Too much to BLOG!

Trying to capture a month’s worth of teacher training thoughts, feelings, emotions, sensations and experiences in a BLOG is a bit like trying to fit the Ocean into a swimming pool!  From Feb. 2 – 28 a group of intrepid Global Yogi’s self selected each other to explore the path of Yoga and become certified teachers.

On the first day, I had arrived early with my girlfriend to get ourselves set up and prepared… we did that and were enjoying a little hammack chill time when the bus arrived with 18 of the students.  And in an instant, it was ON.  I stepped onto the bus and recognized most of the faces smiling back at me from retreats and workshops and it was pretty easy to put a face to the those who I only knew their names.  There was a flurry of activity to get everyone’s bags off the bus, checked into the rooms and begin the work that would last an entire month. Our retreat center, Enchanted Mountain, is a lovely center in the state of Santa Catarina Brasil tucked into a jungle valley.  The rooms are simple and sweet and the nature around us would support our growth on a daily basis.

I have led training programs before and am always amazed at the energetic shifts that happen over time and pressure.  I use the analogy of Alchemy a lot in the beginning of trainings and it was very true for this group.  The first night, there was nice social interaction and small talk and a great sense of anticipation.

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OK… since writing this first 3 paragraphs, too many adventures have happened to capture the essence of TT!  So I will start a new BLOG post soon from my adventures with a Blind Braslian teacher in Camboriu, workshops in a German stettlement in S. Brasil and my week of chill in Rio combined with my most recent visit to a special school project teaching to underprivaleged children outside of Rio…

Stay tuned.  And if you want to read about the TT, visit my facebook group page and watch the video and plan to come next year Feb 21 – March 21.

Retreat BLOG! First Draft

After my five days in Marrakech of personal time, that were truly personally therapeutic and necessary, I met a few of the students for a dinner in Marrakech and spent my last night at my hotel in the Kasbah.  On Saturday morning, I woke up for a practice and by 9:30 some of the students had arrived for our meeting and travel to Essaouira.  Right away, I felt an instant ‘role change’ from my personal time to my ‘teacher and retreat leader’ position which was a comfortable and familiar place and gave me a nice renewed sense of living my purpose.  There were 5 students meeting at the hotel and we were picking up 3 at the airport for our 3 hour ride to the coast.  Everything went pretty much right as planned and I was very grateful that flights and people were there!  Maktub, as it is written…. (an Arabic phrase I picked up from reading The Alchemist recently!).
Out driver was a fun Moroocan who had great taste in music and gave us a little insight to the city as we traveled through the suburbs of Marrakech and out to the open space.  It was a very polluted day and we didn’t have much to see beyond the road a few hundred meters in every direction.  Of you’ve ever been on retreat before…then you know about the first bus ride.  People meeting each other, still travel weary and a bit wide-eyed at the new sights, sounds and people.  I enjoyed the front seat post with the driver and listened intently to how the group began the interaction.  They were playing nice together ;)
Our trip lasted about 3 1/2 hours with a few stops and arrival at the Hotel Dar L’oussia was a welcome treat.  It is a great 5 level building just a few 30 – 50 meters to the sea.  They invited the group to a welcome tea and it was nice to get to our new home and feel right away welcomed.  The students were all taken to their rooms and I went off to mine and was very luxuriously and pleasantly surprised at the spacious junior suite that was to be my new home for the week.  There is enough room for me to have my personal practice on a beautiful Moroccan rug every morning without having to leave my room and bathroom made for 3 (even though it’s just me!).
We met for a first yoga class with where only 1 student from Mallorca really knew my teaching.  There are another from Hamburg who took a workshop with me and another from Berlin who made Kirtan…. but the other 9 didn’t have any idea what Yoga, the David Lurey Way ;) , was like… so we made a very tranquilo welcome to your body and introduction to what Yoga is to me.  There were still 4 students coming the next day so I waited for the welcome / introduction circle until the second day.
This retreat is based a lot on faith as I did not know this country at all, or this hotel and what the services would be like.  We are practicing in a meeting room that is actually a good space for practice over looking a small courtyard.  The dining room is a long and rather dramatic arch filled room with great Moroccan lamps and the staff is very accommodating.  But with all these wonderful things, it is still clear that the food on a retreat can make or break it!  I remembered the experience in Italy where it was a heavily carniverous hotel we were staying at and although the food was good, it was heavy Italian food.  Here at Dar L’oussia, there are French owners and chef.  I have requested fish and vegetarian meals for dinner which was already scary to some of the students.  The first few nights have been very good food, but since the students are working hard, the portions seem to be a bit…well…French.  I had a talk with the manager today about it and hope we will have some more food the next few days.  They have a special event and dinner planned for New Year’s Eve which includes a very French menu.  I have requested a nice fish menu for the group and this morning they said if any of the students want to have the house meal, they can…I looked and saw Fois Gras and Duck on the menu and thought to myself…shit, where does it come to the point where I stop ‘projecting my values’ on the students but also feel like I am inviting them to look deeper into their habits.  The compromise I came to was that those who will have the fois gras ,ust sit and watch this clip with me ;)

