Facing the Octopus

Patanjali "wrote the book on Yoga".  Let me clarify: Patanjali was not the first guy to write about Yoga - he certainly was not the last - he writes that he is merely "continuing the teachings of yoga", teachings that have been around for centuries millenia. In fact, most yogic scholars aren't even sure that Patanjali was one person; they believe Patanjali is the nom de plume of a collection of authors on the subject of what yoga is.  Nonetheless, "Patanjali's" Yoga Sutras are the go-to texts for serious students of yoga, and it features heavily on our reading list for teacher training.

Patanjali was a proponent of Raja (or Royal) Yoga - and developed "Ashtanga", or an 8-limbed path one must follow in order to practice Raja Yoga.  *I particularly like the image I found for Patanjali - a many-snake-headed figure...perhaps alluding to the many authors contributing to the Sutras?  Perhaps symbolizing the main idea of the Sutras - the 8-limbed path known as Ashtanga. In reality, he is associated with being lord of serpents (the many heads mean "omnipresence"...you can read more about Patanjali here). Either way, this path is something to be reckoned with, and we need to "reckon" with it for the next 2 months.

The 8 paths are as follows:  Yamas, Niyamas, Asana, Pranayama, Pratyahara, Dharana, Dhyana, & Samadhi.  The first 5 limbs are to be practiced and worked-on simultaneously as you approach the last 3 limbs, which are attained sequentially.  One must first practice Dharana (concentration) to reach Dhyana (meditations) and ultimately achieve Samadhi (union with the universe, complete understanding of peace, love, truth, etc).

Most people are familiar with Asana (the yoga postures) and Pranayama (mindful breathing, control of the life force) from their time in a yoga class.  Instructors of some classes even discuss Pratyahara (turning inward), when they encourage you to focus your attention on your own mat, your own practice.  The Yamas and Niyamas - there are 5 of each - are relatively novel, which is surprising considering they are rather significant to the 8-limbed path!
In our teacher training, we will spend the next 10 weeks focusing on the Yamas and Niyamas, practicing them with intent. We will be demonstrating Dharana - concentrating - on one Yama or Niyama each week.  The first 5 weeks will be spent on the Yamas.  The next 5 weeks will be the Niyamas.  By the end of the 10 weeks, we will for sure know the names and meanings of all the Yamas and Niyamas, but we will ultimately learn a lot more about ourselves in the process.
First up?  the first Yama - Ahimsa, which I've written about before.  It is attributed to "Non-violence".  Considering we are in the throes of holiday season fever, this will be an apropos time to study some "non-violence."  I'll keep you posted...

"Practice becomes firmly established when it has been cultivated uninterruptedly and with devotion over a prolonged period of time" - Patanjali's Yoga Sutras I.14

Finding a Guinea Pig

Wow.  I should be ashamed of myself for telling people I write a blog.  While I really need to work on posting more regularly, I also have to cut myself some slack because I have been up to all things "Yoga", from doing my reading assignments, attending classes, writing papers, and thinking about blogging.  Things do inspire me, but sometimes when it comes down to sitting and blogging about it, it's hard to get to it.  You know, inspiration often strikes at times when it is inconvenient to blog.

Yesterday, as part of the teacher training program, we had one of our monthly, intensive 6-hour classes. I was so happy to be there, but there's a LOT of information that gets disseminated to you in 6 hours, and it takes a bit to process.  We had a 2 1/2 hour session on History and Philosophy, and while the texts are a lot to digest, I'm excited about an assignment coming up in a few short weeks where we need to intensively study the Yamas and Niyamas.  There are 10 of them, and each week we will be bringing our awareness to one of the principles, attempting to observe them in our interactions and reflect on how we react to that.  I am willing to bet there will be plenty of material to blog about!

The rest of our class was devoted to teaching postures.  We talked in our large group about the instruction necessary to get our students into the postures; what wording is effective, how to enter the posture, how to ensure proper alignment in the posture, and how to exit the posture.  We talked about what postures might work before and what postures might work after.  There's a lot to mix and match, as I'm sure you can imagine!  Then, we broke out into small groups where we taught one another short sequences.

Just a few weeks ago, this "instructing" was a totally overwhelming thing to do, but now we are starting to become a little more comfortable with directing a person into a posture.  The only problem is that the people we are instructing are yogis.  Not only are they yogis, they are people who have near-perfect alignment.  They are gals who do yoga allthetime.  Many have been doing yoga for years.  They don't really "need" the instruction.  You can just say "Down Dog", and they know what to do, self-correcting, making adjustments until the form is perfect while you just stand there and watch.

