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Ganda Bherundasana
Last Friday during the Practice with John Friend at Encinitas, he had the certified teachers in the room demo three really challenging poses. One of them was "Formidable Face" pose AKA Ganda Bherundasana. For those who don't know, this is the pose where you are on your chin, your hands are beside your chest and your legs are above you, bent like a scorpion. When John told us to do it, I literally tried but couldn't. In all these years of yoga practice I have never been able to do it. It is one of those poses that is rarely taught in a regular yoga class, and when it is, it goes by in a flash and if you can't do it, you don't even try.
After the demo with John I went home and realized that I needed to practice this pose. So this week we have been doing it in my Practice classes at Still. This morning my 9AM class was- and I mean it- amazing. Truly amazing. My theme was "Kula." Sanskrit for "Community of the heart." People coming together not because they should, but because they want to. I have been thinking of how many wonderful friends I have in this community. Two of my dearest friends, Jenny and Michelle, had a birthday yesterday. Monica had one last week. Marc is having one soon. Tara J is in town and I adore her. I just went to Encinitas with Mackie. I am doing a TT with Keric and soon an Immersion with my beloved Hagar and Tara. All in all, I was thinking about how blessed we are to be part of this community with so many amazing people! In all honesty, the most important benefit I've ever gotten from yoga is the people I have met along the way, who have become like family.
So my theme today was Kula and in walks Felix -dear Hanuman Felix- with red envelopes filled with a dollar bill, gifts for everyone for the Chinese New Year. Plus, I had also brought fortune cookies for the class! So it was just one of those days where everything gels. Today at 9AM I had such a great group of people. The students were practicing with such care, awareness and fire! And at one moment I told them the story of the demo of Ganda Bherundasana. Lia Aprile, a beautiful, intelligent and radiant yoga teacher and writer, gave me a tip. She told me how she likes to get into the pose (from One-legged Down Dog) and I tried it right then and there and voila! I could do it! Lia and I hugged. Everyone clapped. I might have shed a few tears. Several students were able to get into that pose in class and later during the Practice. It was amazing. It got me thinking how often I decide for myself that I cannot do something; and I am okay with it. And then one day, something shifts and there it is. Huge moral victory and inspiration whenever we do something we didn't think we could do! It makes us wonder what else is possible?
May we stay open to possibilities on this New Year.
May we keep listening and learning from each other.
Thank you Lia!
Thank you John for the elegant Universal Principles of Alignment.
Thank you beautiful community.
And Thank you Ganda Bherundasana, for your patience with me all these years and for the revelation today!
Inhale presence, exhale sharing
Been studying the Chinese poet Li-Young Lee for my writing class. My writing teacher Jack Grapes often will give his long-standing students a writer to work on. The idea is to immerse yourself in a writer and then write a journal entry, with your own voice, but inspired by whatever author you are working on. Throughout the years I have worked on: Mary Oliver, Claribel Alegria, Sharon Olds, Rainer Maria Rilke, Charles Bukowski, Anna Akhmatova and others. It is one of my most favorite homework ever. I get to learn about a writer and watch how my own writing is transformed by them.
So I have been reading Li-Young and came upon a beautiful excerpt of him discussing the breath. I wanted to share it with you, dear readers!
"I've been thinking about something for a long time, and I keep noticing that most human speech- if not all human speech- is made with the outgoing breath. This is the strange thing about presence and absence. When we breath in, our bodies are filled with nutrients and nourishment. Our blood is filled with oxygen, our skin gets flush; our bones get harder- they get compacted. Our muscles get toned and we feel very present when we're breathing in. The problem is, that when we're breathing in, we can't speak. So presence and silence have something to do with each other.
The minute we start breathing out, we can talk; speech is made with the outgoing, exhaled breath. The problem that this poses, though, is that as we exhale, nutrients are leaving our bodies; our bones get softer, our muscles get flaccid, our skin starts to loosen. You could think of that as the dying breath. So as we breathe out, we have less and less presence."
