The Joys of Planning

The plane would leave in 2 hours. I had a 45 minute drive to the airport, barring traffic. I leapt out of the shower. I hadn't even packed yet. I hastily threw a toothbrush and deoderant into my knapsack, grabbed a random book off the shelf, checked that I had my ID, and bolted out the door.

That pretty much described my routine for trip planning up until now. It had its joys, and its consequences.  I've always heard that half the fun of a trip is the planning that goes into it. Until last night, I had never felt that way. But suddenly I see. I see a path unfolding in front of me. And with that path and some lofty goals in mind, the planning has begun.

The first step was to choose a yoga school for teacher training. Thanks to a beautiful Belgian girl I met in an airport, I gained insight into this one. Asking her whether she thought I should train in New York or India, she looked at me quizzically and said: "Yoga came from India. If you have that opportunity, why would you go anywhere else?" That crystallized it.

Following that conversation, I realised that my original school of yoga was actually based in India: Sevananda. I found that they had teacher trainings all throughout the year. I examined all the schools. One is in the Himalayas, a mere 30 miles (a days walk!) from the Tibetan border! That settled it.

Let the planning begin.

a Yoga Instructor is Born

Today my father and I made a visit to the Dr. Anita Roberts Memorial Garden, a small garden and patio and sculpture dedicated to the memory of my mother on the NIH campus.

When we arrived, two Indian gentlemen were having a quiet chat. After some time contemplating and absorbing the environs, I asked them to snap our photograph, and we struck up a good conversation. They asked me what I did, and I stated: "I'm a yoga instructor." to which both their eyes lit up, and one asked me about Pranayama (alternate nostril controlled breathing) while the other quizzed me about a particular yoga school in the heart of India.

What was strange was the role reversal: I had simply assumed that since they were Indian, they would be yoga experts... when in fact they were looking to me for advice. Two Americanized Indians asking an Indianized American about the finer points of yogic breathing.

I did the best I could to transfer the knowledge to them about the core practice of breathing, about opening your heart and lungs with simple backbends, about the vinyasa of matching your breath to the movements, and about the most important work of integration into your daily life, so that you are in the mode of deep and clean yogic breathing all day every day.

We said our goodbyes and I realised, entering the lobby, that I had just given my first formal yoga instruction. And all I had to do was to say "I'm a yoga instructor." And so it was, and so it shall be. Namaste.

adult hooping

My brother visited from up North with his children the other day.

As with most kid visits, the hoops soon found their way into the playspace, and my brother decided it was time to give it a shot.
K is a very accomplished athlete, a triathlete, golfer and competitive basketball player. So he was adequately frustrated when he couldn't keep even my adult-sized hoop up for more than a few revolutions. He asked me what the motion was and I made several attempts at explaining both a side/forward rocking and a basic front/back... he still couldn't get it.

Finally, I said "Karl, just pretend you're fucking. Pump, back, pump, back, always pushing against the hoop." The next time he picked up the hoop, he went for over a minute, with a look of pure glee on his face.

So now, grown-ups, you know the secret of good hooping. :)

Kundalini

The practices enable you
to merge with
or "yoke" with
the universal Self.

This merging of individual consciousness
with universal consciousness
creates a “divine union” called
"YOGA."

The practice that leads
to this state of self-mastery
is also called
"yoga."

So the road
and the destination
have the same name,
"yoga."

There are many different kinds,
or schools
of yoga.
"Many Paths, One Goal."

Those who practice yoga
are called "yogis"
and those who master yoga
are also called "yogis."

step off your mat and enjoy eachothers gifts :)

continuing:

We are looking for win win situations, where you get a lot out of the training and you leave with the tools to share this magic. We honor your interest and your passion for the work. We look to serve you and your community in becoming a playground for yogis to step off their mats and enjoy each others gifts.

requirements to apply for AcroYoga teacher training:

It is up to you to decide what form of yoga moves you and what you want to share with your students. Becoming a yoga teacher is not a requirement to be filled to become an AcroYoga teacher, it is a vital part of knowing yourself and your relationship to spirit. Clarity and steadiness on your yoga path is what we are wanting you to find before you come to this training.