Kripalu Yoga Teacher Training ~ One Week Down!

I have finished my first week of yoga school!  I can't believe it's been a week already because the days feel very long here. We are up and in class every day at 6:30am. We are not in yoga class at people think of it, all day long, but we are indeed doing yoga all day long.

I feel like I have so much to share and no time to share it.  When the end of the day comes I'm often too tired to think about blogging or there is other work to be done. But I will take the time to share a bit.

I am staying in a dorm with about 25 other women. I know that seems like a lot, but since we are all on the same schedule one would have to be way out of pocket to really step on anyone's toes. We are very mindful of the schedule.  As I said the days are long. Classes begin at 6:30am and most days end at 9pm. So if you can sleep, you would want to go to bed at 10pm. I say if you can sleep because I and some of the other folks had trouble sleeping at first.

There are about 65 of us taking the training from all over the world.  There are folks here from Germany and the UK as well as California, Wisconsin, Ohio and of course all over the east coast. It never fails that when I'm in a group of new people I will always find a person or two who remind me of people I already know.  There is also several generations of people in the training. We are ages 18-67!  There are a few men in the class; about 6 to be exact and I thought I was the only African-American women in my class, which honestly I wouldn't have been surprised about. But then I learned that one of my classmates who I thought was Latina is actual mixed (mother German, father black).  There are a few other people of color in the class. A woman from Panama, one from Mexico, one from Korea and one of our teachers is from Singapore.  I am so inspired by everyone in class for very different reasons.

I am on information overload, which was to be expected.  I am not really nervous about the written test we have take at the end, but next week is our first practice teach. Although I have been practicing yoga for 10 years there is so much to remember when actually teaching a class. The thing I have always been fascinated about most when in yoga class at home is how the teachers can get into postures and talk at the same time!  We are doing that here too and I wonder how that is going to be for me. Also the mirroring thing (left is right and right is left) has me a little shook.  LOL!  But I'm working on it.

I walked this morning with a couple of women from my training to the small town of Lenox, MA. It's an amazing fall day. To me, there is no better place to be in the fall then New England. I might be a little bias being from MA, but it brings back a lot of memories.  They went on to explore the town and I'm here in a little coffee shop getting my homework (meaning this blog) done.  Is it 65 degrees here and just an amazing day. The weather since I arrived has been some of the best fall weather I've felt in ages.  I really love small towns.  I'm the kind of person who either needs city or country. That in between thing just doesn't do it for me. So Lenox looks like heaven. It's easy to see why James Taylor and Carly Simon lived in Stockbridge, which is the next town over.  I am really happy. I can't explain it, but it all feels so good.

Thank you so much for all of your continued support. I have almost reached my fundraising goal.  I am $245 away!  Thank You! Thank You! If you didn't get to read about my first day of yoga school please take am moment to ready the blog below.

I will leave you with this saying from Swami Kripau who the center is named after. This really resonated with me as it reminds me of "Right Speech," which one part of the Buddhist Eightfold Path.

"Before speaking, consider whether it is an improvement upon silence." ~ Swami Kripalu

Namaste.

Crowdfunding

Countdown to Yoga School ~ Day 5, 4 & 3

I can't believe I'm 3 days away from school. Where did the time go? These things always sneak up on you and then the rush is on.  I'm trying not to be in a panic about what's left to do, but I can feel it in my shoulders already; the stress that is.  Time to breathe.

As you can see I haven't posted anything since Tuesday. I did make it to class that day and itt was my last class with Keri for a while. Tuesday was a Basics class and I had a great time in class as usual. But I have to admit that so much has been going on that I can't even remember what we did in class that day. LOL!

I chatted with Keri for a while when class ended and she gave me her card so I could call from school if I needed to. I thought that was sweet, but it's also because she knows I will need to talk to someone who knows what in the world is going on out there. LOL!  She has given me some good advice since learning that I am going to school. I'm so thankful for that.

I didn't go to class on Wednesday. I knew that was going to be the case. I had so many errands to run and I had to go visit a friend. I'm working on band stuff as well so there is just so much churning around.  I am in deep admin mode, but I didn't want to forget about you all.

