Friday

Hello!

It's been a busy few days for me. I taught my classes on Wednesday and Thursday morning Kelly and I spent the morning in San Marcos. We had to get some stuff for our dog from the vet and so we decided it would be a great time to kit the river for some kayaking. It was great- the water was awesome, the wave was perfect and we played for over an hour.

I did some work for a few hours, made it to the Castle to practice before my class and then taught a class at 4:30. It was super fun. We got into some pretty deep back bends which was really awesome. Then Kelly and I drove over to Mercury Hall for the One Om Event which was a lot of fun. Basically, the format was a centering followed by warm ups with Malia, Sun salutations with Chelsea, Standing Poses with Jenn Wooten, Hip openers and Arm balances with Jeremiah Wallace, back bends with me, dancing as a group, forward bends with Gioconda, chanting with Zoe and then savasana. It was a great time.

here are some shots from the evening that Kelly took:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8nOrQSo_dNk

I have some more to say about the event but right now I have to clean my house and get ready for rest of the weekend. More tomorrow!

Ten Minutes of Pure Heart

So, last night was going to be the largest yoga class ever. Yoga On the Great Lawn was an amazing gathering of people- 10,000 of them- in Central Park all there to share a yoga practice as a community on the Summer Solstice.. Here is are a few links about it, just to give you the scope of the event.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/06/23/yoga-world-record-set-in_n_622891.html

http://ireport.cnn.com/docs/DOC-463846

Anyway, my friend and Certified Ansuara yoga teacher Elena Brower was the main teacher for the event and so I have been following the event's progress with a fair amount of interest ever since she told me about it at the Teacher's Gathering this year. Yesterday morning I texted her to let her know I would be thinking of her. As the hour approached, Twitter was full of excitement and so forth and about 10 minutes into class some tweet came through that the class had been cancelled due to rain. Legally, they were not allowed to be out there in the rain and so 10 minutes into class, the class ended.

An hour or so after that I texted Elena and said, "Are you okay?"

She wrote back, "AMAZING!"

I told her I heard the class was cancelled and was worried about her.

She said, "It was great. I gave them 10 minutes of Pure Heart."

I responded, "That's all we need anyway. 10 minutes of Pure Heart can change your life."

So I have been spending a little time tonight catching a bit of the footage and seeing my friend in action, and that has been awesome. Really, that's the thing with her- she probably has one of the Purest Hearts of anyone I know. She is a great mom, an awesome friend and dedicated practitioner and teacher and most of all, the thing with Elena is, she is always examining herself. She is always looking for a doorway in. In--to her heart, in--to a deeper connection, in--to some corner of herself she has avoided seeing and needs tending to and in that watching, in that self-examination she continually touches a very holy place. She not only invites others to do the same for themselves, but she makes it safe for them to do the sometimes frightening work of Looking Inward. Really, she is a great person.

So watching her connect 10, 000 people in Central Park to the essence of the practice in a rainstorm is pretty freaking cool. There's a lot of shakti in those video clips. A lot. She rocked it. She really did.

But also, I am really taking a great lesson away from her response. "AMAZING...I gave them 10 minutes of Pure Heart." Think about it. What if for 10 minutes of everyday we did just that? What if for 10 minutes we didn't blame our past or present circumstances for the ways we hold back our Love? What if for 10 minutes we gave from the Purity of our Heart without fear of being hurt or rejected? What if for 10 minutes we took a stand for the Light that is at the very essence of who we are and what if for 10 minutes we did nothing but reflected that Light back to those around us and took a stand for theirs? What if for 10 minutes a day we gave ourselves whole-heartedly, with no apology and with utter abandon? What if for 10 minutes we just went for it?

So, anyway- 10 minutes of Pure Heart can change your life. Think about it.

Monday Night

So it’s a bit hard to believe that June is almost over.

