I'm Here and Ready to Share!!

I wish I could tell you that I was off traveling the world and had limited to zero access to a computer because I was living on top of a mountain surrounded by an overwhelming amount of beauty...but I can't lie to my favorite friends and readers!

My month-long hiatus was due to an incredibly over-whelming month.  I've started a new job position at work to which I devoted much of my time to- being somewhat of a perfectionist (or perhaps just incredibly hard on myself) I wanted to assure that I proved worthy to fill the shoes of this exciting new position.  I would tell myself every night when I got home to update my precious bloga, but the fatigue overpowered me and I couldn't quite find the right words to type and share.  But now, here I am baaaaby, come and take meeee (my apologies, I'm listening to Al Green).  I feel like I have so much to say now!  Let's break it all down.

My Yoga Room
It's beautiful.  I mean, really beautiful.  You all know the walls have been painted, but I also started decorating.  I have a book shelf that adorns what appears to be a neverending array of books, both yoga and non-yoga related.  There are 3 cute little white ceramic brids perched on one of the shelves, as well as a silver elephant.  Elephants hold a strong symbolism as representing warriors filled with inner strength and nobility- what a perfect animal for my room!  And apart from being incredibly adorable, my little birds have a nice meaning as well.  Birds used to be thought as the supernatural link between Heaven and Earth.  How nice to think of this as I'm grounding my feet to the earth and lifting the crown of my head to the sky.  I have a lovely lamp in the corner illuminating my room, as well as a scroll on the wall which displays the following quote from Yagananda : "Those who live passionately teach us how to love, Those who love passionately teach us how to live".  Yeap, the yoga room is definitely a shield of serenity.  Oh, and of course the neurotic neat freak in me played a roll in its creation: my yoga props are all neatly tucked away in a basket.  How organized!  I know I promised photos, but I still want to wait for all the finishing touches- namely the curtains and the new molding that Vinny will so kindly install for me soon *ahem nudge nudge wink wink* 

My Very First YTT Weekend
It seems funny writing to you about this only now, since my next YTT weekend is the one coming up!  But the vigorous emotions that went through my being are just as present today as they were those few weeks ago.  Let me tell you: the YTT experience is intense.  It is also, however, unbelievably remarkable.  I hand't done so much yoga in one weekend- I could hardly walk the following Monday.  Let me break down the weekend for you:

Friday
We all sat around in a circle, cushions and blocks comforting our buns, and introduced each other.  Now when I say we, I mean the group of about 20 of us.  To think that the YTT had been postponed a few months because there was about 7 people who applied last year.  Now, we are close to 20.  It was well worth the wait!  We all spoke a little about each other, about why we were here, how we discovered yoga, what we do for a living- basically anything and everything we wanted to share.  To my surprise, I was actually one of, if not the, youngest person there.  It is such a diverse group- older ladies, mothers old and new, yoga teachers who want to deepend their study or learn a new tradition, some who have traveled far to be there...it was so nice to see a grouping of strong women opening their hearts.  We then took a quick break and came back to end the class with a yoga practice.

Saturday
More yoga practice!  Yahoo!  It was the perfect way to start an early 8am morning.  We then moved into what are called Posture Clinics.  This part was extremely absorbing.  We learned how to properly align our bodies in Tadasana (Mountain Pose), Ardha Chandrasana (Half-Moon Pose) and Virabhadrasana Eka (Warrior 1). But it was more than being taught proper alignment.  We discovered common misalignments and how to adjust other students.  It's boggling when you realize how important the human touch is when adjusting someone.  Our hands were shown how to touch people in order to help them attain the most from each pose.  To see how every detail in the body is at play within individual poses really blew my mind.  The human body is such a wonder, seriously.
We also discussed theoretical aspects of teaching, such as how to set a certain mood in your class, appropriate teacher behavior, and how a yoga teacher can be viewed in a student's mind.  You really get an up-close account at how powerful a yoga teacher really is.  They are teachers and healers.  They are people we at times confide in because we feel safe with them.  A yoga teacher can play a very integral role in the lives of their students.  I found a lot of myself throughout this discussion.  I think I tend to put my teacher on a pedastal, which is not necessarily a bad thing at all times, but its's important to remember that we are both human, and I am just as capable of fiding answers to my questions if I simply let myself dive deep inside.  A yoga teacher can guide you to those answers, but inevitably we as students are the ones who find them.  We then ended the day with another yoga practice- a perfect ending to a perfect Saturday.

Sunday
Of course, more yoga, yay!  Aftewards, our next posture clinic was Virabhadrasana Dwi (Warrior 2), Utthita Parsvakonasana (Side Angle Stretch) and finally Trikonasana (Triangle Pose).  Again, similarly to the previous clinic, we broke down the poses and practiced explaining them to other students and aligning their bodies appropriately. I realy loved all the hands-on work.  It made me realize how diffitul it actually is.  It appears so easy when I see my own teacher adjusting me as well as others, but to actually muster up the courage inside to place your hands on someone and guide their bodies into the poses can be very intidimating.  But once you've done it and done it right, it's accomplishing.  We then learned how to center the beginning of a class.  How we can create a serene environment to ready it for an actual practice.  We learned and also discovered our own language for setting the right mood to allow students to feel present.  I felt like a real teacher, it was phenomenal.  We then furthered our discussion about yoga teacher ethics before breaking up into groups.  Now, the groups are wonderful.  Four to five people from completely different backgrounds, sitting together and sharing their weekend experience.  We then taught an actual yoga class amongst ourselves.  One person would start with centering, a couple others would go into teaching asanas, and the final person would end the class with relaxation- I did that part and it was completely stunning.  I got to watch as I guided my small group into a state of relaxation, calm and bliss.  It felt good, really good.

The entire weekend seemed to fly by.  The weekend was jam packed with information, but not the kind that necessarily leaves you feeling overrun.  It leaves you excited to keep learning and further the training.  Leaving the studio almost felt sad.  I wouldn't see these girls for another month, with the exception of my group because we meet once a month in beteween trainings to chat, practice and go through our homework assignments- yes, there is written homework, and it really makes you use your brain to its fullest capacity!  But now, as though it was just yesterday, I'll be spending more time at the studio this weekend and filling my body and mind with all the knowledge my teacher has to share.  And I can't wait!

Namaste,
Lady Lotus