All's quiet on Sandying these days. You see, I've been off studying a lot, and plotting a super secret thing.
The super secret thing I've been working on is my future digital home. SandyKalik.com is most definitely a work in progress (just like the rest of me). But if you have thoughts or resources on a blogger to wordpress migration, I'd be grateful! Eventually, I'll be moving the blog over to the new site.
For my physical mind and body, I've been doing a lot of studying. My 500 hour teacher training with Daniel Orlansky at the Arlington Center continues; the most recent module was yoga therapeutics with Doug Keller, and before that Daniel taught two modules on Meridian Yoga (you can read more about that system here). In between Meridian and therapeutics, I've been rocking out with Ana Forrest and soaking in the encyclopedia of anatomy knowledge from Ms. Ellen Heed.
A Few Take-Aways
To summarize all these trainings would take me a while, so I'm going to share the top-of-mind goodies. Some these are just amusing, some are terribly practical, some of these might just make you scratch your head. You be the judge.
"Don't be a sacrificial whore." - Ana Forrest
"We're very conditioned by the masculine norm; different does not mean inferior." - Ellen Heed
Scars may heal on the surface skin, but the fascial layers may still be affected. - via Ellen Heed (for more on this watch Gil Hedley on The Fuzz)
"If your body were meant to be sitting all day, we'd be made out of blocks." - Doug Keller
"Feet connect to core." - Doug Keller
"Your roll just might be your closest friend. Who else is going to get that close to your sh*t and stay?" - Ana Forrest (on taking cobra and bow over a rolled up mat)
Somehow Ellen Heed managed to engage a room of adults in conversations about anal massage, gut flora and fisting in a totally clinical and practical way--all of which I would have been incredibly resistant to hearing about or discussing in most any other context. I'm told there's more to it all in her Women's Sacred Anatomy Training. We'll have to see if I can keep a straight face though.
Do you find that training and learning only makes you hungry for more? Right now I'm looking into more Ellen Heed trainings, an Acroyoga immersion in September and a yin yoga teacher training. What are you studying these days?
Showing posts with label back bay yoga. Show all posts
Showing posts with label back bay yoga. Show all posts
Tuesday, March 22, 2011
Tuesday, August 17, 2010
Mysore Day 1 & 2: Observation & Salutations
I reached the conclusion sometime recently, after teaching something like 35 classes over the course of two weeks, that I really, REALLY needed to make time for and guard my own practice. There's always plenty of reasons not to, plenty of crap that comes up. But run, run, running, makes it very clear. You can't drive your friends to the party if you're on empty.
Right? Right!
I decided I needed an unheated, early morning practice -- mornings being the only time in my schedule that aren't consistently occupied by teaching, client calls, meetings, and so on, and so on. Despite the fact that mornings are incredibly difficult on my body, this is the kind of commitment that really is required. So I found Mysore on the Back Bay Yoga Studio schedule...
Mysore Day One: Observation
A lesson, perhaps in patience, and most definitely a demonstration of commitment, you're asked to observe your first class. Admittedly, my first thought was to try to weasel my way out of it, "oh, that doesn't have to apply to me. I'm a teacher." But I forced myself to hold my tongue and sit. Ego is so readily available. Beginner's mind, on the other hand, can feel like a scarce resource. This is a brand new (to me) practice, at a somewhat new to me studio, in a space where I'm not a teacher. This is a space I can learn without feeling like I need to be more knowledgeable, more capable. Brilliant. So I arrived early, sat and watched for roughly two hours, and was told to arrive tomorrow between 6:30am and 7:30am for instruction--assuming I could commit to the practice between three and six times a week. Little did my instructor know, that was exactly what I was looking for...
I probably learned more about myself, sitting there watching, then I did about the practice. However, I did notice the slight differences in the sun salutations from power (my home base) and Mysore. My body ached to participate. Run, run, running takes a toll.
Mysore Day Two: Relearning Suns
Sun salutations are like bread. Every culture has some sort of bread, and every one has a unique way of making and enjoying it, be it Ethiopian injera or Wonder Bread. Similarly, each style of vinyasa, the flowy yoga, has its own style or version of sun salutes. And of course, Mysore sun salutations have their own unique qualities. But where the ups and downs differ, even in the alignment minutia, the focus on breathing is consistent.
While I do sun salutations pretty regularly, the slight differences from what I'm used to required I bring a renewed focus to the practice. I tired myself out pretty quickly trying to keep it all straight, stay present and breathe calmly. But it all builds, in time.
Right? Right!
I decided I needed an unheated, early morning practice -- mornings being the only time in my schedule that aren't consistently occupied by teaching, client calls, meetings, and so on, and so on. Despite the fact that mornings are incredibly difficult on my body, this is the kind of commitment that really is required. So I found Mysore on the Back Bay Yoga Studio schedule...
Mysore Day One: Observation
A lesson, perhaps in patience, and most definitely a demonstration of commitment, you're asked to observe your first class. Admittedly, my first thought was to try to weasel my way out of it, "oh, that doesn't have to apply to me. I'm a teacher." But I forced myself to hold my tongue and sit. Ego is so readily available. Beginner's mind, on the other hand, can feel like a scarce resource. This is a brand new (to me) practice, at a somewhat new to me studio, in a space where I'm not a teacher. This is a space I can learn without feeling like I need to be more knowledgeable, more capable. Brilliant. So I arrived early, sat and watched for roughly two hours, and was told to arrive tomorrow between 6:30am and 7:30am for instruction--assuming I could commit to the practice between three and six times a week. Little did my instructor know, that was exactly what I was looking for...
I probably learned more about myself, sitting there watching, then I did about the practice. However, I did notice the slight differences in the sun salutations from power (my home base) and Mysore. My body ached to participate. Run, run, running takes a toll.
Mysore Day Two: Relearning Suns
Sun salutations are like bread. Every culture has some sort of bread, and every one has a unique way of making and enjoying it, be it Ethiopian injera or Wonder Bread. Similarly, each style of vinyasa, the flowy yoga, has its own style or version of sun salutes. And of course, Mysore sun salutations have their own unique qualities. But where the ups and downs differ, even in the alignment minutia, the focus on breathing is consistent.
While I do sun salutations pretty regularly, the slight differences from what I'm used to required I bring a renewed focus to the practice. I tired myself out pretty quickly trying to keep it all straight, stay present and breathe calmly. But it all builds, in time.
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