No, what we need are Guinea Pigs - and Betsy told us so:  "Go out there and find yourself a guinea pig".  We need to find people who do NOT do yoga on a regular basis, people who might not have an extensive background in practice,  so we are forced to find the words that will guide someone properly into alignment.  So where do you find a Guinea Pig?  I started out several weeks ago, actually, trying this with my husband in our family room.  Let's just say that it ended poorly.  I said "tuck your toes", and he said "What?  I don't know what you're saying!" and I said, "Tuck your toes.  How can you not know how to tuck your toes?", and he said some more stuff, and I yelled said some other stuff, and, well, you can only imagine how bad it was.  Now what?

Luckily, I am not so easily deterred.  Even more fortuitous is that my husband is rather forgiving and willing to give it another go.  I wrote out a short 20 minute practice (incorporating some of the postures we've been working on in teacher training), and tonight he was my student.  I had a proper warm-up, some standing postures, a cool down, and a Savasana.  At the end, he said he felt relaxed!  I couldn't believe it!  I actually was able to relax my tense, "annoyed" (he writes his OWN blog about stuff that annoys him.  Which is pretty much everything.  I would give you a link, but a.) you probably do something that annoys him and he's already blogged about it; and b.) his blog gets way more traffic than my blog does, so I don't need to send my readers his way; c.) you might like his blog better and stop reading mine, especially since he posts more than once a month; and d.) he drops the f-bomb a LOT) Husband!!

Have I found my guinea pig?  While this was a much better start, I think I must continue my search.  I should add to my flock herd (I looked that up, a group of guinea pigs really is called a herd!) of willing participants
while I hone and refine my teaching skill.  Look out.
Just for now, allow a wave of breath to enliven your experience... Drink in the possibility of being who and what you really are - Danna Faulds

Slow it down

It's been a busy couple of days...and so I haven't had the chance to blog lately.  Not that I haven't had the desire to!  I bought some new yoga pants and wanted to blog about that, I bought a new book and wanted to blog about that, I took a challenging class that ended with a crazy posture (thanks, Kate!) and wanted to blog about that, I taught a yoga class to colleagues at work and wanted to blog about that...  But it hasn't been until life has forced me to slow it down a bit that I actually had the time/courage/motivation to sit and put my thoughts down on paper computer screen.

Yes, I, like much of the Northeast corridor, have been crippled a bit, thanks to Hurricane Sandy.  Schools are closed, trains aren't running, flooding and mass power-loss are expected.  It's different from a Nor'easter snow storm, because there is no snow to shovel (although I am compelled to report that I heard someone outside with a leaf-blower yesterday evening.  I know you're all with me here: THAT is ridiculous.)  We are collectively being forced to "take a break", but it's an odd break to take, because I'm sure the sympathetic nervous system is still being stressed out.  With every powerful gust of wind threatening to down a tree limb or two, and every news channel urging people to stay indoors (and what about those poor weather reporters being drenched as they report alongside the swelling tides of the Jersey shore?), I'm sure few people are not feeling the stress and blood pressure spike.  As far as your nervous system is concerned, however, it's time to pause, take stock of things, realize that the weather is out of human control, and slow things down.

So, how will you spend this time?  We had the chance to sleep in today (usually early morning is my only time to squeeze in a workout - hitting an early yoga class or scooting out to the gym - but naturally,those places are all closed), and then fixed the children a leisurely breakfast.  I had the kids do their Italian homework while I cleaned up breakfast, then get caught up on cello practice (hey, we're raising a couple of renaissance men!) while I caught up on ironing.  Husband joined in on guitar and it became a regular jam session.  The boys moved on to coloring with markers, I threw in a load of laundry (in case we lose power I'd like a head start on stinky clothes piling up), and Husband busied himself with booking his travel for work next week.

Now that the "hard stuff" is out of the way, and it's not even noon, what will we do with ourselves?  I lit a sage smudge stick and threw it in the fireplace - an unconventional riff on home scent, but I'm saving my candles in case the power does go out.  At least the air will be clear (the traditional purpose of a sage smudge stick is to "clear the air").  We'll likely break out a few board games later on, and maybe get around to finally treating the boys to a screening of "Back to the Future".  A few mugs of tea are in order, maybe a foot massage.  All of those little luxuries that we don't often take.

