Mercury’s Messed Up Weekend September 15, 2009

It’s official. I have been accepted into the Anusara Certification process. I now have one year to complete a 30 hour written exam and submit a video that passes the certification requirements.  With 550 hours of training behind me in Anusara and almost 3 years as an Anusara Inspired teacher you think I should be ready for this, and I am in many ways, but in others it feels like the whole playing field kinda shifted. I am excited and scared all at the same time.

I had an interesting weekend where I combined my flying with my yoga. unfortunately it didn’t quite go as planned. I had a 24 hour Toronto layover and thought I could maybe get in a yoga class with some of the TO kula while there. My friend Josie Houpt mentioned that Martin Kirk was in town for a Master Class and Anatomy training so I decided that maybe I could catch a small part of that. I phoned to register and pay my money and looked forward to a fun layover. The fact that Mercury was in retrograde didn’t really phase me…then.

I woke at 5am to get ready for work and was heading out the door in full uniform when scheduling called to tell me there was an 1:40 delay. Great. That would make me possibly late for the workshop and I started to stress a little but thought “yeah- I will be fine.” I phone Toronto and made arrangements in case I was late and headed off to work. I was chatting to the agents at the airport when their radio went off. I could clearly hear the words, ” Flight cancelled”. The agents looked at me and I pulled out my phone to call scheduling. They weren’t sure what they were doing with me yet and asked me to call back. The rest of my crew walked by a few minutes later and informed me we were dead heading ( aka going as a passenger) to Toronto now.  That was strange but hey- I was just going with the flow. It ended up only 3 of us made the flight and I sat for 5 hours as a passenger but got to read more Ram Dass and watched Star Trek- which was actually really good! We got in to TO during rush hour and after a long drive to the hotel I quickly changed and had to pay a crazy amount of money to catch a taxi to the venue.

I arrived one hour late and walked into the Master class as they were doing bound parsvakonasana, to bound trikonasana to bird of paradise. Bound poses? You have got to be kidding me! 5 hours in a seat plus 1.5 hours in a cab= no hamstring mobility and stiff shoulders. So without even one down dog or sun salutation, I rolled my mat down and joined the class. I was feeling strange and out of place until the two yogis next to me smiled and said, ” Hi Leanne!” Jenn from London ON now in Toronto and her best friend Elyse. They looked so happy to see me that I just immediately felt better and all my crazy day softened away. We had a rockin’ practice and then a few of us went for dinner and had some great laughs.

We rejoined early the next morning and Martin led us through a really great anatomy workshop. I was only able to do 4 hours of training but what we did cover in that amount of time was in-depth. Martin’s passion for the mechanics of the body is clear, but what I found interesting was that his new roll of parent( Jonathon is 9 months) has made him even more fascinated with how the human form actually manifests and grows. He gave a great talk on embryonics which I loved and it all just seemed to so seamlessly fit into the metaphysics and philosophy of Anusara.

I had a quick bite with Josie and then headed back to my hotel, got changed and rode back to the airport. My colleague and I sat chatting at our gate waiting for our aircraft when they announced a gate change. Ok- no problem. Then I looked at the screen- delayed two hours and a downgrade of the aircraft. So once again the cell phones come out and once again crew scheduling is not sure if we are even leaving. Two thoughts arise ” Crap- I have a yoga workshop I am teaching tomorrow” and ” Well, if I had known I could have stayed for the second part of the workshop with Martin!“. Damn Mercury. At this point I realize I am starting to believe all this Mercury in retrograde nonsense and shoot my mind forward a week to my Japan flight: which is immediately followed by my 6 year olds hula birthday party which is immediately followed by a 3am drive to Seattle to catch a plane to Maui. Double crap.

Well the good news is we did leave finally and I got home too late to review my workshop and too tired to practice early in the morning. I did a few handstands, lunges, down dogs and then headed out the door to Newport Yoga where I arrived on time ( unbelievable after the rest of the weekend) to a lovely bunch of yogis who all learned to balance on their hands or balance better in some cases. After all the craziness it felt so wonderful to just be doing what I truly love- share yoga.

I hope that Mercury has finished messing with me…….

A Summer of Transformation August 31, 2009

I laughed when I read Sjanie McInnis’ blog because I know exactly how she feels. What a crazy, outrageous, glorious summer!  Like the wild fires that burned through the mountains of B.C. all summer, a fire blew through the Anusara Yoga community of B.C. as well.  The fire that raged through the kula was like Shiva’s hand of flame- everything became clear in that light and the fire transformed and tempered what was there before.  We now have 4 teachers in the certification process and over 100 students that have completed an Anusara Immersion. Elissa Gumushel kept the embers burning, Sjanie McInnis and Christine Price Clark  stoked the fire to a warm brilliance,  Todd Inouye  brought our teacher to see our light and I just made sure everyone helds hands and sang Kumbaya…or something like that.  Our Inspired teacher community  now includes Lauren Hanna , Shelley Tomczyk, Brent Kuecker, Trisha Wilson , Bree Greig, Carol Wray, Lara Luer, and  Josie Houpt who is joining us from Toronto. If I neglected to mention someone I apologize~ we are getting so numerous now and new Inspired teachers will be stepping into the light with rapid speed over the next few months.