The weekend in Viroqua was a lot of fun. We worked on standing poses, arm balances and a few backbends on Saturday morning and dove deeply into the ever-exciting work of virasana on Saturday afternoon. (I love classes where poses like virasana and down dog are peak poses! I know that kind of work is an acquired taste for many and some actually never acquire it at all, but that is another story...) Sunday morning’s practice was fun as well. We did a fair amount of flow, with some arm balance work, some deep hip opening and a pretty decent foray into eka pada rajakpaotasana. All things said and done, I think the classes all worked together nicely to provide a pretty well-rounded experience.

The group was sincere, hard working and well-trained. It’s always fun ot work with a group of people well-steeped in our practice and methods because then we are able to go much deeper than the average introductory discussion of Inner and Outer spiral and really examine the architecture of the different poses, how they relate to one another and so forth.

Don’t get me wrong, I also love weekends where I am pioneering the method somewhere. In fact, a lot of the teaching I do and have done over the years has been introducing people to the method in what I hope is a clear, organized and precise fashion. A huge part of how a visiting teacher can really serve outlying areas is by doing just that. It is very rewarding and necessary work to do-- to bring the method to places where there is a fledging community of Anusara Yoga practitioners and to help people “get it” when they do not have access to ongoing public classes and so forth.

Also fun are weekends like this one in Viroqua, WI and last weekend in Athens, GA- where the majority of the students in the room are already well-trained and “on board” with the method because then, with all the preliminary work our of the way, I can do a different kind of teaching with a group. So, I like both. Each situation calls for a certain kind of creative response which is probably why I like them both.

I had a great time spending time with Meg. We have practiced asana together so much over the years and learned so much together that its always a wonderful homecoming for me to roll out a mat with her and practice. Viroqua is an interesting town. It is in the heart of The Organic Valley and is a kind of oasis of rural, organic farming, Waldorf education and radical family values and fierce community ties. It is one of the most beautiful, lush and fertile places I have visited and there is a wonderful sanity, dignity and authenticity there- in the land itself and in the people who choose to live there.

Also very real there is a sense of purpose and conscious sacrifice in order to benefit from such a sanctuary. It is not easy to make a living there, there are very long, dark and cold winters, there are no great restaurants nor are there many modern distractions for entertainment. It is somewhat remote- 2 hours from Madison by car and in many places, your cell phone will not work!

So, all that being said, it’s a wonderful place and the people who consciously choose a certain measure of hardship in order to live there, do so because they find a depth of friendship with fellow travelers, a camaraderie in consciously parenting their kids, a connection to the earth from living so closely with its cycles, its harshness and its bounty, and in general I found the people there to be without vanity, pretension or avarice of any kind. And it was a cool 78 degrees which was a lovely break from Texas and Gerogia this tiume of year!

Well, enough of that for now. I am happy to be home and ready for a fun week ahead- classes at The Castle, One Om Event, the Texas Yoga Retreat and Laurie Blakeney's Iyengar Yoga Workshop. Good times.

Friday in Wisconsin

Kelly and I met up in Chicago yesterday and hopped on a plane to Madison, Wisconsin and then drive a few hours to Viroqua. We sat up late talking to our friends, Meg and Chris and then got up this morning for fun and games. Chris and Kelly went on a bike ride and me and Meg had a chance to practice. We worked on a lovely sequence to Natrajasana which culminated in some pretty fine bends.

Here is the photographic evidence...

And here is a video clip of me and Meg working together to help her keep her heels down on the way don and up. Meg has been doing drop backs on her own for like a decade so that was not the thing she was working on. She was really working diligently on keeping her heels down. Fun times.

After practice, Kelly and I had lunch at the local coop and then I had a massage. After a shower and a snack I went to Tapestry Yoga to teach. We had a great turnout with a lovely group of hardworking, sincere students. We did a deep hip opening class which culminated with a foray into padmasana. Good times.

more tomorrow.

the great POD adventure

Well, here are some pictures from moving day yesterday. We got off to a pretty early start in an attempt to move a lot of the big stuff before it got too hot. We worked all day long and finally called it quits around 5:00 last night.

So here is the POD, empty, before we moved anything into it.
Another view of the THE POD.
Here I am once we loaded the first third of the POD and were about to secure the contents and tie them off. At this point, everything is pretty orderly and efficient and so forth.

