Day 56

Style: Teacher Training
Teachers: Mark Laham, Louise Sattler, Todd Lavictoire
Studio: Greco

At home with a warm, weary buzz from sixteen hours of yoga exploration, I'm at ease. The weekend disappeared in a flash. Today was an extension of yesterday, its next natural progression. The three instructors delved deeper into the initial subjects, expanding on ideas and refining concepts. I'm starting to get to know my fellow yogis-in-training. In a vibrationally based Universe we magnetically attract our own experiences and circumstances, along with the people and places we come in contact with. Everyone here is open-minded, expressive and friendly. The atmosphere is comfortable and casual, everyone displaying an interest to learn and a willingness to share. The study of yoga has been stringing together various schools of thought I've been personally discovering over the years, providing a missing link that is beginning to encapsulate everything I've come to understand.

Though I could embark on an endless tangent about the modern schooling and education systems, there is nothing I love more than pure learning. Having three entirely different teachers, each with their own unique approach, I'm able to absorb alternate viewpoints and study from different angles. Each uses different terminology, fortunately allowing me to take in different perspectives of the same subjects. Mark led a presentation touching on, among other things, the concept of power vs force, based on a book of the same name by David Hawkins. It spoke of the ability to read energy impulses of the body to communicate directly with the subconscious. I know, far out. Dr. Hawkins theory describes the progression from negative energy fields to the positive, leading ultimately to pure consciousness. Based on over twenty years of research, he developed a Map of Consciousness that essentially charts one's spiritual growth. Later, Louise led the group through a long Yin/Yang sequence, providing relief in the twisting and stretching, removing all tension accumulated from the hours of sitting and listening. At one point in a balancing sequence, she asked us to imagine a time in our past where we felt balanced, powerful, grounded and alive, self-assured and capable. As I shuffled through a few sacred memories, I realized my balance was securing and stabilizing, my foot growing roots through the floor toward the center of the Earth. Later in the afternoon, Todd expanded on Ayurveda and the concepts of the Doshas. At the end of the day, after a few hours of detailed posture refinement, he led us through the chanting of the Gayatri Mantra. This mantra is highly revered, based on a verse from a hymn of the Rigveda, an ancient collection of Vedic Sanskrit hymns. It's known as the "mother of the Vedas", and it's one of the oldest texts of any Indo-European language in existence. Luckily I recently spent a weekend at an Ashram, so I'm ready for karaoke night. There is something so foriegn and exotic about chanting a mantra, but also something appealingly comforting. After another long eight hours, I'm ready to wrap up the weekend with deep, rejuvenating sleep, entering the new week completely calibrated and fine-tuned.

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