Why have we created this society where things like this are "luxuries"?  Why do we feel like we aren't successful unless we're "busy" all the time?  More than I'd like to admit, I've lately found myself responding to the question "Hey, how are you?" with an exhausted-sounding "BUSY!"  Do we busy ourselves all the time to feel important?  Are we being busy all the time to keep pace with our peers?  I have to wonder why we have created this life for ourselves where there is always so much to do.
Yes, I'm stressed about the potential damage from this storm.   Yes, I'm worried for my friends, family, and neighbors, and praying for their collective peace and safety.  But I'm also grateful for the storm for forcing me to slow down, take stock of what's important, and get on with it.  So, slow it down, and see if you can't find some bits of enjoyment for yourself in the midst of the storm.

Try a semi-inverted pose to restore your body's essential systems in times of stress.  Lie on the floor with your legs supported on the seat of a chair.  Place your palms on your lower belly feeling it rise and fall with your breath until you feel at rest.

The "Regulars"

I need to take more yoga classes.   In fact, I need to attend 60 classes over the course of my training program (8 classes to observe, 52 to actually practice).  Prior to joining this teacher training program, I did not often practice at the studio where the training takes place.  I did most of my classes at the gym.  At a gym, you have a few "loyal" yogis, but nothing like the regulars you find in a studio class:  yogis who are there week in, week out, who know one another's names, the teacher knows their quirks and preferences, they have their "spots" in the room, their rapport with one another.  When you're not a regular and you "pop in" to the class,  you're not really an interloper (yoga is very embracing), but you might as well be, because you aren't sure where to put your mat, you don't know the next person's name, and you certainly don't get the inside jokes from last week.

I would venture to say that the majority of women in our training cohort are accustomed to taking higher-level yoga classes.  We may frequent a level 1 class, but most of us are probably at home in a level 2...a disciplined few in a level 3.  But when you start out teaching yoga, you don't  launch as a level 2 teacher.  You have to begin with the basics and work your way up, therefore, we are required to take at least half of our 60 classes in a level 1 setting.  We are supposed to pay attention to the language, the postures, the pacing, the modifications.  Yoga is such a discipline that this act of taking level 1 classes is not a "step backwards"...it's not "too easy"  or "too simple". There is always something to learn and observe, and sometimes we do our best observing when we slow things down.

Today, I had to leave work early for an appointment, and I ended up (fortuitously!) with just enough time to squeeze in a Level 1 practice today.  It was listed on the studio schedule as "Extra Gentle".  In the car on the way over to the studio, I wondered who would be taking a yoga class in the middle of the day and I wondered what the pacing for an Extra Gentle class would be like.  I have found that timing is everything when considering who will be in on the mat next to you.  Super-early morning classes (6 am) tend to have mostly women students who are getting a jump start on their day before work.  9/9:30 classes tend to be mostly stay-at-home or work-from-home parents who have time for a yoga class after nursery school drop off or morning carpool routes are finished (again, mostly women).  Afternoon classes have a good mix of college students who are done with classes for the day,  and working people who take a class on their way home from work.  Evening and weekend classes are where you have your best chances of finding men, although still not many, and the classes can range from deep stretching postures to something more athletic that works up the desired sweat.  But who is taking a yoga class right in the middle of the day?  In NYC, probably young professionals on their lunch break.  In the suburbs? It's older ladies - ah ha - the "extra gentle" is starting to make sense.

Since we need to attend so many Level 1 classes, there just so happened to be 4 of our cohort in today's "extra gentle" class...and the rest of the class (the Regulars) had us beat by at least 20 years.  They all knew one another's names, knew one another's "drams", were comfortable offering up advice, lively chatting away in the hallway before class started.  They clearly had their "spots" in class, and some were even a tiny bit fa-tootsed (sp?) by the extra 4 people taking up precious floor space.  They knew whose mat went where, and at one point, there was an unclaimed mat, and it took several minutes of banter to figure out that someone had left the mat from the class before, and it actually belonged to no one (the nerve of someone to take up floor space like that!)