Li-Young Lee interviewed by Tina Chang
What an exquisite way to interpret and see the breath! The breath as an ongoing paradoxical dance between presence and absence; between silence and communication; between being Self-Aware and Self-Expression.
May we have both today.
May we be aware of our true Self and of our own unique expression.
May we honor other's presence as well as their sharing.
Off to writing class and then to celebrate my best friend's birthday.
Have a wonderful day of inhaling and exhaling.
Black Dog Teacher Training, January 2012
Yesterday I taught for a few hours at Black Dog's Teacher Training. It was my first time alone with the students and I found them engaged and lovely. I was instructing them on the Shoulder, which is one of my most favorite subjects. I used to call it the "Shoulder Joint" but now I am trying to call it the "Shoulder Complex." The Shoulder Complex is actually made up of 3 joints. The primary joint is the "glenohumeral joint" which is where the humerus connects to the glenoid fossa, a part of the scapula that creates the socket. There are also two secondary joints: the acrimioclavicular joint, which is where the clavicle joins with the acromion process (another part of the scapula). And the sternoclavicular joint, which is where the clavicle connects to the sternum. This last joint- interestingly enough- is the only place where the shoulder connects to the spine (via sternum to ribs, to thoracic spine). The Shoulder Complex is incredibly complex! It is one of the most movable parts of the body, prone to dislocation and injury. It is made up of the clavicle, humerus and scapula, plus myriad of muscles, tendons and ligaments.
The students seemed fascinated by it. We did some observation of each other's shoulders as well as some alignment. Then we did a little practice of Surya A focusing on the shoulders. And some troubleshooting on challenging poses like chaturanga dandasana and cobra.
This coming Sunday, I'll be teaching my other concurrent Teacher Training, the 60-hour Anusara Teacher Training that I am co-teaching with Keric at Siesta Yoga. I will continue discussing the Shoulder Complex, as well as bringing in some therapeutic yoga, which several of the students in the training asked me about. I never get tired of sharing and learning about the body, about yoga, about life.
May we take care of our shoulders and strengthen them, as a way of bringing more freedom of expression to our lives!
Reflections on Encinitas practice with John
Oh, I'm sore! After practicing for four hours on Thursday, I was surprisingly enough not sore the next day. I think sleeping for 10 hours really helped. But Friday after the practice, we got in the car and drove for over 3 hours, and that brought in the soreness! Still, it speaks to the brilliance of the principles of alignment that we can practice so many different and difficult poses and not get hurt or feel diminished. It really is a testament to the power of great alignment in yoga. And boy did we do so much yoga! Yesterday's session in Encinitas, John was on fire! John was so happy and radiant, plus we were aided by the gifted Todd Boston who accompanied us for four hours with his guitar. We did the same sequence as the previous two days but there were slight differences. For instance, there was way more backbending on Friday. And for the third day in a row Shoulder Stand was forgotten! Poor Shoulder Stand.
I always learn so much from John. Ever since I started to study with him back in 2003, he is the most generous teacher in terms of sharing. He is always like a little boy, filled with excitement and enthusiasm over yoga. Always in a good mood when he teaches, always smiling and kind. Every demo he has someone do, he completely honors the student. I was so impressed with how focused he was during the teaching of over 100 poses and how he would give modifications to literally each one of the poses. We were all practicing a challenging class while still honoring our limits.
