private lesson.

this is a photo of my friend rolling up his mat after our private lesson. it was extremely awesome to have the opportunity to teach my friend "g." he doesn't practice yoga regularly so we modified the sequence a little, shortened the breath count, cut out some sun salutations... i think we did really well in the modifications. i even brought my bamboo block and strap!! i'm such a prepared little yogi!! :)  i think that this was probably the best learning experience i've had teaching so far. i've been practicing with my teacher training friends but we all know the sequence pretty well and do asana often and teaching them is sometimes unchallenging. by unchallenging, i mean that we all know how to get into warrior 1, so if for example i messed up my description of getting into warrior 1, my yoga peeps would still do it correctly... a bunch of us decided we would practice exactly what was being taught to us so we (the teachers in training) could see what we needed to work on in terms of describing asanas... but that really only goes so far... anyway, i'm excited to do this more. i think i turned over a new leaf! thanks g!

How Acro Yoga Changed My Life.

I got to fly. That is how it changed my life. I'm learning to live without fear. Letting someone base you and put you up in the air is very scary, but developing trust with my yoga buds was amazing and fun. We did some wild things. Google Acro Yoga if you want to know more. 

So the first part of training was Acro Yoga/Partner Yoga. I definitely feel closer to our group of trainees. The second part of training we learned about Chakras. Bla bla bla. I'm not sure how I feel about Chakras and all those colors. We'll see if it resonates in me later.

Happy New Year to all the Jews! Back to Baltimore for a few days off with the family. 

Allow myself to introduce myself.

September 27, 2008. 1:30-8:30pm 

I leave the house at 12:40 to give myself plenty of time to walk to the train, ride the train, walk to the studio. I got there a half an hour early, so I went to Urban Outfitters to waste a few minutes. 1:10, I walk to the studio and decide to take the stairs up 4 flights. When I got to the top, my heart was pounding and I thought to myself, what the hell am I doing here/ this is way over my head. I go into the office and the girl at the desk tells me there are a few other people there. I was the third person there. I unroll my mat and get situated. I take deep breaths to calm my beating heart and racing mind. The room fills up over the next 20 minutes. All women, except for two men. 

 

Eventually 4 women come to the front of the room and lead us in a meditation and chant. It really helped me relax. I was sitting next to one of the guys in class and his Om's are so deep, it resonates in me and I love it. 

For the next 4 hours, we talk about our stories. How did we get involved in yoga. Why are we doing the training. Do you have any pets. What is your sign. Some people shed tears, Many people laughed. I went 2nd and of course I became extremely nervous, but calmed down after a few minutes. After our lengthy intros, we had a lunch break around 5. I got to talk to a few girls in the program who caught my interest during the intros. 

Next came our binders. They all have a quote and photo on the front, mine has a bird and it says "I am free from fear no matter what the challenge," which is something I'm working on. Fear. I've been afraid of so many things in my life and it's time to not be afraid and to finally live free. We got paired up with one or two other people who have the same binder picture as us. These people became our yoga buddies. Someone to call when you're lost or confused or do not know where training is that day. They also became our practice partners in class when we practice teaching. After going over the binders and hearing a reading we were taught how to teach sun salutations.

I thought this part of the training was lacking. We got in our pairs and practice teaching sun salutations. It felt awkward to teach. It also felt awkward to be the student learning from a new teacher. When I went home I studied my Ashtanga Yoga Practice Manual which has very good directions on how to do sun salutes. I think that along with this training, I will be doing a lot of researching and studying on my own because I want to truly understand every aspect of yoga and sometimes in class I feel like it very one sided. I want all sides. 

RYT.

I'm officially signed up for the 200-hour yoga teacher training at Dhyana yoga in Philly. Sweet deal! Starts at the end of September. I'm excited!!