Wednesday Night

Well, I had a great day of teaching today. I started the day with Focus on Form at 9:30. We had a really full class. Kim Schaefer had requested shoulder stand and so we worked a lot on preparing for that today. We made a strong foray into cobra and then worked on trikonasana and then made it to halasana and sarvangasana. It was a great class and people worked with such strength and dedication. It was really fun to have so many new and familiar faces in the room. I feel like we really covered some ground.

I met Kelly at home for lunch, did some work on the computer and then did my asana practice and planned my evening class. There was a lot of cross over today between my practice and the 6:00 advanced class. I worked a lot with Inner body Bright-- like in the biggest way ever- to see if that could be the primary prep for back bends. It went very well in my practice and it seemed to help people open up well this evening. More on this idea later but I am really into exploring this-- like how can we really use the inner body more and the muscles a bit less, in a sense. How can we, by lining up internally, create a kind of set and setting for the natural capacity of the body to arise more optimally.

We did ustrasana, urdhva danurasana, dwi pada viparita dandasana, urdhva danurasana to ustrasana and back to Urdhva danurasana and then we worked on drop backs and standing up. It was a full experience. At one point I got a little worried that I was just giving orders- I came in so focused with such a big agenda that I was absorbed in the teaching and then began to wonder if I was even smiling. (hopefully the students know by now that that is just how I show my love-- by being super-focused so we get to a very cool pose, with our body and mind prepared and honed.) And wow- the students in that class are so dedicated and they are getting so skillful that it was really great fun.

vajrasana, fingers interlaced, arms overhead stretching

childs pose

down dog

repeat first three poses with non dominant clasp

uttanasana

sirsasana

urdhva namaskar, palms flat together, no cheating

utkatasana X3

vira 1 X2

anjaneyasana

handstand

trikonasana with heel on wall, take hands to urdhva namaskarasana to vira 2 to prasarita paddottansana with hands clasped

classic parsvottanasana

ustrasana

thigh stretches at wall

ustrasana

urdhva danurasana, dwi pada viparita dandasana, urdhva danurasana

urdhva danurasana to ustrasana to urdhva danurasana to ustrasana

drop backs and standing up at wall

drop backs and standing up with partner or alone

Down dog

adho mukha parsva vajrasana

bhradvajasana

uttansana , buttocks on wall

parsva uttanasana, buttocks on wall

uttanasana

legs up the wall

All right- I suppose that's the main thing up right now- I am really just feeling a most wonderful flow of energy right now. I feel busy but so very inspired by the direction my life is moving. Equally inspiring is watching how our Austin community is evolving and maturing and how many fertile seeds and blooming flowers there are here. Mandy has an application in for certification, Jess Goulding is about to apply, Hannah has a video for me to watch and so all that is really cool. Mark and Hannah will be moving to Boston but Chris Muchow a-soon-to-be-certified teacher from Denver is moving here and Jason from Dallas is planning to move here. Jeremiah is going to step into some of Mark's classes at The Castle and we are over halfway through a cycle of teacher training at Breath and Body so a new flock of Anusara-trained teachers are coming up. I know more is going on than all that, those are just the things that come to my mind immediately. So we find ourselves in a vital community of growth and change and its a fun thing to be part of.

All right, more tomorrow. I need to stop writing this and start writing a workshop description for Valerie over at Sundance in Friendswood, TX. I am going to be teaching there the last weekend in August so, if you want to make a trip, check it out. I always have a good time there with her students- they are so open-hearted and sincere and Valerie has been practicing and teaching Ansuara Yoga since the very early days with John. She as one of the first people to invite me to give a workshop here in Texas when I first moved here so I always feel so happy to go there and so supported by her. It can be a daunting thing to move somewhere new (it was for me) and any helping hand can be like a lifeline. So Valerie was kind of like that for me. Great lady. Heart of Gold, to be sure.

I think, once again, that is what is part of my inspiration these days. I work with amazing people- as students, as colleagues, as my teachers and as my friends. And while it is often bumpy and filled with trials and tribulations, we keep going and find a way to grow together, learn together, laugh together and share the ride in the most authentic way we know how. I feel very lucky in this regard.