——the above post was all written before 12/31, and the following on Jan 5.——-

Just after taking some time to write a blog post, some of the students decided to head out for a lunch ad afternoon on the town.  We were meeting at the main square in Essauira and were going to get a nice fish lunch.  Along the seaside, there are about 15 – 20 stalls where there are amazing displays of the day’s catch and dozens of men doing their best to get the groups of tourists into their stalls for eating.  One of our students had been the day before and ‘made friends’ with one of the places so chose their for our group of 10 of us.  We were supposed to have 3 more, but they missed our scheduled meeting time / place.  We didn’t thinkn much of it at the time except for one that was with us who ‘felt’ something must have happened to one of the others who was there with some physical challenges.  The meal was fantastic with delicious and super fresh fish prepared for us and a fun group energy.  After we dined and paid out ridiculously cheap bill for what we ate (about 10 Euros each for full bellies!) I left to take a walk through the ‘souk’ or shopping streets of the town.  I had been wandering around for a bit when two students who were not with us on the lunch called my name from down the street and came up in a hurry.  ‘Something happened to ____ and she is in the hospital with a broken leg’.  Well, that was not what I expected!!  They didn’t have details but told me the hotel staff was waiting for me and two other participants were at the hospital with the injured one.  I quickly made my way back and was met with a flurry of activity…the hotel was under preparations for New Year’s even celebration with workers, tables, lights, etc… and the English speaking manager of the hotel gave me a quick overview that a student fell in the streets, had a broken leg and was taken to the hospital by local police and had 2 other students with her to take care.  Over the next 30 minutes, with the suggestions of the hotel managers and a general hunch, we decided we needed to gather her things and send her to Marrakech for proper medical treatment.  Four of five of us quickly went up to organize and pack all her things and within 15 minutes had her all cleared out of her room.  I went back to the hospital with one of the girls who was with her during the accident and we were at the hospital within 10 minutes more.  While all this was happening, I actually felt pretty calm and collected.  Something in me was still trusting the universe and knowing that all of us were given the lessons we are ready for.  I have all the students sign a release waiver which also helped with my general trust in the situation and I felt clear in my ability to make the right call in combination with suggestions from the hotel managers, other students and the doctors.  The hospital in Essaouira is a pretty simple place.  There were lots of rooms, but they only had beds in them….no other medical equipment or devices…very basic.  When we got to the room where she was, there was a bit of activity with calls to her parents and insurance companies and plans to arrange a private ambulance to get her to the best hospital in Marrakech.  Sadly, the biggest challenge was dealing on the phone with the insurance company which one of the other students was dealing with… what is covered, what hospitals can she get coverage, can the parents access the case…. really an extreme hassle in the face of an emergency in a 3rd world country (subsequently, I am reviewing my travelers plan this month!).  After this dealing and talking with the doctor, who was extremely helpful and great at what he does, we were ready to get her to the ambulance and to Marrakech.  I saw the x-ray of what happened and was shocked to see a femur bone literally broken in half…in two parts witha clean break close to the top.  The circumstances of how and why it happened are personal, but it was an accident and as far as we know not an act of violence or aggression.  When the ambulance driver, who was a sweet old man appearing to be about 60 years old, came into the room, he ran into the door with the rolling transport bed.  I made a small joke about ‘good thing he got that out of the way now’ which got a little laugh out of the few of us in the room…and also seemed a bit scary!  The doctor, nurse and I transfered her to the rolling bed and then they bound her legs together for the 3 hour journey over bumpy Moroccan roads… When everything was all cleared in the room, with the insurance, with the doctor in Essaouira and the parents..it was time to make the transition to the ambulance and the three of us decided that we would send her to Marrakech on her own not knowing what support (other then emotional) we could provide.  The driver began to push her down the hall and yes, foreshadowing in full effect, ran her into the door post!  She screamed in pain and we all could not believe it happened…there wasn’t anything we could do other then calm her down and then steer the best we could to the elevator and then into the ambulance.  We got her and her things all squared away and by 7:30 she was on her way and pretty much out of our hands.  We walked back to our hotel where the other students were having their Yoga class taught by a friend I know from Mallorca who was visiting on holiday and we gave the report to everyone.  When this accident happened, there were lots of emotions around it but what really inspired me was how the rest of the group came together in support of the situation.  The compassion and desire to help was great and I really appreciate the students who were integral in handling the situation calmly and effectively.

