Me Doing Mermaid Pose
I haven’t posted much about yoga lately. One might think I haven’t been doing much. You’d be sort of right. When it’s very cold outside (like now, it’s a balmy 12F), I have no interest in leaving my bed, let alone my house. But there are some days I have things to do, so I dress in layers and do it.

Have I mentioned that I hate winter?

Teacher training ramped back up in January with my therapeutics apprenticeship with Gabriel Halpern. Gabriel’s an interesting teacher and he has an interesting style that I’m not used to seeing in the yoga world. He’s definitely of the “tough love” school, but the main underlying thing there is the love. There is also chocolate. Lots of chocolate.

We had two days of orientation, where we went through all the different poses we’d be working on with our students.

Yoga Teacher Training: Customized Yoga Apprenticeship Orientation
gabriel uses jaylen to demonstrate a pose to us
Yoga Teacher Training: Customized Yoga Apprenticeship Orientation
graham dances with mr. skeleton
After the hips and knees orientation, where we practiced on each other, my hips were so open that I was able to comfortably get into Padmasana (Lotus Pose) for the first time since I was a little girl.

Lotus!
On January 17, I met my person and she is wonderful. I get to work with her every Thursday, showing her poses and making sure she feels OK. During the week, I keep in touch with her by sending her information and poses and dharma stuff.

In January, I also started my workshop management position. My first workshop was a doozy! It was a detox. I had to cut up fruit, heat up oil and put it into cups, make tea, tape the floor and set up mats inside each taped rectangle, greet people, and then actually attend the workshop. WHICH WAS AMAZING.

The first time I did a detox was in the fall of 2010. It was fun but hard! There were definitely points where I fell into Child’s Pose. I just couldn’t do everything. But this last time? I told people that I’m either getting stronger or the detoxes are getting easier. I doubt that Amber is making it easier. I think I’ve just gotten stronger.

In the middle of January, I taught my thesis workshop. I called it Your Yoga, and it was about being creative in your own yoga practice. I had five attendees, and I played music, led an asana practice (with a segment for the students to do their own thing–being creative!) and we talked about yoga. Most of the students were beginners, so it was fun to tell them about what yoga IS and how it can relate to their lives and change their lives.

Tonight, I head out to work and attend the Shatki Gong Healing given by The Starnes Sisters. I went to one in the fall and LOVED it. Also, I love their fashion sense. It’s fabulous.

I still have non-contact stuff to do for teacher training. I’ve got to write up my thesis, do my book reviews, teach one more private lesson (free–any takers?), do a write up about the private lessons, and decide on a final exam. I also need to attend more workshops and special events–but being a workshop manager makes that quite easy for me. 🙂

So, that’s my yoga life for now. ‘Til next time!