Anusara Workshop w/ Christina Sell

Last month Christina Sell, owner and instructor at the San Marcos School of Yoga, came back to Corpus Christi to grace us with her wonderful knowledge and spirited style once again. The Yoga Studio of Corpus Christi hosted a 3 day, 4 session workshop with Christina guiding us through Anusara yogic practices and theories.

Anusara Yoga is a school of yoga started by John Friend back in the mid-nineties. This school of Yoga's "popularity is due in large part to its uplifting philosophy, epitomized by a 'celebration of the heart,' that looks for the good in all people and all things."(1)

I have long heard of John Friend; his name appears in every Yoga magazine, half the Yoga books reference tables, and all the studios I've ever visited. His fame and respect is well deserved throughout the community. So when I first heard about Christina, a teacher of Anusara Yoga, coming to pass on the styles, practices and philosophies, I knew I had to experience it for myself. After all, as any practitioner of Yoga knows, we're all perpetual students, the study and practice never end.

Out of the 4 sessions I was able to attend 2: Friday evening and Saturday afternoon. I knew my plate was going to be full that weekend, just making those two sessions was quite a squeeze, but we do what we must, right?

Friday's session worked heavily on learning to rotate our thighs properly and opening our pelvic base to allow the maximum amount of room for full release into our poses. "Inner Spiral" was the catch phrase of the night. After a brief lecture on the ensuing practice, Anusara philosophies, and our signature opening chant to honor ourselves and each other (Christina calls it the Sanskrit 'Amazing Grace''), we opened with a series of Surya Namaskars for a good warm-up. Then straight into Forward Lunges -Anjaneyasana .

I know that it's not popular to start with such a physically demanding pose, but we all quickly found out that there was most assuredly a method to her madness. To begin with, Christina has a great philosophy that all people move to their own rythms and patterns. As far as you go is as far as you go... and for you, that is perfect. Not to forget that what is perfection one day is not always the same the next day. Furthermore, we took the pose step-by-step, making a special point to understand the ins and outs before proceeding too deeply.

Through 3 hours of practice and teachings, we progressed from Forward Lunges to One-legged King Pigeon Pose - Eka Pada Rajakapotasana. Both these poses I have worked on for years, picking up techniques and suggestions from various instructors and students along the way. All the while listening to how my body responds to the pose. Some suggestions were more helpful that 0thers, but what I took away from Friday's class topped it all. Christina Sell has a way of breaking down the ideals and processes of each pose to the near finite, then explaining the whole of it to a degree of satifaction that leaves little to question.

I had to miss Saturday's morning session due to my own Yoga teaching schedule and made a point of attending the afternoon session. When I got there I wasn't sure just how far I was physically going to be able to participate. I had already lead 2 Yoga sessions and attended my kenjutsu class. I was 5:30 hours into back to back classes. I didn't know how much more my body had to offer. But physical participation or not, I wanted to at least pick up the teachings, styles, and philosophies of Anusara Yoga.

We opened in the same manner as the day before. After the Sun Salution series we went to the floor and started with Wide-Angeled Seated Forward Bend - Upavistha Konasana. We worked through a series of opening hip moves while remembering to spiral out our thighs that utilized Baddha Konasana, Adanda Balasana, and eventually working our way to Head-to-Knee Forward Bend - Janu Sirsasana. At one point Christina walked over while I was trying to guide my right rib cage to my left knee. After asking permission, she adjusted my midsection spacing (same theory we were using to open our pelvic floors for more room to move) and down my body naturally went until my right ribs really were touching my left knee.

Getting into the pose is one thing, coming out of it is quite another. So I braced myself to see what my body was going to do next. Up I came with no twitches, aches or screams. A true release of my body into the pose. Even after being physically active most of the day, I felt great.

Christina Sell's workshops help remind me why I got into teaching Yoga in the first place.

Illustrating shoulder position during poses.

Eka Pada Rajakapotasana

Using straps for thigh spiral and opening into the pose.

Explaining the use of straps and assistance to aid in the poses.

Ahimsa For All

So here’s one for the books:

A couple weeks ago two ladies and I were in yoga class. I was teaching, they were following.