So the 3 of us from the hospital made some yoga and massage to clear the situation and literally within 2 hours were downstairs at the hotel with the rest of the group to ring in the New Year.  Although we were all a bit shocked and saddened it happened, the fact that was going to be OK and it was out of our hands allowed us to clear the energy and make a nice evening out of the end of 2008!  There was a band that played, although they were not the arabic music I anticipated, and there was a belly dancer, although not the ‘lesson’s I had requested and anticipated and the meal was mediocre, which sadly was anticipated after the previous days.  But we were there together…a group of strangers to have a Yoga adventure and with a few days of connection already built, had a very fun and opening time together.  We had a New Year’s birthday of one student and got to sing and eat cake and at the strike of midnight made great cheers and hugs and celebrated together as Yogi’s with open hearts and fun attitudes.  The band was a group of young Moroccan guys playing rock and reggae covers (even the unfortunate ‘Sweet Home Alabama’ during our dinner….Ahhhh!!!) and the music selection during the dancing was not much better….yes, I am a music snob and recognize my judgments and attachments here!  So I decided to ask if I could play a song using one of their guitars and the band to back me up!  They said yes and it was great to play for the retreat in this way.

Some wonderful memories:
-The way the Moroccan’s shake hands and touch their hearts when they meet you
-The Kirtan we made by the fire the third night
-The young boy who joined in for a few of the 108 Sun Salutes
-The Hand of Fatima on my neck that was gifted my the students!
-My ‘Moroccan cousin’ with the curly hair
-Delfinito…the wild young one on the beach and beyond
-Jamming on the beach
-Breakfast on the terrace the last 3 days
-Seeing the opening of the students!
-Soccer Legs!!!!
-Chatturanga Breakthroughs for EVERYONE!!
-Watching total strangers become friends for life!
-Last night music party at the bar with Kif Samba

What a difference…

I have spent the last 3 days in and around Marrakech and am honestly a bit overwhelmed by the constant activity and lifestyle.  It’s been very powerful for me being one generation removed from Africa to see just what a difference it has.

My mother was born in Cairo, Egypt and my grandfather, Edgar Victor Hanan, comes from a long line of Egyptian roots.  I realize that there is a huge difference between Morocco and Egypt, but there I think that there is a similar quality in the Arabic culture.  My family was exiled in 1964 and ended up in America where my parents met and my Egyptian roots are now mixed with other Western European blood, but I have always felt an energetic connection to my Egyptian side… now after a week in Marrakech, I realize that my connection is mostly energetic and that my upbringing is distinctly American!  However my looks are still a bit of this region and I still confuse many of the vendors as they try any and every language to get my attention.  Amigo…Mon Amie….My Friend….Espanol? Francais?  English?

I just now got back to my Riad, which is an amazing oasis from the wild energy of the streets and am ready to just ‘be’ for a while without being invited to a shop just to look, just to see the menu or to have a very special offer.  My time here has been very fun and I do enjoy the culture of Marrakech and the free market lifestyle, but I am also ready to go somewhere where I can just walk down a street without being hussled and where I have feel a deeper place of sincerity with the kindness.  I say this with total respect to the way things are here and that this culture has grown this way out of necessity for survival…and that one generation removed has made me a much different person!

