Day 69

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

Where do I begin? The third day of teacher training was so filled with a wealth of information, I could write ten blog posts on today alone. The first half of the day was spent breaking down and examining the power and effect of emotions. We discussed the way that neuropeptides in the brain communicate information between molecules. When different emotions are felt in the body, different chemicals are released in the brain, whether it be happiness or sadness, depression or joy. Like a drug addict, these receptors get hooked on these emotions and begin to crave a fix. If you constantly think depressive or pessimistic thoughts, feelings you may not consciously enjoy, your brain is giving the cells the chemicals they desire. The more practiced you are in those lines of thought, the more your brain desires those biochemicals. People, once out of balance, have a tendency to focus on things that bring them and keep them more out of balance. The trick is to consciously choose your thoughts with awareness, altering the craving of the various neurones and changing their preferences. Over time you can train your brain to thirst for positive emotion.

Further on in the presentation we touched on the teachings of Abraham-Hicks. We studied their concept of letting go, releasing the oars of resistance and choosing the thoughts that allow you to effortlessly travel downstream as opposed to constantly struggling upstream, fighting the continually flowing current of life. They speak on the concept of vibration, that thoughts create, and the effect of throwing your power on external circumstances. The wisdom in their teachings echoes that which is taught in ancient texts and scripts, brought with new understanding and a modern perspective. I could write a few pages on these concepts alone. After a long and fascinating look at the brain and its various functions, Todd takes over for a yoga practice. Today the focus was on back-bends, working the spine in many different ways. I made a leap in progress with my handstand. Todd made some interesting points - it isn't the strength that stops me from being in a handstand, it's in my mind. I have to get used to functioning with the world upside down. Back-bends are known to release emotion, and there were a few moments when I felt flashes of panic overtaking me. When I found myself in these situations, I locked my consciousness onto my breath, deepening and fully releasing, and the feeling quickly dissipated.

After lunch Louise took over the teachings, introducing Dr. Caroline Myss. Her work is incredibly interesting, forming an intelligent bridge between Western and Eastern medicine. We have seven energy centres which coincide with our seven endocrine glands. We studied the human anatomy in relation with the Chakra systems. We then proceeded to study our own anatomy, measuring various asymmetries in our skeletal structures and alignment. We studied the spine, the curvature of the cervical, thoracic and lumbar spine, the fused vertebrae of the sacrum and coccyx. I'm finding the study of anatomy is allowing me to visualize yoga postures in completely new ways. To end the day, Louise brought the class through a thirty minute sonic-meditation designed by Dr. Myss, explaining where to place our internal focus at various points. As we deepen into oblivion I slowly sink into myself, my consciousness lets go and I disappear into an endless infinity, evaporating and loosing all concept of time and space.

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