namasteph yoga blog

Wow! I made it. I finished the four days. I honestly didn’t know if I was going to be able to after day one. I have no idea how people last through month-long training programs. This stuff is intense.

Sunday morning started off without a hitch - the people at Exhale finally got it together and had the place opened on time in the morning. Shiva led us through a lunar flow in the first session. Unfortunately - and sorry if this is TMI (Too Much Information) - my “moon flow” had kicked in the day before and it was at its peak on Sunday morning. The first full day of my period I usually rest and don’t exercise, and for good reason. I’m losing a lot of blood! So I went through the beginning of the lunar flow series and then I started feeling sick. It wasn’t even a regular cramp. The heat of the room was really getting to me and I felt like I was going to throw up. So I sat back and watched a little bit and then rested in some restorative poses.

Shiva and her crew were really terrific about this. Shiva came by and made sure I was OK and had such a genuine look of caring and concern in her eyes that I felt very comforted. Her assistant came by and gave me some nice little “adjustments” in shivasana - wonderful!

After that I felt better, and just decided that I would not workout strenuously the rest of the day.

Our next stop was Agape, a large spiritual center (new age church of sorts) nearby. Agape is a bit of an experience and not something I can easily explain - you just have to go - and Shiva wanted us to go to experience the energy there. (There is a teaching application in this, since you can learn a lot about how to create a community feel by just observing how they do things at Agape.) We were a bit rushed getting over there and concerned over seats - Agape has been overflowing since Rev. Michael appeared on Larry King Live - but luckily it was a slow day for some reason. (Maybe the Emmy’s happening…this is Los Angeles.)

During the service, something happened, and all the accumulated energy from the weekend just welled up within me and I ended up crying during the final song. Crying in a good way. Crying in love and joy. Agape does that to people, and that’s why they have ushers wandering around offering tissues. Something, somehow, in spite of myself, the training had opened something up inside me. I could tell that after only a few days I was different, more relaxed, more open, more…dare I say it? In the flow.

How the hell did that happen? I have no idea! But it has something to do with the energy Shiva holds in her classes. I experienced something similar in her Trance Dance training.

We went back to the training in the afternoon, and had a nice wrap up that included creating our own flow series using one of her blueprints. Mindful of my body, I did a restorative “floor flow,” which actually was wonderfully fantastic…it was not something I would have ever done on my own but it really felt good. Exciting possibilities there.

Time does seem to get away from you during these sessions and there were a few things we did not get to. We were supposed to see some additional hands-on adjustments but did not have time. Oh well.

Our final event was a sunset kirtan (chanting) on the beach. This mirrored the beautiful puja ritual we started the weekend with on Thursday evening. We were given flower petals to release to the ocean. As I threw mine into the water, I knew, somehow that my life had changed.

I had a chance to speak to Shiva briefly over my chronic fatigue syndrome and how I was interested in taking the full 200 hours but concerned because there were some poses I would never be able to do. She told me they had two training tracks - and one was for people who wanted to teach beginners and others with more limited mobility. The other track would be for people who want to teach advanced students. “Not everyone is going to be able to do handstand, and there’s no reason why beginners can’t do flow,” she said. That made me feel much better about doing her full training.

When I spoke to an assistant later to get more clarification, I was told that the program was going to be restructured in 2008 to fully reflect these two separate tracks. Well, how exciting! I think that’s a perfect solution to the issue I immediately saw on day one, where those of us who weren’t yoga superstars were left struggling as the class was geared more towards advanced practitioners.

That’s one thing I’ve noticed about Shiva - she is so sharp, and so on top of things, that whatever you think is a problem, she’s already aware of it and probably two steps ahead of you.

I ended the weekend deciding that I would complete her entire training program. Yes, I did start with many reservations about the basics and feeling like it was a bit over my head. But her new training for beginning teachers track starting, my main concern was eased. I’m not looking to be a full-time yoga teacher anyway - this is mainly for my personal growth and to have another tool to use for some workshops I want to create.

The final verdict - this training was fantastic. Even though I started off a bit resistant and struggling with it, I finally loosened up and “got into the flow.” I learned a lot about yoga, and a lot about the concept of “flow” in general. As a person who tends to struggle and force my way through life, I think the most valuable thing I got from this was that concept of flow. For that reason alone I am going to pursue the full teacher’s training.

Tomorrow I’ll post a summary review of the training. As for today, I am taking the day off to rest and recuperate. And maybe I’ll even do some yoga later.