leading the practice. stability during holidays with OS

Yesterday I taught the practice at the yoga center. It was pretty exciting because as I walked into the center, and as I looked out over my mat at the layout of the studio and the carpet floor I realized this would be my last practice in “this” space. The doors to the yoga center close Monday for the start of renovations. There will be lots of exciting changes being made to the space. The ones I am most looking forward to is new bamboo floor and raised ceiling. The renovation will start on Monday December 13 and be completed by January 3. We will continue to have all of our regularly scheduled classes during this time at a temporary location just down the street at 2101 East Murray Holladay Road. Maps are at the studio but it's easy to find!

For the practice I talked about instability. How during the holidays life can seem more chaotic and we can feel a sense of instability. I mentioned how when I experience this instability I feel more connected to something on the surface that is more superficial and I experience feeling like anxiety, fear, and judgment.

The Anusara philopshy is non-dual meaning that we are connected to something very profound and more eternal. You can call this whatever you like God, Shiva, Nature, Breath, Yourself, Nature, Science (enter your _______________ here). In order to connect and remember this eternal aspect of our self I need to draw into myself away from the drama of things that happen on the superficial and move deeper into my core and heart. Here I experience more compassion, joy, softness, and acceptance. Although with the craziness of the holidays and life sometimes when I draw in and connect to this higher essence I can loss the connection quickly.
So I need to not only draw in and remember this more eternal part of myself but I need to find even more stability by anchoring myself into this more eternal place that can still handle the drama but in a less reactive way.

We worked on muscular energy (muscle to bones, core lines to focal point, and midline) this was a really nice way to cultivate and remember the strength that we have.

Then we started to introduce outer spiral with lots of partner work and questions and clarifications. Oh yeah how could I forget. And some pretty phenomenal metaphors and similes. As we talked about outer spiral I really wanted to explain that it is more than tucking the tailbone (although that is a part but if you just tuck the tailbone that is closer to pelvic loop) but that contracting spiral has this wrapping aspect to it that narrows the back of the pelvis and expands the front of the pelvis. This wrapping of the iliac crest I was talking about like a clam shell. Toward the end of the class. One of the students mentioned a pearl inside our clam shells. I went nuts. What a wonderful connection. I haven’t completely refined it but I like this idea that through wrapping our clam shells around the head of the femur bone we create stability to open up our clam shell (which even makes sense because contracting spiral creates an opening in the front of the hips) and this opening of the clam shell reveals the pearl which is the opportunity to experience more length up the spine and the shashumna that leads to organic energy. (I am just adding to this as I write so again not totally refined).
We had lots of fun. Really great students. One who student whom I have known for a while and I was even her student at one point was there so it was really fun to share that with her.