Saturday Morning

Well, here it is, the day after Christmas.

Hmm... I must say for me the Holidays this year have been spectacularly not a big deal, which is just how I wanted it. In some ways I do a lot of things all year long that are big deals- workshops, intensives, immersions, training and so on. Much of my life is about visiting somewhere for a somewhat special occasion. (Obviously not on par with Christmas but a kind of special occasion none-the-less.) So being home on the holidays for a few days this year, the thing I really wanted to do was sleep in, work on the house, cook and eat some great food and take some walks by the river. (Had I not landed in the Red Tent over these few days I would have added "do lots of crazy asana" to my list but anyway...)

Kelly and his friend Raymond (who is also an excellent massage therapist, by the way) tore up a carpet in our house and laid down a floor on Christmas Eve. So yesterday we spent a lot of time rearranging furniture, hanging pictures in different places and re-organizing closets and such. See, it doesn't really sound like much-- but for me, since I am not home a lot, nesting a bit was great fun. All the changes just look so good. The carpet smelled like cat pee so getting that out was a big improvement right away. I now have a bigger room for yoga and meditation, Kelly will have a quiet and more zen-like study/library space in addition to the shared office space we have which is more of a "working space and not-so-zen! (Zen is a very generous term here- think less cluttered.) We hung up a lot of our Louis Lozowick lithographs that we had in our San Marcos house but we hadn't figured out where they would go in a smaller house with less wall space. Anyway, after all that, we had a nice dinner watched some star trek and went to bed. I am telling you, quite simple.

It has been such a fantastic year.Difficult in a lot of ways but also filled with blessings, miracles and inspiring opportunities and people. Kelly and I were walking on the greenbelt yesterday and thought back over the year and all the changes we have gone through individually and as a couple. Exactly one year ago we were in a really low point in our marriage and neither of us were sure we would even make it to this Christmas together. But here we are, things stronger than ever and enjoying each other and ourselves a whole lot more. It is a very cool thing.

For me the last year involved really examining my life and sort of throwing a lot of it up in the air and weirdly, at the end (Ok, the process is not done as it is a process and life is fluid and so we are always a work in progress and so forth) of it all it seemed I actually wanted what I had but for a while there I wasn't sure. And I think I needed to upgrade the model and make a few improvements to its functioning for sure.

Anyhoo- that's it for today. Will practice some asana in my new and improved room and take a walk and then start collecting some things for our trip to Georgia and South Carolina. We leave Monday afternoon. I also have some Curriculum Committee work to review before I take off.

Thursday Morning

Well, Wednesday got off to a busy start and left me with no time to write.

Looking all the way back to Tuesday afternoon, a handful of us met to do a practice which was really fun. We work a lot on padmasana and variations and out it into handstand, pinca, sirasana 2, kukkutasana and parsva kukkutasana, headstand and shoulder stand. So many questions came up in our practice about parsva sarvangasana that I decided to teach it in my 4:30 class. So we did rollicking sequence with lots of chest opening, shoulder stretching, inner spiral and ab work to head that way. It was not easy, but really good.

Wednesday morning started with Focus on Form at 9:30. We did a kind of potpourri class that went something like this:

Child's Pose

AMS

uttanasana

Surya namaskar variations

paryankasana variation over a block

dwi pada viparita dandasana over a chair

pinca mayurasana

ardha bhekasana

ardha danurasana

setu bandhasana

pascima namsakrasana

prasarita paddottanasana with arms in reverse prayer

garudasana

garudasana with goumkasana arms

lolasana

classic gomukhasana, feet together

maricyasana 1

pascimottanasana

savasana

I spent the day working on my schedule, dealing with some interpersonal dynamics, scheming about the future and then I did a lovely yoga practice before heading back out to Castle Hill to teach the evening class. We did a lot of inner thigh stretches in baddha konasana, parsvakonasana, triangle pose, and lots of core work for vasisthasana and vasisthasana 2. then we did some chair backbends, urdhva danurasana and supta padangusthasana and even had time for a nice long savasana.