Let's be clear:  I'm not relaying this story out of judgement or condemnation, but more out of mild amusement.  I can clearly see some of their habits becoming annoying over time (yelling out in the middle of the class: "I have no idea what we are doing right now!" and the teacher patiently, gently responding, "We're just lifting our shoulders.  I know you can do that.").  Nevertheless, these were the Regulars of the Thursday midday class, and maybe their instructor sees these quirks as endearing, maybe she embraces the dynamic of the group, which clearly is comforting enough to say what you feel whenever you need to say it.  

It definitely made me wonder what the Regulars of my eventual yoga class will be like.  I'll need to make a lot of professional decisions:  Will I like my class to be more stretching, or more athletic?  What will I do if my regulars start talking to one another in the middle of my instruction?  Will I teach in the mornings, afternoons, or evenings?  How will I begin to captivate a class so that they actually WANT to become my regulars?  I'm going to need to be engaging from the start to build a group as loyal as the one I was part of today.

I am a LONG way from establishing a regular class...but ever the planner, it is something for me to keep stewing on the back burner while I continue my journey.  Every so often, I'll lift the lid of the pot and take a peek, even stir a little, but for now, I think I'd better take a lot more level 1 classes and worry about refining my practice before I start worrying about who I'm going to teach.

Relish the quiet bliss that comes with aging gracefully (and getting on the mat can help with that!)  Yoga is for everyBODY.

Come to a comfortable seat...

Where there's homework, there's a struggle.  There's struggle with getting it done/meeting the deadline, the struggle with not knowing what to do, the struggle with fretting over whether it's right.  (Parents of my 8th grade students know these struggles well!)  When you go back to school as an adult, you somehow "forget" what a struggle homework can be when you're the one who's doing it!
Last week, my homework was "Centering" - I needed to write a bodyscan from the sitting bones upwards, reciting phrases (that I came up with) that would help my potential class of students center themselves for practice.  I wrote out on index cards a few phrases that I thought would be effective at helping people "center" themselves - basically preparing themselves mentally and physically for what was about to happen for the next hour on the mat.  When the time came on Wednesday's session to pair up with a classmate and guide them into a centered state, I realized I was woefully under-prepared.  I wrote out something that I thought was great - anyone hearing my words would be sure to feel centered as their yoga practice started, right? - but when I heard the thoughtful, sensitive words of my partner, I realized that I didn't give my "centering" the attention it deserved.  She sounded like a pro - someone who had been teaching for years, using imagery, key phrases, and gentle guiding words to help people settle in on their mats.  When I complimented her, she fully admitted that she "pinched it" (she's English).  I recited my poor attempt, and she was polite, but I knew I left a lot to be desired.  I pledged to give a lot more thought and devotion to this week's homework.
This week, my homework is to create a 3-minute practice (3 minutes, that's IT!) that will center my class, warm them up, and bring them to standing (tadasana).  It is such a hard assignment.  I've already devoted 45 minutes to writing out this sequence and trying it out myself - and I feel like it's not right.  My biggest problem is limiting myself to 3 minutes.  In most of the classes I've taken in the last year, the centering alone takes more than 3 minutes.  How the heck am I supposed to get a beginning yogi relaxed and into a standing posture in 3 minutes?  I tried it out on my husband (NOT a yogi) last night, and it did not go well (to say the least!).
We are supposed to write our practices assuming that everyone in our class is a beginner.  It would be an understatement to say that my husband is a beginner.  On top of that, he has some sort of ankle injury (this foot problem happens on a regular basis, and probably should require medical attention, but that's another blog entry for another day).  I should rally and say "Well, yoga is going to sort these problems out for you - trust me!"  I should be ready and knowledgeable about how to modify the posture so that it helps strengthen these troublesome muscles and joints.  Instead, it devolved because I had written a sequence for someone who was familiar with what I was talking about.  And because it was me, my husband had no problem saying "Ow!  That hurts.  I have no idea what you mean.   I can't do what you're doing!"(I was just sitting on my knees, in a "comfortable seat", btw).   I truly don't think he would have been as vocal in a yoga class with another teacher - he would have "played along".  Either way, it was late, it was me, and he had no problem speaking right up!
That said, ANYone taking a yoga class shouldn't "play along".  If something is uncomfortable, a yogi should feel comfortable enough to speak up and ask for a modification.  And the teacher needs to be knowledgeable and flexible enough to offer up the mods.  Sadly, that's not how it went down last night.  I got frustrated, he got frustrated, and the 3 minutes opened my eyes to exactly how much MORE I have to do.  I don't have to scrap everything - but I do have to be more descriptive and much more considerate.
I guess it's back to the drawing board for me - hopefully, this time it won't take 45 minutes to write out 3 minutes of a sequence.  I'm not ready to throw the towel in.  Yet.