Today was my last day working at Area for a while and lots happened today. I went in kind of cranky because none of the rental mats were clean. Although it is part of my job to clean them, usually at least one or two are clean before I get there.  But after all that I talked to one of the yoga teachers there, Danielle, and she wants me to play at her Midnight Yoga class in December at Laughing Lotus, which is going to be amazing. I will surely let you all know about that and then I found out that one of my other teachers, Elias, is going to be at Kripalu the same time I'm there.  How about that!  The world gets smaller and smaller. He won't be part of my training, but who knows, I may see him.

I also got to talk for a while to one of the other attendants at Area that I don't usually get to chat with. So all in all it was a great day.  I ran a few more errands and came home.  I have been on the computer and here I will remain until I can get a break to go dancing. Yes dancing! I'm going to get as much in as I can before I got.

Thank you all so much for donating to the fundraiser for school. We are still in the zone and have almost reached out goal! We are so close. Please help take us over the top.  If you have wanted to donate you still have time.  It would be such a blessing. Thank You. Thank You.

Have a great night every one! More tomorrow. Namaste.

Crowdfunding

Countdown to Yoga School ~ Day 17/The N word and I don't mean Namaste

Yoga in the city can be tough sometimes. Not the classes themselves, but what you walk in to after you leave class. I guess that's why we do it. So that we can have a better disposition and more compassion for everyone in world. For our fellow human beings.  But sometimes it's a challenge.  It's a challenge to stay grounded even when you've just left the studio 15, 20 or 30 minutes ago.

In today's class I definitely stretched some muscles that I haven't in a while. So I know I will be feeling that, but I've been feeling pretty good over all. I was thinking that my shoulder might give me some issue, but it's been pretty minimal. Maybe I'm a bit stronger than I think I am or maybe I just haven't hit that Power yoga class yet. LOL! Either way, I feel good.

When I left class today, I made a stop at Trader Joe's and then headed for the bus home.  For the folks reading this in Brooklyn, then you may know the joy and the pain or riding the 65 bus. The joy is that it drops me right in front of my house. The pain is that you might not ever know when it's coming.  The bus is notoriously late and today was no exception.

I was waiting for quite a while when the bus finally came. I found myself a seat in the front and started to settle in when I realized that the woman sitting next to me was having a really loud conversation in which every other word out of her mouth was N***a.  If you are not clear what that is, it's Nigga. Yeah I said it!  Lol!  Now mind you, I am not naive.  I know that the word is used all the time and without thought on a regular basis. But sometimes, many times, it's just used in excess and for no reason or in a spot where another would could be used to create the same emphasis.  Sonia Sanchez once said that if people curse all the time in what would be considered "normal" conversation,  it's probably due to a lack of vocabulary. She believes, if you are going to curse in life, in your writing, etc. you should make it mean something.  Give it real weight.

To this case in point, the woman next to me would not calm down, pipe down or slow down. She was just going on and on with n***a this and n***a that, and that n***a and this n***a,  and well, you know what I'm saying.  When I hear people do this on the bus, train or even in the street talking to friends about other people who are the brunt of the word, I really want to walk up or slide up next to them and repeat the word every time they say it within earshot of them to see if they can hear themselves. See if they can really hear the words coming out of their mouth as it is coming out of mine.  I wonder if it would get me in to an fight. Would someone wonder why I'm calling them a n***a not realizing that it is them saying the word and I'm simply a mirror.

I know you might wonder what this has to do with yoga. Well when this started happening I took a breath. I really tried to find some compassion for my sister.  Clearly there was some drama going on and I honestly hoped that the situation would resolve not just for the sake of my ears, but for the sake of her journey. But you know what, I guess this is her journey.  Hmm...  Then I looked around the bus and found another seat, away from the noise.  Trust me when I tell you that  I'm not like this everyday, but I think today it did help that I had just come from class.  Sometimes it's the little things.

Namaste.

