Surrender

It's official on Dec 27, the very generous staff at the JDC is allowing the first ever 3 hour yoga extravaganza! My fellow teacher Buck from just across the border in Washington is going to put on a Ashtanga class for the entire population and about 6 staff. Because of this phenomenon we have been working the Ashtanga Primary Series to get the kids familiar with the verbage and the vinyasa--WOW! The boys are LOVING it--the boys are so excited that they asked for the primary series first three sheets so that they could be ready when Buck comes. I explained that the yoga is different than Anusara, but that it comes from the same roots and that because they have been so aligned with Grace for so long that they will find it not only enjoyable, but extremely fun and challenging. The Shakti energy in the room was pulsating for sure on Friday--the boys had no school because of the 36 inches of snow that we received in 24 hours so I could stay a little longer, they wanted to go through the Sun Sals about 50 times--they loved the idea of "floating" from Chaturanga to Utanasana--which I could explain but not do--which they loved because they could do it but not explain it and to them it was like opening a part of themselves that they never knew. It can only be explained like a kid who gets his first bike, and starts with traning wheels and is happy to ride, the freedom it gives---but then when the training wheels come off --look out--because that kid for that moment can conquer the world, and that is what the boys looked like. It was as if the floating opened up to them something that was trapped inside, they wanted to work on it for an hour--but we worked on it in combination with many standing poses and seated poses and then when it was time for Savasana, they were ready and it happened--their breath was completely in sync with each other , the rise and fall of their chests were exactly the same--each of them being breathed by something bigger than themselves and being still--the boys were so still Friday morning. When they are still, they are confident, they are not afraid to let their guard down and fully immerse themselves in Savasana, it's a phenomenon for sure--Savasana in JDC is usually filled with fidgeting, I believe this is because when that first layer of protection around the heart is loosened, we begin to feel and look at ourselves, and that can be a very scary place for some, so the figeting is to keep that layer around the heart sustained, in tact. But Friday, there was no fidgeting, they were proud of themselves, and that pride in themselves allowed for it to be easier to sit with themselves in stillness and with their breath. That moment in Savasana is why I love to teach yoga, because I know what it feels like to want to hold onto that protection, and the minute you surrender into Savasana and release it, it's scary--but the one time that you completely give yourself to the pose, it is so peaceful and the stillness wraps you in a warm blanket and you are there with yourself in the joyous bliss of knowing that you are ok, you are worth every breath, and you make a difference in the lives of everyone around you.