There were very few demos but they were so inspiring. Scott L did a crazy backbending sequence: Ustrasana, to Eka Hasta Ustrasana, to drop back from Ustrasana to Kapotasana. My friend Uma did a beautiful Headstand drop-over into Eka Pada Viparita Dandasana 2 back into Chakrasana. It is so inspiring to see what the body is capable of! At one moment John asked the certified teachers in the room to gather at the center. I think there were about 14 of us. I kept breathing into my heart as I had a feeling that we were going to be asked to do something CRAZY. And boy I was right. We all gathered at the center: Hagar, Tony, Michael, Scott, Stacy, and others. There were two photographers taking pictures, just to add to the slight pressure. The demo occurred during the armbalancing part of the practice, and as fate would have it he asked us to do, literally, the hardest armbalance in my humble opinion: Visvamitrasana. Oy. I took a breath, literally started praying to my late grandfather Aio who was in my thoughts. I ended up doing the best Visvamitrasana I've ever done. Then I thought, "Good, I made it through this demo." But no, John asked us for more and then he said, "Eka Pada Koundinyasana #2 (fine!) into (oh God) Ganda Bherundasana (Nooo). I literally cannot do that pose. The horror. I tried to kick up but couldn't. This is the pose where you are on your chin, your hands beside your chest and you kick up like a scorpion, balancing. I turned to see my sister Hagar doing it beautifully (what a radiant light she is). I saw other teachers couldn't do it as well and I felt slightly better. Ego anyone? I left the demo feeling a little sad but also realizing that I need to practice this pose. In fact this coming Tuesday at the Practice we are going to be working on that pose and I asked Hagar to come and helps us get there! So there is always something new to be working on and challenging poses help expand our idea of who we think we are and what we are capable of. I look forward to trying something so difficult in a safe and supportive environment.
The practice ended and afterwards John had us all gather around. He then spoke about going to Israel in March and how he wants to share yoga with the world. He then had the Israeli teachers come up (Hagar!) and then in front of everyone certified a woman from Israel. I forget her name but I will never forget how moving it was to see her be celebrated like this; her husband and daughter were there supporting and applauding her. It was awesome.
Mackie and I drove back home and hit pretty strong traffic. I had to literally rush home, shower, then get back in the car, and drive to Black Dog for our first day of Teacher Training. We have 8 very sweet and grounded individuals. One of them is my friend Suzanne who I adore and my student Rachel who is so giving in her gratitude. We had our introductions and all of the teachers gave a little bit of teachings about yoga, about Patanajali, about what yoga is and what it isn't. I closed the evening with a very gentle and relaxing restorative practice.
This Sunday I will be teaching again at the training. I am now part of two different trainings going on simultaneously! And come March, Hagar's, Tara's and my Immersion will begin. But by then thing would have calmed down considerably. It is incredibly exciting and thrilling to see how yoga has become my life and how it informs and sustains it. I hope that I can continue to be the best teacher for my students, continue to be present and be of service.
I am going to go now to (surprise) a yoga workshop with an Iyengar teacher. Will write about it when I return.
Blessing to all my teachers, in particular John for his constant, generous sharing.
May we keep learning, assimilating and sharing our light!
John Friend's practices at Encinitas
John Friend is teaching three-day Practices, entitled "Ignite the Center" at Encinitas. The four hour classes (yes, you read that right) are a intelligently sequenced asana practices. The same sequence is given on all three days, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday. I got here yesterday with my dear friend and fellow adventurer Mackie. We are having the sessions at Seaside Center for Spiritual Living, and there must be over 250 people.
Today is the last day and we will head back soon, to experience the same sequence again which includes (in this order):
Standing poses and Vinyasa
Hip openers and Hand balancings
Thigh stretches and Backbends
Forward bends and twists
Meditation and Savasana
Between each section there is a small meditation practice. We were asked before we got here, by the Anusara office via an email, to refrain from talking or using the bathroom during the practice. To treat the studio as if it was a mandir or temple. To embody a quality of introspection and devotion is how I took it- to hold the center so that we can practice with such focus and intensity. I does help to walk in to a room filled with yogis and not feel that out-of-control vata energy that very often is the case in these workshops. People seemed very grounded, centered and happy to be here. John is suntanned, seems calm and centered as well. It always is so nice to seem him and afterwards I got to spend a few moments with him and tell him how I was doing. In fact, after the practices, John invited all us to look at the Anusara Center that will open up in Encinitas in March. A bunch of us went to the location, right next to the Self-Realization Fellowship and right next to the ocean. It must be about 2,000 square feet of bright, warehouse-like space, with brick walls, windows and skylights. John has so many ideas and visions for the center and he really wants to make it a place where we share our yoga with the world. Then we all walked over towards Swami's beach to watch some whales (wow!) and the sunset.
