Saturday Night

Wow, what a great day. I woke up early to have time to meditate and get to Festival Beach by 8:30 this morning for Salutation Nation. It was so great to meet up at the park in the morning and be there as people began to gather. We had over 150 people there in attendance and what a lovely time it was. For me an event like this is really about the of the practice, the power of the heart and the power of being a community of the heart who shares in the love of yoga together. I taught an all-levels flow class. The class went really well- the students were so open, receptive and eager to make refinements and learn as they went along, which really impressed me, given the venue. I mean there we were for an hour long class in the park and yet, people were so on board and so willing to try new things. It really was a wonderful experience to be part of.

And to make a wonderful experience even more wonderful, the Lulu crew at the end surprised me with a lovely invitation to be an ambassador this year. How awesome is that?

Seriously, I couldn't be more excited to join the Lululemon family in this capacity. Not only do I LOVE their clothes (as we all know) but I really think this is a great company. By sponsoring so many grassroots events like Salutation, Lululemon supports our local communities in wonderful ways making yoga and fitness opportunities available to people and giving us so many healthy, fun and inspiring ways to be together. I have talked to employees of the company over the years and without fail they report that it is an uplifting, supportive environment dedicated to helping people make their vision and reality. To me, this is a fantastic business model. Sell a great product, offer wonderful service and assist people in growing beyond their limited ideas.

Here is a link to a video that Kelly made capturing the festivities:

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

After Salutation Nation, I ate some lunch with Kelly and my parents at Whole Foods and then made my way up to Breath and Body Yoga for Teacher Training. We talked a lot about what defines an Ansuara Yoga class and spent a lot of time on hands-on adjustments. it was a great day and we covered a lot of ground. It is so fun for me to watch the group's understanding grow and deepen as the process nears completion. There is always a very real stage of "I am never going to get it" stage that people feel in the beginning half of the training process and then at some point after the halfway mark it all starts to gel for people. It is so exciting to see that happen. I have seen it enough times to trust the process and to hold the space for others as they are riding the sometimes rapid and stressful current of learning how to teach this wonderful method of yoga.

Tomorrow morning at 10am I am teaching the class at Breath and Body and then we have a full day of teacher training after that. We go deeper into hands-on adjustments and demonstrations and so that is usually pretty fun stuff to play with.

Anyway- it was a fabulous day in the life of Christina Sell here in Austin, TX. There is something about these community yoga events I find so inspiring and really help me feel connected to and so at home here. It seems to me that in an average week, most yoga practitioners have their routine and the schedule of classes they attend and all of that makes sense to me but it can yield a somewhat isolated, silo-experience of community. For instance, in any given studio for any given class there can be a wonderful sense of community but outside of that class or studio, maybe not so much. And then there are these times like today, or the recent One Om Event when we get together- regardless of method, independent of home studio and so on- and move, breathe and join together as a community who loves the practice. It is the best kind of alignment, I think, this alignment with ourselves, with the practice, and with a community of people who are doing the same. I feel very inspired and very grateful for a day like today.