Yoga Preparations

I'm less than a week away from beginning my 200 hour teacher training at Saraswati's Yoga Joint. I've been preparing my body for what I expect to be an inspirational and challenging education in the practice of yoga. Perhaps I shouldn't be so concerned about being physically prepared, but I guess I want to ensure a decent progression in my yoga practice. Not only have I been working with a personal trainer to strengthen my core and upper body, but I also began taking a Master Yoga Class on Mondays from 12-2 at a nearby studio in my town (sorry Saraswati, it's what worked with my schedule) so I could familiarize myself with more advanced yoga postures that I haven't had access to because I feel better having a teacher teach me who knows what they are doing instead of leaving it to chance by teaching myself. Three weeks ago, you couldn't possibly get me to do a forearm stand....even against a wall. The whole idea that I should be looking at my hands and not back through my legs was a tough one to get my head around at first. Now, I can get myself into a forearm stand on the first try (still against a wall) and I practically look for opportunities to practice this new skill. To finally feel comfortable being inverted opens up all sorts of new doorways for my yoga practice. Now to get more comfortable doing other more complicated arm balances.

The master class that I've been attending at Yogi Brian's has been a wealth of information for me and has brought about an awareness in my body that I didn't have before. I always thought I was pretty aware, but my knees had been giving me an issue, so Brian Buturla introduced me to some anatomy books that pertain to yoga. With the use of those books I've been able to pretty much pinpoint the trigger asanas that irritate my knees and also figure out which exercises I can do to minimize future irritaions. I have also discovered a way to heal them simply using food. By food, I mean avocados. The fats in avocados not only work to lubricate the joints, but they also minimize pain and inflamation. AWESOME!!! Good thing I love avocados! Since I plan to teach privately once I get my 200 hour yoga teacher certification, I saw that my favorite on-line retailer for business cards was having this HUGE sale on all sorts of things I could use to promote myself. And they had this beautiful design for their business cards, postcards and envelopes that look like henna. Gorgeous! I had them made and they arrived a couple days ago. I couldn't be happier......or more prepared. I know I'm kind of putting the cart before the horse, but I can't imagine anything other than having a deeper love and appreciation for yoga after I get my certification.....and the only thing I will want to do is share that with the world! So I might as well be prepared. And might I add, I had SO much fun designing the cards. I just love the "icing on the cake". Here's what they look like. The cards, postcards and envelopes. Aren't they pretty?!






I'm really looking forward to starting my formal yoga education. I will be sure to share my learnings and insights along the way.

Until next time......


Thanks for reading!


Namaste!


Kristen