On the 24th, I took a great trip with some friends from Mallorca who were also here to a waterfall, Ourika.  It was nice to get out of the city and be in some nature.  Although the waterfall was not so impressive, I loved the experience and the ride there and back.  Then we were invited to a party of a Morrocan guy who was leaving for Thailand the next day and was having a celebration.  We got to go to the party with Aziz, who is an amazing Moroccan character who speaks Spanish perfectly and was the host of my friends who were renting a room from him.  He is a musician and has a super lively spirit and attitude.  We got to the party and were immediately welcomed at the door by the host and offered drinks and view from the terrace…it was a huge releif and positive feeling to just be welcomed into the party and feel his sincerity without needing to buy something from his shop! There were lots of French people there and even two men who had been to Burning Man!! So we had a nice connection and conversation.  Then we all were invited downstiars for a meal that was outstanding.  Veggie Tagine followed by CousCous and kebabs…wine and water and beautiful ambience.  Aziz was playing Gnaua music and others were singing traditional songs with him and it was a great dinner night, again!  After dinner, I got to play a few songs which was fun and then got tired and went home.

On the 25th, I decided…No Alarm Clock!  And slept until 10:00…yummm…then a long yoga practice in my room that opened a lot of energy and felt great.  I decided to make it a cleansing day and had only bannanas and oranges to eat with lots of water…I set out around the old town and enjoyed wandering the tiny streets.  I found myself several times completely lost and just working with intuition to get somewhere familiar.  There were a few sketchy moments where I was the only tourist around on streets without much activity.  With a steady look on my face and confident walk I eventually found my way back to the main square with a sigh…a few times ;)

I came home fairly early, did some skyping and then was really glad to just have a hotel room to myself… I have become more and more consicous of the value of my personal time and space here.

This morning, another great practice and breakfast Riad Les Borj de la Kasbah and another walking tour through the spice market and the souks.  It’s been great to find the new pockets of the city and feel the different vibes of what is being sold…spices, fruits, rugs, woodwork…all with their own neighborhoods and feels.  I am a terrible bargainer when it comes to negotiating prices, I am a bleeding heart and can not find it in myself to barter down 3 Euros when it is really nothing to me and will mean a better meal for the vendor.  I did some of it today just to be in the game, but am still sure that ‘I paid too much!’…In that sense, I am glad to pay too much and help with the world needs so desperately now, economic distribution support!

So I will meet some students tonight for dinner and the retreat begins tomorrow.  I’ll make some posts from Essaouira, perhaps….or wait until January, we’ll see.  For now…Salaam Aleikhem Marrakech and Shokhran.  Good by and Thank you!

The Whole Photo Gallery is here

Magic Marrakech…back to Adventure Living!

Upon arrival for the first time in a new continent, a new county and a new culture…my first 10 hours of Morocco have been very inspiring.  After an easy 2 hour flight from Barcelona that had me amazed at the truly short distance from Spain to North Africa (I could see both from the plane while over the Mediterranean) we landed at the airport and there was already a different vibration.  A trouble-free passport check led me to the baggage  claim where my bag was already waiting me and after exiting I found my driver already waiting for me!  it was arranged through the tour company that is helping with the retreat and I must admit, it was nice to see my name on the paper coming out of the airport!  The taxi ride into the Kasbah where my hotel is was straight out of a movie (not sure which one/kind though!) and I was welcomed to Les Borj de La Kasbah feeling very special.  Although the next thing I know Miriam the front desk agent tells me I can leave my bags at the desk, which I feel is safe and I do and then follow her to the tea room where she sits me down and asks for my passport.  I gave it to her as she ordered me my first Mint Tea and off she went…and there I was without my passport or my bags sitting in a nice hotel lobby looking like a Yoga teacher hippy!  But really, it was all good and I felt very trusting of the place and my experience there and sure enough she was back in 5 minutes taking me on a tour of this very nice hotel and finally to my room where my bags were waiting for me.

There were rose petals on the bed, bathrobe, toilet, bathroom sink and tub.  Yes!  Finally!!!  ;)
I spent the next little while unpacking and enjoying the luxury of a long hot shower and then went out for a walk to Place Jamaa El Fna, the main square of old Marrakech.  WOW….just walking through the streets was a complete new experience of human living (and I thought I have seen a lot!).  Mopeds running every which way…pedestrians of all shapes and sizes and many of them wearing cold weather robes with pointy hoods, cars plowing through when and where they need and the occaisional horse carriage and bike for good measure.  This all combined with shop lined streets selling anything and everything.

