Class #15, 2010

Wow.

Tonight I went to yoga near where I work now, on the Eastside. Fortunately this studio allows all teachers to practice for free (most in the world do - but two in our area don't - my 'home' studio included...alas). Anyhow, my new boss went along for his second class, as he got that 'fear' that tends to build up after the first class. He was so excited, he was recruiting around the office and telling everyone how amazing Bikram yoga is! Yet, he (by his own admission) made excuses and did not go back until today, 8 days later! So I put it in our calendars and went along for moral support. We all need a push, sometimes.

Arriving, to my delight, I found that Heather was teaching. She was on staff at my teacher training. She is a serious person with a stern veneer but has a very, very compassionate heart and is a stellar teacher. I hadn't had her class since she moved back to Seattle a few months ago and was so delighted she was teaching!! (The online schedule had said otherwise). Class was *kickass* - so challenging as the heat was afire, and she pushes hard! Aside from some minor suffocation on the spine strengthening series, I made it through but it was not easy - not that it should be - but whoa. Kickass hard, kickass good.

Her teaching reminded me of the value of using the dialogue in a way that is personal but still involves a lot of operational commands that your brain can hear and process without adding thinking. The different between "Next, you wanna pick up your foot" and "Pick up your foot." We all add words, but she is especially skilled at using these commands without any sort of robotic sound to her cadence. It was a real treat actually, to have her class, and I can't wait to go again!