Upon arriving in Brussels, Belgium I was thrilled to discover ample space in the living room for yoga practice. So, my daughters and I immediately gave it a go. It was exactly what we needed. I remained committed to honoring each moment--no matter what that moment brought.
On Saturday, July 3rd, I boarded a train to Paris. Honestly, it was a little frightening. I wasn't even sure I was on the correct platform. So, I decided not to worry about it so much and trust myself and the Universe.
The workshop was held at the American Church of Paris on the River Seine. There were easily a hundred people at my workshop alone. I am told that 17 countries were represented. John Friend, founder of Anusara Yoga, was the presenter (Woo hoo!!). He had three French translators and 4-6 certified teachers helping with corrections.
John told us that he believes in miracles. That a miracle should happen for every student in every class. For our practice, he asked us to :
1) Relax
2) Open our minds
3) Smile and have fun
More later. The repair man is here is fix the broken light in the bathroom. And I am in my nightgown. :0
Thursday, July 8, 2010
Maldon, Essex, England: June 2010
Before leaving for the UK, I found three yoga studios I planned to visit. Because I would be in a more remote area, I would need to be driven to each. "This will be fine. I have two weeks. My husband will take me."
In the event you are wondering why I might need a driver, the car we had was a company car of my husband's and he was authorized to drive, not I. Trains don't run in Maldon, either. Very small outskirts town.
So, my family of six arrives at the little two bedroom house we will be staying at. At our home in Brookfield, each child has their own bedroom and a sense of personal space, our table seats eight and there are several places in the house where you could comfortably break into yoga poses. Not at this house. I fondly call it, "the doll house". One issue. We are not dolls. To say that we had a rougher transition that I expected would be putting it conservatively.
On top this transition, there was an unusual heat wave sweeping England. Our doll house had no a/c, no fans, and no screens on the windows. This put my children in direct conflict with some of their fears: security (though I doubt anyone in Maldon would care enough to break into our house), and bugs. So, when I would open a window to maintain my own peace of mind ( I need to be cool, you see), they would close it. This, to say the least, was maddening.
I needed yoga. I found about 10 square feet of space (insufficient) at the top of the stairs to work on my Warrior III and Half Moon. After nearly falling down the stairs on a few occasions, I decided to abandon my efforts, instead sticking to meditation and sitting poses. I was becoming increasingly frustrated. My plans to visit yoga studios had all fallen through. On one occasion, my husband wasn't feeling well. On another, the teacher cancelled to attend a concert. And the last class I planned got bumped because it was double booked with a business dinner that I needed to accompany my husband to.
"Where is the yoga in my trip?" I wondered. Where is it? This isn't what I had planned!
What I had planned. There it was, staring me in the face. It wasn't what I had planned. Here was my lesson. If I truly believe that God and the Universe will bring me exactly what I need exactly when I need it, then I ought to take another, different look at why this is happening. It isn't about what I expected. It is about what IS. How can I find the yoga, find the peace, find the meaning in what I have just been given?
My beloved teacher, Dr. Jan Jensen, taught me that there is value in every experience. Find the value. See the beauty. Discover the lesson. Just BREATHE...and you will see.
So, I started to breathe. And calm down. Even though I had zero privacy (and next to zero space), I decided to get creative. I began to meditate in the car on the way to London. Yes, I had to block out the kids and the radio, but I did it. And it helped. A lot. I pushed aside the air mattresses in the tiny living room and moved into Warrior III. I took my children on lots of walks.
I committed myself to looking for the yoga, the beauty of God's Universe in everything I experienced. When I visited the Tate Modern in London, I happened upon a humble, yet glorious bronze statue of an avenger. From my perspective, he was holding a fierce and flowing Warrior III pose with a stupendous sword on his back. I tell my students to "be the Warrior". This guy certainly was doing just that.
The people of Maldon, Essex were very calm, relaxed and friendly I noticed. For me, there is a union in that. We are unable to connect our body, mind and soul if we are anxious and tense; if there is fear present. These people seemed joyful and open hearted to me. There is yoga, there is peace in that I was certain.
