Yesterday morning I spent 3 hours in a backbend workshop with John Schumacher. I already mentioned to John that I have a sacro-iliac injury that was the impetus for me to start my yoga practice back in college. So when things started to heat up, there were several of us that went to the "Lower Back Pain Corner". The only pose we really practiced differently from everyone else was Chatush Padasana.
Today I am thankful for experience because it is rare and somewhat miraculous to be in the presence of a teacher with more than 40 years experience. You always know an experienced teacher because they are not always trying to provide you with the answer. They often want to know, "What is your experience?" Last night with John Schumacher, we worked on fundamental standing poses, because it was the only class in the workshop that was open to all levels of students. But we addressed the standing poses from a completely different perspective.
I am thankful to be attending a yoga workshop today with one of my teachers. He may not exactly know yet that I consider him to be one of my teachers, because I actually do not see him very often and have only taken a few classes with him. But I am blessed to listen to his live classes on iHanuman.
iHanuman Yoga Teacher and Co-Founder, Tilak Pyle, sent me this video when I told him of my plan to post every day for the month of November in honor of gratitude. This is his favorite clip on Gratitude. I immediately want to add it to my play list and listen to it every day when I wake up ( although the pictures are beautiful too ). It reminds us of how precious each moment is in our lives. Each moment gives us a new opportunity for something miraculous.
There have definitely been times in my life where I felt like I was on my own, like it was just me against the world (Thanks, Tupac).�� It is during those trying times that we are hyper aware of the people who take the time to truly pay attention to us. Today I am grateful to the people who care. Not the ones who are just "doing their job", but the ones who go above and beyond. This extends to the people who take the time to read your emails and respond with their thoughts.
Today I am feeling hungover, even though I have not had an alcoholic drink for at least six months. This hangover is the result of my indulgence in cake and coffee after 10pm last night as part of my birthday celebration. Kathleen Maier, Director of Sacred Plant Traditions, purports that the medical traditions recognized hangovers long before the prevalence of alcohol over-consumption.
(This story is part of an ongoing sharing of my experiences sitting with Asha Greer. For an introduction to Asha, please see the previous post titled�� The House that Zen Built.)
Leena Patel, Yoga Teacher and Meditation Practitioner from Las Vegas, Nevada submitted this free audio clip last week. Leena has been a seriously playful student and practitioner of yoga, Buddhism, philosophy and meditation since 1992. Listen to an enticing introduction before beginning your meditation practice.
, we were taught how to lead a ceremony. This particular ceremony's intention was to let go of grief from this past year; this could be the loss of a loved one, a job, or anything else which you chose to let go. Three days later on the autumnal equinox our cat died and I found myself holding ceremony for 24 hours which concluded with a full moon circle.
