The Yoga Blog

Part-Time Yogi No More

I’m a part-time yogi. At least that’s how I would have described myself before starting the 200 hour Advanced Studies course at Boundless. I’ve been practicing for a few years now, and most of that time I’ve been able to carve out an hour or two for my practice each week.  But recently I made the decision to become a teacher, and I figure if people are going to pay good money for my instruction, then I better know what the hell I am talking about.  So it’s time to give myself a promotion. I’m becoming a full-time yogi; committing myself to practice at least five times a week. And I’m going to tell you all about it. Here we go.

Boundless’s mission statement is: “Fostering Transformation.”  In keeping with that mission, I will be posting a series of blogs about my experiences in the Advanced Studies Program, with a focus on the transformations that occur in my body and mind as I progress through the program over the next ten months.

The standard program consists of one big weekend of training a month, and after our first one I knew I had a long way to go. You would think after practicing at least a couple hundred times in my life thus far, I would have a good hang on some basic poses. And I mean really basic, like sitting and standing. Nope. Not even close.

After holding each pose for several minutes, my body started whispering signals of pain and discomfort where I was not in alignment. I guess I just never listened that closely before.  I had several revelations during class, like what it means to tuck your tailbone. It amazes me how many times I have heard that queue and never really understood what it means. I am beginning to grasp just how far I have to go.

So apparently I have some work to do. That’s good. That’s what I signed up for. I just hope it never gets easy. What fun would that be?

Reading Harry/Seeing Bodies

ErinDuncan on 11:18 am November 30th, 2011 / 1 Comment »

I love reading about Harry’s recollection of his first Seeing Bodies
experience. And I love it even more knowing what has happened for
Harry since that experience.

As a Boundless advanced student as well as a teacher, I know that our
job is to help create the space for the type of transformation Harry
describes — of course within our bodies but also within our minds and
hearts. Seeing Bodies is an important first step on that path of
transformation. As an instructor, it is so helpful to have a
one-on-one opportunity to work with a student and gain a deeper
understanding of how their particular body moves. But the most
important information Seeing Bodies provides is the information it
provides you. Knowing more deeply how your body works and ways your
practice can help support you is priceless.
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