yoga workshop with Nicki & Eddie

I gave myself the gift of yoga this past Saturday in Indianapolis. Nicki and Eddie traveled from Hawaii to share yoga for the weekend and both turned out to be laid back, educated, dedicated, and inspiring yoga teachers. Their way of teaching is quiet interesting too cause they come in with both Iyengar and Ashtanga backgrounds. Together they have come up with their own style of teaching which is Maya Yoga.

Before beginning our first session they expressed that they honor and respect any and all yoga teachers that we've had. But they were asking us for the day to empty our minds and to be open to their teachings. I personally found this quiet refreshing. I think that many times both teachers and students come to class or to workshops with a mind that may be a little less than open. I don't even think this is deliberate. We've just had certain teachers and been taught a certain way. I love the idea of "the beginners mind". Leaving plenty of space in both the head and heart to receive new info and guidance.

We broke downward facing dog down, and then more, and then even more. Did the same for the sun saluations, most specifically plank to up dog. You can't even imagine how tired my arms and shoulders were! We did a lot of lunges and different variations of lunges, broke down hand to big toe pose, and bridge. This is pretty much what the first sessions consisted of. A little flow, few postures, but loads of insight.

We spent the afternoon session focusing on hero pose (and a bunch of variations), "screaming pigeon", bound angle, upavishta konasana, and pigeon. Yep another three hours in which we broke these psotures (and hips) down.

Eddie told us halfway through the second class, probably three minutes into a pose that they "could really work us out." He went on to say that they could leave us in a pool of sweat on our mats, but that wasn't their hopes for the weekend. They were there to give us tools to take back to our practice and life. Tools that will help keep us healthy and vibrant in body, mind, and spirit. And that's exactly what I took away. I'm sure that I'll be looking to study with them again. Looking forward to sharing with each of you.

Have a happy Tuesday!