Crowdfunding

Countdown to Yoga School ~ Day 18

Hey Everyone,

It was another great day of yoga. I know that might sound like an ultra-hippie statement, but it really was good. At first I could tell I was a little grumpy because the teachers voice was getting on my nerves. LOL!  You know how some yoga instructors sound like they smoked a joint right before they came to class? Their speaking voice is so relaxed that you might think, "Are they really that cool?"  Well I felt that at first, but then as I went on I could feel the cobwebs clearing. Today's class was Slow Flow and I have to say that I really like that kind of class. You hold the poses longer and you can really work with the breath.  Also doing a Slow Flow or Basics class gives you an opportunity to really examine your poses.

I know you might wonder why I would take a Basics class after all these years, but it's just like anything else.  Sometimes you have to go back to the basics to get your foundation. Although my practice is intermediateI still have a long way to go. I guess that's why it's called a practice and not a perfect.

In class today and yesterday there was a lot of focus on breathing into our back and today the teacher also talked about breathing into our hands and feet.  I really like the feeling of breathing into certain parts of out body that we don't think about having air.  It's a really amazing feeling to move the breath around the whole body.

I'm feeling good! Sometimes I still feel that grandma shoulder, but I'm going to breath some life into her too.  :-)

Day 3 down, 17 to go.
Thank you for your continued support. $580 to go and the tuition is paid in full!

Namaste.

Crowdfunding

The Return of the Yog-i!

Hey Everyone!

After a long and unexpected yoga hiatus I am back! I hadn’t stopped exercising all together, but I moved back to my Sporty Spice cardio side. I was biking and walking, but honestly even the time I was putting into that was a little slim. Sometimes it takes big change to get you back on track and that is surely what has been happening over the last few months.

As you know, I’m a vocalist/musican as well as a yogi. I did a huge show in August at the Michigan Womyn’s Music Festival and it was amazing! It was one of the best experiences of my life [Click Here for Michfest Recap: "This is Called the Show"], but afterward I didn’t have a voice for a week. That really scared me. I will admit that I knew there was something wonky going on with my voice before that show, but I never had anything happen to me like that before. Maybe after doing a show I wouldn’t have voice for one day, but even that was one day too many.

So when I got back to New York I went to the doctor who told me my vocal chords were very swollen and my left one was swollen to the point of almost developing a polyp. I didn’t freak out about that, but what I did freak out about was when the doctor told me I had to take medication to bring the swelling down. Seems simple, but I’m just not a pill person at all and what she prescribed me I was honestly very leery of. I know what it has done to other people in large doses. She assured me that because I was only taking 1 pill for 5 days I wouldn’t have those problems. So I took the meds, but at that moment I knew I had to get back to yoga. Yoga saved my life once so I know it will do it again.

So all that to say that I’m on vocal rest until at least the end of the month and then I’ll know more after some other tests with the speech pathologist. I will also tell you that I feel great. I’m not worried about what is on the other side. I know I’m going to be better if I just shut up for a while. When you are not well, it’s better to know what is going on so that you can do everything in your power to remedy the situation. Even if you have a life threatening challenge it’s better to know! There are healers and healing modalities all around you. Just reach out to your community and there is someone that has some information for you. If you don’t think you have community, well now you have this blog and I can point you in some direction. Okay enough of the health PSA for today. lol

Let’s get back to my return to yoga. When I was at Michfest I reconnected with a wonderful sista, dancer and yogi, Sokhna. We vowed to reconnect when we got back to Brooklyn. It was a hectic August so we just got together last Friday when she invited me to a yoga class that she was subbing for at Shambala Yoga & Dance Center. It just so happens that that’s also the new location of where I practice Reiki. She also teaches there regularly on Sunday afternoon.



Friday September 9th

Shambala Yoga & Dance Center, 367 St. Marks Ave., Brooklyn, NY 11238

On that morning of the 9th I jumped back into the fray. Class was at 8:15am and that was the best way to start my day. Since I had told Sokhna about 3 or 4 days ago that I would be at class, I peeled myself up, got myself together, jumped on my bike and headed over.

I saw Sokhna near the reception area when I arrived. We said out hellos and I checked in. I really like Shambala. They moved into a new space just down the street from where they were before. They have one studio for yoga and dance and two treatment rooms. It also feels really wonderful in there and to me it’s really all about the vibe of a space.