Our nod to a bit of Jnana Yoga was a talk about connecting with ourselves. About remembering to think about our Self once in a while, to be selfish in a good way and not sacrifice our betterment and health for the world all the time. Moms seem to be keenly accustomed to this kind of lifestyle. And understandably so; children need guidance every step of the way and sometimes they just don't get that Mom needs a little moment to herself once in a while.

So we take a moment once a week to go to a Yoga class and connect with ourselves again.

The ladies were all nods and smiles at the beginning and so into the Hatha practice we went. Each inhalation and lifting of our eyes, I reminded us to lift our hearts and open to the world, experiencing the Self that lay within.

We were just getting into the intensive part of the practice, everyone was in Adho Mukha Svanasana - Down dog - when I looked up to see how their alignment, breathing and postures were. I glanced over at “D” and saw that about a foot away from her right hand was a massive Waterbug, more commonly referred to as a Cockroach. With eyes wide, I quickly glanced over to the ladies to see if either of them had spied the bug as well. They were deep into their poses, making good work of their inner attentions, so no one had seen the little bugger, but me. It was upside down and still as death. I knew the owners of the establishment poisoned regularly - as everyone in South Texas does. Unfortunately the common side effect to poisoning for roaches is that they seem to choose to crawl out from their hiding places and die in the middle of the floor. This little guy had missed the morning sweeping.

As I gingerly walked off the platform and over to the roach I asked them to listen to their breath and consciously steady the in and out flow. Honestly, I was hoping they wouldn’t look up and see where I was going.

If you’ve never seen a Waterbug here in the South before, let me offer a little background on them. They’re brown, 2 inches long average, they live in trash and on your uncovered kitchen food, impossible to kill, and can live for a ridiculously lengthy amount of time without their heads. In any other context a truly amazing creature to study. But NOT in the middle of a yoga session.

I approached the roach and imagined that if I kicked it just right, I would send its dead little body sliding down the edge of the wall, under the toe kick and to the back of the room and no one would be the wiser. Just a silent little flick and we could all move on without worry.

So I flicked it with my toe, a move I have performed a thousand times over since growing up in South Texas, only this time my aim was immensely off and it landed right on “D’s” mat near her right foot. I quickly stepped over and told her to not move as I attempted once again to expertly toe flick the bugger off her mat to the side.

Not only did I miss it completely, but it wasn’t dead at all, just apparently stunned. With the cockroach now fully awake, it turned and started running up her foot. Naturally, I started swatting at the bug, and her foot, repeating “Don’t move! I got it!” All the while
”D” saying “I can’t see what it is, I don’t have my glasses on,” and donkey kicking her foot back.

I finally landed a good swat and sent the offending roach sliding across the floor to the back of the room, stopping with an audible ‘thud’ as it hit the back wall. So much for practicing Ahimsa.

After some laughs and quick anecdotes about our own experiences with roaches, I wondered if we were ever going to get our attentions back to the task at hand and make this class a fruitful practice. Thankfully, no one in that room that day was a stranger to the wiles of South Texas Cockroaches and we were all able to put the experience behind us pretty quickly. After a bit of meditation to center ourselves again with our Self, we proceeded with the session and ended with, surprisingly enough, lunch.

What a wonderful group of ‘flexible’ ladies. :)

The Chakras and You

During the Spring I came across several teachings through my readings and practice that repeatedly touched base on the Chakras. Whether it was the right time for me, or the teachings were well delivered, or the planets were in alignment, regardless of the reasons, the individual (and unexpected) messages on the Chakras really stood out for me. I started isolating much of my studies on the work of the Chakras; the theories, practices, and correlations to western science. I found the teachings to be very enlightening; from the pragmatic to the metaphysical.

In a nutshell, they just make sense. So, for the joy of it all, I decided back in May to devote the rest of the Summer sessions at the Tango Tea Room to Chakra work. There are 8 Saturday sessions throughout the Summer. At the end of May we started with the first Chakra, Muladhara. At the next session we will be working on the fourth, Anahata.