With my Mediterranean looks, many spoke to me in Arabic immediately, and then they come with ‘Hola Amigo’….then in French.  When I finally let on that I am American the initial shock sets in and then I see the look of ‘my friend’ come into their eyes.  I had some nice Harira soup and dates and cashews on the street and the Plaza might as well have been Burning Man!  There were snake charmers, 5 piece string bands in traditional clothes, drummers supporting amateur acrobats and a few other spectaulares all vying for the tourist change.  They were all surrounded by little carts selling dried fruits, fresh orange juice, Harira, tea and some were getting ready for full on shish-kebab style service.

After about 45 minutes of this, I had enough and wandered back to my hotel.  it was there I met Harish, the neighborhood helpful Moroccan to every tourist who walks by.  I knew about ‘him’ and what he was up to from the onset, but he has a nice vibe and is charming despite the underlying desire to get something out of me ;) .  We talked a bit and he was excited to know that I was ‘El Missri’ (Egyptian blood).  I told him I wanted a suggestion for dinner and that opened up a wild ride!  He told me of a restaurant that was expensive but has a nice show…we went and it was like 50Euros for a meal and belly dance show and I was literally the only one at the restaurant.  I said thanks but no thanks and we went out again..  I had told Harish I was a vegetarian and he said that makes it a little harder in the Kasbah to find something and suggested that we make Tagine at his little shop a few doors down from my hotel.  Well…I’m up for adventure and seemed like a safe one so we set off through the Kasbah to get some vegetables.  We picked up a 45 year old man named Abdellatif on route to the veggie stand.  He would be our hired chef for the night.  Harish told me it is better if I give him money in advance so to get a better deal.  I realized we were just buying vegetables and that I was feeling trusting of him so I gave him 50 Dhirams (about 5 Euros).  We found a great veggie stand and chose a nice assortment to make tagine.  He paid and kept the change, which I realized and was keeping a tab!  After a nice brisk walk back to his shop through a maze of the Kasbah, Abdellatif started to work prepaing veggies while Harish and 3 – 5 other men between 25 – 40 were having a loud and good time.  They would speak to me in French which I can understand enough and Harish was making sure that I was well taken care of.  We got a bottle of cheap Moroccan red wine to share while the dinner was prepared and people kept dropping by…the little carpet shop was an action center for the street…and it was only men that came in or stopped by.  Abdellatif had learned to cook in the Army and literally prepared the veggies with one simple knife on the floor of this shop.  We bought a bag of spices and olive oil and it was a treat to watch this meal take form.

I have a nice photo expo of the tagine process posted below and the eating of it with hands ad bread was truly an amazing first meal in this country.  I figured I should come home and spend the 10 minutes to write it out before sleep because tomorrow I am scheduled for a Hammam and Massage at 4 after I make a walking tour of the old town.  And I am certain that every day here will be full of positive adventures so long as I keep my sixth, seventh and eighth senses all tuned in!
Shokran….Thank You!

Gracias por Todo, Palma

If your last four months have been anything like mine, then I hope that you have passed through the fire of transformation and see and feel the value of all life’s lessons.  I am at the airport in Mallorca en route to Morocco and realize that trying to capture the events of the last few weeks here in a blog post is like trying to describe a yoga pose with words ;)

As usual, I have been growing in several neatly organized areas so to make it easier to review….personal growth of body and heart, professional growth as a teacher and spiritual growth as a light being.