As far as the practices themselves I thought it was interesting that we were all given the syllabi of poses we were going to do for four hours. Since you had the paper in your hand you knew what was to come, and it is quite intimidating to see all that is coming. My thoughts jumped a little bit into fear and worry that I wouldn't be able to do all that was asked. But as it usually happens, if you go one step at a time, one pose at a time, you end up doing it all. Also it helps that John is a master teacher of asana and he has a masterful way of getting you into the poses and keeping you there by connecting to your heart, to your mind and your sprit. I always learn so much from him.
I am not sore this morning. I actually feel really good today (it helped that Mackie and I slept for 10 hours last night!). We are off to get some Acai bowls for breakfast and go to the practices for one more day!
Have a wonderful day everyone.
Chronos and Kairos
I have been thinking about the Greek gods Chronos and Kairos lately. Chronos is the god of time; it's where we get the terms "chronology," "chronological," or "chronometer." It's the way we live our lives. We book our days on time blocks, knowing through that structure exactly what we are going to do each day, when we are going to do it, and how long it will last. For instance, I have to go by 10AM, leave my house, drive towards Black Dog, to teach a class that lasts an hour-and-a-half. Then I have a therapist session from 1-2PM. Then my writing class from 4 to 6PM. Then I'll take an introduction to craneosacral therapy from 7-9PM. Tomorrow morning I leave my house at 7AM to make it to Encinitas so that I can take John Friend's practice which goes from 10 to 2PM. And so our lives go, blocked in time sequences. We need this structure for our householder's lives to survive and thrive.
However, there is another energy. Kairos is the God of sacred time; of good timing, synchronicity, serendipity. It is seizing the moment and a making it the "right moment." It is being in the flow. Have you ever been at a certain place, at a certain time and just said the right thing? It is so wonderful when it happens! As Anusara yogis we recognize that Grace is always present. Therefore the possibilities for each moment being ripe with sacredness are always there. May we step into the moment more fully, so that each time, each day, each block of our structured life, we can join our chronos with our kairos and live our lives with all our responsibilities and yet with a magical dash of serendipitous awareness.
Have a wonderful structured yet magical day everyone!
Anusara Teacher Training, first weekend
We had our first weekend of Keric's and my 60-hour Anusara Teacher Training at Siesta Yoga. It was such a success. This is my fifth Teacher Training in my life, but my first ever Anusara Teacher Training. I was quite nervous leading up to it, and yet on the day of, I felt such a resounding calm. The great thing about teaching Anusara yoga is that I get to practice all the uplifting and life-affirming philosophy that I am teaching. I kept relaxing my body, breathing with awareness, to the point where I just knew that the training would be fabulous.
And so far it has been! Keric and I work really well together. I trust him completely and feel so at ease with him. We planned every week for many months and designed a really strong structure for our students. And, oh, the students. They are the sweetest most supportive group. Almost everyone knows each other. Some have been teaching for a while but most are new to teaching. The group is big enough to break into different groups and to feel like a nice-sized class, and yet small enough that it feels nurturing and safe (there's 14 people).
Keric and I start the training with an hour-and-a-half practice. We wanted to model to the students what they will be teaching one day. We are trying our best to keep our opening to 5-7 minute, just like we are supposed to in an Anusara class. We are trying to have a clear theme that links to the highest purposes of practicing yoga, a personal story and a heart quality (or qualities). We also choose a UPA to focus on and have a peak pose. Then we have a practice.
Afterwards we deconstruct the class and the students get to see if the theme was clear and most importantly, how we constructed the class. Hopefully the students start to see how it is done and how doable it can be. Keric and I really want to demystify teaching, while also honoring who challenging and artistic it is.
