The outside temperature reads 42.1 -- warmer than the weatherman predicted on last night's news, but cold for southern california. So glad we didn't ship all our fleece and cold-weather gear to Idaho. Time to layer up!
Speaking of layering up -- these segue's just come out of nowhere sometimes. We layered in Wisdom Warriors yesterday. Three 30-minute 'classes' -- standing poses, forward folds, backbends -- each consisting of about 20 poses. Do the math -- 60 poses in 90 minutes.
NEVER CALL A 'WISDOM WARRIORS' CLASS THE 'OLD PEOPLES' CLASS' !!!
Why would Desiree plan such a class. It actually was a 'dress rehearsal' for a video she's putting together to share with students who don't have access to a Wisdom Warriors practice (currently there are 3 offered in the U.S. -- Del Mar (Desiree) and Temecula, CA (Me - Leslie); and Denver, CO (Michelle Berman Marchildon).
She wanted to 'see' if we could cram 20 poses into 30 minutes and look o.k. doing it (not perfect, mind you; but o.k. -- intermediate level poses, mind you). We succeeded. No one collapsed in exhaustion, no one whined, no one tried to distract her with mindless banter. We did the work and we did it well, if I do say so myself!
I also must thank Desiree for arranging for us to meet with a young man (yes, he was under age 50, by 20+ years, I'd say), whose specialty is "Functional Manual Physical Therapist". Very interesting. Dispelled a few myths and also offered some insights I'd not heard before.
One, I had heard before, but was a great reminder -- look at the whole person when they appear in class complaining of a sore knee. His example: A knee-replacement client still struggling with the same pain as before surgery. Turns out that this client (upon further diagnostic work) has a L2 disc issue, referring pain to the knee -- no real need for a knee-replacement. His mantra: "don't follow the pain".
We've been celebrating Christmas all week. It began Sunday with dinner and some gift opening at our son's home (they will spend actual Christmas Day with other family members); then, last night, the same crew came out for Chinese food at our house. Turns out that the grand-dudes (ages 2, 4, 6), enjoy Chinese food -- who knew? Comment heard from the 2-year-old, upon biting into an egg roll: "Yummy". Then he ate the whole thing, plus another half. Guess he really did like it.
Today? Traveling to Temecula to teach two classes.
Hope you have a great Thursday!
Thursday, December 20, 2012
Thursday, December 13, 2012
TOO MANY THINGS . . .
If I have too many things to write about, doesn't that beg the question: 'why not write more often?'. It does, and I have no good answer so I'll ignore it and continue . . .
First -- Wisdom Warriors, aptly nicknamed "oh, the places you'll go" (whether you ever imagined you'd go there or not). Me? I found myself, supported by Desiree, trying to drop from a headstand into a variation of the pose pictured below. I didn't make it, but I tried. Trying is the value of this type of work.
The rest of the practice? Challenging, a lot of breakthroughs in the room, a lot of watching. Strong core work, carried over into inversions, arm balances, backbends -- just a few poses.
For all of it, I feel great this a.m. and felt great last night. No residual 'stuff'. Love it.
I drove home from Del Mar, grabbed a quick bite, changed into jeans, and got back in the car to drive to Temecula for a kirtan with Daniel Paul and Gina Sala. Wow! After the WW practice, I could have easily said 'I'm too tired'; I didn't and am I glad I didn't. Daniel Paul plays the tabla (small cylinder-shaped hand drums); and is a master at it -- having studied and played with most of the great kirtan groups in the world. Gina -- well, what a voice. And, her joyful personality came through in both her singing and her 'patter' (isn't that what they call chit-chat?) with the audience.
As with kirtans, there was chanting, and dancing. Best parts for me? Hearing their stories - his, an honoring of his teachers and friends, including Ravi Shankar (who passed on Tuesday), plus a bit of education about the tabla. Hers, a smattering of "Christmas Caroling with Friends" meets her Guruji's molecules in India. Such interesting histories!
So glad I made the effort to get there.
Hope you have a great Thursday; hard to believe it's just 12 days til Christmas!
First -- Wisdom Warriors, aptly nicknamed "oh, the places you'll go" (whether you ever imagined you'd go there or not). Me? I found myself, supported by Desiree, trying to drop from a headstand into a variation of the pose pictured below. I didn't make it, but I tried. Trying is the value of this type of work.
 |
| Dwi Pada Viparita Dandasana |
The rest of the practice? Challenging, a lot of breakthroughs in the room, a lot of watching. Strong core work, carried over into inversions, arm balances, backbends -- just a few poses.
