10,000 Vinyasas

Well, here’s something I though would never happen...I appeared on a local television show and did some yoga. Considering that I’m coming up on my third anniversary of practicing yoga, this is something that really made me stop and think. How did I get here? I think that, and this is kinda funny because the rest of my life has always been so planned, so cautious, so little to do with my feelings and instincts, yoga has taken me in a direction I never thought possible, and the interesting thing is, I’m not in control of it at all. I just do whatever feels right, and things like Wednesday just kinda happen.

Practice notes: attended Ken’s Eight Limbs in Eight Hours (awesome title!) workshop on Sunday, which included the full primary series. I had forgotten how rigorous and thorough this practice is, since it’s been a few months since I did it, and oh did my knee hurt afterwards. Guess I’m not ready quite yet. Have been attending Acro-Yoga (yeah, like you couldn’t tell) and really still enjoying the physical challenge of it, as well as the warmth and closeness of the people involved (they are very very supportive, which is so nice when you’re doing extreme physical activities). Hats off to my friends!

Couple of new items in my progress as a student and teacher of yoga: a couple of folks at the Ashtanga studio where I study made some remarks over the weekend about me teaching there some day. Since I have the utmost respect for the the teachers at the Shala, this is a high compliment indeed. I am also on tap for teaching another yoga class at the local gym–the one I substituted at last week. I found it a little daunting, since it was a more advanced class (still mixed level, to some degree) and some of the students were skilled practitioners whom I’ve practiced with, so, a tough audience. I must’ve acquitted myself well then.

On a more physical front, I’m really feeling the power and serenity of a strong breath during my practice. I’ve heard people say something like “the breath will lead you through the poses,” but its another thing entirely to really feel it, like I’ve been doing lately. Perhaps it is a milestone, or just an isolated phenomenon; I’m not trying to analyze it…I’m just enjoying the feeling and being fully present at that moment.