I offer a hand out with the symbol on top, a brief description to go with the lecture that begins the class, and highlights of the specifics with the traditional Sanskrit names so if anyone wants to research the information later, on their own time, they have a reference point to start from.

Like always, in every session I remind the participants that what I say, what the books and teachings say that I reference to are not here to be forced down anyone’s throat as the end-all-be-all to truth and life. I know people are quite varied in their beliefs and if anything, particularly on the spiritual end, interferes, collides, or goes against their personal beliefs, then let it go. These sessions are for enlightenment and to better ourselves, not to hurt, judge or in any other way create discomfort. Everyone seems to understand and respect the openness of the class. Without fail, at the end of these sessions someone has always come up to share with me their “aha” moment that morning. Discussions ensue and the teachings carry on out the door.

I feel that the way the Chakra teachings move through the cleansing of the body, mind, then spirit work well for all. Whether the yogi believes in God, Nature, Nothing, or Everything these teachings speak to all. My hope is that at some point in time, immediately or years later, these positive lessons of enlightening the Self find a way to help everyone.

Kerrville Folk Festival - 2

Hill Country, Texas

We're back :)

The Kerrville Folk Festival runs 18 days straight, we managed 12 days straight this year - plus 3 at opening weekend.

What a run! I will always be indebted to the masterminds of music lovers - Dalis, Rick, Lee, and all the rest - for starting this beautiful festival and sharing it so freely with the world. For those of you who have not had the pleasure of a true 'Music Festival', imagine everything you do, from sun up to sun down, being performed to a non-stop soundtrack. Every moment of your day - brushing your teeth, showering, walking, talking, ordering lunch - being filled with the melodious sounds of someone's soulful heart and talent. It's a wonderful reprieve from the maddening pace of the socialized world we normally call 'home'.

Two days into the festival this year, or really two days and 18 years into the festival, and I had already become so accustomed to the dulcet tones of the days that I had begun to tune them out as I went about my work and play at Kidsville. So much so that when 9AM came around and I headed over to the theatre for our first adult yoga session I wondered if anyone would be bothered that I didn't bring a CD player and music. As soon as the thought hit me, I raised my hand up and hit myself. How silly. Without even realizing it, as soon as my yoga bag went over my shoulder I instantly fell into my standard class mode that I guide with here in the city.

With each step taking me towards the open air theatre in the camp grounds, I ran through my mental checklist as if it were any other day at home: mats, blankets, incense, lighter, Four Corners book, CDs, player, etc. I had, in a sense, simultaneously fallen so completely in step with my surroundings and equally out of step.

As I laughed at myself for being so goofy (again), I knew that starting a new series of yoga sessions with a whole new group of people while my mind bounced in and out of the present was not the way to go. So I must say I was glad to see that no one had arrived yet, therefore giving me time to quietly set up the mats and take a moment to myself.

After all the extra mats were laid out and ready, there were still no new arrivals; for yoga, at least. Several wandering musicians had stationed themselves in various places along the etched, stone seats under the roof and were practicing a myriad of melodies and chords.

It was just the focal point I needed. With this being the first day of morning yoga offered I knew the attendance was going to be as unpredictable as it could get. I was as prepared for anything as I could be, including no one. And at this point, it was precisely so. So I took the opportunity - children gone, husband busy, friends out, yogis m.i.a. - to find a comfortable Ardha Padmasana, close my eyes and pin point one player, one line of music. All the musicians under the roof that morning were playing guitars, so the sounds, even in different keys, blended so well.

Within seconds, one line in the key of G came swimming out of the others and straight into my ears. The man was picking and strumming the same 4 chords over and over, in a wonderfully repetative manner that struck me as guitaristic chanting.

I took his lead and allowed my mind to finally wonder into a focal point and so began some real yogic work. After an undertermined amount of time, I worked through a few rounds of the full Yogic Breath, then into my Hatha Yoga practice.

No one came to the session that first day. From a selfish point of view, because of the lack of attendants, it worked out to be a beautiful session for me. I didn't have to think about anyone else, but myself. I went through most of my practice with my eyes closed, moving naturally from one pose to the next, holding poses longer, allowing my body to truly talk with me/itself and guide through channels of comfort creating an ever growing symbiotic state within the levels of myself.