By practicing yoga, impurities dwindle away and the light of wisdom dawns - Patanjali's yoga sutras

Book Review: The Bhagavad Gita (Chapter 6)

Of all the books I've had to get for my Teacher training, this one right here is giving me the most trouble!   It's not that thick (220 pages), and the whole thing is basically a non-rhyming poem, but the language has a lot of meaning and symbolism behind it, making it a challenge to read more than a few pages in one go.  This book has come with me to Paris, to the pool, to NJ, to Boston, to the nail salon, to my couch, and I'm still only halfway through it.
The Bhagavad Gita is essentially the Hindu bible's equivalent of the Psalms.  It is quite a departure from the Christian Bible I grew up using and reading. Instead of the many allegories, stories and lessons about good and bad people and events that occurred long ago, the Gita is a conversation between a warrior, Arjuna, and his blessed lord, Krishna.  Arjuna is about to enter a great battle, where he will be fighting with and against friends and relatives he has known his whole life.  He decides this is senseless, and refuses to fight.  At this point, Krishna begins to teach Arjuna about wisdom, freedom, and the secret of life.  Sounds compelling, like something I should be paying attention to.  Except I'm not getting it.
Truthfully, I recently finished the chapter on meditation (chapter 6), and it was the first chapter so far that made sense to me.  Now, I have never been one to meditate.  I know my yoga teachers meditate, and I have many friends who swear by meditation as being transformative for their bodies, minds, and spirits.  I've never given it a try - and you can't really know ANYTHING unless you give it a try once - but I can't envision myself getting into meditation.  It takes 20 minutes or more of sitting and emptying your mind so you can connect with your true, inner self.  I know that my time is limited, and I'm used to multi-tasking.  Even when I'm on the yoga mat, I'm thinking about how I will need to switch the laundry from the washer to the dryer when I get home, swandive, but I should stop at the grocery store first on the way to pickup milk, and I need to keep my back foot at at 45 degree angle, was it a light load or a dark load? And now we're windmilling down, and as soon as I get the milk and get home I have to remember to call the roofer to asking about the copper flashing and chaturanga, updog, downdog, breathe, is there anything else we're running out of that I can get when I'm at the store...
If I was taking 20 minutes to empty my mind, how would I remember to do any of those things?  Wouldn't I spend the entire 20 minutes thinking about how I should be exercising because I had gelato last night from the new place in town?  Maybe I'd be thinking about all that laundry I should be folding, or tiles I should be scrubbing, or recycling I could be organizing (I won't kid you, I never organize my recycling.  Shameful, I know.  Disgusting, perhaps, but I just don't have the time).
But in reading this chapter on meditation, I "get it".  "when the mind has become serene by the practice of meditation, you can see the Self through the self and rest in the Self"  What this means is that you'll be like a candle sheltered from the wind - one that does not flicker and is still.  The chapter continues to explain that this is the true yoga; you'll be rooted, stable, courageous.  The book admits that the mind will wander and it is part of the process to reign your thoughts back in for clarity and peace.  Eventually you'll gain freedom and infinite joy.
I've not made plans yet to meditate.  I can, however, take these words with me and keep them in mind as I finish reading the text.  I'm only on chapter 8, and I have 10 more to go.  (Hopefully I'll finish before my classes start!) Anytime my mind wanders, I'll have to reign my thoughts back in so I can focus on the message and meaning of the text.  Eventually I'll gain freedom (even if it's only freedom from reading this dang book!) and find infinite joy!

You are right, Arjuna:  the mind is restless and hard to master; but by constant practice and detachment it can be mastered in the end. - Krishna, in Bhagavad Gita 6.35