After that Kelly, me, Anne and Jeff went out for Christmas Eve Eve dinner which was fantastic and then I came home, talked on the phone a while and crashed.

So here we are Thursday morning, classes cancelled this afternoon and an unscheduled holiday weekend stretching out in front of me. What fun!

Tuesday Morning

I spent the morning yesterday re-working the Part One Immersion Curriculum Darren and I will work from in Tucson in January. It now reflects the changes, additions and so forth from the committee meeting. Lots of structure and even tests (gasp!) which we will call Empowerment Reviews because really, isn't it empowering to learn something and to really know that you know it? Anyway, that was kind of a project.

After that Kelly and I ate lunch, went on a walk and I got to go to Peggy's Advanced class. All in all it was a very nice day off. I am finishing up breakfast now and I am going to go post a lesson on the online classroom for the mentor group. We are working a lot with sequencing strategies right now and due to all the comings and goings of the last few weeks I am a bit late on posting Lesson #10. But today is the day. Get ready.

Speaking of Sequencing Strategies, the Costa Rica Retreat I am offering with Inner Harmony is now a Teacher Training Week. Every morning I will lead a Teacher Training Session and Martin Kirk will be teaching Anatomy in the afternoons. I think this week will help teachers of all levels of experience deepen their knowledge and skill. Here is an overview of my offering for the week. Feel free to contact me if you have any questions.

The Art of Teaching Anusara Yoga with Christina Sell: Sequencing Strategies

March 13-20

Costa Rica

www.ihretreat.com

Understanding the art of sequencing is at the heart of asana practice and teaching. This teacher training course will teach aspiring, new and experienced Anusara Yoga teachers how to creatively and effectively sequence their classes. Each day will focus on a different type of class and will explore various strategies for approaching the challenges that are unique to each situation. Each session will incorporate asana practice, practice teaching and experiential exercises to hone and refine your teaching skills and empower you to take your teaching to a new level of excellence.

Day One: Sequencing for Beginning Yoga Students

Day Two: Sequencing for the Experienced Yoga Student who is new to Anusara Yoga

Day Three: Sequencing Strategies for teaching Alignment-Based Vinyasa

Day Four: Sequencing Toward Peak Poses within a Mixed-Level Class

Day Five: Sequencing to teach The Universal Principle of Alignment

And for those of you who do not know Martin he is an extraordinary person and teacher and has such a love for anatomy and how it relates to the Universal Principles of Alignment that you can be sure this is no dry Anatomy course. He conveys the majesty of the human structure so intelligently and inspiringly in his courses. I am very excited to be there and take it myself!

All right, time to get on with the day. Work to do, then practice and then teach.

Here is a slide show that Kelly put together from our Holiday Practice. The music is by a friend of ours and unfortunately the program we used had some kinks so the music stumbles a bit. Sorry about that. But still, the pics are fun so enjoy!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QUXOLZDECTU

And if you didn't catch it yesterday, here is the video of J-Man:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4uEVW5UF8-o

And one of me playing with John Friend:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B1PaD_i_K0c

Okay- well, we had a really great Immersion this weekend. We focused a lot of time and energy on studying Patanjali's Yoga Sutras and so that was interesting. That text has many riches and it was fun to just explore some very basic concepts that he outlines. Daunting, but fun. This Immersion Group is a lot of fun to be with for me. We are really into the process now and with so much of the groundwork laid out- both in context, content and personality and style- now we just get to keep going deeper. I really enjoyed teaching having come right from the curriculum meetings with everything so fresh in my mind.