With not having to remind people to "breathe", "draw the navel in", "release neck tension" and all the rest, I was completely able to coil in on myself and make amazing headway.

I can not tell you how long my session lasted on that stage, but the musical mantra never stopped and by the time I came out of my restorative meditation followed by a couple Ardha Matsyendrasanas, I was feeling better than I had in at least 3 weeks.

Here's to all the fascinating, eccentric, and above all beautiful people I shared the last two weeks with... and for some, the last 18 years.

Namaste :)

Kerrville Folk Festival - 1

It's festival time again!

About the Festival:

Every year the wonderful crew of people from the Folk Alliance team up with Quiet Valley Ranch to host a family oriented event dedicated to the life and love of music.

"It is the longest continuously running music festival of its kind in North America. For 18 straight days and nights each May and June, over 30,000 guests come from all over the world to experience the magic of what we simply call 'Kerrville'. The Festival is known internationally as a Mecca for singer songwriters of varying musical style. It’s a place where those just developing their skills have the opportunity to play their music along- side master craftsmen.

"In addition to the live music there are also special concerts and activities for children, songwriting schools, music business seminars, hill country bike rides, canoe trips on the Guadalupe River, Sunday Folk Song Services, and our annual New Folk Competition and concerts for emerging songwriters. There is something for everyone who enjoys music, camping, the outdoors, and making new friends."

I have been attending this festival off and on for the last 18 years. In the last two years I have changed my attentions from merely being a fan and avid lover of music to staff member, while still retaining the aformentioned.

This year - as seems to be the trend - has brought on a new tradition for me and family, as well as for the festival. I have now started a daily morning yoga class for the munchkins of the festival.

The family and I went up this last weekend to open the event with all our friends and family. I chose to stick with the Kidsville staff since I knew I would end up there all day anyway with my own little ones. We have a great crew of adults and teens volunteering this year to run the place. But, honestly, that's no different than any of the other years before. The crew members may change from year to year, but they never fail to be anything less than fantastic.

Along with helping out with the daily arts and crafts sessions, music circles, cleaning, organizing and all the rest, I have also started a daily 8AM kids yoga class. It didn't take much prompting to get every mother, father and child excited about the new addition to the Kidsville line-up. Kitara, the woman heading the crew this year, and I decided on the yoga classes Sunday afternoon, spread the word throughout the evening and by Monday morning our first class had every extra mat I brought filled up.... and then some.

And I must say, those are the cutest little kids I've ever seen. They come wondering out of their tents with sleep still in their eyes, hair standing on end, bare footed, and smiling. Most of them are new to the practice of yoga - at least the hatha style -, but never fail to give a warm and cheerful "Namaste" when they walk up and as they leave the mats.

As it is with my classes here in the city, we practice for about 30 minutes, then break so they can all go get breakfast. As soon as school is out on Thursday we're heading up again to stay and play for the rest of the festival, which runs until June 8. To keep the happy vibes going, after the kids class I will be leading a 9AM adult session at Threadgill theatre. It's an open air theatre which we've been helping to build and maintain for longer than I can remember.

If you get a chance, navigate over to the festival's home page. Check it out and as soon as you can, come on over and join the fun!

YOGA DAY BENEFIT - SUCCESS!!!

Namaste beautiful yogis,

Yoga For Life - Yoga Day Benefit for Breast Cancer was a wonderful success. I would consider the event a success even if one person showed up to support Breast Cancer research and a healthy yogic lifestyle. I am pleased to say that more than one person showed their support for the cause, the event and all together we raised $86 for the Avon Walk for Breast Cancer benefit taking place this weekend - April 12 & 13.

It was an absolutely beautiful morning for yoga in the park. A cold front had blown in the day before and dropped the temp to a chilly 50 degrees and I wondered if anyone was going to be able to handle practicing the next morning. Usually, 50 deg. at anytime of year is not something to really give any thought to, but when practicing yoga in a park, outside and exposed to the elements while trying to convince other people to participate, 50 deg. can suddenly make all the difference. Thankfully the Universe was smiling upon us Saturday and the early morning’s chilly winds passed into a perfect afternoon.