One Saturday in London, we were walking along the Thames and happened upon a merry band of street performers. They seemed to be a rag-tag dance troupe of sorts. Then they started dancing. Their bodies were muscular and strong, capable and graceful. It was obvious they practiced often and took good care of their bodies; their greatest instruments. The crowd whooped and cheered! Everyone was joyous as the dance troupe shared their talents with us, total strangers from every country imaginable. There is yoga, there is peace in this, I was certain. Slowly, I was figuring out how to step away from my expectations and accept what is. What truly is and how to be fervently grateful for it.
In the event you are wondering why I might need a driver, the car we had was a company car of my husband's and he was authorized to drive, not I. Trains don't run in Maldon, either. Very small outskirts town.
So, my family of six arrives at the little two bedroom house we will be staying at. At our home in Brookfield, each child has their own bedroom and a sense of personal space, our table seats eight and there are several places in the house where you could comfortably break into yoga poses. Not at this house. I fondly call it, "the doll house". One issue. We are not dolls. To say that we had a rougher transition that I expected would be putting it conservatively.
On top this transition, there was an unusual heat wave sweeping England. Our doll house had no a/c, no fans, and no screens on the windows. This put my children in direct conflict with some of their fears: security (though I doubt anyone in Maldon would care enough to break into our house), and bugs. So, when I would open a window to maintain my own peace of mind ( I need to be cool, you see), they would close it. This, to say the least, was maddening.
I needed yoga. I found about 10 square feet of space (insufficient) at the top of the stairs to work on my Warrior III and Half Moon. After nearly falling down the stairs on a few occasions, I decided to abandon my efforts, instead sticking to meditation and sitting poses. I was becoming increasingly frustrated. My plans to visit yoga studios had all fallen through. On one occasion, my husband wasn't feeling well. On another, the teacher cancelled to attend a concert. And the last class I planned got bumped because it was double booked with a business dinner that I needed to accompany my husband to.
"Where is the yoga in my trip?" I wondered. Where is it? This isn't what I had planned!
What I had planned. There it was, staring me in the face. It wasn't what I had planned. Here was my lesson. If I truly believe that God and the Universe will bring me exactly what I need exactly when I need it, then I ought to take another, different look at why this is happening. It isn't about what I expected. It is about what IS. How can I find the yoga, find the peace, find the meaning in what I have just been given?
My beloved teacher, Dr. Jan Jensen, taught me that there is value in every experience. Find the value. See the beauty. Discover the lesson. Just BREATHE...and you will see.
So, I started to breathe. And calm down. Even though I had zero privacy (and next to zero space), I decided to get creative. I began to meditate in the car on the way to London. Yes, I had to block out the kids and the radio, but I did it. And it helped. A lot. I pushed aside the air mattresses in the tiny living room and moved into Warrior III. I took my children on lots of walks.
I committed myself to looking for the yoga, the beauty of God's Universe in everything I experienced. When I visited the Tate Modern in London, I happened upon a humble, yet glorious bronze statue of an avenger. From my perspective, he was holding a fierce and flowing Warrior III pose with a stupendous sword on his back. I tell my students to "be the Warrior". This guy certainly was doing just that.
The people of Maldon, Essex were very calm, relaxed and friendly I noticed. For me, there is a union in that. We are unable to connect our body, mind and soul if we are anxious and tense; if there is fear present. These people seemed joyful and open hearted to me. There is yoga, there is peace in that I was certain.
One Saturday in London, we were walking along the Thames and happened upon a merry band of street performers. They seemed to be a rag-tag dance troupe of sorts. Then they started dancing. Their bodies were muscular and strong, capable and graceful. It was obvious they practiced often and took good care of their bodies; their greatest instruments. The crowd whooped and cheered! Everyone was joyous as the dance troupe shared their talents with us, total strangers from every country imaginable. There is yoga, there is peace in this, I was certain. Slowly, I was figuring out how to step away from my expectations and accept what is. What truly is and how to be fervently grateful for it.
Costa Rica: January 2010
At the end of my teacher training with Pamela Bliss, I had planned a trip to Costa Rica to attend a Kundalini yoga retreat with Teacher and Body-Mind Coach Jamie Durner. Here, I delved a bit deeper into the Kundalini world of mindlfulness and discovered more fully how to bring a deeper awareness of the body-mind-soul connection. Something I need to remind myself of daily.