On a personal note, what is full in my mind and heart as the year closes is a profound, awesome and humbling sense of gratitude. I find myself trying to speak to it a lot lately and welling up with tears. I feel as though some deep shift within me has happened in the last two years where some knot within me really loosened. (Truth be told it has been loosening all along but you know, the whole onion thing.) I feel like I have stepped into a deeper relationship with my practice, my work and the people with whom I am sharing my life and I feel like something within me has healed. The best way I can express it is to tell a story from my childhood (Some of you have already heard this, so I apologize for the repetition. But as we know, if it is worth hearing once, it is worth hearing more than once...)

When we lived in Rye, NY we were members of the Presbyterian Church and I remember very clearly being outside that church playing with the minister's children while our parents were doing something inside. We got to talking about God and whether or not we believed in God. I did. But I have a very distinct memory of feeling that God did not know who I was. I remember praying and praying with a feeling of loneliness in my heart that He couldn't hear me or my prayers. (I know, deep thoughts for a 7- year old kid, huh?)

So I tell that story because every time I sit in front a room to teach yoga, to lead a practice and I open myself to the fullness of it, I remember that feeling from when I was really little and a small voice inside me whispers, "You were heard. This is the answer." You see, Grace, to me, is not an etheric thing at all. Grace, to me, is present in the community of people who I teach, with whom I practice, learn, study, worship, play, eat, and explore. It's very real and immediate. Like my spiritual teacher says, "God does not live in the sky." God, it seems to me, lives in our hearts, and in this community of people who share the same heart.

And obviously, it isn't always easy to be in a community. I think we all know that. Like Paul Muller Ortega said, "Practice is about fire and nectar." True community, as an expression and agent of Grace will generally have both fire and nectar to offer us so that we grow. But the nectar of love is full in my heart these days. I would say it is a miracle but, well, it is the a kind of miracle that is right here.

Sunday Morning

Well, the day yesterday was certainly full. After a walk on the greenbelt and some kitcharee I went up to Breath and Body for the Immersion. We spent a lot of time exploring inversions and variations and then we made a foray into the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali.

We had a practice and potluck at 4:00 which was super fun. We put 43 people into the room (Desirae said that was the most people there practicing yoga ever, so that was fun.) And we had a really delightful potluck after. People made great food and we hung out for quite some time just gabbing about yoga, life and so forth. It was really a fantastic evening in so many ways. I was really moved by the whole thing. Several people asked me to post the sequence so here is a rough rendition o f it. Flow-based sequences are a little harder to capture but this gives you an idea.

The Sequence

In flow, all on one side:

Lunge with arms stretching out in front, back leg down

one-legged down dog

wildthing prep

parsvakonasana variation with arm straight up

opposite side vasisthasana

triangle pose

vinyasa and repeat with other leg leading

crescent

utkatasana

twisted lunge with quad stretch

vinyasa

From Down Dog:

Vira One

Vira Two

Reversed Vira Two

parsvakonasana

Then Vira 1,2, rev. vir 2 pasrvakonasana in flow

clasped parsvakonasana

standing pasrvautthitahasta padanguthsasana with friend holding foot and back bended

then in flow: clasped parsvakonasana, to clasped parsva utthita hasta padangusthasana, clasped 1/2 uttanasana, clasped pasrvakonasana

Then in Flow- Vira 1, Vira 2, reversed vira 2, clasped parsvakonasana to standing, etc. and back down- grab big toe and go to vasisthasana 2, vinyasa

Classic Parsvottanasana

Anjaneyasana with Quad stretch and back bend

eka pada rajakopatasana prep

eka pada rajakapotasana with arms in gomukhasana

ardha bhekasana

ardha bhekasana with other arm in up dog

danurasana

danurasana with one arm in bhekasana

bhekasana

setu bandhasana

urdhva danurasana

dwi pada viparita dandasana

eka pada rajakapotasana

backbend delight and free for all- kapinjalasana, natrajasana, kapotasana

Down Dog

Uttanasana

Down dog

child's pose

parsva adho mukha vajrasana

pascimottasana

agnisthambhasana

agnisthambhasana with twist

pascimottasana

janu sirsasana

pascimottasana

windhsield wiper pose

knees to chest

savasana

And some picture pilfered from Lisa's Facebook page!