We lightly touched based on some Jnana yoga discussions, bringing in elements of teachings I have had that seemed to tie into not only our reasons for attending that morning, but also the little bits of converstations that were passing around before our session. Some revisiting of the yamas; with rememberances of non-violence towards ourselves and others, truthfulness with the few of us who thought about skipping that morning and had to re-evalute our motives, non-stealing of our time and dedication, abstinence from our usual lazy, Saturday morning behaviour, and non-hording of our personal funds.

Our yoga session for the day, however, was largely dedicated to our individual practice of Karma yoga. As Swami Vivekananda says, "Helping others physically, by removing their physical needs, is indeed great; but the help is greater according as the need is greater and according as the help is far-reaching. If a man's wants can be removed for an hour, it is helping him indeed; if his wants can be removed for a year, it will be more help to him; but if his wants can be removed for ever, it is surely the greatest help that can be given him."

And, of course, we continued our steady practice of Hatha yoga. With the weather being slightly chilly at the beginning, we chose to go through a more thorough psycho-physical session to warm-up our muscles, joints, ligaments, organs, and all the rest. We followed that with a lovely hour of asanas; starting with a couple surya namaskars, facing east then west for each series.

With the consent from everyone, we followed then with some supported shoulder stands and inversions. There were a couple ladies who wished to not go into to full shoulder stands. I momentarily debated whether I should cancel the sequence because there wasn’t 100% inclusion. The grass we were practicing on was so cushiony and soft, I felt it was too perfect to pass up. Half of the students had already shown interest in supported shoulder stands before, I was just waiting for the right timing. This seemed as right a time as possible.

So instead, I showed the two ladies (and everyone else) the modifications for the series. As the class rolled back and lifted themselves onto their shoulders, everyone else wishing to do the modifications laid back into Viparita Karani. As we went from Sarvangasana to open V-legs, to Halasana, the modified poses went from Viparita Karani to open V-legs, to either knee-to-chest or back to Viparita Karani. When everyone rolled up into sitting possition with a smile on their faces, I guessed it was the right timing after all.

After our meditation time in Savasana pose, I took everyone through a little introductory practice of Trataka. Some of the students wore glasses, some didn’t. Just like the asanas, these eye practices benefit everyone. We took the last 10 minutes to touch base on some of the practices and philosophies of Trataka and I ended it with some resource info. Reminding them that I, too, am a student of the practice and to further their studies they would do best to find a seasoned practitioner.

I am so thrilled to have shared this time with all those lovely yogis and I hope to have many more classes with them in the future.

Namaste :)

KIDS YOGA CLASS

At the beginning of this month I teamed up with Michelle who runs one of our local yoga studios- Yoga Studio of Corpus Christi- to start a new yoga class for kids. With the exception of a Family Yoga class on the Navy base, it is the only kids yoga class in the city.

With having two little ones of my own - 5 & 8 -, I have become quite familiar with the attitude and energy of children while practicing hatha yoga. My kids are cute as a button, but I don't pretend to think they're anywhere ready to practice the other paths of yoga yet. Not in any serious manner. Because, after all, what 5 year old can honestly be called "serious".

Our smallest class consisted of just my two little ones. Our largest class included mine, three sisters and our most loyal follower Adare. She's 3 years old and absolutely divine. When Michelle and I set up the class, one of my specifics was in the age limit; 5-12. Under 5 yrs. old and it usually turns into a glorified babysitting session. Over 12 and a lot of kids are ready for the adult classes. Usuall because they've been practicing hatha yoga for a while by then, they know what's going on and their bodies can handle the more intense class time. And if/when the classes get too big, the kids are split into two sessions 5-9 & 10-12.

However, just like a lot of things in life, the age limit is more of a guideline than a set rule. Take Adare for example; she's 3, but she is by far more focused in class than my own 5 year old. Part of that, though, could be because I'm the Mom and my kids see me in a different light than the others. Right now, because of the newness of the class, the other students still see me as a stranger and haven't had the time to develop any kind of relationship with me. That comes with time.

