Thursday, June 20, 2013

The Truth about Yoga School

Week 1 is complete... well nearly complete. I continue to ride waves of emotions, absence from Honduras, the in-between before what is next... but am taking it in strides. To all of you who wrote me kind messages, I sincerely appreciate it. Thank you. Thank you.....

I have been meaning to write about the truth about Yoga School. Simple observations and things that are happening here.... Enjoy:

  • It is Exhausting  Our schedule as I already mentioned is intense and for good reason. There is so much to learn. Needless to say we are all very tired all the time.
  • The dress code is awesome: One good thing about this type of school is that it is more than appropriate (encouraged) to wear yoga pants all day every day. I have already taken laundry to be done (after 6 days) because I have exhausted all of my pants. I brought with me about six pairs of yoga pants and seven Lululemon tops. I think I could live in clothes like this always. It is awesome.
  • My body hurts and so does everyone else:  Our morning practice we go through the entire Astanga series which means we do the below picture with all 72 postures. It takes two hours and we are covered in sweat after. We start at 6 am in the morning and finish at 8 in the morning.
  • Chiropractic School meets Psychology meets Philosophy: This is as much a science class as anything. We are constantly talking about the body, human anatomy, the spine and structure of the bones, our ability to move and how to instruct someone with previous injuries to be in correct posture. So much cool, new information that I am learning which I love. But my business brain is finding this very difficult. We spend two hours each day in what we call asana clinic. We get into positions in the middle of the room and walk around each other, comparing positioning, angles and how we place ourselves into positions. What we can correct. What we need to change. Where we are compromising our spine etc....
  • It is like learning Another Language: As many of you probably know Yoga has its origin roots found in India. The language of yoga is written in Sanskrit  We are required to learn the postures in both common English phrase and the Sanskrit names. For example: Virabhadrasana 1 is also known as Warrior 1. Hello long Indian names that are hard to pronounce that I am as well supposed to memorize in a specific order.
  • Teaching is HARD: We have already begun teaching and instructing each other into positions. Although we are all very familiar with the postures, we are told to move into position based on how we are told to do so by our partner. It is so very challenging to guide someone into a posture using completely verbal cues without demonstrating it to them. I am realizing how every little detail, knee placement, hand placement, gaze etc. is mandatory instruction. 
  • I walk only about 100 feet each day: We walk from my tentalow (tent room) to the yoga hall, to the dining hall. That is about it. (But its ok, because we do hours on hours of yoga)
  • We all hurt: There are 22 women here getting certified in yoga and many of them have stories of heart break, loss and pain. I am humbled and grateful I am not the only one... and more reminded how precious this thing called life...

Below are some pictures I have taken of our yoga space and some of our time in our classes 








As well a A dear friend wrote this... and I think it is worth repeating... "It's so confusing when we find ourselves in that juxtaposition- so much loss to mourn and yet so much to celebrate! It seems so cruel to be so happy-sad: it's hard to know how to feel or what's real or If we're being genuine when we talk about how excited we are and how cool it is, but then we cry thinking about "yesterday's". Be gentle with yourself, understanding that there is indeed a time off loss for what was- allow yourself the sadness that comes with that. It is perfectly okay. Being present doesn't always mean being positive- but being present is where we find our truth."

Cheers to you wherever you are....

No comments:

Post a Comment