Interesting

I just heard "Beautiful Day" by U2, and was taken back, very vividly, to Johnny Kest's Detox Flow. He was BLASTING this song while everyone in the room was flowing to their own breath. Weird. I guess that was an important moment for me, to associate it so strongly, so quickly to that song. If anyone else reading this was there, go listen to that song, maybe turn it up a little louder than usual. I'm curious if you will have the same experience ;)

108th post

I went to another Anusara intensive last night with Christina Sell, super fun stuff. We worked on the inner spiral of the legs, with a focus on keeping the shins/calves stable to isolate and open the hips. We did poses/variations that I have never seen in person! Loved it.

Christina made a quick comment about how to beginners in an alignment based form of yoga (like Anusara), the details can seem overwhelming. It was like she was talking specifically to me :) I have not felt so judgemental of myself in a yoga class in a while. I have not yet figured out how to isolate many subtle muscles/movements. It is like starting asana all over again, when I had no awareness/connection to many large muscle groups, except now it is much more subtle.

It is a good opportunity for me to observe my thoughts, and keep a sense of humor about them. I've heard people say that "who you are on the mat is who you are off the mat". Sounds silly, but I really started to notice how true that is, I am competitive, judgemental, full of ego, but also, observant, devoted, analytical, and searching for transformation.

Taught a led primary immediately after again. Decided to "take it up a notch". Realized I was becoming to comfy in the role of a teacher who coddles her students. So there was a lot less demo-ing, and a lot less language like "if you feel comfortable..." We'll see how it goes, but I realized I need to hand some of the responsibility to the student.

Things are going well in lab. Had a meeting with my boss this past weekend, about my graduation timeline. We came up with a very reasonable plan to finish up my graduate career, and if all goes well, I'll graduate in (or before) May. It was a great meeting, where I found out that he agrees with me that I've done enough to start writing my dissertation up very soon. It was quite a relief considering he is very hard to read, and could have just as easily told me the opposite. I was ready to defend myself, and present my reasons why I thought I was ready, all this pent up aggression, and I didn't need it at all!

I'm in the process of writing up my second first-author project for publication. I'm flying solo. I'm getting the article to the point where I would be happy submitting it to a journal, and then handing it over to my boss for review. It is actually a fun process, I am such a dork!

It has been really challenging finding a balance amongst all this. The closer I get to graduation, the more in love with Neuroscience I get, the more time I want to spend at lab, and reading the literature. However, I'm more "in love" than ever with yoga. Teaching and practicing. I'm at a place where I feel like I am doing both things half-assed. There just aren't enough hours in the day. But the bottom line is I need both in my life, and am not willing to give either up, so I need to figure out a way to be okay with the way things are :)

Anusara Intensive

I managed to make it to the second installment of the "Anusara Intensive" at Seventh Street Yoga last night with Christina Sell. It was so fun. I think the concepts were basic to those familiar with this form of yoga, but for me, a newbie, it was absolutely perfect. I am so sore in muscles in my back that I didn't even know I had :) I'm so looking forward to next week.

I had to teach a led Ashtanga class immediately after, and my muscles were fatigued. I had 5 people in the class who had not taken an ashtanga class before, so I needed to demo a lot. It was funny because I was shaking and quivering, I bet they thought I was a weenie! :) It was a fun class nonetheless, with a lot of excitement and energy in the students.

This weekend is Hurricane Ike. I'm dreaming up sequences to practice from home since I don't think any studios will be having class. Any suggestions for poses appropriate for hurricanes? :) Nakrasana? Matsayasana? Apanasana? :)

Life in the fast lane...

I had the pleasure of taking a workshop with Johnny Kest this weekend. It was a vinyasa flow class called "Sweat and Tears: Detox Flow". It was, for lack of a better phrase, BAD ASS. We spent the first hour of the class doing the following flow (after a 20 minute meditation on loving kindness, which was beautiful):

Inhale - sweep arms up
Exhale - lateral bend
Inhale - reach up
Exhale - lateral bend other side
Inhale - reach up
Exhale - fold forward, vinyasa to
Navasana
Exhale, lower half way
Inhale, Navasana, repeat three times
Inhale cross shins, vinyasa to,
tripod headstand
balasana
Ustrasana spirals, right side, then left side, repeat three times
Exhale to -downward dog
Inhale right foot forward for warrior one on right side
Exhale - Warrior 2 on right side
Inhale - Reverse Warrior
Exhale - Triangle
Inhale - Revolved Triangle
Half Moon
Revolved Half Moon
Warrior 3, transition without touching foot down to
Tree Pose, then
Garudasana, then
Warrior 3,
vinyasa, repeat Warrior 1 through second warrior 3 on left side
vinyasa to tadasana

REPEAT, REPEAT, REPEAT, etc. one inhale or exhale per pose.....I was sweating in sheets. Literally, the most I have ever sweat in my life. Hands down.

Ten minutes or so of loving kindness meditation, during which I fulfilled the other promise of the title of the class and wept.

Then after this hour he said, "Okay now we can begin class, you may want to rehydrate...."

Then we left the "warm up" for the detox flow... lots of twisting and lunging.

The class whipped me. Broke me down, brought me to places that I was able to learn things about myself that are usually deeply buried. It was an experience not to be missed. Being broken down, until all the walls fall, and you are naked and ready. To go through the door.

Anyway, the only problem is, I'm now having trouble finding anything that compares :) All other classes, even the ones that seemed challenging, seem like they are happening in slow motion. My thirst for deepening my practice is unquenchable. And that's fun.