For all of it, I feel great this a.m. and felt great last night. No residual 'stuff'. Love it.
I drove home from Del Mar, grabbed a quick bite, changed into jeans, and got back in the car to drive to Temecula for a kirtan with Daniel Paul and Gina Sala. Wow! After the WW practice, I could have easily said 'I'm too tired'; I didn't and am I glad I didn't. Daniel Paul plays the tabla (small cylinder-shaped hand drums); and is a master at it -- having studied and played with most of the great kirtan groups in the world. Gina -- well, what a voice. And, her joyful personality came through in both her singing and her 'patter' (isn't that what they call chit-chat?) with the audience.
As with kirtans, there was chanting, and dancing. Best parts for me? Hearing their stories - his, an honoring of his teachers and friends, including Ravi Shankar (who passed on Tuesday), plus a bit of education about the tabla. Hers, a smattering of "Christmas Caroling with Friends" meets her Guruji's molecules in India. Such interesting histories!
So glad I made the effort to get there.
Hope you have a great Thursday; hard to believe it's just 12 days til Christmas!
Tuesday, December 4, 2012
THE LITTLE THINGS MAKE MY HEART SING!
Yes, the little things.
This harkens back to a blog I read once (written by Christina Sell). In it, she wrote that - to her - the sign of an advanced practitioner is not how many really hard poses he/she can accomplish; but, rather, how do they place their hands on the mat? do their hands remain on the mat or are they fidgeting? stuff like that. The little things that form the basis of our 'advanced' or even 'basic' poses.
I got a good dose of that thought process over the weekend during the slow movement Bo Forbes asked us to participate in. Could I stay aware enough to slowly transition from one pose to another (slow meaning 4-8 seconds in each transition)? As I mentioned yesterday, this was a teaching I'd experienced before and was, therefore, in a head start position as we did the practice (this doesn't happen for me often -- the head start, that is).
Yesterday at the Fallbrook Library there were 30 people in attendance at the one-hour class I teach. All levels, many ages, many body shapes, and a number of people with injuries or limitations. Let me say that, first, I was truly excited and honored to have 30 in the room. Granted it's a 'free' class, however all but 4 of these people had come to my class over the months. Even 'free' doesn't guarantee people will return. Therefore, I choose to believe that they are finding value in the class -- other than it's 'free'.
So, back to the little things:
I offered the Library crew a brief warm-up; centering - baseline - cat/cow (modified to the way Bo taught us over the weekend) and then asked everyone to come to standing. Standing in mountain pose and moving with the breath, I asked everyone to raise and lower their arms. As I looked at the students assembled, I noticed how straight everyone's arms appeared from the front of the room. I walked the rows to see what was happening in their shoulders -- were their arms moving to front plane or were they next to the ears. Goodness gracious!!! Everyone, and I mean everyone, was standing with arms overhead, no elbows bent, and biceps next to ears -- arms lined up just like railroad tracks. Be still my heart.
It is the little things that reflect studentship in the room. Wow!
Today? Taking a day off to spend with my husband. Looking forward to it.
Hope you have a good Tuesday,
This harkens back to a blog I read once (written by Christina Sell). In it, she wrote that - to her - the sign of an advanced practitioner is not how many really hard poses he/she can accomplish; but, rather, how do they place their hands on the mat? do their hands remain on the mat or are they fidgeting? stuff like that. The little things that form the basis of our 'advanced' or even 'basic' poses.
I got a good dose of that thought process over the weekend during the slow movement Bo Forbes asked us to participate in. Could I stay aware enough to slowly transition from one pose to another (slow meaning 4-8 seconds in each transition)? As I mentioned yesterday, this was a teaching I'd experienced before and was, therefore, in a head start position as we did the practice (this doesn't happen for me often -- the head start, that is).
Yesterday at the Fallbrook Library there were 30 people in attendance at the one-hour class I teach. All levels, many ages, many body shapes, and a number of people with injuries or limitations. Let me say that, first, I was truly excited and honored to have 30 in the room. Granted it's a 'free' class, however all but 4 of these people had come to my class over the months. Even 'free' doesn't guarantee people will return. Therefore, I choose to believe that they are finding value in the class -- other than it's 'free'.
So, back to the little things:
I offered the Library crew a brief warm-up; centering - baseline - cat/cow (modified to the way Bo taught us over the weekend) and then asked everyone to come to standing. Standing in mountain pose and moving with the breath, I asked everyone to raise and lower their arms. As I looked at the students assembled, I noticed how straight everyone's arms appeared from the front of the room. I walked the rows to see what was happening in their shoulders -- were their arms moving to front plane or were they next to the ears. Goodness gracious!!! Everyone, and I mean everyone, was standing with arms overhead, no elbows bent, and biceps next to ears -- arms lined up just like railroad tracks. Be still my heart.