Sjanie is prepared

 

The event that topped the whole summer off was John Friend’s visit to Vancouver during his Ultimate Freedom Tour. Vancouver hosted a two day weekend workshop and a 3 day therapy training.  To be quite honest I remember very little of the training because I was too busy running around helping. ( warning to those of you that host….) I am not saying that was a bad thing- it was actually the BEST thing. There is a time and place for everything and this training was not about the studying of the technical aspects of the method but of studying the dynamics of the greater community, the kula, and seva. I was especially happy to see so many of my students and friends having such amazing awakenings in the method. My favorite was running in at the last minute to see John drop back my husband into full wheel! Seeing those you love enjoy themselves is better than doing it yourself I swear! We had quite a few emails after the event saying how well it was run and how warm and supportive the Vancouver Kula was. It was good to hear.

Cp and Sjanie

We had a few surprises, twists and turns during the week- the biggest one being Todd’s ruptured appendix! Poor guy!  Christine stepped up to MC  and her sincerity and warmth could be felt by all.  We were all a little worried about the location of the event as John likes lots of natural light . The venue was the performance hall of the Roundhouse Community Center and basically it is a big black void ( I kept calling it the heart of Kali…). If that wasn’t worrisome enough, poor John came in to preview the venue and found a technician with a head wound lying on the floor and an ambulance on the way! Let’s just say… not a good start. 

The Vancouver Puja

Ganesha rockin it out

Thanks to Carol Wray, her husband Lori, and many other hands and feet , the room was transformed a few hours later into a radiant  Indian tent of gold, orange and red with dozens of murtis watching over our practice. It was quite funny to hear Christy Nones- certified teacher from Miami and one of the Anusara tour staff-  come in on Monday and say it was one of the loveliest venues she had seen. Amazing what a little shakti can do!

Carol's magic

 

The training was also my first opportunity to meet Chris Chavez and his wife Ozlem who have been in Vancouver teaching workshops and Immersions at YYoga. Originally from LA, they are now traveling and teaching all over the world. I was immediately struck by Chris’ openness and warmth- he has a soul of extreme generosity and Ozlem is no less beautiful inside and out.  We celebrated Chris’ 39th birthday during the workshop and John did a big spiel about the significance of 39 and I listened with great attention as it is my 39th year as well. Seems like a good year to start certification…..

And on that note Robin Golt will be my mentor teacher for my video during the certification process. Yes folks- I sent in my paperwork. I am hopeful that I will be accepted into the process but I will not assume. There may be areas that John wants me to work on before I go forward and I totally respect that.  Many people have emailed me and asked me, “How do you know when you are ready?” I can now see me asking that question to Christina Sell a few years ago. Her response was,  “Have you ever thought that the process will make you ready?”  I have the hours, I have all the requirements, I have read all the books, but I had that months ago~ what changed? Somehow a sense of natural progression brought me to apply- it was just the next step in the journey. I look at the process as a way to become an even more dedicated student and to learn even more- to go DEEPER. I think that is what Christina was trying to explain to me. It also helps that Sjanie and CP are swimming in the current and yelling “JUMP IN! THE WATER IS GREAT!”

…so here I go ….”SPLOOSH!”

Montreal Intensive Day 3: The Picnic June 26, 2009

Day three happened to fall on St.Jean Baptiste day which is a provincial holiday in Quebec. Illias(sp) from New York via Mexico, suggest that we all bring our lunches and have a picnic on the lawn of Dawson college as most stores would be closed.

Well, what I thought would be just a little sharing turned into the most gorgeous array of food and abundance I have ever seen come together in a short time. We found a group of picnic tables to set up food on and then laid our blankets, mats and shawls around the lawn. We laughed, talked, shared and even played Frisbee. We really were a merry band.

Day three also fell on Gurumayi Chidvilasanada’s birthday. John spent the morning in a really playful and celebratory mood and the Guru principle led our practice through the morning. He said that the Guru is really a tattva- a principle of existence even though it is not on the chart. It is the revelatory power of spirit that is found in every one of us. The teacher’s dharma is to show the student the teacher within them; the students grace (chali-kripa) allows the teacher to take the seat of the teacher. In the practice of sadhana ( spiritual practice), we awaken in relationship. We learn to see the Absolute in others and others show us the Absolute in ourselves. This revelatory power is found in every one of us, even if we don’t believe it.

John told a great story about being very down and after just a short visit from Gurumayi he was completely changed. Those with a high vibration of light can lift the dark from us. We can also learn to do this ourselves. Tantra is a science- it is alchemy- it is the process of turning the impure into gold. We learn to turn negative situations and emotions into positive ones- it is not just a simplistic changing of your mind but it is through skillful means and practice.  When you are going up into backbend number 12 with John, I know he is not joking, and no matter how my body responds, my heart sings with the possibility that this next one might be the big one that changes and illumines everything. Every moment- especially the intense ones- is a gateway. It is a chance to do alchemy.

Alchemy happened. For the first time in my life I rocked up from urdva dhanursana to drop to my knees and then rocked back to urdva. I spent a minute going tick-tock smoothly back and forth laughing- it was so powerful. I realized all my skillful means of doing ustrasanadrop backs ( thanks again SJ) had now prepared me for this pose I had never even tried…or thought I could do. It literally “rocked” my world! (get it? tick tock… rocking…I know – it’s a groaner….)

