Inspiring Yoga – on the beach

I’m so hoping that Meghan Currie comes to town someday. I would love to hear, in her own words, how she started with her back-bends. She has the flexibility of anyone in cirque du soleil, but the grace of a yogi. She’s an artist giving life to her practice and everyone that witnesses it!

Her latest:

After watching this the first time, I couldn’t help but have sympathy for her – you see how fast that clouds where moving?  Notice the sand blow by? No matter how warm it is, that sand is getting everywhere. It’s like sex on the beach – great idea until you do it once. Then, it’s just a drink to help you remember how bad an idea it really was!

Yet, even covered in sand, her grace shines through in this video. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did!

Good day.

The next challenge

I’ve finally found a moment that feels right for crafting a few words to share. Life has been very busy, and I feel like I’m just now coming down off my last Yoga Teacher Training workshop. Every day’s been long – except for today! Today, even though it was a deadline day at work, I felt like I’d pretty much completed what needed to be done. There was no need to rush anything else at the last minute. So, what did I do? I got to pamper myself with an extra hour of yoga. It felt good arriving at work as if I’d just played nine holes of golf – relaxed and stress free!

With that in mind, I’m ready to start officially start sharing my yoga experiences. To help me with that, I now get to use the RYT200 designation from 8 Limbs. Check this out:

8limbsCropped

The only designation that I’ve ever had for my name was Mr. And, well, that’s reserved for old people. 🙂  Oh, and what really makes it official is finding my name through the Yoga Alliance site. Just add in my name!

When I signed up for that training program, I had no idea how much work it would be. Before I got started, I had hours and hours of spare time to burn. With that time, I’d taken a liking to researching and blogging. But, as you can already see, that time vanished and blogging was put on hold.

Hopefully, I’ll now be able to find a bit more time to blog. More importantly, I’m hoping to be able to do research on the things that I’m really passionate about. I there is time left over, I’ll share what I can… 

 There are two pictures that I’d really like to share from the last YTT workshop.

Class of 2013

The workshop would not have been the same if I didn’t get to spend it with such a wonderful group of people! Generally, when you get 30+ people together for a week you always get a bad apple. Well, not this time!

Look at all the smiles. Every one you see is genuine.

I’d like to give some special thanks.

Bill – Thanks again. You’re willingness to open your house for the study group might not seem like a big deal, but I don’t think I could have learned the material without your light-natured help. Sometimes, it’s the little things in life that make such a big difference, so, thanks. … Realy.

Emily – Thanks for helping me stay grounded. I can feel that yoga will be really good for you. I’m excited and encouraged how you’ve already embraced the lifestyle. You’re warm smile is pure, genuine and comforting. I’m sincerely looking forward to being able to work with you in the near future. I have a feeling our paths will cross again and that thought warms me already!

Jami – You were a rock of strength for me throughout the entire program. You’re words have always been grounding and strengthening. You smiled at the right time and never held back. It’s clear that you have the sparkle of life for it shows in your eyes. Big things are coming your way… I can feel it.

Duni – You’ve been a great surprise for me. I treasure the enthusiasm you expressed and how you embraced the emotional connections we all shared during the retreat. It’s like, even though all these people are strange, you gained confidence and a sense of feeling like you’ve arrived home. That’s how I feel. You’ve helped me feel that!

As much as I would like to spend all night blogging, there are just too many good things to say about the group! You all warmed my heart and I’ll forever be able to relive that feeling by simply looking at that group picture.

And the retreat setting?

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Emily took this picture, at least that’s what she said. I’m not sure though because it rained cats and dogs for the first four days we were there. I’d expect that you’d still be able to see the puddles and all the muddy footprints! But there was one day, the last one, where we got just a bit of sun. It really did look like this, but only for a few moments. Can you feel it?

So, what is the next challenge?  Well, in one of our last lectures we were asked to right down goals for the coming months. I’m willing to share two of them here and now.

  • Start sharing the joy of yoga with others. That involves teaching Asana, meditation, pranayama and Yogic lifestyle tips. I would expect that this will mean I’ll find a way to teach a regular class. The idea here is that I need to learn how to actually teach yoga.
  • Continue speaking the truth. One of the fundamental principles of yoga is Satya (being truthful and honest). I’ve committed to taking this a step further and actually saying the things that are on my mind as long as they are rooted in the honest truth. So far, I’ve absolutely loved this practice. I’ve found that others love being a part of it.  🙂

I’ll keep everyone informed as to my progress on these goals for they seem completely doable.

Well, times up. See you next time!