the same college. That may not sound like a big deal on the surface but Prescott College is a very unique learning environment that only appeals to a very few people (there were like 15 people in my graduating class) and so generally those of us grads who meet each other have an immediate bond and affinity for one another. That was how it was with me and Noah and we have been friends ever since.
I think having a good teaching partner is a lot like having any good partner in life. If affords both security and freedom and as many people told us after the weekend, " 1+1, in this case, equalled 5." Also of note, I very much felt my other favorite teaching partner, Darren Rhodes, in the room throughout the weekend as I shared so many of the nuggets of wisdom and asana refinements I have learned from him in the time we have worked together. This part of my teaching work I find very inspiring these days because as John is travelling so much and is teaching so much of the Shiva Shakti Tantra to large groups in distant lands, I am still learning from his great teachers!
It reminds me of one of our central philosophical tenets in Ansuara Yoga and that is that the seat of the teacher is held by the group, it is held by the community. Rather than one person being responsible for 100% of the information, the idea is that the kula holds the teaching as a group. Don't get me wrong, John is the leader of this grand and beautiful art project we call Ansuara Yoga but he has trained so many people so well that there is an abundance of talent, insight, and knowledge in the people I call my friends that I keep feeling inspired to this very day. So that is fun.
So, here's a picture of me and Noah at the end of a long weekend but very much lit up from all the love. (Noah will be coming here Halloween weekend so don't miss that!)
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