In my personal life, Mallorca has entrusted me with a very powerful dose of ‘what do you want?!?’  Within the last several months here, I have been exploring a magical romantic relationship with a woman who has established roots and personal / familial needs that will keep her here on the island while I continue on my pre-arranged path of teaching globally over the next year.  I am very called to continue on with my life’s purpose and path and also realize that I am being asked to step into a higher place of awareness of my heart’s desires in relationship to my mind and spirit’s desires to be a unifying force of global yogic consciousness.  All my life, I have been a firm believer that I can have everything I want and have been asked a lot lately to make decisions between multiple amazing choices.  So as I explore deeper into my personal desires for a partner and how she meets me in the ‘real world’ of the life I have created for myself… I am again being asked to trust in the divine timing of things.  So with a deep exhale I am leaving Mallorca with a new openness, a new feeling of connection and gratitude and a new trust that time will reveal the path to take.   And in the meantime, there are plans to re-connect very soon ;)    In other non-romantic areas of my personal life, I feel a great connection to many people here…and I realize that most of the people I met came, quite obviously, through Yoga.  I think a part of this was my lack of desire to ‘go out,’ which I miss in many senses (and am totally cool with in others).  Smoking is still happening in all the clubs, bars and even restaurants here and it disgusts me.  So being out in a social place is a ‘nischt nischt’ (have you seen Bruno, the ‘new’ Borat?) for those that like to breathe clean air.  Plus, the music in the clubs is crap (in my humble opinion!).  These two things combined made  me really miss the magic of the San Francisco Bay Area.  There are so many awakened places and gathering that create a positive vibration for dancing, socializing and playing.  I keep in touch with facebook and email lists and know the kind of conscious gatherings that are happening there and feel that where ever it is that I make some roots of my own, I will seek out the right people to create events.

And in fact, as my final days drew near, I created a Good bye party and had it catered, set up live music and invited students and friends.  The room at YogaYou is really beautiful (although could use some plants!) and having a party there felt great.  My conscious eccentric friend, Shanti, helped with some live electric violin and very nice guitar and the ambience was really festive.  I was pretty exhausted after a whirlwind several days so my energy was a bit low and many people were way for the holidays already, but the party was a great success on many levels.  The people that were there all were satisfied with the food, music and company and I truly hope that YogaYou will find someway / someone to keep this spirit alive.

Professionally, this teaching residency has been A LOT to absorb.  The last few weeks have brought me to a place of Yogi Burnout.  Sad, but true…I have been teaching 11 classes a week at a studio that has been challenging for me to feel totally connected to.  I have loved all the teaching but lost my desire when it became unpleasant to even walk in the door not knowing what new surprise would welcome me.  There were some personal conflicts that killed any hope for positive communication at the ‘first line’ of communication and I felt all the communication was one way, more being told what would happen instead of dialog to discuss options and get personal feelings on matters.  From the top level, there are good intentions to share Yoga with the world, but due to financial concerns and a strong monetary focus, the ‘yoga’ took a back seat and a sense of coldness was apparent.  Not just with the Yoga room, which was in fact really cold at times (like wearing long underwear and a hat while teaching) but energetically.  In a final meeting with one of the owners, I finally received some gratitude for ‘carrying the yogic spirit’ during my tenure which was a time of great transition.  I think there is great potential for the place and as with a Yoga practice, must be built with a solid foundation and sometimes re-constructed.  I hope this time of growth and reconstruction will lead them through and the next visiting teacher is able to bring heart, love and community to a place that is really hungry for it.  I made some very positive headway with this by organizing weekly AcroYoga jams and organizing Kirtans which felt like adrenaline boosts to the spiritual morale of the students.  The AcroYoga will carry on as there are some wonderful light beings willing to take the action steps to keep it up….as for Kirtan, they need a wallah!!  Any readers ready to go to Mallorca for a bit?!?

I also fully accept my personal role in the burnout as I had organized workshops all around Europe almost every weekend, continued to be my own personal tour manager and am planning 2009 details on 4 continents, was energetically focused on filling my New Years retreat and my now sold out teacher training program and creating the manual for the teacher training program.  These are things that I normally am able to juggle, but without the full teaching schedule and above mentioned energetic drains.  This burnout resulted in a decline of my personal practice time and I found myself just practicing with the class as my yoga practice many times in the last weeks.  My body can feel it, my mind can feel it and I am looking forward to a week on my own in Marrakech with a hotel room to honor my practice daily before exploring the sensory explosion that Marrakech will be!

Regarding the teacher training, much of my non-teaching time over the last few weeks has been devoted to finishing the manual and doing all the enrollment on my own.  I had anticipated stopping with 24 students but now have 27 as I accepted 3 men at the end to help with gender balance.  I know it will be a lot to have 27 students, but there are other teachers coming in to support me and I also feel that I up for it.  I do not have any classes scheduled to teach at all in January, which is a bit weird but I’m OK with it, and I will be coming to Brasil rested and ready.  The group is a very global (7 countries) group with a wide range of yogic and life experience.  It’s going to be great!

