Sunrise Yoga - Year 7

Seventh annual sunrise yoga started today!  We added a 7:30 AM option this year, in part because we had such a huge temporary space last year and had nearly 60 students, and so this year, of course 60 people want to come again.  This "adventure" has such an energy to it.  People want to be involved in this "epic journey" with other people.  There are about 40 people in the 6-7:15 AM class and about 20 so far in the 7:30-8:45 AM section.  The tape is on the floor in the studio to mark off where everyone must place their mat so we can all fit.  I've decided to sleep in and join the 7:30 class this year.  OH sleeping in!  It will be so great.  I have had such a hard time managing my sleep this past year that I've been teaching sunrise 2-3 days a week - I usually end up staying up too late, then I get up to teach my sunrise class and go back to bed to nap!  I'm planning to stay up after yoga for these 21 days and offer reduced price massage in the mornings to other sunrise yogis, so I've got to get to bed on time...

Class this morning was great.  It's always interesting to see how Ken introduces kapalabhati pranayama.  I've been thinking a lot lately about creativity in teaching.  I'll be subbing for Ken at least once during these 21 days, and so my thoughts are on how much to stick to his sequencing, use of music, etc... I am ok with using his sequence since this is a unique experience of doing the "same practice" 21 days in a row.  Every day can be different for people emotionally, energetically, etc..., but the physical postures will be the same.  I read a blog recently about the "need" some teachers have to be creative in sequencing.  The article made it sound like it was more of an ego game when teachers insist on being overly creative with their sequencing, or trademark specific sequences.  This is a complicated issue.  On the one hand, I have tremendous respect for more "traditional" yoga systems where the new teacher teaches exactly as his or her guru does, thereby eliminating the possibility for it to be too much of an ego game... but at the same time, I feel like getting to be creative in this way gives me energy and to some extent fuels me.  It allows me to feel like I'm trusting some deeper source of knowledge that I then transmit through what I teach.  Since I have had so many teachers over the years, I find it hard to narrow down what teachings "most" resonate with me, so my teaching tends to be a mixed bag of what is resonating with me in that moment.  In some ways this feels more authentic.  But, authentic to my expression of yoga, not necessarily authentic to what I "should" be teaching, if there is such a "should."  This trusting feels like a deep knowing, although there is always the possibility that I am just trusting my ego and not realizing it...

This makes it a tad difficult to decide what to call my classes.  Most students don't really know the differences between vinyasa, hatha, Kripalu, etc..., and really, the differences are not as important as the offering by the teacher of that style.  I often feel people should choose a class more on whether the teacher resonates with them than whether the "style" resonates with them because style is much more slippery.  You could get two totally different classes offered by two different teachers of "hatha."  But, people still ask how to distinguish them; we humans are prone to want to place things in boxes and slap labels on them.  So, for now I'm calling my class Hatha Flow.  Hatha refers more generally to all postural yoga classes, and flow indicates that there will be some breath-linked movement.  I thought for a while about calling my class Prana Flow, but since Shiva Rea has a specific way of sequencing (which I do know and like), I feel like my sometimes random tangents would maybe not fit into her structure.  My YTT was prana flow and I did learn the wave sequencing that Shiva does, but I feel like I don't always want to be that structured.  I want the freedom to linger when the moment calls for it.  So...  I initially called my class vinyasa flow, also a fairly open category, and so many teachers call their classes vinyasa, to different results.  I've been influenced by my prana flow YTT, the alleyCat version of Kripalu, the more minimalist teachings of another teacher here in CoMO, and also my one year of Iyengar training, so yeah, mixed bag.  It's very possible I need to study more in depth with one teacher for a while so I can get some clarity.  Too bad Simon Park doesn't live here; I was really inspired by his teachings at Kripalu last November.  Simon is a student of Shiva's, but he calls his classes liquid flow, evoking the slow mindfulness of his vinyasa.  I've actually been thinking about offering a Prana Flow class at AlleyCat, but also continuing to teach my Hatha Flow for my more tangential stuff.  It's still up in the air.

True Connection

I've been thinking a lot lately about connection.  I spend a great deal of time online on Facebook, and other social media sites, in part because it should help my business, but also because I tend to stall and delay tasks that need to be done when I'm under the misconception that I have to keep up with everyone on Facebook, etc...

I quit my desk job over 9 months ago, but in some ways I am still chained to my desk chair.  I still spend several (but not 8) hours a day at my computer, checking up on people, reading blogs, etc...  I've been thinking about Facebook and authenticity in particular a lot lately.  How genuine is it for me to wish someone happy birthday on Facebook?  Particularly since Facebook reminds me that it is someone's birthday; I didn't have to remember; and I likely promptly forget shortly after wishing them HB that it is their birthday.  I find myself wishing happy birthday to people I don't even know, simply because I added them as "friends" for some reason.  It's almost too transactional to be personal.

I recently posted on Facebook that I wish FB would reveal to us the amount of time we spend online on Facebook on a daily, weekly, historical basis, but that likely it would never happen because it would be too sobering for people.  I sincerely mean that.  Too sobering.  We are (at least I am) drunkenly distracted from life by our Facebook activities.  Now, honestly, there are many cousins, siblings, and other relatives that I would never talk to if it weren't for FB, and for that I am grateful.  However, do I really need to check FB up to ten times a day to see what else people are posting?

I went to a short talk at the Hanuman Festival in Boulder, CO last month about electronic interactions and how we can/should evaluate what we are contributing to the electronic cloud.  Does it serve my highest purpose? Or am I blathering on?  Not that everything always has to be of value, but at least I can strive to recognize when my blah blahs have no purpose other than announcing, "Hello world, look at me!"

So when is connection authentic?  Can online connection be authentic when there is no offline connection?  Or is authenticity the wrong question?

I went to a Tibetan Singing Bowl and Chakra yoga class last night in Jefferson City.  There is something truly magical about Tibetan Singing Bowls.  I found myself wishing I had my very own bowl.  One of the lower resonances though.  I dig the lower tones.  There were easily thirty people in the large Wilson's gym, all seeking connection to something higher, something beyond description.  The sound healer placed bowls on our bellies at one point, and when struck the bowls resonated their tones throughout our bodies.  The entire space was resonant.  I've been listening to the CD I bought last night all day.  Coupled with the sound of the light rain outside, I feel very connected to all that is.

Sharing Practice with my Shadow

Last night I filmed a practice video, not realizing how much of a shadow I would cast with the way I set the lighting up.  I think it turned out pretty cool.  Just flowing without much of a plan for about thirty minutes.  The room is my massage office, rearranged a bit to accommodate the video.