Going going going....

This is amazing news! The furnace is actually running all the time in the Landmark this winter. For real! So be ready for hot! Which to me is such a vast improvement over freezing that I really am quite thrilled. Here's to it.

I just read Christina Sell's post and it was really fabulous. Per usual. It was definitely geared toward teachers and teacher trainees but I think that in general it is great information for all. So zip on over and read it. Then tell me what you think. In the meantime, as I have been thinking about all of the poses that I want to work on in my own practice this year and also where I want to go with classes and working toward some more advanced poses publicly, here is the idea: '"What actions are necessary to achieve that pose?" What does a student need to be able to be proficient at so that when they are at their edge they can access something familiar that will make the pose move more into possibility?' (I am telling you, read the post)

This is a great question not only because of what it is asking but also because of all of the other questions that it is answering as well. Such as giving real meaning and clarity to what we are working on from the very first class and in every subsequent class. Everything exists in relationship to everything else, and this is no less true when it comes to asana. For example, to be aware of the possibility of where you are headed when you root your thigh back and then to practice that continuously in a variety of poses. Then grow with the action so much so that when you are asked to apply that and maintain it as you apply additional actions and move into something deeper. Something that is asking you a whole lot more not just physically but psychologically as well (think leg behind the head or lotus with you pelvis off the ground!). This is Yoga! Can you hold in the space of your awareness and your whole practice all of your knowledge and experience?

This becomes even more important to ask ourselves when we start to notice little glitches showing up. Such as a tweak or a pinch that we do not address and eventually becomes a full blown issue preventing us from not only working into the advanced postures but also in all of the "basic" poses that it wasn't really bugging us in before so much.

Hmmhhh. I often say that there is a lot a stake and it really is not just an idle threat. Not at all. I want students to really get the method because when you do truly a whole world has opened up for you. And inevitably, if you skip a step or a piece is missing, there is going to come a point where you have to get off the bus. (You must work your inner thighs enough to maintain deep groins and space across your sacrum before you scoop your tailbone or externally rotate your femur head!)

This is a little bit of a rant but I feel quite passionate about it. Read Christina's post.

OK. So class tomorrow. It is supposed to be quite cold tomorrow, but warm in the studio, Hooray! I am wanting to work specifically with moving the head of the armbones back in a variety of postures (big surprise) and move toward some backbends. Warm up our hearts so to speak. Because it is January 13th and there is a lot of winter ahead of us. And we love where we live and we live here for a reason (or many)!

Hope to see you tomorrow!