Wayne Belles, Certified Anusara® Yoga Instructor, taught at The Yoga Center (my studio) Tuesday morning. First of many, I hope, at this studio.

I've routinely studied with Wayne over the past year, until a local studio closed two months ago. When that closing happened, I was left feeling a bit adrift. No nearby, regular class with a Certified instructor to build my week around. No easy opportunity to check back in at classes, make sure my practice was moving in the hoped-for direction; no after-class discussions of teaching skills / training / anything to do with yoga (Anusara® yoga, that is).

Tiffany Wood, The Shop / Park City, became a new staple. Driving to Park City once a week, in the evening, is a challenge at times. But, I've tried to become more regular and will continue to make the trek.

But, Wayne - teaching at my studio.  What more can I say, except Hoo-Ray!

His class is a Level 1-2. His teaching is calm, encouraging, and takes in the needs of all in attendance; without making the more advanced slow down for the less experienced, and vice versa.  Lots of skill to do that. And, I enjoyed the laughter and light-heartedness in his teaching; nice.

My life is returning to a point of balance; at least on the mat, at the studio. I'm hopeful more of our student population will discover the gifts Wayne has to offer us as a teacher and friend.


Other news:  I intentionally skipped a day of blogging; taking a tip from my experience teaching over the weekend. What's that? A bit of silence is a good thing. So hard to do, but so necessary -- an opportunity to really look at the students and an opportunity to give myself a moment to check in, see where I am in the scheme of the class. So, skipping a day of blogging gave me an opportunity to read other blogs, study a bit more when I might have been writing, and - this morning - I feel refreshed, ready to step back in.  I repeat, a good thing.

My own class yesterday afternoon was a fun group and included several levels of experience and skill. It took a bunch of my skill to teach and encourage, but also to limit. To let the experienced move ahead a bit, to encourage the less skilled to continue their work on the basics. And, I see students don't want to do that; they all want to be doing the most advanced version of the poses.

Thankfully, I have my own yoga lifetime from which to draw parables for these wonderfully ambitious students. My own stories of growth and limitation, and breakthroughs - I hope - will give them insight to the fact that yoga poses happen more slowly in some students than others.  That's not all bad - the fact that they develop slowly in me means I can spend a LOT of time refining the poses as I attempt them. When I push up to urdhva dhanurasana, it's with a sense of wonder and exploration -- as in 'what am I doing differently here'.  If I had just pushed up on my first try 7 years ago, this exploration might not be happening. (Rationalizing here, just so you know.)


Today's Happenings: