Christina Sell

Well, another great day here in Southern California. I had such a good time filming a segment on Making peace with Your Body. It is an hour-long, focused, gentle breath-based practice with the theme of offering peace and creating a constant self-embrace though muscle energy.

After the filming I took Kathryn Budig's flow class which was a lot of fun. She had great sequences, good cues and a wonderful sense of humor. I found her absolutely delightful and also she taught a strong and effective practice. Who can ask for more than that? Check her out on www.yogaglo.com. I definitely enjoyed myself.

After class I taught a 60-minute public class with the theme "goodnight sweetheart" where I talked about sweetness being the full experience of all the flavors of life which, when combined, yield an overall sweetness as opposed to the saccharin-type sweetness that comes from trying to limit life's grandeur into only what is pleasant or nice. We did some gentle surya variations, hip opening, twists, restorative postures, pranayama and a lovely savasana.

This morning I taught a 60-minute backbend class called "The Highest First." it was a very straight forward and timely approach to urdhva danurasana with an emphasis on the first three shoulder principles with particular attention to shoulder loop. The studentship in the room was at such a high. So many folks who are coming to these morning class are dedicated Anusara practitioners and teachers and are really making use of the time with me to learn nuances, new insights and creative approaches to practicing and presenting the method. They pay great attention, implement my instructions and are a real pleasure to teach.

I came home, made lunch and the took a long walk on the beach. I did some work online and then went to Yogaworks for a flow class with Sara Ivanhoe, which was a lot of fun. It was definitely hot and sweaty with a lot of warrior poses and a great play list. I got nice and open and had a super great time just moving, breathing and enjoying yoga class. Good times, all in all.

It is an interesting experience to be here in the heart of the Santa Monica yoga scene and getting to participate in classes here as both a student and a teacher. It is giving me a lot to reflect on in both domains. Teaching at yogaglo is also an interesting learning curve. I some ways, it is teaching a public class and in some ways it is not that at all. I will fill in the conversation more in the upcoming weeks. All in all, I am feeling happy and enjoying what is a very expansive time.