Kelly's backbend demo

me showing off

J-Man's demo- (Jeremiah turned in his Anusara-Inspired application to the Anusara Yoga office on Friday. YAY!)

Pose of 2009

Zoe--friend, yogi, mother and mistress of music

Alexis

Kelly

natrajasana play- erica, margaret, hannah

margaret and catherine

Brigitte and Alex enjoying the food

Food, glorious food!

For a video of J-Man's demo go here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4uEVW5UF8-o

Oh-- and for another fun clip of me and John Friend at the Curriculum Committee Meeting, Check this out (Compliments of Amy Ippolitti): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B1PaD_i_K0c

All right, then, more pictures to come soon. Time to get the day started.

Well, good morning! We had a great night at the Immersion last night. After some introductory remarks about Patanjali And the History of Yoga we launched into a long practice of standing poses and deep forward bends. It was pretty darn luscious. Here is the sequence and some pictures.

Theme: dwelling in the splendor of the Self

Surya Namaskar

Lunge with back knee down

Lunge with twist

Lunge with twist and a quad stretch

anjaneyasana

Vira 1, Vira 2, Rev. Vira 2, parsvakonasana flow

Vira 1, rev. vira 1, Rev. revolved vira 2, revolved lunge flow

Chidl's pose

SPG 1, 2

windshield wiper pose

Succirandrasana

reclined babay cradle

seated baby cradle

Krouncasana

parighasana, ashtanga style

uppavistha konasana

baddha konasana

janu sirasana

parivritta janu sirsasana

surya yantrasana

lunge, shoulder under leg

clasped uttanasana

kurmasana

eka pada sirsasana

padmasana

pranayama

meditation

savasana

Don't forget holiday practice and potluck today at 4:00 at Breath and Body Yoga. Come enjoy asana, food and one another.

So, I got home in time for a walk and a soak in the hot tub at the club before Kelly and I made dinner. I was pretty darn tired from the last few weeks and I fell asleep by 9:30 which was most delightful. It was a pretty jam-packed few weeks- completing the Teacher Training Program in Corpus, Completing the Immersion Program in Tucson and then the 3 days in The Woodlands working on the Standardized Immersion Curriculum and setting standards for its implementation. Any one of those things is pretty big but they happened totally back to back with hardly any time to really reflect and integrate. This weekend I teach an Immersion at Breath and Body Yoga and then I have a bit of down time to let these great things soak in a bit.

So- hmm.. a good night's sleep a great cup of tea and a few brief words on the blog before today gets underway. One thing that really came from the meeting was a collective agreement that The Immersion Program is really the jewel of Anusara Yoga. It is such a sacred duty to teach them and to be responsible for teaching the fundamental practices and theories that inform our practice. We all agreed that keeping the integrity of the Immersion Process intact is of the utmost importance. It was so cool to hear the passion and commitment for the program voiced in similar and different ways by the various members of the committee. I am very inspired to continue my work in this are with even more attention to detail and with even more dedication to the teachings themselves. So great.

Along those lines, I have a big stack of work to do for the Immersion Curriculum project as well as a looming stack of work to do for the different programs I want to offer in the next few years. I feel a wave of creative inspiration arising to meet the somewhat daunting stack of work so that is good. All right, some of our Austin gang will head over to The Woodlands tonight for the annual practice with John and Anusara Yoga Office Party. Although that is a super fun thing to do and i have enjoyed going over the last few years, I am really excited to be with everyone at the Immersion with the Immersion Curriculum so fresh in my mind!

And on Saturday night we have a potluck and practice at Breath and Body Yoga to enjoy together. (Those of you in the Immersion, do not worry- our asana practice won't be totally ass kicking on Saturday so you will still be able to practice at 4! Or you can go home, take a shower and come back for the festivities.) At any rate, I hope to see you many of you at the practice or at the party. Always such a nice way to be together. Truly.