In the afternoon we went back to basics: what is our vision? How is Anusara yoga different than other hatha yoga systems?

1) We see everything as a manifestation of Spanda. Tantra can literally mean the “loom” on which we weave- it is a philosophy that sees the world as an interconnected tapestry. Nothing is separate- nothing is discarded- it is merely woven back into the new fabric of understanding. We assimilate what has gone before- we do not forget the past- it is useful as a reference for that we chose to emphasise or not emphasise. We serve the present in life enhancing ways and we plan for the future so whatever we do now counts.

2) We use technology, a methodology that aligns with nature that we call the Universal Principles of Alignment.

3) We work in community. We bring everybody up- we are all members of the same orchastra. We celebrate each others success and we have great picnics together.

We ended the afternoon lecture with a very deep question: If the world is supposedly intrinsically good, why do evil things happen? I think that may be a blog unto itself after I do I little more reading that John has suggested.

The afternoon practice finished with giddy laughter trying to think of how many ways we could theme iccha, jnana, kriya and we ended up tying the whole Wizard of Oz to every possible notion. I had the tin man iccha- heart, the scarecrow as Jnana- mind and therefore the Lion as kriya – courage, but John started going on about Oz being the manifested word in all it’s colours and the downward shape of the tornado being in the shape of shakti’s downward pointing triangle and it just got really funny and silly. Ami beside said “Ok- let’s do Starwars now…..” . At least I have lots of themeing ideas for the next little while!

Well, the next time I will see John will be Vancouver in August 2009 and though I will be busy during the event as a volunteer, I hope to blog that training as well.

A bientot! Merci Montreal!

Montreal Anusara Intensive: Day two June 26, 2009

Myself, Lynn from Winnipeg, and Karin from North Van

Learning how to assist more difficult poses

Masa and Primo

A beautiful view from Westmount

The ultimate in Indian takeout…

Good food and company in Montreal

 

 

On day two we dove deep into metaphysics first thing in the morning and discussed the Malas. The malas are like impurities. The dust that covers the mirrors of our hearts. It creates confusion and suffering and yoga is then the means to clean the dust , the malas, away and allow the true heart to shine through. We used the following chart to look at how the malas work.

Top 5 Tattvas                               Malas                                            Elements                               Dosha

Shiva                                                                                                         Sky

Iccha                                              Anava                                              Water                                      Kapha

Jnana                                             Mayiya                                             Fire                                         Pitta

Kriya                                               Karma                                              Air                                          Vata

Shakti                                                                                                        Earth                         

When Iccha ( you also can use the term Sat) gets covered by Anava-mala then our sense of fullness becomes impure. We suddenly feel we are lacking; we feel fragmented.  The natural outcome of anava-mala is to then to increase the water element and increase Kapha which can cause depression.  When Anava-mala is then lifted by polishing the mirror through practice, we feel our natural state of Iccha which is peace. We are full again.

When Jnana ( you can also use Chit) gets covered by Mayiya-mala our sense of connectedness becomes impure. We see difference- we become prejudiced. Mayiya-mala is related to the fire element and when it increases then Pitta increases and we become angry. When Mayiya-mala is lifted we feel love.

When Kriya ( or Ananda) is covered by Karma-mala, then we lose the agency to act- we feel powerless. Kriya is related to Air and when it becomes out of balance then Vata is increased and we experience anxiety. When Karama-mala is lifted we feel joy.

The malas then in some way help move the spanda back and forth between these states of emotions. The yoga practice helps create longer periods in the higher vibrations of peace, love and joy but we all feel the negative emotions sometimes too. It is very natural. What is really amazing about tantra metaphysics is that they have a method to get from the lower, darker, vibrations to the higher ones. We don’t have to stay angry, we don’t have to stay depressed. We can learn to recognize that as part of the spanda and use techniques to help us get back to a more desirable plane of being.

In the afternoon of day two we touched on intention. Intention can be conditional or unconditional . Unconditional is like children at play- why do they do it? Just for the fun of it- it is not dependent on conditions. Conditional is more like ” I do this to be free”: free from pain, free from suffering.  A yoga practice can have either of these intentions. In Anusara, we always make our intention the highest- we desire to be free. Sometimes we just like to play though….

John had some encouragement to give us too about being our unique selves. We have to all find our own unique frequency- how can you make music with one note? At least that’s how I looked at it. It is not a free for all- you are all in the same orchestra but we all play different instruments and our notes blend in harmonies. In a room full of very different practitioners, I could truly appreciate that we all had something unique to offer. The Spanda needs these differences to be able to pulsate. I like that I am part of a group yet unique. As John said, “do not diminish yourselves”.

If Spanda is everything, then even the difficult things that happen in our life are Spanda. If we never had difficulties, most of us would not appreciate the blessings in our life. This is a great lesson from many of the Hindu mythologies such as the Ramayana- do not ask the Absolute to take away your problems- ask the Absolute to give you the strength to deal with them. We learn and grow from the difficulties in our life- they can be wonderful gifts that, when we emerge from them, give us greater awareness. The Spanda is greater sometimes in those really intense situations- if we learn to work with the spanda it can bring us openings faster than ordinary situations.