I've come to find out that teaching kids yoga makes for a great practice in patience and all of the yamas.

Kids are beautiful, crazy little soft balls of massive energy; free flowing, wide-eyed and above all new. Everything is new to them, even the things they've heard a million times over, it's still received as new information needing further processing. They come into the class bouncing around with their favourite mats underarm trailed by their far more subdued moms.

So far, I've left it up to the parents (all moms so far) to decide whether they wish to sit in on the class or wait out front. My philosophy is that they know their kids better than I do and every child is different. Heck, every human is different. And if they feel that sitting in the back of the class is the better choice, then go for it. Their kids will understand what they need to -whether it be patience, independence, flexibility, or confidence - in their own time. All I ask is that the kids and parents alike give me a chance to capture the attention of the kids before they feel the need to jump in and help. Help, funny enough comes in many forms; helping their child into a pose, helping them show-off their mom's cool inverted pose, helping me with runaways.

The best and most difficult part about teaching hatha yoga to children is that I never know what to expect from one class to the next. It really is all up in the air. The same philosophy can also be applied to any adult class, but there is an expectation of decorum, layout and reserve. It all varies from class to class, but not nearly to the extent of a children's session.

For example:

The class where we had the three sisters show up. The last 15 minutes were spent trying to get the kids to not run over each other as they animatedly performed their favourite poses. I realized I was losing my audience and the moms in the back were looking a little worried so I took a mental moment (no more than a breath's worth) and decided to just flow with the kids in their sea of seeming chaos. I could tell, however, that what was coming out as chaotic banter and actions harbored an underlying current. They were all trying to best one another with showing off their yogic abilities. So I went with it.

I said "OK, guys, if everyone can get onto their own mats, you will each have a chance to show us all your absolutely, most favourite yoga pose. If you know the name share it with us. If you don't, I'll tell you what the name is in as many laguages as I can remember." That did it. The oldest girl went first and we just circled around from her. It ended up being my personal favourite of all the classes so far.

Then at our last class, it was my two kids and Adare. The A/C was not working and it was around 80 degrees outside. There are no windows in this studio so it's not hard to imagine, I'm sure, just how hot and stuffy it got in there. Thank goodness the previous instructor didn't leave any insense burning. It just would have been too overwelming.

My kids had agreed that they were going to attend this class and with that they knew they had to stay in the studio area and not run in and out from the front room to the studio. Well, sure enough, between the ever increasing heat, the wind-down of late afternoon and hungry tummies, my two munchkins couldn't keep their attentions on me for one second. We weren't even 5 minutes into class and my son excused himself to the front, followed shortly by my daughter. Adare was absolutley not into the idea of performing anything by herself that day and very politely, and repeatedly, told me so. I brought out every trick I had to try and keep her attention on the excitement of hatha yoga, but to no availe.

It also didn't help that my daughter kept running in and out telling me how her brother was bothering her and how he stole her chocolate (I didn't even know they had any on them) and on and on. In and out of the bathroom for one thing or another. To say the least, I was losing my cool. We ended class 5 minutes early that day. Mostly because there were no more students left on the mats. At least no one was crying. I've been very fortunate to not have an injury or a crying session in class. Yet ;)

As much as I raged in my younger years against the idea of having children and the absurdities of procreating in this day and age, my favourite people in this world are children. They live in an envious state of love and acceptance. They move from spirit to dream, dream to reality without boundaries. Children absorbe everything in their path and all they want is to play and be happy. And because of that they're the happiest beings I know.

I spend every waking moment trying to reaquaint myself with my former child-self. It's a blissfull place to be and a wonderful way to live. My own children have helped raise me as much as I've been raising them. They and their friends remind me how life is truly a simple thing and the ultimate goal is know one's self and simply BE.

Yes, I am fortunate enough to live in a great place where I'm allowed to excersize my own personal freedoms. Say what I please without fear of persecution. Study what I wish and become my own person.

.... and I'm taking every advantage of that freedom that I can to hopefully one day find samadhi.