Flying on the Mat

What a week!  Even still, I found time to fly on my mat, thanks to a great Wednesday session by Josh.
Summer is ending, dear readers.  Soon, it's time to acclimate myself (and my children) to a regular daily schedule, which will be unlike any other September that has come before.  This is mainly because I'll be heading back to school for my Yoga Teacher Training.  I've never been a "student" while being a mother, let along a working professional (unlike a lot of my colleagues, I completed my Masters Degree before I started my teaching career).  Thankfully, I'm comfortable in my skin as both a mother and a teacher, so I feel like I'm up for the challenge - fully admitting that it is going to be nothing short of a challenge.
I digress.  I have roughly one week left to squeeze in as much yoga as I can.  I do feel that "yoga as I know it" is going to change, once I enter the teaching program, so I want to experience flying under someone else's guidance while I have the opportunity, and that's just what Josh presented this past Wednesday - so fitting, as he announced that a sub will be filling in for his class next week.  You all know how I feel about substitute yoga teachers.  This week was enough to last two weeks - as we worked heavily on Balancing postures, which are my strong suit.
It's been a while since I've felt like I've been flying on my mat.  Maybe I've been distracted (trying to recall/practice Sanskrit, thinking about what I should blog, worrying about my bra showing), maybe my focus hasn't quite been on-point, maybe instructors haven't felt much like having us fly.  Whatever the reason, it's been a while, and this past Wednesday, I got a sweet taste of flying.  It renewed everything I love about yoga.
I don't know if it's an "official" posture or asana, but we moved via swandive into a crescent lunge.  For that brief moment before your back foot touches down, you're balancing on one leg, and it makes you feel like you're flying.  I love this feeling, so I extended my leg for as long as I could - Imagining myself as a graceful bird taking flight. I savored the feeling, and whenever the opportunity arose within the practice to do it again, I balanced.  I let my leg go long and slow, my arms go wide and expansive, my breath come in deep, just to prolong the feeling of flying.
Flying doesn't come often on the mat - you have to be in the right zone - but when the moment arises, carpe diem, friends, and enjoy every second!  Maybe when I'm a yoga teacher, I'll try to work in a little flying with every session.  That's how good it feels.


" Be sure to breathe... Hold the posture, not your breath" - Josh

Book review: Hatha Yoga Pradipika

The required reading list for my yoga teacher training is turning out to be more varied and extensive than I could have imagined.  I'm not getting a Master's Degree or anything, although it seems like I'm going to be putting in the same amount of time!  When I got my regular Master's Degree (EdM), I don't recall any one class having more than 2 books as "suggested reading".  For this training which I'm about to embark on, I have 6 books that are not merely suggested, but required.  And some of them are pretty thick!

I've been dipping in and out of them as the deliveries arrive from Amazon or Barnes and Noble, and when The Hatha Yoga Pradipika arrived, I thought to myself, "This is more like it"...if only because the book is a lightweight 113 pages long - and every page contains at least half Sanskrit with the English translation right underneath!  (here's what Wikipedia says about the Hatha Yoga Pradipika).

I thought I'd whiz right through this one and then be able to indulge in some good old fiction before summer is over (Gone Girl, anyone?).  I read the introduction (yeah, yeah, the author/translator is telling the reader how he's staying true to the translation, how some things are not recommended, but it's in the Sanskrit, so he's including it....etc etc) and then got to the text.  There are only 4 chapters!  On page 3, there are pictures!  I start wishing that the other textbooks were like this.

But no, it doesn't stay this easy.  For a book that is only 113 pages, half in a language I can only admire for it's unfamiliar, elegant curliques and upside-down appearance, and almost 1/8 full of pictures, this was no easy read.  I'm not just saying that because it's summertime and it's hard for me to focus on academia in the heat.  There are lots of references to different Yogi Masters, and you have to keep flipping back and forth to keep them straight.  There are recommendations for postures as well as bizarre rituals to help you, the fledgling yogi, avoid death.  In fact, Svatmarama (the original author) is rather obsessed with beating death.  I mean, I thought I was bad, fruitlessly scouring the shelves at Sephora for a creme to eliminate the deep furrow between my eyebrows (a casualty of teaching Middle School, I'm convinced), but no.  This guy is constantly referencing poses to make it possible to digest deadly poisons (yeah, like I was ingesting those anyway), postures which destroy disease, and recommends rituals to avoid death.

I'm not poking fun or belittling this text in anyway.  I've read it, and I don't "get it" just yet, and that first instinct to find fault in something that is not understood is kicking into gear.  I'm hopeful that the directors of the training program will enlighten us, both to the message of the text and the reason we're reading it.  By the way, it was fairly easy to pick out the portions of the original text that this translator did not recommend (gradually elongate your tongue by cutting, shaking, and stretching it until it touches your forehead?  So THAT's how the ancient yogis could do that...!) but for it's overt mystic qualities, this book seems worthwhile, if only for putting your mind "in the zone" to receive your yoga training.