It was a crazy asana day and I got to do a great demo with John- well it was  great according to everyone that saw it. It’s weird- John just says do and I do. Total trust and back I went into what I think for me ( aka stiff girl) was a pretty deep standing backbend. Maybe someone in the kula has a pic but of course I have none…

We ended the day with a lovely dinner and gathering of the growing Canadian Anusara teachers. It was a wonderful night to share and chat and feel a little more connected to the Eastern side of Canada. There is some really beautiful, bright, spirits in the group and I was blessed to get to know them better.

The Seattle Chickwagon February 25, 2009

For the third year in a row now, we packed up the 7 seater Ford Explorer and headed down to Seattle. This years group included Lauren Hannah Roegele from Live Yoga, Sarah Plantenius from Tofino Yoga, Carol Wray from Live Yoga, Sjanie McInnis from Yaletown YYoga, Trisha Wilson from YYoga and Yoga Pod and Laurie Inouye from Yoga Pod. All of us are Anusara Inspired teachers so there was a whole lot of yoga geeking and general shakti mayhem whirling around- it was heaven. The funniest part of the drive was crossing the border. When the border guard asked about why we were going down etc and I showed him the paper work for the conference. He said, “$150 bucks for yoga? Where is this guy from that’s teaching?” We respond together in the chickwagon, “Texas!” The border guard looked at us and said straight up,  ”Texas??? I think you all are getting ripped off- have a nice day.” Hilarious!

Our normal house we rent was not available so we had to rent a new one- great view on the lake but we are all now convinced it’s haunted so next year we will have to find new haunts! Hahahaha. Yes- that was bad. I think I will have to be faster with the house next year and get back our old place.

We made it down to Seattle in great time and grabbed dinner near Pike Place market at a cool Thai place Buddha Belltown. With dishes like Succulent Swimming Rama and Pulsating Noodles (which were excellent…) how could you go wrong? The funny thing was we were heading for another restaurant and this one just called to us on the path. Love when that happens! We made to the very cold and slightly creepy house and stayed up way too late and talked of course about yoga. We actually talked a great deal about certification because we are all heading that way some day. After calculating my hours,  I realized that I really should hop on the full path to certification. The idea of taking a vacation to write my 30 hour exam doesn’t thrill me but I figure they can mail it to me in Maui and I can rent the cottage there and delve in deep study for ten days. If I get stuck I can always traipse across the ravine to Ram Dass’ house and, under the guise of borrowing a cup of sugar, ask a few questions! Sjanie has bit the bullet, so to speak, so I figure I might as well too- I like having a study buddy and a hand to hold in the labyrinth of mystery we call certification. Not having a certified teacher in Vancouver does make the process a little bit more shrouded.

I started Saturday with John by plopping  my mat right beside him. That would have terrified me a few years ago but I know I am flawed and need work and who better to call you on it than the source. The theme of the weekend was Maha Shivaratri- the “Great Night of Shiva or I guess “Great Shiva’s Night”. It is one of the major Hindu holidays and it is the 13th moon of the year when the moon is a fine sliver of light and has an almost purple cast to it. That last sliver of a moon before no moon is known as a Shiva moon but the one that happens in February is the darkest one. Hindus who worship Shiva will chant “Om namah Shivaya” all though the day and night in Shiva temples throughout India while bathing the statues in the temple with water and milk.

Om Namah Shivaya is one of the grat mantras- a maha-mantra- and though it is translated literally as ” I bow to Shiva” it can also mean ” I bow to myself”. Shiva is the light of our own consciousness, that which illuminates the darkness which we often dwell in. When we chant ” Om Namah Shivaya” we are saying I bow to the light within me that brings me from the dark ( ignorance) into the light (revelation of our true Divine nature).  The significance of Maha Shivaratri is that the moon is at it’s waning- just that last flicker before we are plunged into darkness. Shiva plays his role as destroyer in that last flicker as what once was will never be again and something new is created as the dark suddenly pulses back to light. John had a good description of a black hole sucking everything in – even the dark itself-  and suddenly on the other side imploding into a new star.

As we practiced on this very auspicious day and chanted and mediated we put our greatest wishes into our prayers.  The  13th moon, with Shiva’s power to transform from dark to light,  takes that wishes and magnifies it a thousand fold. I had to think very carefully about where I wanted to put my thoughts that weekend so I could harness some of that power. We did a really great practice with a potpourri of poses and my backbends felt great though my once broken hamstring decided to get achy. It’s like an annoying relative that comes to visit at the most inopportune times. (“HI! I ‘m, Baaaa-ck!” Oh just go away- I don’t have time for you. ) The afternoon practice was much more of the same and it felt good to not feel freaked out about what poses might come up. We all commented at lunch that the poses were not as challenging as past years but one of our group said, ” John must be looking around the room and teaching to the group- might not be strong enough to go deeper.” He confirmed that observation the next day when John said he couldn’t take us to the next pose until 50% of us had our head off the floor in dwi pada dhanurasa. Adam Ballenger was the certified teacher assisting John this year and he had a really sweet vibe to him and a deep and yet humble practice. He has an amazing story.

