Yoga Passbook 2011 - (Move With Grace/From No Pass to Much Class)

Sunday September 11th

Rendering of 9/11 Memorial at Night

This was an interesting day. While the world was mourning I started doing laundry. I had planned to get my haircut, go to yoga and NOT watch the 9/11 memorial coverage. I know it might sound harsh or like I have no heart, but it’s really the exact opposite. For those of us New Yorker’s who were here in 2001, we were here. I mean after the world stopped watching so much, we were still here with the smell of it and the smoke still billowing and the energy of knowing that Ground Zero was not just a burial ground now that 9/11 happened, but it was a burial ground to the African-American people of New York first. A burial ground that had been thoroughly disrespected by the city of New York, but that’s another blog.

As I was doing my laundry I did happened to pull up ABC News on my computer and it was just in time for the moment of silence for when the second plane hit. Of course they showed the actual footage of it either right before of after the moment of silence and all the feelings came rushing back. Then the names. The names. The names. Then they showed an aerial view of the actual memorial. Whew! Damn that memorial is intense. I mean really, really intense. I have never wanted to go down there. I didn’t even want to drive by there. Visiting friends and family tried to get me to go down there in the months after and I just wouldn’t do it. I would tell them they could go, but I wasn’t going.  

[Breathe.]

I turned off my computer probably around letter L of the roll call. I finished my laundry, got myself together and headed out to get my haircut. I talked Candace who cuts my hair a little bit about our 9/11 memories and I felt like yoga was the best way for me to honor those senselessly killed 10 years ago.  

[Breath. Life.]

After my cut was done I headed to Clinton Hill and Move with Grace. Class wasn’t starting until 2:30pm so I had some time to kill. I walked around my old neighborhood that has changed so much and then headed back to the studio. Turned out my girl and superstar in her own right, Tamar-kali was there. She teaches belly dancing at the studio so she was helping out that day. I was still a little early so we chatted for a while until people started to show up. I pulled out my Yoga Passbook for her to sign the pass when she informs me that they don’t take passes anymore. What??!! It turned out that Grace, who owns the studio, had asked the passbook people to take the studio out last year but they didn’t do it. So the passes were in there, but they were not being honored. Oh well. I guess there wasn’t going to be any yoga for me at that studio that day because I didn’t have the $16 to swing it. Just as I was getting ready to pack it up and look in the book for a class later in the day somewhere else, this woman behind me says that since I traveled all the way down there for class I could come as her guest. Turns out it was the teacher Raquel! How sweet was that? So I got to go yoga that day.

Raquel’s class was an hour and it was an open level Vinyasa Flow class. This was another class that was right on time. Even though the class was flow she held the poses for a bit longer than usual. That class was all about the breath. Not that all yoga classes aren’t, but all of you yogis know what I mean.

There were probably about 10 people in class that day, which is a good size. Raquel was hands on and would come around and give suggestions on how to improve your posture and have a bit more ease in the poses. I was starting to feel my shoulder in this class (old war injury). But really I had surgery on it in 2003 and it’s like a grandma shoulder. When the weather is overcast or raining my shoulder hurts and it did rain that day. I just had to be mindful of the shoulder. We did some shoulder stretches in class, which helped.

Me & Raquel

After class was over I had fully planned to get on my bike and head home, but Tamar and I started talking. Class let out at 3:30pm and the next thing I knew it was 5pm and time for Tamar’s belly dancing class. She encouraged me to stay because the first class if free and as tired as I was I stayed for her class, and what a class it was.

I had never taken a Belly Dancing class in my life. I knew it wasn’t going to be easy even though the women who do it make it look super easy, Tamar included. It was a hell of a workout and the biggest thing I learned is that I’m stiffer than I thought I was. I go out dancing and I think I’m moving freely, but clearly this is something totally different. I am going to try and find a way to add belly dancing into my life. Besides it being the crazy core workout it might help to bring out more of the lady in me. LOL!

The raqin' Tamar-kali

As I was biking home from class that evening I decided that I want to go to the 9/11 Memorial. I think something opened up for me taking those classes that day. I’m ready to leave my offering.  

The now iconc photo of Robert Peraza mourning his son Robert David Peraza

 [Breath. Life. Spirit.]

Namaste.

New Moon in June : Moving Meditation

Move with Grace, 469 Myrtle Avenue, Brooklyn, NY 11205

It has been a long while since I stepped foot into a yoga studio. My last blog was on April 5th. Damn! Sad shame. I have still been active, but not in the yoga department. I was planning on picking up my passbook, when I got an invite on Facebook from my girl Ashni about an Osho Kundalini Meditation class she was teaching on June 1st, which happened to be the New Moon.