The second third of the contents we loaded were less symmetrically and orderly. I call this "Redneck Moving Truck" as it brings back lovely images of Jed Clampitt of the Beverly Hillbillies and their belongings all piled up on the top of their truck.


After we got done for the day, a huge storm wet in and we wanted to go out for dinner. Mom and I did not have rain gear and so dad suggested we wear garbage bags. Here we are in our "Redneck Rain Coats."

Up Close:
And from a distance:
Of course, Dad had his hi-tech rain gear with him which he was wearing. (To be fair, he did offer his fancy rain coat to Mom who said she would rather wear the garbage bag! I think wearing the bag served two purposes for her: 1) it actually provided great rain protection and 2) she could continue to give Dad shit about wearing his high tech coat when all she had was a bag! This gives you a little insight into my parent's dynamic. Mom is a what you might call a "shit-talker extraordinaire" especially when it comes to teasing my father. They have a lot of fun together- even after 50 years, which is pretty damn inspiring. Think about living with someone for 50 years and still cracking each other up. Very cool in my book e en if you talk a little shit in the midst of it.)
And here we are finishing our lovely meal at the Downtown Cafe in Lavonia, Georgia.

I asked for a side of vegetables with my pasta which seemed to stymie the waitress a bit. (The very nice waitress: "So let me get this straight... you do not want any meat, and you want extra vegetables? No melted cheese over it either?" Me: "Right.Just marinara sauce and cooked vegetables, if that's possible, please...") Anyway- the plate of food they brought me was pretty tasty and would have provided a small family with dinner. They are very into big portions here.
okay, well, that's the overview of my day. Fun times. Off to Wisconsin today, after I help Dad wrangle their bed into the POD. That should be a hilarious.

Wednesday Morning

Well, this will probably be a short post. I am enjoying my time in Lavonia. It is pretty relaxing here. I realized yesterday that I had not even left the house since Sunday when we went to buy groceries right after I got here. Mom and Dad's house is right on a lake and their lot is full of big and very green trees and and so it is a restful and beautiful environment to be in.

After a tasty break fast of watermelon yesterday, I practiced asana for a few hours. Then my parent's POD was delivered. (no, they are not aliens. the POD is not an inter-space transport system. It is a storage unit that they are packing up and then will get moved to Texas.) So then we ate lunch and started moving furniture into the POD. So that was pretty hot work. Dad and I managed to work for a few hours- we moved a dresser, two bedside tables, a cabinet, lots of pictures, lots of copies of my fathers book and some other varies things before we had to come inside and rest. Of course, once we got inside the air conditioning was not working and so it wasn't quite as rejuvenating as it might have been. At least their house is very shaded so it could've been much worse. Eventually, the air got fixed, Mom went to her Red Hat Meeting and Dad and I went out to dinner. All in all a pretty fun day.

Our plan is to get out and start moving some things this morning before it gets really hot. They are at the very hard part of moving- most of the big stuff is packed and already living in Texas, Now they have lots of odds and ends to sort through, find a place for or decide to give away. This stage of moving, in my experience, always takes a little longer than it seems like its going to.

Well, that's the news for today. I am so happy to be here and have some time to be a little drawn in and quieter than usual. It is immensely nourishing. More on that later.

Monday Evening

Well, it seems like I have been on the computer most of the day. I spent the morning working on the online classroom for the Mentor Group I am starting in July. There is still plenty of space in the group and if you have any interest in the group, please email me at christinasell108@gmail.com and I can send you some information about that.

The cool thing about the mentor group is that there are no set meetings times- the classroom is open 24/7 and the lessons are posted so you can watch them at your convenience, post about them and we have a great online forum to discuss, clarify and grow together. And the classroom stays open for 3 months after the group ends so you can access the lessons and teachings if you fall behind, etc. Anyway- let me know if you want info about that. It's gonna be great. Also, there is a PDF on my website under Teacher Development you can download to learn more.

The other thing I worked on was some marketing materials for the programs in Corpus Christi, TX with Manorama. She will come three times- to present on Luminous Shabda (Intro to Sanksrit), The Bhagavad Gita and The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali. Come for one weekend or come for three. If you want to dive deeper into some of the most profound traditional teachings of yoga, these weekends are for you. Seriously, it will be way worth the drive or flight to Corpus.