 Lauren, with her lovely baby belly,  couldn’t do a lot of the deep poses she usually can so for a few poses she just watched all of us. She was more excited than me I think when she noted how much my backbends had opened. In her words my dwi pada “rocked!” She figures practicing next to Sjanie is good for me!

We had a quick dinner together at a funky place in Ballard called the Root table Restaurant- Thai fusion tapas- and then headed back for Kirtan with Shantala , Gina Sala and Steve Gorn. We were lucky to have them musically accompany us all day during practice but being able to chant kirtan was an even better way to celebrate the music. It was a great way to end the day….but then we got home and even though we were so very,very tired we still talked until late.

The next morning we were up and out early had a great backbending break through morning- ( ie. head resting in arch of foot with both hands on foot ekapada rajakopatasana….) and then had an adventureous time during the break when we headed to Fremont and caught the Fremont market. Sarah was in heaven! Filling our bags at the PCC ( think Whole Foods) we wondered the market finding wonderful treats such as raw local honey and home-made hummus and babaganoush that is the best I have ever tasted. The young Israeli couple doing the cooking were fab and I really wanted to give them a plug in my blog. Go seek them out- so worth it! I bought six bags of my favorite tortilla chips and poor Lauren had them all around her feet in the car on the drive home! We also found the Theo chocolate factory in Fremont and tasted some of the wickedest chocolate ever. I recommend the Coconut curry chocolate bar- not because it was so good but just because it was so totally weird! My husband couldn’t stand it but I was strangely entranced by the flavour combo. Laurie was crazy about the Chai Tea bar. They give tours with lots of samples for about $6 so check it out.

We finished the afternoon with one of the most powerful practices. I don’t know what got into us but it was like Kali- Goddess of destruction – Shiva’s consort in this waning period- seemed to come out. I was doing backbend dropbacks like it was nothing and Sjanie channeled the Goddess and pulled out the most amazing Durvasana’s I have ever seen. She was right in front of John and she just killed it! She was one of maybe four people in the room that could do it. I was so desperate to capture the moment I made her hold it for a whole extra minute. We were screaming our heads off like teenagers. You would have sworn we had all done it we were so ecstatic. It was a great moment.

We said our goodbyes to our friends from around the Anusara community and then packed back into the chickwagon minus Trisha who left to continue studying with Desiree that same week. We had groceries, yoga books, new yoga clothing and yoga music to bring home- I have no idea how we and all our stuff fit. Sjanie thinks it’s Shakti.

It was a great weekend, and though seeing John is always a blast and a blessing, hanging with my yoga girlfriends is really the sweetness of a delicious workshop.

Om Namah Shivaya~

Boston TT Level 2- Day 5 October 26, 2008

Rosebud Diner in Somerville MA- near Davis Square

Morning colour from the loft stairs

Christine, Brent, Shelley and I- saying goodbye

The waitress was as classic as the diner and the food!

I am home. Completely the same and completely different. This is my third TT with John and I just keep getting clearer.  I was feeling pretty good because John asked me a question when I was a little off guard- I was actually laughing hysterically- and I just spit it out like it was second nature. Total thanks to Christina Sell for that one- her teaching methods really work. ( can you say repetition?) It gave me a sense of confidence . I felt now I knew better what my strengths and weaknesses were- which really is what you want out of a training like this.

 Day 5 was a focus onpurna- the sanskrit word for full or perfect- and shri - the sanskrit word for beauty.  The interesting thing about fullness and perfection is that every time you experience it the boundary line grows. For example, when I do a pose that is challenging but I get further in it then before when I come out I think “Wow- that’s it-it was so full- I could feel the growth.” I feel uplifted and elated. My pose might not have looked like something off the cover of Yoga Journal, but it was the fullest I had ever experienced it in my body. The physical boundary not just grew, but a spiritual boundary grew also. The universal gives you enough Grace to fill you up at that moment. You see yourself more clearly, you see greater connection to the world around you. The interesting thing is that every time you do that your spiritual and physical vessel gets stronger and the next time that happens Grace fills you up even more. It is limitless. 

So if our spirit and bodies are a vessel for Grace, then don’t you want to create a beautiful vessel? Doing things to ourselves that are self defeating, malicious, not in alignment with Nature, can create dents and dings in ourselves. We don’t feel worthy for Grace to fill us- we feel small. Grace can only fill what we have to offer. If we feel small the vessel is blocked.  If we align all our parts in a harmonious way- a way that creates spaciousness and strength- than even if we feel small sometimes- we can invite Grace to come to fill us again. We unblock ourselves and allow Grace to wash away that limited idea of ourselves as she fills us up. When we are full we are uplifted. When others see us in this state they are uplifted. This feeling is Shri.

Unfortunately, the feeling doesn’t last. We become cloaked again when we are pushed off center by life, but we can remember how to align again. The more times we do it, the less likely we are to let ourselves stay off center for long. One of the teachers there had a great story about always fighting with her sister and having a poor relationship with her. Her sister lived in Boston so she hoped that maybe they could get together while she was in town. Instead they talked on the phone and had a fight. She was totally frustrated but now, with her yoga practice, something that would have bothered her for days she let go 30 minutes after the conversation. She went back to her center. This is a great lesson. Yoga will not turn you into a saint- you will still fight, say unkind things or have them said to you, make mistakes, experience tragedy. You will be keenly aware of when you have come away from your center- your home- but you will have a pathway back there.

