Generally when we use it in Anusara we refer to a community of the heart; to a community formed by people who want to come together, not because they should but because they want to. I mentioned on Friday at the Teacher Training that we all belong to myriad communities: writing communities, theatre groups. religious groups, AA, Al Anon, neighborhood associations, etc. And of course, we all belong to the yoga community. And in that community there are sub communities, like for instance in Black Dog there are many styles of Hatha yoga under one roof. And in Black Dog there is the Anusara community, there are also Ashtangis and Power yogis, etc. And so on. 

Then I taught a two hour hip opening yoga class with the theme of kula. I started them in Uttanasana and asked them to notice how their body felt. Asked them if they immediately noticed the separate parts like "tight right calf" or "tight left ankle" or "tense shoulders." How when we come to class we feel separate from our own individual community; from our own bodies, our own breath, our own light.

Then this was the sequence:

lunge

uttanasana

lunge with knee down add twist

uttanasana

pigeon 1 prep with bolster underneath, add thigh stretch

Down Dog (AMS)

agnistambhasana

ardha matsyendrasana

"taquito roll" (vajrasana with a rolled blanket under the knees)

virasana

baddha konasana with variation (block under feet using all three levels)

triangamukhaikapada paschimottanasana

krounchasana

bharadvajasana 2

supine poses: supta padangusthasana

half happy baby

baby cradle 

Lotus!

uttanasana

10 minute savasana

It was yummy. 

I asked them in their last uttanasana to see how their pose had changed from when they started. I asked them to see if their pose felt more like a community, instead of separate parts. They seemed happy. One student said that the difference between the first and the last uttanasana was amazing. Another said that later that the savasana was the best savasana they've ever had in their life!

Hip openers are my favorite poses. However teaching hip openers is quite challenging in the sense that you as a teacher have to be really focused and energized, since the group energy can easily dissipate; unlike say, a backbend class.

Afterwards I had them journal any insights that came from their practice...

Then I told them about my first ever yoga teacher training back in 2001 (I have since done I believe 7 different teacher trainings! One 500 hour one at Yoga Zone,; one Anusara TT back in 2003 at City Yoga, an Anusara Level 2  also at City;  a Level 1 TT with John Friend; a Mediation TT with Sally Kempton and a Level 1 Restorative yoga with Jillian (twice) followed by a Level 2. Whew!) 

I mentioned how easy it is to compare with other students in class and how sometimes someone gets praised and how easy it is to feel like you are not good enough. I urged them to not see each other as competition since we are all on different journeys. Instead to realize how we are all living in each other's hearts and how we are all part of the same community of the heart.

I finished with an exercise in which everyone wrote a word or two about everyone in the room; about how they see that person from their highest self. Then I put all the notes in an envelope and gave everyone their different envelopes to read when they got home.

Our TT is almost over- we have one last weekend.

I will for sure miss all these guys, they are really living in my heart.

I carry them with me.