I am enjoying my time here in Lavonia, Georgia. It is very beautiful and relaxing, although it feels as hot and humid as Texas. Like I said, I spent a lot of time today on the computer-other than a few hours to do some hip openers and forward bends which felt really great after our back bend practice yesterday in Athens. I am enjoying having a few days of down time in the midst of my busy schedule and having some time to get some things done on the computer is down right luxurious.

Dad and I were having an interesting talk tonight about inner changes and outer changes and how many times one affects the other. Mom and Dad are really in the midst of closing down a big chapter in their life- life in Lavonia, Georgia- and moving even more fully into their life in Austin. I think the closing down of a house makes for a natural time of reflection and review. We got into an interesting discussion of our life stories and about what happened, what didn't happen and what we wished had been different and so forth. One thing I have been feeling a lot lately is how, even though there were, and still are. challenges in my life, I do not have a lurking feeling or wish anymore that it had been different in some way. I used to feel that way, though. Often.

I used to wish I had a different childhood, a different personality, a different body, a different- well, you name it. But lately--maybe it's the therapy or maybe it's just turning 40- but lately, somehow, the perfection of all that happened and all that did not happen is all just so stunning. I think teaching has healed me in this way. I think writing has also been part of it. I think having a tangible way to make use of my experiences has been huge.

I think this is so important for all of us to remember. I mean really, saints are pretty inspiring to some people but to me, the part of their story that is most inspiring is not the times when they felt totally connected to the mystical Heart of Reality. More often than not, I am inspired by the stories of their doubt, their struggle, their gut-wrenching, heart-breaking attempts to live up to their vision and to stay in place while they were in the dark night of the soul. I mean, really, when I am hurting, I rarely go to my saintly friends. I generally check in with those people who have shared with me their struggles and failures because I know they will, at the very least, be understanding and compassionate. And I really do not think our best gift to one another is our perfection anyway. I think the best gift we can offer each other is humble understanding and sincere compassion.

A few years ago, a biography came out about Mother Theresa that exposed her doubts and it was a really scandalous thing in some circles. I read a fair amount of the critiques that suggested she was less saintly somehow because she had such doubt. I think people missed the point with such criticism. The point, in my opinion, was that she stayed in place in the face of doubt. That alone makes her a saint in my mind. I mean, it's no big feat to do what she did if she was "feeling it" all the time. But think about what a True and Real sacrifice and teaching her life was if, like this book suggested, she was not "feeling it" much at all for many years and she still did her Work.

So often people I know feel like they have to be perfect or finished or evolved in order to be of service or in order to teach yoga. I do not think that at all. I think it helps to have some of the big stuff out of the way but seriously, we are who we are and sincerity and honesty is generally as inspiring as anything else. For instance, I remember way back in college when I was first going to 12-step meetings for compulsive overeating. At the first meeting I went to there was a woman who shared that she had wanted to binge-eat that day and she didn't do it. I asked that woman to sponsor me that night. I didn't relate to the woman in the group who said, "I never want to overeat ever." That was way too hard for me to imagine. I actually needed a different kind of help. I needed to know how in the world I might be able to NOT binge if I really wanted to. Up until that moment it never occurred to me that there was another option besides wanting to and doing it. So it was not her "perfect recovery" or "overcoming the thing entirely" that appealed to me. It was through the grittier reality of her real life struggles that she served me.

So- there is certainly more that could be said on the topic but this is already long enough. One thing I do not believe in is some perfected, final state. I really don't. I think many people realize something Essential about Life and a rare few stay anchored in that understanding but still, they have a life to live full of challenges, responsibilities and growth nonetheless. I believe, samadhi or not, that is the Way of Things. Seriously, this thing called Grace is a moving stream and it will carry us in its currents, around blind corners, over rough rapids, into various eddies and sometimes stagnant pools. There really is no way or reason, as I see it, to get out of the river. Best that we learn how to paddle.