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!)

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