HOLY FLOW! Today was my day. You know, it's amazing, there are about 30 teachers here representing at least 15 different practices: Ashtanga, Vinyasa, Anusara, Therapeutic, Kundalini, Restorative, Iyengar, Power, Flow etc…. no one is right but everyone is right. Right? Here's the thing: different practices speak to different people, how awesome is it that there are so many choices? So FLOW is my practice. I can't help it, take me into the groove, turn on some music and I'm all the way in and all the way out. Detached, engaged, flowing, mindless, mindful. Blissed.
I started my day w/the matriarch of Flow yoga, Shiva Rea (and I use the word matriarch reluctantly b/c she's not that old and looks ½ her age, but she did initiate the creation of all this). We warmed up, we Om'd, we practiced Mandala Namaskars (Sun Salutations that flow circularly around the mat) and we connected to Prana. Shiva's whole philosophy is simply one that I get: flow with Prana. Put me in Warrior II for 5 minutes and have me set a steady gaze over my front hand and I'm out of my freakin' mind as I focus on the suffering of the hold, but put me in Warrior II for 5 minutes and let me flow my arms, have me pulse and connect me into the flow of Prana? I'm in! That's the whole point—the flow of Prana, the movement of energy. Tap me into the source of flow, and I could stay there for 20 minutes. Shiva shared so many nuggets it's hard to choose, but my favorite is one I actually talk about often when I teach. We must move stagnant energy. As Shiva said, "Our recent ancestors spent 80% of their time outside: foraging, farming, working. Releasing stagnant energy." We now spend 80% of our time inside, sitting. It's not healthy. We really need to move our bodies and release all that stale build -up to get anywhere. In the Yoga world, sometimes the athletic practices of Ashtanga/Vinyasa/Power/Flow Yoga get a bad rap. Some people believe these active practices are simply a part of our "do more" society and our fitness obsessed way of being. I couldn't disagree more: how good of a job are we doing when 60% of our population is obese, 15% of our population is addicted, 10% of our population suffers from mental illness… we suffer from un-diagnosable pain, insomnia and FEAR. Are we doing a good job of releasing all the build up? Probably not. When we really do Vinyasa Yoga, with the breath, with the flow of Prana, the way it's intended to be done, it's an incredibly effective practice. Shiva has mastered the art and balance of Prana Flow Yoga.
I carried the energy from Shiva's class right into Janet Stone's class. While a seasoned vet on the Yoga scene, Janet was a new teacher to me. She rocked my world. It was a true flow class, full fire, vigor, athleticism, and FLOW. But most importantly it was full of humor, energy and connection. One of the most profound comments of the weekend came from Janet when we came into Bird of Paradise (a very awkward, bind one leg, balance on the other pose). She said, "If we do not do this from a place of connection, dedication and intention it makes no sense, it's just contortion, it's actually really weird." I laughed hard enough to almost fall out of my Bird, but she's totally right. Sometimes teaching Asana can get rote, we move the body and we forget to move the spirit. She also reminded me of the importance of satya (truthfulness) and ahmisa (non-violence) in a vigorous asana practice. Are we advancing because it's honestly where the body is ready to effortlessly go (satya)? Or is our ego telling us to strive? Are we moving deeper than we should to validate our own story (I'm a Yogi) and risking injury? It's so important to move from that place of connection and intention, to offer it up—otherwise we can become very ego driven in our quest to advance and therefore become dangerous to ourselves.
I spend my afternoon in a two hour Svasana class with Tias Little. Yep, two hours in Svasana. Who knew there was so much to explore in corpse pose? It was actually an amazingly informative exploration of the restorative pose; but I won't bore you with the details.
I finished my evening in Snatam Kaur's concert: long story short, do not spend two days opening your mind, opening your body, opening your heart, releasing bad energy, connecting to source and then go listen to the most beautiful, crystalline voice sing about truth and love unless you're ready for a major emotional release . . . I was supposed to be chanting, and I wanted to, I love Kirtan. But I was too overwhelmed by the sheer perfection and beauty of it all.
Here's my takeaway, the world is FULL of amazing asana teachers, so what is it that makes these people the "Master Teachers?" First of all it's their knowledge, I think they're all fluent in Sanskrit, can name every Hindu god, recite the Bhagavad Gita and list every muscle, vertebrae, nerve etc… in the body. But with time, anyone can learn that, what makes these teachers the masters is their mastery of their own energy, their connection to source and the way that transmute this connection to world. It's their ability to connect with people, to teach truth and love. It's the intangible quality . . . . the quality of charisma, the success of stepping into their own Dharma, embracing their own flow and leading with truth and love.
I'm revisiting Rod Stryker tomorrow and then coming home. I'm not quite ready . . . .
Namaste
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