Heidi, to reiterate, is a goddess.  One of the reasons she is a goddess is that she starts her intensives at 9 am rather than 6 am!  That alone has earned her a place in the pantheon.

Day One began with a call to have the balls to change.  Yes, it was pretty much stated that way.  Direct language & cussing always amuses & delights me, so that worked well.  Heidi did the calling in of the directions ceremony, we chanted & did a guided meditation.  The meditation focused on saying “yes” to whatever was going on within us.  Not in an “I accept & love everything” kinda stupid way (there are things one should NOT accept, such as abuse) but in a “this is what I’m feeling & I can feel that & be ok” sense.  Which is very useful to help with tendencies to disassociate or yell at oneself for having particular feelings.  Such as running out of one’s skin everytime one is angry or bored or happy even.

The class that followed was a two hour, open-to-all public inversions class.  Heidi focused on external rotation in the shoulders alot anatomically, and in the standing poses, on top of the thighbone/heel alignment.  Nice addition was having the mentees help/spot newer students during some of the wall work, especially learning to get up into handstand.

After lunch, the afternoon started with Heidi setting the focus of the weekend: Finding our authentic voice.  That means teaching honestly, first off, examining the truth of what you say & making sure you say what you mean.  Heidi emphasized that it’s “Getting clear on why you teach what you do — is it because it resonates with you or it’s easier?  Is is something you’re passionate about, or is it a job?”   An authentic voice is not monotone, or riddled with repeat words, “teacher voice” or boring.  It also means being clear & direct — speaking, touching, & demoing with a purpose.  In short: teaching with passion from your experience.

We then reviewed smudging & did a short smudging ceremony.  After that, talking circle.  To prep for the circle, Heidi had us do some guided process writing on a series of questions about expectations for ourselves, our students & our teachers.  In talking circle, each person had 3 minutes with the talking stick to say something from those questions or whatever else was most pressing to say.  Oh, and you have to talk the Whole Three Minutes.  It’s funny — bunch of teachers who can talk for 90 minutes at a stretch all get wound up about talking 3 minutes with the stick.  

Then the group split into two & each group sequenced an inversion class, one 75 minutes & one 90 minutes.  Heidi reviewed the classes with each group to help finesse the sequencing. 

After the group reconvened as a whole, we finished the day with a teaching circle.  This was neat — each person taught three breath cues for a pose (which we made up as we went around) in a different way each time.  For example, on the first turn around the circle, each person just had to teach using the Breath Formula.  Inhale, speak on exhale.  Second turn around the circle, you had to inhale into pelvis, then speak.  Third turn, inhale into heart, then speak.  Fourth turn, inhale, feel whatever you’re feeling, then speak.

I HIGHLY recommend that last for a daily practice.  Inhale.  Feel whatever you’re feeling.  Then speak.

That’s actually kind of my homework from the weekend, but I’ll get to that tomorrow when I recap Day Two!

1. Leez Says:
   February 8th, 2010 at 11:19 am

   I THOUGHT THAT MIGHT BE YOU! I was one of the ordinary citizens a few mats down the wall during the 10-2 session. The woman beside me kicked up for her first time! What a great class. It was my birthday present to myself.

2. autumnlotusyoga Says:
   February 9th, 2010 at 8:33 am

   Leez, HAPPY BIRTHDAY!! What a great gift to yourself. Next time, pretty please, you gotta just come up & say hi!! I’ll be the one with the red hair & a rose between her teeth. We can burble about how wonderful Fresh & Heidi & Forrest yoga are. Think I’m back in town the first weekend of May for the next workshop.