John wanted us to to answer the question  ”How do you make beauty?” How is Anusara different than other systems? The answer is is the 3 A’s: Attitude, Alignment and Action.

Attitude: a willingness to see and to embody/express

Alignment: The knowledge of how to line up- creating structure

Action: actually doing it

I thought about it this way. I want to paint a beautiful painting- I am an artist- I am skilled. How do I do create beauty- create art?

Attitude: I have a desire to paint- to express my ideas and feelings on canvas

Alignment: I went to art school, I have all the paint brushes and paints, I have a good easel and good light. I prepare all my tools.

Action: I paint. But I don’t just paint- I stop and look at what I am painting and it re-inspires me and I paint more ( pulsation)

 

So what has this week left me with in retrospect? 

1) number one really was the bond I feel I began to create with Christine and Sjanie- they really are inspiring women.

2) The second was that I need to get my centering more concise- I don’t know if it will be only 6 words but the overarching theme might be. The theme doesn’t have to be so drawn out at the beginning of the class either- that was new.

3) Always say the focal point in the pose and to where and from where much more explicitly. There was a little group shakiness on this – every one was ” pull into your core”  “pull into your heart” when the focal point in the pose was the pelvic focal point.

4) stay with your theme- keep it simple.

5) know that you are on the right track.

6) chowder and beer with Sjanie in the Rosebud cafe is a good way to say goodbye to Boston.

Now I just have to go and implement all that stuff.

Boston TT level 2- Day 2 October 21, 2008

Today was earth day- a day of cultivating stillness, steadiness. Unfortunately the only place I wanted to be still was in my bed. We got way too little sleep last night and we all paid the price today. I debated whether the earthy theme of muscular energy was a good thing or a bad thing. I mean really – when you are tired what makes you keep your focus, what keeps you mindful and builds the boundaries you need to hold you up? Muscular energy does that. On the flip side muscular energy is hard work and we were a little low on the energy scale. If we had done a water element today, I think we just would have all been puddles.

My brain is whirling with the download of info- which is interesting since I have now been with John in three teacher trainings. It’s not like the info is really all that different from what I have heard from before- it’s just that every time I hear it, I am at a deeper level of my training and new questions come- new perspectives. I love that. I love that our training is not static- every time it just goes deeper. It’s infinite- I will never know everything there is to know about Anusara Yoga. Just as John says every time he sees us he is getting better and more refined in his teaching, I am getting better and more refined in my studentship.

We spent time watching larger demo classes and then we would break away into partners and practice what we had seen and were guided to do. Sometimes I resonated- sometimes I sucked. I found- by no coincidence that the other teachers that I did the best with I felt a connection to…wow the teaching from yesterday. When you don’t have that connection it feels well..disconnected. My teaching felt awkward and insincere. I hope to do better tomorrow.

Well I apologize for no pictures today. We are not allowed to take pictures at training and I was just too exhausted to snap some shots during break. Off to do homework.

Boston TT Day one- Connecting the Pieces October 21, 2008

View from our loft

Our door

View from the balcony

The killer crepe

heaven

Street with my maiden name- so random

The venue- Cambridge Masonic Hall

Tahnee and I

The puja

The puja of bounty

Sjanie’s gourmet soup

The feast

My roomies, my homies, my kula!

Well- I am here in Boston. I spent the first day arriving here early and spending the rest of the day exploring my new neighbourhood. The loft we are staying in is near Davis Square in Somerville MA- 10 minutes from Downtown Boston and 5 minutes from Cambridge. ( I use www.VRBO.com to find cool places to stay- if you want to rent the loft contact Alex at CambridgeLoft@aol.com)

Well the loft is amazing- minus the fact that it has no separate rooms and one bathroom…and five people. Included in the group is a couple who don’t get to see each other as often as they like…so it’s a little like roommates in college where you discreetly bugger off for a while to allow for individual time. So far so good.

Near the loft is David Square T- station, Boston’s subway, and a killer crepe shop. I knew it had to be good when I saw their community board covered with yoga info. I had the best coffee and killer crepe- all bell peppers and spiced goat feta and spinach with portobello mushrooms- heaven! The making of the crepes was an art in itself. The crepe maker swirled the wooden tool to make the perfect thickness and then knew exactly the moment to flip it- hundreds a day all made with so much skill. Every crepe I saw come off the griddle were perfect replicas. Amazing.

I packed it in for a nap and the rest of the loft crew started to arrive. In our group we have Christine price Clark( Vancouver), Sjanie McInnis (Vancouver), Shelley Tomczyk (Vancouver), Brent Kuecker ( Portland) and me. It’s an amazing group and we are all learning and sharing together. It’s really nice to see Vancouver really stepping up and being so well represented.

After very little sleep- but a great Tibetan dinner with Brent- we got up early to start “the journey”. It was interesting to see how all of us were nervous and worried about being called on by John. We are all so well studied and should feel fairly confident in our ability but nerves set in and we start to feel small. We had many conversations today on “how to respond if we are called up”. It was almost like the alignment principles for demo teaching.