Jamie held class every morning and every evening. It was a wonderful experience. Even my very conservative, yet open-minded husband looked forward to class. One morning on my way to the octoganal yoga studio, I saw another yoga class being held in the garden. I was immediately intrigued. The next day, I decided to honor my need for discovery and attended the garden class.
Our teacher was a beautiful young woman named Sarah from New Jersey. At first, it seemed like any other Hatha class. Then, she began to speak of "centerline" and "inner and outer rotation". I wondered why I never got the memo on this. Perhaps I hadn't read my text books thoroughly enough, I concluded.
In Downward Facing Dog, she came to readjust my hand position. Instead of pressing my index and thumb (J) into the mat, she had me spread my hands farther apart and tent-up my fingers. This worked surprisingly well. "Wow! How do you know this?" I asked her. "This isn't Hatha, is it?"
"Kind of. It is a more loving and effective form of Hatha called Anusara." She explained to me some of the principles of this practice to me, like pulling your power into your centerline and rotating muscles inward and outward to achieve optimal positioning.
For the rest of the retreat, I completed my Kundlini classes and continued to think about the Anusara experience. When I returned home to Brookfield, I was determined to take another Anusara class. There must be a studio in my area, right? I researched Anusara classes and found one registered teacher in all of Wisconsin--and she was in Madison. "Huh, why aren't there more teachers?", I wondered. The best and closest studio I found online was in Barrington Hills, IL. A lovely two hour drive at best in traffic.
So, I went to the Anusara site and discovered why.
Of all the yoga teacher programs available, Anusara has the highest level of standards for their teachers. And it takes a long time to even to be considered to get into the program. Years.
Still, I was thinking about it all the time. When I found out that I would be in Europe for the summer, I began researching workshops and classes I might take there. What do you know, John Friend (the founder of Anusara) is hosting the "Melt Your Heart, Blow Your Mind Tour" this summer. And it would be in Europe. Paris, in fact, when I would be in Brussels. Only a short train ride away!
Jamie held class every morning and every evening. It was a wonderful experience. Even my very conservative, yet open-minded husband looked forward to class. One morning on my way to the octoganal yoga studio, I saw another yoga class being held in the garden. I was immediately intrigued. The next day, I decided to honor my need for discovery and attended the garden class.
Our teacher was a beautiful young woman named Sarah from New Jersey. At first, it seemed like any other Hatha class. Then, she began to speak of "centerline" and "inner and outer rotation". I wondered why I never got the memo on this. Perhaps I hadn't read my text books thoroughly enough, I concluded.
In Downward Facing Dog, she came to readjust my hand position. Instead of pressing my index and thumb (J) into the mat, she had me spread my hands farther apart and tent-up my fingers. This worked surprisingly well. "Wow! How do you know this?" I asked her. "This isn't Hatha, is it?"
"Kind of. It is a more loving and effective form of Hatha called Anusara." She explained to me some of the principles of this practice to me, like pulling your power into your centerline and rotating muscles inward and outward to achieve optimal positioning.
For the rest of the retreat, I completed my Kundlini classes and continued to think about the Anusara experience. When I returned home to Brookfield, I was determined to take another Anusara class. There must be a studio in my area, right? I researched Anusara classes and found one registered teacher in all of Wisconsin--and she was in Madison. "Huh, why aren't there more teachers?", I wondered. The best and closest studio I found online was in Barrington Hills, IL. A lovely two hour drive at best in traffic.
So, I went to the Anusara site and discovered why.
Of all the yoga teacher programs available, Anusara has the highest level of standards for their teachers. And it takes a long time to even to be considered to get into the program. Years.
Still, I was thinking about it all the time. When I found out that I would be in Europe for the summer, I began researching workshops and classes I might take there. What do you know, John Friend (the founder of Anusara) is hosting the "Melt Your Heart, Blow Your Mind Tour" this summer. And it would be in Europe. Paris, in fact, when I would be in Brussels. Only a short train ride away!
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