Don't worry about me....unless you see me walking around licking my eyebrows.

Samadhi appears automatically in the yogi whose shakti is awake and who has abandoned all actions - Svatmarama, The Hatha Yoga Pradipika.

What's with all the books?

Well, of course, something is up with my photo uploader, and after trying to fix it for 15 minutes, I'm losing patience, and I'll just have to make this work (sideways).

That's a lot of thick books on yoga.  With the exception of Bhagavad Gita (which is basically a long, non-rhyming poem), they average 300 pages a piece.  And there are more on the way.

What's with all the books?  Well, I have been practicing yoga for a long time, and my practice has progressed from DVDs at home to multi-level classes at the gym to studio classes to blogging about yoga to buying a few books about yoga to more classes...and the big message that I've been getting is that your yoga practice is never complete.  There is always somewhere else to go, another edge to push, an new level to reach.  I have long thought that the logical next step for me would be to become a yoga teacher.  But upon researching the lengthy coursework and reading lists, not to mention the requisite 200 HOURS of yoga classes, I always felt that it would be impossible for me to complete.  I work full-time, I have a husband who travels (a LOT), and 2 kids to raise (hello, afterschool activities!)  I thought it would be something to do "one day" when all of these things were a little less of a daily juggle.
But life is not slowing down, and I am not getting any younger (!), and suddenly I realized that there was a teacher training center just a couple of towns over.  I wouldn't need to trek into Manhattan to get this done.  My possibilities started opening up and I became inspired - so I decided to apply to the Yoga Teacher Training program.
The BIG REVEAL is that I was (finally!) accepted into the cohort for 2012-2013!  I am going back to school and I am going to become a fully-certified yoga teacher!  I am not doing this as a career move or change - I want to be very clear that I am doing this to deepen my own practice and gain an deeper, fuller understanding of yoga.  If I end up teaching a class here and there, great, but at the end of the day, I want to learn more about the discipline and practice and I think this is the way to do it.
My "Summer Reading List" is extensive - instead of sitting by the pool with 50 Shades on my Nook, I'll have Yoga textbooks and a pencil.  I have 3 more books coming (via the Pony Express, it seems, since I ordered them "Used" on Amazon), so I have plenty to keep me occupied before my coursework even begins.

Part of my
"summer reading list"...

In case you are curious, it is a 9-month program (some courses manage to cram this all into 3 months or stretch it out over 12 months - either way, the number of required hours is the same, as specified by the Yoga Alliance).  I will have class for 3 hours every single Wednesday night (September through May) with one 3-hour Friday class a month and one six-hour Sunday class a month.  Not terrible.  Manageable for a working mom (who is home from her paying job by 4:00).  What is going to take some schedule juggling is the additional requirement of taking 52 studio yoga classes during the course of the teacher training.  I will need to observe and reflectively journal on each of the 52 classes. I talked it over with Husband, I weighed it over in my mind, and I decided I was ready to give up one year of my life to further my passion!

After applying, I had to go in for an interview with the program director, who is super committed to maintaining the quality and integrity of her training program.  She's a true pioneer for small yoga studios who are surviving against the "big guns" of YogaWorks and Jivamukti in the city.  I also had to take 2 classes with 2 different instructors at the studio, just so they could see that I have good body awareness and knew enough about yoga to make sense of the coursework.  Basically, they needed to make sure I wasn't walking in off the street with 7 classes under my belt before I started training.  I have 7 YEARS under my belt - I know a sanskrit phrase or two.  I'm a biology teacher in real-life, so I think I have the body parts down pretty well, too.  It didn't matter - I made up my mind that this was the next step for me in my yoga journey, so I was happily willing to do anything they asked me to do as part of my application process.  I was eschewing all judgement and just giving it a go!

Eventually, I got my acceptance letter from the studio, just before we left for vacation, which made for a very happy start to our trip.  Now that I'm back, my mind has been going a million miles a minute, planning in advance for the schedule changes and juggles we'll be faced with this fall.  I've been ordering my books, and trying to crack them open to get a head start for September.  Overall, I'm so excited to be going "back to school", and I'm eager to share my experience with you on the blog!  I'm honored that you're willing to keep reading about the journey!

Just do it - "Energy and Persistence alter all things" - B. Franklin