The class that morning was small. I think there were only four of us, but I really like classes like that. The teacher can give some extra attention if they are that kind of teacher. Sokhna told me about the class she taught on the Wednesday before and the class was in that vain. She taught a Hatha class with a little bit of Kundalini, which she says is really Hatha as well. I always know when there is a little Kunkalini mixed in when we start doing the breath of fire. Sokhna told me we were going to be holding the poses a little longer than usual, which was a little challenging because I hadn’t taken class in a while, but it was just what I needed. I can always tell my fitness level by my Om. In fact Om is the only vocalizing that I have been doing since put on vocal rest. I know it heals so I’m going with it.

Sokhna’s class was kind of interesting because some might say she did the class backwards because we ended with Sun Salutations, which was actually really nice. The class was an hour long and I can’t remember all the postures we did during the class, but what I can say is that it was really wonderful way to jump off my trip back down yoga lane.

If you live in Prospect Heights of just like to try different yoga studios in Brooklyn I recommend Shambala. Sokhna teaches Kundalini yoga every Sunday at 1pm. She is also in private practice where she does pre-natal as her primary thing. So if you or someone you know might be interested in her services I can point you in her direction.

Namaste.

Me & Sokhna

Yoga Passbook 2011 - YogaWorks: Soho/The Snob in Me

Monday September 12th

YogaWorks Soho, 459 Broadway, New York, NY 10013

The original plan for this day was to get up and go to a class at 9:15am in Brooklyn. Well, I got up and was going to get ready to go, when I really started to think about my schedule for the day. I needed to finish some work and then head into the East Village to do a bit more. Then I wanted to go to meditation, which on 27th and 6th Avenue later that night so something had to give or in my case nothing had to give, I just had to change some of the order of my day.

So I found a yoga class that started at 1pm and chose to stay home and do my work until it was time to heard the City. The class I found was at YogaWorks in Soho. YogaWorks actually has 4 locations in New York City and one in Westchester. I have been to the location on 5th Ave and 19th street so I decided to give Soho a try.

The studio on 5th Avenue has one room, but in Soho there are three studios. The place is beautifully designed and has all the bells and whistles. A clothing and yoga accessories boutique, Organic Tea Bar, showers with towel service, sauna and digital locks on the lockers for starters. I know there were probably a few things that I missed as I didn’t take a tour of the entire facility. Sounds great right?! For many people they would be joining right away, but I have to admit that I was a little leery when I walked in. I know it sounds crazy and it is a little bit.

I have this thing about large yoga studios that I need to get over. Sometimes I feel like the more amenities, the less serious the practice or wait maybe it’s the opposite. The more amenities, the more seriously people take themselves in their practice, which can sometimes translate to a competitive vibe. Yes I know this is a total stereotype. I know that this is totally a story that I’m making up. I know, I know! I have to work on it. If you recall that’s how I felt when I walked into Pure Yoga [Click Here for Pure Yoga Blog], which is the mega-mall of yoga studios in NYC, but I had a great class. Maybe because all 50 mats that were set up weren’t used. LOL! I think my old Jivamukti experience has got me shook people. LOL! Anyway back to YogaWorks.

A very excited young lady named Christen showed me around a bit and and told me to come check her out if I was interested in joining the studio. I went into the locker room, locked up my things and headed to Studio 1.

When I walked in the studio all I could think about was the fact that it was big. I found a spot toward the front of the room so I can see the teacher (I practice without my glasses on), got my blanket, blocks, sat and prepared myself for class. The class was filling up and soon the teacher arrived. Everyone was situated when she told us to all bring our mats to the wall. We ended up spending the whole class was there, which was cool. The teachers name was Libby and she was also a hands-on teacher. She would walk around the room and adjust people in their postures. She did a really great job considering how many people were in the class.

It was during this class that my shoulder really started to hurt. When I was in Triangle pose or anything where I would have to put pressure on my left arm or even just to have the left arm in the air it was killing me. I could barely lower my body to the ground and I wasn’t even trying Chaturanga. Well I tried it once and it felt like my arm would come out of the socket. So I was kind to myself and did what I could do. It kind of reminded me of my 30 days of yoga last year. By day 5 my shoulder and the rest of my body were angry with me. That’s how the shoulder was feeling, angry. It was even hard to get up into bridge pose. I’m not even talking full wheel. Well you get my point. I was hurting. So I took my time. We did a lot of work in that class with blocks and straps so that was really helpful.

