Judi
Yoga Passport is a unique Yoga Immersion and Teacher Training that I’ll be co-teaching at FocusOm beginning in January, 2109. It emphasizes the ultimate goal of yoga: to connect with one’s inner spirit. We’ll explore not only the tools of classical yoga, such as asana, pranayama and traditional meditation, but more modern practices as well. Many current practices help create a state of “yoga”, by quieting the mind, cultivating a healthy life, and connecting us to our own inner wisdom. This program offers a survey of many tools presented by many teachers, to broaden the students scope on their spiritual journey. If you’d like more details about this program, click here.
I’m excited to introduce you to another of our tour guides on this journey, Aimee McNally. Aimee is an accomplished asana practitioner, who will be breaking down more advanced asanas for our students.
Asana is a large part of any Yoga Immersion/Teacher Training program, and studying the more advanced and difficult postures can fill a student with either excitement, or dread. If you are among the latter, rest assured, our studies focus on building these poses and preliminary work, so everyone can feel challenged and successful.
But, there is a reason that we bring difficult poses into a good yoga practice. In our training, Aimee McNally will be working with us to bring us closer to success, but also to remember the real reason we practice tough poses. Words from Aimee:
“We all have to do things outside of our comfort zone. Take technology, for example. Technology is always asking us to learn new things. It’s evolving and changing so fast, but we need to keep up with it to function in our world.
“In addition, we all face obstacles, and sometimes one of them is when things change unexpectedly. We plan our life, and we thing it’s going to happen according to a plan. Suddenly, we are dealing with the unexpected; change or even loss. How are you going to react to it? Are you going to crumble? Or not?
“When we study advanced postures, we can be afraid. We are afraid of getting hurt; that we aren’t flexible, young enough or strong enough. We have excuse to keep us in our comfort zone. But, when we face our fears, we learn to let go. We overcome the fear. We live.
“I don’t fear the future so much anymore, and practicing tough asanas is a part of that. When researching a new asana, I let go of my fear; falling, embarrassment; and I know I conquered it. I deal with it head on. Through trying comes growth, and in yoga, growth brings you closer to enlightenment.
“I remember not being able to do crow pose. Friends were giving me tips. I remember the day they cued me to tip my head forward more, and really firm up my low belly. It was a big, epiphamatic moment. Wow! It all clicked. It felt like complete fulfillment.
“My body is naturally strong and flexible, and in yoga, I had a lot of early success. And, there was a lot of ego involved. But, I continue to work on poses that I have not mastered, and in doing so, I have to let go of perfections. With effort, I will continue to grow. As I practice, I know it may all click one day.