OK…landing now in Marrakech…I will post this ASAP and finish more soon.
Light and Love,
David

Palma Time

I’m not sure whether is the ‘busy-ness’ of what I have created for myself here on Mallorca, or the fact that ‘every day life’ without the excitement and newness of new cities, different students and varied landscape has kept me away, but I haven’t really felt like Blogging in the last several weeks.  But today, I am in the airport in Palma in the early morning awaiting a flight to Hamburg and feeling a myriad of emotions to be back to traveling and teaching.
The last several weeks here on Mallorca have literally been non-stop.  I find myself scheduled to the hour with great and exciting things and doing the best I can to focus on the training manual and necessary communications in the interim.
Last weekend Pau, another AcroYoga teacher from Barcelona, came to the island and we co-taught each of our first AcroYoga workshops!  I have had been hosting weekly Jam’s on the beach (which are still happening as of yesterday even in the cold strong wind) and feeling great energy building around AcroYoga and spending time and teaching with Pau was a great experience.  We first met several weeks before when he was here with a Thai Massage master from Japan teaching and there was an instant AcroYoga brotherhood connection.  It was really great and we both felt it.  I told him I had the workshop on the 25th and would love for him to come co-teach with me and he made it happen.  He is a vibrant multi-lingual Spaniard with a deep connection to the teachings of Yoga and currently passionate about cutlivating Acro here in Spain.  As I learned in the Acro Teacher Training, one of my biggest edges in co-teaching is building a shared and balanced voice with co-teachers as I can be rather dominating while teaching.  We arranged a timeline for the class, made a teaching plan and set forth….we had 13 students which was great for our first one and the process was very exciting and also expanding for me.  With my experience leading groups and teaching workshops, I did find myself wanting to support Pau in developing this in himself while not being an overbearing asshole!  This was a good place for me work on that and it worked out well.  There were challenges and there were some timing issues that I was ‘confronted’ with and I kept telling myself:  Equal voice… the students are learning… it ended up being a great success and he will come back to Mallorca at the end of Nov. and we’ll make a whole weekend together!
Things at YogaYou have been really interesting.  My classes have exploded in attendance and I feel very connected to the art of teaching and leading.  The room is a big open space and the students are literally from all over the world, speaking many different languages and coming with very different experiences of Yoga (if any!).  This ‘challenge / opportunity’ means that my classes have been fairly consistent with building foundations of hands and feet, focusing on breathing and learning to listen!  Which are all important qualities for students of all levels anyway.  This week, there has been some nasty weather and class size has dropped off and I took the opportunity to take it up a notch with a few of the classes as only the regulars come to a few classes.  it was exciting for me to get to present more advanced material.  I am really enjoying having consistent students and helping them to develop new awareness in the foundations and in their practice.  I haven’t had this in a while since being a traveling teacher.  It has felt empowering and satisfying as a teacher to see growth and development in all areas of Yoga within a few weeks of consistent contact with students rather then the blast open that workshops and retreats have.  it has opened me to a (slight!) desire to find this some where in the future…and in the meantime, I keep getting invitations to wonderful exotic places and opportunities to keep traveling that are truly too good to pass up! So I am here until the end of December with literally a full agenda of weekend workshops on the island and in Barcelona and the weekdays full of classes, work time, meetings, practice time and social engagements….
There is another aspect of YogaYou that has been really challenging which is a shift in ownership and operations that has felt like I am in the middle of an ugly divorce.  This has resulted in a series of missed communications, an uncertainty of operating systems, roles and functions and a general energetic uneasiness at the studio.  I won’t go into it too deeply, but just to say that it has been tough to get things taken care of and have a positive feeling about teaching at a studio who’s owners, managers and staff are not practicing Yoga on or off the mat.  Sometime the best teachers of what we want to do/be in our lives are those that show us what we do not want to do/be.
In addition to weekly AcroYoga jams, I have held 3 Kirtans in the lat month at the studio and have been blown wide open each time at the openness of the people and the energy we are creating.  I am very happy to have community to chant again.

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I just finished the weekend in Hamburg and feel revived again after getting back to leading workshops and a bit of travel.  Its really interesting how accustomed to this role I have gotten into.  I was feeling great in Mallorca, but just taking one weekend away to be a traveling teacher again has left me recharged.