Then we have the students journal about the particular UPA we are focusing one, share that with someone so that their articulation skills can be honed. Then we have them teach a pose using those words that came from their own experience. We then give them a break. When we come back we do more teaching exercises. As the training progresses we will bring (we did already actually) philosophy, some therapeutics, adjustment and always end in meditation.
We will continue to hone the training to keep serving our student's needs. I was so blown away though by the fact that one the very first weekend, every single person taught a full Surya Namaskar A to someone else (and some taught to the whole group!). We wanted to get the students up and teaching already so that they wouldn't feel overwhelmed by teaching. And I believe that it is when you know how to get a student safely and effectively in and out of poses, that you then can bring in all the artistry of theming that Anusara is so famous for.
What an amazing gift it is to be part of this training. I can't wait to be back and to watch the students and Keric and I continue to grow as individuals and as a community.
Off to teach- have a great day everyone!
Teacher Training starts tomorrow!
I have been preparing intensely for Keric's and my 60-hour Anusara Teacher Training which starts tomorrow at Siesta Yoga. I can drive myself a little crazy with the over-preparing but it still is one of my most favorite parts: spending hours every day studying; going to bed with tons of yoga books until I fall asleep; reviewing old notebooks; journaling about the Universal Principles of Alignment... And then at some moment, letting it all go and trusting that the knowledge and wisdom is there. Showing up and being humble and open and letting the moment happen!
Tomorrow begins our 6-weekend training. And then next weekend Black Dog Yoga begins their 200-hour Teacher Training, which I am honored to be a part of for the fifth time in a row. And then a month from now, Hagar and I begin our 108-hour Anusara Immersion, with guest teacher Tara Judelle. So I will be literally part of three different trainings during the next few months. I am so excited and curious to see how it will go. It is scheduled in a such a way that it is doable (for instance one training will end as another begins). But still, it will be a lot, and I already feel myself worrying a bit.
I was re-reading our Anusara Yoga Teacher Training Manual and came upon one of my most favorite lines, "By surrendering you actually become vastly more powerful than the limited person that you usually identify with." I italicized the part that always gets to me. How we tend to identify with our limited aspects instead of with our vastness. How we tend to believe that who we are is our worry, our fear, our negativity. As I am getting ready to teach an incredibly talented group of yogis, I also get to practice yoga through the teaching of it. I get to remember that who we really are is a vast, powerful energy bigger than our ups and downs. That whenever I start to doubt or become fearful, I simply need to back off from this "pose" and realign again; reawaken to my own nature, which is ever-expansive and bigger than my worry.
The great inventor and genius Thomas Edison supposedly had a group of men called the "Insomnia Squad" who were there with him, working around the clock, so that no idea would be lost. Someone would always be awake should there happen to be a breakthrough in their research at their lab. I think that for us as yogis we need our own inner squad; maybe call it the "Inspiration Squad." There has to be a part of us ready to reawakens us to who we are, reminding us over and over of our true nature, never letting us go to sleep -metaphorically speaking- and miss our own vastness and power.
Have a great day everyone!
In a nutshell
This coming weekend marks the beginning of Keric's and my Teacher Training. It will be a 60 hour, 6 weekend Level One, Anusara Teacher Training. I can't wait! It will be held at our friend's Siesta Yoga on Hollywood and Franklin. We are blessed to have almost every single one of our Immersion students from last year, plus a few more wonderful individuals. Keric and I want to create a supportive and fun environment where the teachers learn how to teach effectively mixed level classes, while developing personal and universal themes.
One of the hardest feats for Anusara teachers is to weave a theme from beginning to end of class, that ties to the highest reasons for practicing yoga; namely Cit (Consciousness) and Ananada (Bliss). If the theme is too heavy or not fully integrated, it can feel as if we are hitting the students over the head with it. If it's too light or not really there, classes can feel like a workout. To weave the theme with the right amount of presence and yet masterfully create a fun and physical practice, is quite an accomplishment.