1) Breathe

2) Look at our group and know we fully support you

3) teach how you always teach- trust yourself- do not suddenly change who you are to be something that you “think” John wants you to be

This seemed to have a calming effect on all of us but we will see what happens when we truly have to practice it! The conversation got better tonight at dinner and we all agreed that if we are not our authentic selves when we demo teach, then how are we supposed to get authentic relative feedback? Why we would do that disservice to ourselves?

John started today with, of course, first principle- Open to Grace. As a teacher, we have to not just create a connection to the universal and to ourselves, but we have to create a connection to everything and everyone around us: more specifically our students. There is a method to creating this connection ; to creating cohesion. I think in some ways that this might be the hardest thing to do. I mean really- how do you get the students to go with you on this yoga journey for an hour and a half if you haven’t connected with them? They might be doing the postures but they aren’t on the journey- they aren’t connected to you and therefore probably not connected to the bigger source. This is one of the reasons John wants us to remember all of our students names. It creates a connection- the student feels that you value them- you value them enough to make that effort. If you make that effort for them then you start to build trust- maybe they will make effort for you- like really getting that front leg square in parsvakonasana. 

When the teacher gets the student to align with the greater flow two things are revealed:

1) They begin to see the interconnectedness between everything. It comes first at the physical level and then on a deeper more spiritual level. (chit)

2) They feel an innate freedom inside. There is a joy- a happiness. (ananda)

I love this because the Anusara method answers the question why? Why do we want to align? We not only want to align for optimal health or healing but because we want something even bigger- we want to align to experience chit and ananda. When we experience chit-ananda the most wonderful thing happens. We get happy. So simple- yet it is the thing that unites all of us- we all want to be happy.

I got happy and connected today when I got to finally meet Meg Abene Newlin from Wisconsin, Christina Sell’s good friend who is part of my “on-line” kula, and Tahnee  Fournier from Ireland. We have been chatting on line and supporting each other from afar for the last year so it was so joyous to see her in person and share food and conversation. She is opening up Anusara in Dublin people so go seek her out if you are there! The icing on the cake was to see my friend Marc St. Pierre- he was with me this year in Japan and he really enriched my practice.

My roomies, my homies, my kula!

Well the fabulous dinner is done and now it is time for our homework so I will try to blog more tomorrow.

In the Company of Women- and a few men September 23, 2008

 

The Vancouver kula had the pleasure of hosting Desiree Rumbaugh in our beautiful city this September. I say “beautiful” almost tongue-in-cheek because yes- Vancouver is beautiful- but we had nothing but cold, rainy fall weather since the middle of August. Desiree showed up to what had to be the most spectacular September I have seen in my life… and I grew up here.

 

 

I told her John’s personal weather system must be rubbing off on her- he always brings sun to cold, damp Seattle in February and Des definitely brought it to us- in more ways than one.

This was the first time I had met Desiree, though many of my fellow kula members had before. I knew that she had greatly influenced my mentor teacher Christina Sell and I had read her bio on the web and of course her writings in yoga journal. She pretty much is a rock star in the yoga world. I guess I had expectations of her without really knowing it, but I have to say she blew me out of the water. Not with her practice- which is incredible, not with her teaching- which is impeccable- but with her straight forward, completely humble personality. I have never met someone so uninterested in talking about themselves and whose first question to me was ” So – tell me about you. How did you come to yoga?”

(“me??? you want to you about little old me???” my inner voice)  It was like Desiree was immediately so real with all of us that it felt we could totally be ourselves- warts and all. She was actually interested in the warts- the true us. I felt sitting with her was like having an old friend that you truly love  come for a visit- and you sit on the couch in your pj’s and drink hot chocolate spiked with Bailey’s. That kind of comfortable.

Her teachings are that way too- very real- very accessible. That can be the thing with Anusara- you can fall off the razor’s edge with the philosophy and lose your students completely. I noticed not one word of sanskrit passed her lips the first two days- except for the invocation. I am sure Desiree’s sanskrit knowledge is vast but she didn’t try to wow us with her knowledge- she wowed us with her simplicity.

She had some great phrases but the one I loved was “What is in your way IS your way”. I found I could read into that one phrase so many interpretations. It spoke to me of many different things.  If my relationships frustrate me it is not about the other person- but me. How I relate to them- how I chose to deal with them. You know when you are with someone and you think “why can’t they be more …etc?” it is all really just your reaction to their behaviour.

 It spoke to me of practice too and how when you are injured your practice is dealing with that injury or misalignment. Misaligned body leads to pain- misaligned relationships lead to pain. “Therapy on the mat” I believe is what Desiree was really going at.

I strive to teach that way to. I feel that practice on the mat is practice for life off the mat. The more consciously you practice on the mat- really being present in your practice and what you see and feel is going on- the more present you are off the mat. I think all yoga starts to pervade your life off the mat no matter what style; but in Anusara it seems to take the most direct route- though not the easiest. Lots of dips and valleys and steep climbs but always interesting. Anusara demands that you wake up and look around you- engage in your surroundings- engage in your life. I think that is why Des is such a loved teacher- she is a really great guide. She doesn’t yell “ toughen up- keep going!” She yells, “I know it’s so hard but  isn’t it fun!- look what you can do!!!”   And you  just laugh and get stronger with her encouragement and keep going.