It is the little things that reflect studentship in the room. Wow!
Today? Taking a day off to spend with my husband. Looking forward to it.
Hope you have a good Tuesday,
Monday, December 3, 2012
STEPPING OUT . . .
Since I began yoga, I'd say 95% of the events/workshops/trainings had an Anusara tag (name/topic) to them. (It's called 'comfort zone' - I began yoga late, Anusara spoke to me, and I stuck with it.)
Oh, I read a lot of articles and books, watched a few webinars that were from different orientations. And, some of that stuff slipped into my teaching. The point is, I was Anusara thru and thru (almost). Then Anusara hit rough water (JF debacle) last February, tossing and turning, throwing many into the water, some clinging to the hull, others in life rafts. Not sure where I went, just have been watching the action, maybe I was in a life raft -- who knows, I just have drifted away from the wreckage.
So, over the past 10 months, I have thought long and hard about my yoga's future -- what to study, who to study with, what to do with my teaching. One month ago, I signed up for my first workshop in a year and it was with a teacher totally non-Anusara. Unheard of, for me.
Thursday night, I drove from Fallbrook to LaJolla (about a 60 minute drive if traffic 'gods' are happy), and was introduced to Bo Forbes, Founder and Director of The New England School of Integrative Yoga Therapeutics; and author of the book "Yoga for Emotional Balance". I totally stepped OUT of the box, OUT of my comfort zone and into the world.
This was a workshop for all - teachers and students - and the subject matter was emotional wellness (title: Yoga as Mind-Body Medicine). For the next 3 days, I made the same drive - arriving in LaJolla at noon for 7 hours of talk, demonstration, practice.
What did I learn? Too much to write here and, to be honest, I have a lot to digest and practice before I venture out to teach what I experienced.
I did realize, however, that one of my teachers (Adam) had prepared me well for the practice Bo introduced to us -- slow, intentioned movement. What else? That the breath is a major pathway to emotional wellness. What else? That my 'buddha' belly is o.k. (something Sundari has told me, but not something I've accepted very graciously).
Back to routine today (with a small 'hitch'). I'll be subbing 2 classes this morning at Yoga For Life in Temecula, then back to Fallbrook and the Library crew. Busy day, but happy NOT to be driving to La Jolla again (not that I didn't like the end result, and fortunately the traffic 'gods' were with me all the way, but -- it is a long journey).
Hope you have a great Monday and week!
Oh, I read a lot of articles and books, watched a few webinars that were from different orientations. And, some of that stuff slipped into my teaching. The point is, I was Anusara thru and thru (almost). Then Anusara hit rough water (JF debacle) last February, tossing and turning, throwing many into the water, some clinging to the hull, others in life rafts. Not sure where I went, just have been watching the action, maybe I was in a life raft -- who knows, I just have drifted away from the wreckage.
So, over the past 10 months, I have thought long and hard about my yoga's future -- what to study, who to study with, what to do with my teaching. One month ago, I signed up for my first workshop in a year and it was with a teacher totally non-Anusara. Unheard of, for me.
Thursday night, I drove from Fallbrook to LaJolla (about a 60 minute drive if traffic 'gods' are happy), and was introduced to Bo Forbes, Founder and Director of The New England School of Integrative Yoga Therapeutics; and author of the book "Yoga for Emotional Balance". I totally stepped OUT of the box, OUT of my comfort zone and into the world.
This was a workshop for all - teachers and students - and the subject matter was emotional wellness (title: Yoga as Mind-Body Medicine). For the next 3 days, I made the same drive - arriving in LaJolla at noon for 7 hours of talk, demonstration, practice.
What did I learn? Too much to write here and, to be honest, I have a lot to digest and practice before I venture out to teach what I experienced.
I did realize, however, that one of my teachers (Adam) had prepared me well for the practice Bo introduced to us -- slow, intentioned movement. What else? That the breath is a major pathway to emotional wellness. What else? That my 'buddha' belly is o.k. (something Sundari has told me, but not something I've accepted very graciously).
Back to routine today (with a small 'hitch'). I'll be subbing 2 classes this morning at Yoga For Life in Temecula, then back to Fallbrook and the Library crew. Busy day, but happy NOT to be driving to La Jolla again (not that I didn't like the end result, and fortunately the traffic 'gods' were with me all the way, but -- it is a long journey).
Hope you have a great Monday and week!
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