Last Week of Summer Classes

Interestingly enough, I taught 3 times this week after teaching only once a week all summer. We had our make-up class on Tuesday, I taught up at Keewaydin on Wednesday, and then class on Thursday. It was fun and to me really felt like a party. But then again, yoga often feels like a party to me. I love seeing everybody so much, I love the asana, I love really endeavoring to believe in myself and to help nurture that in others. There you go. A party.

I am trying to remember what we did on Tuesday, but I am having a pregnant moment. I know that we worked on pinca, but we have been working on that a lot lately. And also Vasistasana. Oh yeah, my car didn’t start that day and I had to track down Chris to come home and give me a ride in. I was 20 minutes late, which would never happen if I lived in town. Right Val? But then where would my goats be?

Wednesday was farm yoga, which it has taken me 3 years to really understand how to teach out on the farm. It is not one of my usual classes. It is uplifting stretching and breathing for people who are doing physically demanding work all day long everyday. We are not trying to balance on our hands and grab our foot behind our head in this environment. But I do get to introduce people to yoga sometimes and that is really fun. There were 2 people there on Wednesday who really do not speak any english at all and it was their very first time. They did great and it was so fun to see that little spark ignite. I really try to give folks on the farm a few stretches that they can do any time that are really applicable to what they are doing with their bodies.

On Thursday we did a standing pose and arm balance sequence from Christina Sell. It was a good time and hopefully Shelia’s guests were not too freaked out by what is surely not a typical level one class. In general, I seem to attract physically fit, tenacious and willing students who like to work hard. So we do and it is great fun and sometimes we surprise ourselves. In fact the theme that we worked with was fun, and how chit ananda equals fun for the yogin. We love to know and we relish the experience of that knowing. Like I said, a party. The highlight of class was that we were introduced some variations of sirsasana. Parsva Sirsasana went very well. And it was fun to think about parsvaikapada sirsasana and how to kepp working on that.

On a personal note, I am feeling a bit better and have been on my own mat a little more. I do spend a least 10 minutes in a very supported supta virasana and I do very little in general in a relatively long period of time. But it feels good and i am very thankful for my body and all of its knowing. An amazing gift, and yet also something that I have worksed on diligently for over a decade.

I hope to see everyone that I have missed over the summer when fall classes start up in a week. It is going to be a great fall and a fantastic year. Mark your calendars now because October 2nd Shantala, an amazing kirtan group form Oregon (and also really old friends of mine from the Anusara world) are coming to Madison for an evening of beautiful music and chanting. Then November 7-9 in Madison Noah Maze will be teaching a weekend workshop not to be missed. I am thinking full weekend and joint hotel room for anyone that is interested. Nothing better than a weekend of great yoga and yummy food and dare I say a little bit of shopping…. And then looking ahead in 2009, we have Christina Sell coming back to Viroqua at the end of April and we had such fun last time that we expect and even bigger turn out of folks from all over the state and maybe then some! And then in the beginning of June, John Friend is coming back to the midwest, to Chicago, for the first time in 3 years! Not to be missed.

It is stacking up to be a great year. And somewhere in all of that I get to have a baby. Whoa…

Almost Fall

Wow, so this is the last week of summer classes and then we are on to the fall schedule. I have been totally out of commission this summer, and glad to have only been teaching once a week. In fact, I am only just now gradually crawling back onto my own mat. I do have a great reason however. I am pregnant with #2, and much like with Maple, I have been overtaken with pretty amazing nausea. And a headache. Thats new. It is a little different the second time around because there is not the opportunity for rest that there is with #1. That is pretty rough. So I have pretty much been using any time that I do have for oh so precious sleep.

Hopefully in the next few weeks I will update the schedule for fall. But here it is for now:

Monday: 6-7:30pm mixed level

Wednesday: 9-10:30am level 1 continuing

Thursday: 9-11am open studio practice

So this is radically different, but I am happy to have as much to offer as this. Chris is on the road now for his new job and I am still working out childcare for some of the times, but this is what it looks like. I am really quite excited about it. My intention for this year is really strong and is basically this: to teach really solid Anusara classes (I am doubly excited about this because I am going to the level 2 teacher training in Boston with John, and I am working more closely with a mentor), and I am really clear on wanting to progress peoples practices- I am thinking really about those of you who have been in class for a year or two now and who are planning on coming to class more than once a week.

Which brings up another point. There is no Basics class on the fall schedule. This is for a variety of reasons but really, most folks that want to come to a Basics class are really fine to come to a mixed level class or even the level 1 continuing if they have some prior yoga experience. Just be prepared to work a little bit harder. Fun. The only folks who I ever see in Basics who this would not work for are the elderly or those with any major physical limitation (i.e. ” I am fine, really, oh and by the way I have a 6 inch iron rod in my back” you catch my meaning). These folks should be seeing me privately anyway. Everyone would be better served.

The other major difference on the fall schedule is the open studio days on Thursdays. I am super psyched about this, because not only do I get an opportunity to practice, but those of you interested in building a home practice have the opportunity to work by yourself or in groups in a supported environment with someone on hand to answer questions. Great! And it is a great opportunity to work on the poses that challenge you and build some group momentum. Darren Rhodes in Tucson has an open studio three times a wee, and that was really where I learned How to practice. It is really an opportunity to go into the laboratory of your practice and dive in.

So, hope to see you all soon.. Check back often. I promise to be more diligent in the ol’ blogesphere.