“Whatever your drama is, brighten your spirit anyway”
If I had come up just for this morning’s session, it would have been worth it — & there’s six more!!
Up at 4 am for time to shower, drink tea, and get briefly lost on the way (I’ve even been to Fresh Yoga before, but it was early…) Immediately ran into one of my favorite fellow students from my own teacher training session — pure delightful coincidence since she lives in Vermont & happens to have an uncle in New Haven so was able to come for five days!! We set up mats next to each other & plan to bring extra clothes & go out tomorrow after class.
Session started in a circle, with Ana setting the theme for both the meditation and the asana practice as connecting to & brightening up your spirit. She did it in a great way that speaks to the discussions I’ve been having with friends & fellow bloggers on the swampy, smelly side of our emotional existence. The challenge she set us was to recognize & acknowledge any dramas or pain that may be going on in our lives, and brighten our spirits any way. Because really, it will always help the situation to connect on that deep level to spirit/heart/joy/your choice of symbol here.
Then we did some chanting — singing really, to the accompaniment of some drums & noisemakers scattered through the circle. The songs were the same as when I did teacher training (& have been the same for quite awhile — I remember them from workshops years back) & I literally got chills singing ‘em out. See, when I went to my teacher training I was having awful problems with my voice. It was a mess: rasping, breaking, sometimes losing it entirely… it was really hellish doing a teacher training with a messed up voice & it took me a little while to work through my issues & find it again (literally & metaphorically). Turned out I had a vocal cord cyst (same as Rachael Ray, yes : ) and some months later had it surgically removed. Nowadays, I do voice therapy exercises every morning that keep it tuned up & in shape. It’s a delight to sing again.
Asana practice ran two hours & focused on backbends. Really needed that – been having low back problems from not lifting my ribcage up enough during practice (dumping into low back) combined with all the hauling involved in the move. Got some great assists & tips.
Plus, it was quite fun to hear the teacher trainees having to do “call & repeat” cueing & talking themselves into & out of the warm ups & sun salutes. Very sweet to NOT have to do it this time. : )
We were turned loose for the apex pose with a choice of full wheel, viparita dandasana (essentially wheel on the forearms), drop backs, or scorpion in forearm balance. I went with the latter, just for entertainment. Also, Ana turned over the warm down to us, specifically so teacher trainees could practice sequencing & everyone else could work with what felt good to them following deep backbends.
Then, pure bliss: Ana focused on me during, like, the whole savasana while I was lying belly down over a rolled up mat & treated me to a magic fingers back massage that had me droolingly happy. : )
After getting cleaned up, went out to the Olympos Diner in Meriden, CT & had a disappointing breakfast there. Hobbitlike (& because I hadn’t eaten since 1 pm yesterday), I was fortunately able to enjoy a second breakfast shortly thereafter at the Huxley’s Bookstore Cafe down the road which was FAB.
Played the rest of the day; finally saw Harry Potter & The Half Blood Prince! Laziness is the agenda from here on… Gotta be in bed by 7ish so not exactly gonna paint the town red. : ) Can’t wait for tomorrow morning!!
Tags: Daily Yoga Practice, Forrest Yoga, Teacher Training, The Forrest Yoga Project
August 3rd, 2009 at 8:20 pm
Logan and I were just talking about/working on this very thing today- to make the choice to be happy even when I’m not feeling like it because the very act of pretending to be happy or putting my energy in that direction will start to make me feel better. Thanks for sharing your adventures this week and keep enjoying yourself!
August 4th, 2009 at 4:33 am
I don’t think the word “pretend” is the best one, as your second clause in the sentence acknowledges. The skill Ana keeps pushing her peeps to develop is choosing what energy to run through our bodies — toxic crap, or something better. And we can do this by changing our focus, stopping self-mutilating thoughts, breathing in a way that brightens us up, and moving towards things that make us the person we most want to become & away from crap that dims us. Personal pet peeve of mine is any yoga teacher who says “fake it til you make it” because faking sh*t is the exact last thing we want to do! : )
August 4th, 2009 at 9:07 am
Totally understand what you’re saying and agree! Good stuff! However, there are those days where sometimes faking it is all I’ve got- or at least that is what it feels like! Even so, maybe I’ll replace that actual phrase (pretending/faking it) in my head and just concentrate on the energy. Thanks E!