One of the other things I noticed this week was the beautiful support of the women yogis. We had some pretty open conversations over lunch and we all commented on how hard we are on ourselves. One of the Vancouver yogi’s with the best practice, most graceful body and sweetest voice was overcome with emotion when she told us of her insecurities in teaching. Most of us just stared at her with mouths open. “You? You have doubts??? Wow.” We talked yoga and babies, yoga and small children, yoga and aging, yoga and other jobs… you get the picture. Desiree led some good lunch conversation with the girls about some of these things and it felt really good to have the company of such amazing women- everyone offered support and encouragement and we all left the table feeling stronger. You would think that with all our yoga experience we would be beyond such things but we are all human- we doubt, we suffer… but we can also encourage and support.

We spent a good portion of the weekend working on some good basics of alignment and how that draws into yoga therapy. (Des has two DVD’s out right now- Yoga to the Rescue and Yoga to the Rescue for Back Pain and what we covered is contained in those DVD’s.) There were some really great gems of knowledge that she passed on to us and I am already using them in class. It was also nice to hear Desiree’s stories of injury- she is one of the only yoga teachers I know whose shoulders slope forward…like mine! Nice to know I am in good company- if she can learn to work it out so can I!

In contrast, our first day with Des was anything but easy. Fun – but not easy. We did the famous- or perhaps infamous- Eye of the Tiger practice. It has been sitting in my file for months because you have to practice with a group- or at least two of you- and that just doesn’t seem to happen much in my life lately. It was a kick butt practice but Desiree told us how they used to gather at her studio on Tuesday’s and Thursdays and as they bent themselves into scorpion and balanced in pavritta bakasana they would talk about their kids, their relationships and their lives. ( They had enough energy to talk?!) It was the yoga equivalent to the coffee klatch by the sounds of it. How great. What a way to spend time with your yoga friends- your “tribe” as Des described it.

She said, ” We are like this little tribe that gets together and gets to do this stuff that we love and everyone else thinks is weird. Isn’t that great?” Well at least my husband and kids don’t think it’s weird, but my father-in-law gives me strange looks when I mention anything about yoga. My mother even says it strangely- kind of slowly like she is trying to say a foreign word, ” Yes- my daughter teaches YO-gaaaa“. Gotta love her.

I can’t wait to see the tribe again in Boston- Teacher Training Level 2 . One loft- 4 women and one man. October’s blogs should be interesting!

The Culmination of Your Efforts June 30, 2008

Day Three of Immersion

This last day was one of those crazy days. As John starts to settle in to talk, in walks Carlos Pomeda. I have only seen Carlos on DVD so it had that little bit of “rock star” quality when I first saw him. John and Carlos began to give one of the most amazing talks- it was almost what I would call the Anusara pep rally.

John talked on the culmination of all our efforts. He said that nothing that has come before is ever wasted- no effort is ever forgotten. Every time you fall out of a pose you learn something-you gain something, ad then one day that pose suddenly comes. Why is that? It’s because all your previous efforts count. They are collected into the sky of the mind and one day when your right effort aligns you in harmony with Grace- there you are- in the pose. The smallness you felt when you fell out of the pose dozens of times before, all the time you doubted yourself- falls away and the light is revealed. This is the power of Grace.

Carlos had the most elgant way to explain Grace. He said, ” It is not a theory but something you can apply in your life. Grace is available. Grace is difficult to explain but unmistakable when you experience it. It is the power you feel when you are inspired and your heart opens up. The power of your experience of who you are expands.”

John added, ” When Grace descends and and fills us we feel expanded- we feel freedom. There is a revelation of what already is- we do not create something new- the light simply reveals what is already there.”

Carlos went on to say that some people think Grace will be easy, or perhaps should be easy, but it is a play of sun and shadow. It doesn’t mean that it will always be easy, but you will grow fuller and freer. Whether the path is easy or not is another question. But the result is guaranteed. Grace is always there.

The whole morning talk was so rich and so meaningful. They both talked on a few other subjects but if I start getting into them here I will be writing a book! I really could have listened to them both all day and never been bored for a second. I am really looking forward to Carlos coming to Vancouver next Spring.

We took on a rocking practice that day of backbends and arm balancing and just about anything that was challenging and fun. We walked on our hands to each other in urdva dhanurasana and collapsed into laughter. We celebrated each others accomplishments in poses and cheered and clapped. We supported each other in uttita hasta and then all put our legs around our heads. John gave me a helping hand in yogi dandasana- which actually felt amazingly good- I really wish I had a picture of that one! It really is a crazy pose.

It was a culmination of all our previous efforts. All the poses , whether we did them fully or not, counted towards a growing experience of ourselves. We filled that room full of light and everyone’s beauty was revealed. What joy to behold such an experience- the kula in it’s full glory!

John and Carlos summarized the day in one of the last teachings that morning: choice. We alone are responsible for our state. So let’s choose light and align with Grace- this is Anusara.

Powerful and simple. What a way to end!