My New Moon ritual for June had already been planed out for a bit. I ended my IndieGoGo Campaign on the New Moon because I knew that although the campaign was just beginning, there was much newness ahead. I also made a spa appointment for that day at the Trump Soho Spa. I had a Turkish Hammam treatment. Amazing! No I’m not rolling in the dough like that. I was on assignment, so my treatment was on the house. Then I saw the meditation invite and thought it would be the perfect ending to the day. Somewhere along the way I picked up a Reiki client for that day as well. So it was full indeed.

The 1st was hot and humid. You didn’t have to walk to far in New York to feel the heat all over you. When I finished with my Reiki client I had to rush to get to meditation.

The class was at a spot called Move with Grace in Clinton Hills, Brooklyn. That was the first neighborhood I lived in when I moved to Brooklyn. Boy has that neighborhood changed, but that’s for another blog. I jumped into my yoga pants and then onto my bike and headed to the studio. I biked from Crown Heights to Clinton Hills. Easy ride down Pacific to Bedford. Down Bedford to Dekalb. Dekalb to Hall St and then left on Myrtle.

I was fully expecting this to be a sitting meditation. That’s what I usually do when I got to meditate at New York Insight in the City, but boy was I in for a surprise. Now Ashni has put some very subtle hints in the email saying what the meditation would be like, but clearly I missed all the hints.

By the time I got there I was drenched with sweat. It was crazy. I thought I would be okay because I was going to sit and meditate right? Wrong!

When I got in I had to sign a liability form, which I thought that was strange if we were going to just be sitting there. HA! When I get in Ashni was talking to two other classmates about what we were about to do. She backtracked for me and told us that we were going to be shaking, dancing, standing and sitting or lying down for 15 minutes each! Folks, that’s a long time. She showed us the shake and then talked a bit about the dance, which was our own and not choreographed. Well there went my idea that I was going to be able to cool down right away.

After the instructions Ashni fired up the music. It sounded like someone on a vibraphone. It was very staccato and it did make you want to shake. Oh did I forget to mention that we are doing all this with our eyes closed? Carrying on...

So on we go shaking for 15 minutes. Probably the longest 15 minutes of my life. I actually got tired after a while. It was wild to do, but there I was doing it with my eyes closed. Finally that music faded down and then there was new music.

This time the music felt like something one could belly dance too. I begin dancing. Remember we all have our eyes closed. So as much as you might want to all-out dance you can’t move around too much as you might bump into your neighbor or better yet a wall! So there I am dancing with my eyes close. Now I’ve been out dancing many times in my life. I’ve seen the inside of my share of clubs. I have danced for hours on end without stopping for water, but this also seemed like one of the longest 15 minutes of my life. Maybe it felt that way because I couldn’t move around so much. I could jump and sway and spin, but I have to admit that the first time I spun around with my eyes closed I got really dizzy so I didn’t try that again. Lol. So we all danced while Ashni told us to free our minds of anything else but the dance. It really felt good.

After some time that music also came to an end. Then we were instructed to sit or stand for the next 15 minutes. I chose to stand. I could feel the energy rushing through my body. So much of it was going to my feet. I’m sure because I was standing, but it was really amazing to feel. I stood there in Mountain Pose for 15 minutes. That’s the longest I have ever held that pose. I think now I’m starting to understand it’s power. Just to stand and really feel your feet beneath you is amazing. Now that I’m writing this I know I have to do that barefoot in the grass. I’ll be sure to report back about that.

Then the last 15 minutes we laid down on the floor. Usually when I’m in savasana I don’t fall asleep, but this time I was tired. I don’t know if it was the shaking, the dancing or just the heat of the day, but I was beat. I kept hearing myself breathing and it would wake me up. Soon Ashni was bringing us back and the class was over.

It was just amazing. I think something changed in me after that. I had been fighting headaches for a while and I haven’t had one since the New Moon. I know that was only about a week ago, but trust me that is big for me.

It was the perfect end to my New Moon day. I really felt like the New Moon was working on me that night and even now. I felt like old things were being left behind and the new was coming in. Thank Goddess. I really need a change.

If you are interested in Ashni’s class it’s Every Wednesday evening at 8pm at Move with Grace in Clinton Hills, BK. The class is by donation. Call ahead to make sure class is happening. I think it may not be happening this week (6/8), but it will return next week.

Stay tuned. I will soon return to the mat.

Namaste.