Thursday, January 17, 2013

TEMECULA'S WISDOM WARRIORS

Each week, since April, I have chronicled the activities of the 'flagship' Wisdom Warriors in Del Mar.  You see, that group is guided by Desiree Rumbaugh (with some help from Geri Portnoy & others), and I have made the trek (40 minutes to and fro) almost every week.

Today, tho, I'd like to focus my writing on the Temecula Wisdom Warriors -- a practice I began to guide about 8 weeks ago.  It's an offshoot of the Del Mar Group (Wisdom Warriors is now trademarked by Desiree, due to its popularity and a growing awareness.).

Eight weeks ago, the first Temecula meet-up happened with about six in attendance.  It was fun and I thought "wow, good turnout; this is gonna be great".  After that first class, attendance wax'd and waned; never reaching the original attendance number, once there was no one!  I'm about to think 'throw in the towel'.  Then comes 2013.

Attendance begins to grow - first six, then seven.  Who knows what the future will bring.  What am I thinking now? Hang in there for a bit, see what happens.

I think the shift happened when students realized that it wasn't a class for 'old' people (something like chair yoga), but rather a class for students, aged 50 and older, to come together, refine their yoga skills and push their 'envelopes' a bit.

So, who does attend Wisdom Warriors Temecula at this point -- 50-, 60- and 70-year-olds.  And, what does the practice look like?  Warm-up, sun salutations, standing poses, twists, balance poses (arm and leg), some backbends, some inversions.  Sound familiar? Sound like a 'regular' class?  It is -- it's just attended by 'older' students, willing to laugh, groan, etc., together.

Today?  To Temecula to teach.

Hope you have a great Thursday!

Oh, and what happened at the Del Mar Wisdom Warriors?  Well, a full spectrum of poses; focusing on balance.  Not just standing on one leg, but also balancing energy between left and right.  Always fun, always challenging (Desiree is on a mission -- urdhva dhanurasana is her goal for me; I better get used to it, and practice it!)

Thursday, January 10, 2013

EVERMORE WONDERS . . .

Many blog posts ago, I wrote about the correlation of effective listening to the 3A's of Anusara Yoga -- attitude, alignment and action.  At the time, I thought that was a pretty good comparison and I could make a good case for using those A's for many of the things I do.  I still can.

Though these days, I'm a bit less vocal about shouting the wonders of Anusara from the rooftops. I still reflect on all the good lessons and happy times I shared in the almost-fifteen years I've studied Anusara.

Today, I include different stuff in my study.  Carefully evaluating a presenter's qualifications and material before making a decision to invest.  And, I've found the webinars are a great way to go in this new world.  No packing, no airports to traverse, no husband (or pets) to leave behind.  It's just a more comfortable, yet still effective way of study, and a way to explore new and previously-unknown-to-me instructors.

I've wandered -- back to the title; which comes from this quote:

"If you’re really listening, if you’re awake to the poignant beauty of the world, your heart breaks regularly. In fact, your heart is made to break; its purpose is to burst open again and again so that it can hold evermore wonders." 
~ Andrew Harvey

So, for 2013, I've decided to use the word 'listen' as one of my guides.  I will continue to learn, I will absorb more, and my heart will hold 'evermore wonders'  (LOVE those two words).

Oh, and I was listening yesterday during Wisdom Warriors, as we prepped our way into some backbends.  Comes the dreaded phrase, 'lie on your backs'; which always happens before the dreaded pose -- urdhva dhanurasana (aka backbend or wheel).  I gave it good effort for the first one, and got on top of my head.  Then, she (Desiree Rumbaugh) says:  "give me a number between 5 and 10."  We do. She picks 13.  I know, it doesn't make sense, but it's Desiree; who are we to argue?  13 what?  You got it, 13 Urdhva's.

So, we begin.  A roomful of 50+ year olds (and three 60+ year olds and one 70+ year old) counting down 13 urdhva's.  Each one, my friend (Desiree) is standing over me.  Each one, she grabs my shoulders (and shoulder blades) and helps me up. Each one, she directs by heart (which is about to hold 13 EVERMORE WONDERS), over my hands.

I'm not tired, I'm not even thinking about NOT doing all 13, and we finish.  13 Urdhva Dhanurasanas, with some help from a friend.  Be still my heart.

Today?  Teaching in Temecula:  Gentle/Therapeutic at Yoga For Life at 12:30pm; then practicing with my own group of Wisdom Warriors (which is growing!) at Living Yoga, 2:30pm.

Hope your Thursday is a great one,

Thursday, January 3, 2013

WE WILL ROLL WITH THE POSES . . .

I know that title phrase works better with the word 'punches'; however, it would not have adequately described our Wisdom Warriors' practice yesterday.

Our guide, while Desiree is on holiday, was Geri -- the YogaDelMar studio owner, a wonderful yoga teacher, and - now - a MELT(r) instructor. Lucky us -- we got a practice that blended our yoga with some "MELTing".

What is MELT(r)?  The letters stand for Myofascial Energetic Lengthening Technique.  Our muscles, organs, tendons -- everything has a layer of connective tissue that basically holds everything in place and ready to work.  It used to be that this layer of fascia (connective tissue) was thought to be just that, nothing more; and it was often discarded and/or overlooked when working with clients and patients.  In recent months/years, there has been an awakening to the power of the fascia.

With that awakening has come some innovative and effective ways of massaging, re-hydrating, re-enlivening the fascial layers of our bodies.  One of those is MELT(r), and Geri introduced us to it in yesterday's practice (along with some good yoga).

We began with the hands, squeezing small balls with our fingers, then rolling the balls on top of and underneath the entire hand.  We compared how our hands and fingers felt before and after -- interesting and powerful.

Then, some yoga -- standing poses, a few handstands, some balance work.

And, back to MELT(r) -- this time with a long cylinder (but somewhat squishy) roll that we maneuvered along our hamstrings, then along the IT band (a tough group of fibers that runs from gluteal muscles to knee on lateral aspect of thigh), and then a bit of work on the TFL (tensor fasciae latae - a muscle that begins at our pelvis and connects to the IT band).  ISN'T IT FUN HOW ALL THIS FITS TOGETHER!?!?!?)

So, there you have it -- yesterday's Wisdom Warriors practice; finished off with a wonderful savasana.

On my schedule today -- back to teaching.  First, to Yoga For Life for a Gentle Class; then to Living Yoga for Temecula's Wisdom Warrior practice.

I wish everyone a Happy and Safe 2013!  Keep track of the good things that happen; re-frame the rest.

p.s.  I use "re-frame" a lot, both in teaching and in life.  I took a moment to look it up:  
       re-frame:  frame or express (words or concept or plan) differently.  
       
       It's a keeper.