Somewhere in the midst of my shoulder pain and just the sheer focus that I had to have to make sure I wasn’t hurting myself, I totally forgot about all the other mess I was thinking about the studio in general. Another impressive thing about YogaWorks Soho is that they have a light up sign outside of the studio door that say “Shhhh… Savasana” to remind people walking by the studio to be quiet while people are in Savasana. Crazy!

Once I got over myself I realized that I would really like to go back, but I might use my last pass to go to the Eastside or Westside studios just to mix it up a bit. As I headed out and on to my next destination for the day I knew it was going to be a soaking in the tub night. My body was killing me. I know it’s that good pain, but damn if my legs didn’t feel like lead.

I told you. LOL!

Namaste.

Yoga Passbook 2011 - Area Yoga/A New Home Down the Road

September 13th

Old Home of Area Yoga

I made a schedule of where I was going to go for this week in yoga. It didn’t work out yesterday, but I was determined to go to Area Yoga today. Area is my yoga home. That is where I did my 30 days and I know many of the teachers there. They also moved to a new location just down the street on Court St. in Cobble Hill, but I hadn’t been there so I was looking forward to seeing it. I decided to go to Keely’s class because I hadn’t seen her in a while. She was teaching the Open Level class at 9:15am.

I got myself together this morning, jumped on my bike and headed to Cobble Hill. When I got to the spot I could tell already that it was a nice shift. At the old place the downstairs part of the building had been under construction forever. At the new spot you enter on the ground floor and there is a small boutique carrying clothes, mats, candles and even yoga underwear. But what exactly are yoga underwear? Sorry I didn’t get a close enough look at what make them fit for yoga, but I did see someone buy a pair.

I got there a little early so I went upstairs and put my mat down in the new studio. The room seems like it’s a little smaller than the old space, but it’s much nicer. The floor doesn’t creek and the windows are beautiful. It would be a hell of an apartment!

I settled in and people started coming soon after. I thought it might be a nice small class, but boy was I wrong. Clearly the 9:15 open class at Area is the class to hit. That spot was packed. I’m always surprised when I see people at yoga a 9:15am as if I’m the only one who has day time space in their life. I forget that people are stay at home mom’s, work the night shift, work for themselves and the list goes on.

By the time Keely got there and started we had to readjust to fit more people in. It was so stacked that we had to get to know our classmates intimately. Lol

I always like Keely’s classes because she starts with chanting. Before this class the only vocalizing that I have been doing was Om, but today I added the chant. It felt good, but I’m not going to push it.

Keely’s Open classes are always challenging, but today was extra. It was rigorous and I was sweating like it was nobody’s business. Classes like that always make me wonder why people do hot yoga. Yoga is hot enough without all the extra heat. I know you Bikram folks love your Bikram, but I’m still trying to understand. Especially in Vinyasa Flow so much heat is generated and on this day I was drenched. I don’t usually bring a towel to class because usually I can work with the sweat, but today I needed a Rasheed Wallace basketball sweatband for real!

Keely had us doing poses, many of which I had to modify because my body has not caught up with my mind yet. I also needed to remain mindful of my shoulder. Chaturanga was still feeling a little funky. So in this class there were not too many vinyasas for me. Just straight into Downward Dog for me. Today she had us try Crow pose. Again not so much for me and my shoulder, but I did give it a little try. The shoulder didn’t hurt so much in Side Angle or in Triangle today. Vasisthasana (side plank pose) was a little tough, but I made it through with some modification. We went through all the Warriors, Tree pose, Virasana and the list went on and on. I was a sweaty mess about ½ way though, but it was worth it.

After class I felt great and got a chance to reconnect with Keely and a couple of other folks I had taken class with in the past. It was a really sweet ending to a wonderful class.

I’m so glad yoga is back in my life. Although my outsides are screaming (I have a heating patch on my lower back right now!) my insides smiling. Until next time…

New Home of Area Yoga, 389 Court Street, Brooklyn, NY 11231

Namaste.