professional yoga therapy

"Very often, understanding and practice do not go together. One student may be better able to understand, while another may have better skill in practice. In each case, he had to develop uniformity in skill and intelligence and use them harmoniously." ~B.K.S. Iyengar

I spend three full days at the studio soaking up loads of new yoga information, most specifically yoga as a form of therapy. Of course those of us that know and love yoga realize that it's so much more than "exercise". Irene wears a shirt to the studio that says somethings along the lines of, "Yoga is cheaper than going to therapy." Yoga is therapy for your mind, body, and spirit. It's good stuff.

This particular training is geared towards health care professionals. It's at the top of my list of "best trainings" that I've done. Ginger, our teacher was pretty fabulous...a kind and compassionate soul, very smart, and a wonderful yoga teacher.

One of the objectives is to develop a deeper understanding for applying yoga to general and clinical populations. There were lots of pyhsical therapists and nurses. A dentist and a couple people like myself with no health care credentials. My MS in Recreation and Park Adm. didn't quite make the cut! Luckily I had Tracy next to me the whole training and when I didn't get something, she quietly filled me in. And when she didn't understand the fifth chakra being deficient or excessive, I could quietly fill her in. With her physical anatomy knowledge and my energetic body knowledge, we might make the perfect yoga teacher. ;-)

Actually I was a little intimidated going into the training because I wasn't sure if I would feel lost. I realized that I know more about the body than I give myself credit for most of the time. So that was good!

Here's a little rundown of things covered and learned:
*We did case studies for developing a yoga class for special and general populations.
*Potential contraindications and precautions for patient and student populations.
*Learned biomechanics of yoga asanas (postures) and pranayama (breathing exercises).
*Mudra and chakra therapy (a fave)
*Studies of Bhagavad Gita (another fave)
*Studies of koshas and kleshas, how to identify, apply and how to treat "the whole person" (and one last fave).
*Much more. In fact, too much to write!

Here are a few notes sprinkled about my manual and notebook....open for interpretation as you see fit. :-)

*You can't judge the good from the bad. What seems like bad (at the time) could end up being the best thing that's ever happened to you.
*Have mercy on your body. Love it, don't judge it.
*Adversity is good. Suffering is good. It's these places, these dark times that allow for growth, hopefully making us more wise, which we can then share and teach others.
*It's not the "person" that hurts us. It's their own struggle, the war they are waging within themselves that hurt us.
*We never fully perfect ourselves. Trying to do so is a waste of time and causes unnecessary pain and suffering.
*Yoga invites you to go beyond the five senses

A second yin yoga class begins tonight with none other than the wonderfully talented, Sarah Frank (I feel like I should be opening a curtain and she should walk on through)! It's tonight, 7:30 - 8:30 and will be a great class! Please join in!

Lastly, a happy birthday shout out to my little Lexie!!! That's her with me pictured above, crossing the KY River on the ferry.

Happy, Happy Fall!!