Mysore with Melanie

Living in Austin certainly has its benefits. One is it's ability to attract world-reknown yogis to hold weekend workshops.

This year I had signed up for 3 (possibly a 4th to come) more major Ashtanga workshops. This past weekend was workshop number 1.

To get a certification from the Ashtanga Yoga Research Institute (http://www.ayri.org/), you have to have a daily practice for about 10 years. You have to make 8 annual trips to Mysore, India to study directly with Guruji or his grandson Sharath, and you have to be proficient in the first three series of Ashtanga. On top of that, certification isn't granted automatically; Sharath and Guruji subjectively award their students with that honor. Long story short, very few people worldwide are certified; in fact, only 10 women in the world have the certification. One of them is Melanie Fawer, who I got to practice with this weekend.

I haven't had exposure to an authorized instructor since Russell and Sally visited in March, and I've NEVER taken classes with a certified instructor. IT MAKES A DIFFERENCE. Three classes with Melanie and I feel like my practice is completely transformed. My mind is swimming with alignment principles, spirals of energy, and my entire body feels stronger and healthier.

Melanie got me into the deepest backbend I've ever done. So I'm getting increasingly proficient in drop-backs, and my teacher Sharon has me working on grabbing my ankles during the last backbend. So I'm minding my own business, working on dropping back when Melanie approaches me during class to assist me with half drop-backs. "Have you done this before?" she asks. I answer, yes, and tell her I've only succeeded in pinching my ankles, not quite grabbing them yet. She answers, "hmmm," followed by "okay, follow my instructions."

She has me drop back halfway and my hands automatically reach for the ground. "Stop," she says. "Give me your left hand."

"What???"

"Give me your left hand."

So I give my hand to her and she proceeds to place it on my CALF. My left side is screaming. Then...

"Give me your right hand."

I somehow manage a desperate "no!!"

"Give me your right hand."

Reluctantly, I trust her and gingerly hold out my right hand. Right hand goes straight to the right calf.

"How do you feel?"

I gasped "like my back is breaking."

She tells me to straighten my legs more. I tell her I don't know where my legs are anymore. In fact, I don't have a clue where the rest of my body is in space. Apparently, that's normal. She helps me up and puts me in a forward fold. "Good. We'll do this again tomorrow."

I had a nice chat with her after the workshop and feel... encouraged. Though I feel less ready to teach Ashtanga than ever, I'm excited about passing on some of what I've learned to my students this Thursday!!

Almost there...

The current pose I'm working on is Laghu Vajrasana - you drop back to the posture above, wait 5 breaths, and use your core to pull yourself back upright. I can't pull up yet, and the last time I tried, I pulled up just high enough to fall back and bruise the top of my head.

So the new strategy is to lower just enough where I don't lose track of my core and can still pull all the way upright. It's a KILLER on the quads so I haven't been able to come down very far. Today my head hovered within an inch above the floor. AN INCH!! Cue victory dance...

PS. For those of you wondering, Austin is going to be safe from Hurricane Ike. They are forecasting thunderstorms and high winds, but I highly doubt we're even going to get heavy rain this weekend.

Ah, blessed sleep!

I slept a full 8 hours last night and woke up happy and refreshed!!

I have a full day of catching up on research and reading ahead of me today, but the nice thing is I have absolutely nowhere to be all day! After 3 days without practice, I may treat myself to not 1, but 2 yoga classes today. A nice early afternoon Prana Vinyasa Flow practice with Sanieh, and an evening Ashtanga Mysore class with Selena where I get to work through the second series. Melanie Fawer, one of 10 women in the world who is certified (not just authrorized!!) to teach ashtanga by Guruji is coming to Austin next weekend and I am gearing up for that!!

Thursdays are my longest days since I TA, followed by back to back classes, teach an Ashtanga class at UT, then finish the night off with community group. At first I was apprehensive about the long day (and it is long), and true enough, by the time I got to the yoga class I was pretty much brain dead. I got there about 15-20 minutes early to warm up with sun salutations and immediately begin to feel better. 27 students showed up to that class, and by the end of the class I was wide awake and ready to go to community group. Good thing, too, as we're studying 1 Peter which lead to some pretty convicting discussions.

Speaking of my church, I'm LOVING the direction our church is taking. We're finally building a church building in the poorest neighborhood in Austin. The vision of the church is to be a church for the city, not just in the city, and part of their building plans is to include offices where non-profits organizations that benefit our city can reside. Anyway, I've definitely had a lot of thoughts about where my life is going, both in the short and long run. But that's another post...

Trouble Sleeping

It's been a week of restless sleep. This morning I dreamed that I woke up too late and missed helping my friend return his rental car as well as my yoga class at 24 hour fitness (resulting me in me getting fired). I woke up in a panic at 8 AM, 2 hours before I was actually scheduled to be anywhere.

Crazy. I must be more stressed than I realize.

Vulnerability

I had the yummiest yoga practice yesterday. Jonny Kest was in Austin and I had treated myself to one of his workshops. 2 1/2 hours of nonstop movement - it was amazing. Lately, as my shoulders and upper body strength are getting stronger, I've been having a blast playing with arm balances. There were no shortage of those in his class, and most of them were used as warm-ups!

An exercise we worked on at one point is to just take 5 minutes and silently stare into a partner's eyes. I got paired with a complete stranger. This woman was a cycling instructor who, as soon as she placed her mat on the floor, asserted to anyone who cared who she was and what her experience was in yoga. Very eager to present herself in a positive light and communicate with others that she was strong, fit, knowledgeable, and capable. But as soon as we entered into the exercise, she FREAKED out. Every few seconds she'd whisper to me "I'm uncomfortable, are you uncomfortable?" I just smiled and kept staring. Then she began to fidget uncontrollably, her eyes began to wonder, and then she'd turn back to me and try to start a conversation. I just smiled and kept staring. As soon as the exercise was over, she broke away and began chatting about exactly how uncomfortable that exercise was, and began to reassert her competence by sharing about her experiences as a cycling instructor. She didn't speak another word to me that entire class.

It hit me how vulnerable people are and what lengths people would go to protect their vulnerability. People do not want strangers to see their weaknesses because they don't want to be seen as lesser people than they think they are. I wonder...why is this? Why do we not want to be seen as less than we are? Along the same lines, why are we so afraid to be wronged? Is it due to ego? Is it something culturally engrained in us? Or is there something hardwired in us that hates being on the receiving end of injustice?

Found!

Found a gem of a picture on my roommate's camera from when Amanda visited. This is us watching the bats by the South Congress bridge.

Ah, I miss the summer already!!