One of the most helpful suggestions is to tie in whatever I am saying (the personal), to the big picture (the universal). As soon as I do that, I am plugged into the highest teachings of yoga. I feel that I can walk into any room, even if nervous, and know that I will be supported. Keric and I will be giving the students suggestions on how to do this. Hopefully as we continue to teach today and the rest of our days, we will feel supported by the highest.
It reminds me of something I recently read, which ties back to the writings of the Roman orator Cicero. Cicero contended that in the olden days, scribes would write down by hand Homer's Iliad into a walnut shell. Thus, soldiers could walk into battle holding the entire poem (all 17,000 verses) inside their pockets. And they had it there handy for inspiration. Supposedly Alexander the Great carried it when he marched into India. This is where- interestingly enough- the phrase, "in a nutshell" emerges from. The idea being that large amount of information can be reduced to its essence in just a few words, and captured inside a nutshell.
Anusara teachers are like these soldiers, marching unto unfamiliar grounds (new classes, with new students), carrying within them verses of knowledge reminding us of our non-dual Tantrik philosophy of intrinsic goodness. We might come to class and have a theme of one word, say "Fullness." But within we are holding years and years of studying, reading, researching, meditating, contemplation, and yoga that supports all that we say in class, all that we do. And all of it living inside the nutshell of our hearts.
Fun Practice
Today I taught twice at Still, and then in a few hours will return to teach the restorative. Class at 9 was lovely- really lovely people with beautiful practices. I was teaching about aligning so that you can have faith in your practice and connect to the fullness within. I spoke about how in the last few days I've had several students say to me that they have "been doing yoga for so long and yet their shoulders hurt." And when I had them show me how they were aligning, they were not doing it in the most optimal way. I told them with gentleness that you can be doing something for a long period of time, but if you are misaligning you will not get better. It reminds me of Malcom Gladwell's assertion in his book "Outliers" which states that professionals are people who have been doing something for a long period of time (10,000 hours). But what he left out (from -I believe- Erikson's study) is that you have to be doing something for a long period of time, yes, but you have to be doing it right! Otherwise you are simply reinforcing bad habits. These two students were completely misaligning in their shoulders, and practicing yoga like that for years will indeed make your shoulders tighter.
It got me thinking about how yoga shouldn't hurt. How as we do all these poses, we should feel uplifted, not diminished. So, today I focused on the First Principle of Anusara yoga, which has to do with opening up with the fullness that is there and embodying it. I focused on an aspect of First Principle which is "Side Body Long." I could see the student's practice become fuller, sweeter and stronger.
Then after my 9 AM class, I met with Keric for our weekly meetings for our upcoming Anusara Teacher Training, which starts next week! So excited. I have been holding back cause I don't want to say too much before it begins, but we are so excited on how we have designed it and on how we are teaching it... More on that later!
Then I went to teach the Practice at 12:30 and it was insane. The cast of characters included several of my closest friends (Jenny, Mackie, Hagar, Michelle), beloved regulars (Takeo, Raoul, Christine, Carolyn, Carolanne, Amberly), plus guest stars like Heidi (Happy Birthday Heidi!) and superstar Jason from Miami. Hagar and I brought out favorite deities (Durga and Kali) and we had a fun, rocking practice which included several variations in Vasisthasana (including -inside joke- "sad tree.")
One of my favorite moments was when we were working on Kasyapasana and Hagar and Jason offered tips to get into the bind. We all worked on it and then came out and conversed about what we liked. That is my favorite part of this class- all of us practicing together, sharing what helps us go deeper in these wonderful and challenging poses.
After class, Mackie took a picture of Hagar and I for our upcoming Immersion. The pictures look great! I drove home and in a few hours I will return to teach a restorative class.
So blessed to have such fun friends and to have yoga in my life!
Have a great day everyone!