The workshops were great successes too!  I made Vinyasa on Friday night that was really fun.  Theme:  We are Spiritual Beings having a Human Experience.  Very juicy and good flows…positive vibes as well.  Tobias from Cologne came up to co-teach Acro with me on Saturday and we went out to dinner on Friday and met some friends from girls who live here but I met in Mallorca.  It was good fun to see them…but we made it an early night as we had 2 Acroworkshops on Saturday that were both great success.  I am feeling really inspired and connected to the AcroYoga work and co-teaching with a different teacher was really great.  We made solid outlines, time frames and clea roles and both of us balanced each other nicely.  The students all loved it as well…photos coming soon.  This morning, i taught The Natural Link and once again feel very connected to my Green Yoga work…good stuff all around.

So I go back to Palma tomorrow…I am happy to go back and see people I have been getting close to and spending quality time with very special people there.  And at the same time….after one weekend on the road again, I am connected again to my ‘gypsy’ roots!

Into the Groove

I’ve gotten into a pretty nice groove here in Mallorca with a strong sense of comfort in myself and feeling supported by the community here to keep up the work I do.  The last week saw some really positive and important work and also some periods of solitude and low energy.
Two weeks ago (from today, Sept. 30) was the Full Moon and I taught a class that was all about harvesting the intentions and efforts we have been putting forth over the summer.  For me, it felt like seeds of personal development in gaining more and more comfort as who I am and also using my teaching as a way to connect community and people to a greater vision. Then over the week, the wether changed and things got fairly low energy and insular for me.  It was fine, although I find I am really good at wasting time with my computer doing many little things when I have a few very large projects I am waiting to start.  But the rain and colder weather made me feel ‘OK” just doddling around facebook, checking up on friends, etc.  Then over last weekend, we had the Global Mala and I organized 2 events ‘on the fly’ and was very impressed and inspired by the students who came and the intentions we set.
Global Mala is a Yoga event begun by Shiva Rea a few years back to coincide with UN World Peace Day.  It is a way for yoga practitioners all over the world to connect to a vision and purpose and dedicate some form of Sadhana to it.  The number 108 has special meaning in Yogic philosophy (I looked in Wikipedia and other internet sources and found some cool stuff) and the Global Mala was a way for students to do ‘anything’ yogic for 108 times….There is a yogic ritual of 108 sun salutations that many schools organized and this is what I chose as well.  So through only work of mouth and a few emails, the community here rallied to make a Mallorca Event and we had about 12 students on a HOT beach day practicing 108 sun salutes.  The ritual itself is truly inspiring.  The movements of Surya Namaskar (Sun Salute) are very dynamic and get energy moving and 108 times of it was pretty potent.  We did 4 rounds of 27 each, each bringing an intention of peace.  First for yourself, second for family and friends, third for all humans, fourth for all beings.  We were dripping sweat, watched by LOTS of curious tourists who had no idea what the heck we were doing (even though I posted a sign!) and full of devotion for 1 1/2 hours.  I really felt proud of the people who came and participated and also felt a great connection as a leader and focal point for a growing community here.  After the 108, we gathered in a circle and collectively sent our vibrations out to the universe….some of this more ‘esoteric’ work is very new and a bit edgy for some of the students, but after 108 sun slates, they were right in it!  It was really sweet.  I posted photos here: http://www.findbalance.net/about/photos/


Then in the evening, I organized my first Kirtan here on the island.  Again, I was super surprised and thrilled about the turnout, about 20 people!!!!  Many of them had never chanted before and took to it fairly quickly, even though I did not have the words for them to sing… The call and response style worked great and I was very happy to come back to chanting in this way as it truly is part of my deeper practice.  The Kirtan was so successful and made such an impact, I will try and organize them every 2 weeks….for free…for people to find their voice and sing to god!  I was also musically accompanied by my (self described) conscious eccentric friend Shanti they Violin Bowmaker.  He came with his electric violin and added a great vibration to the sound of the music.
Then during the week, there was a YogaWorks teacher training happening here at YogaYou and they morning classes were cancelled.  I teach 3 of them and there was no alternative for the students so I decided to invite them to practice with me on the beach by my house for free.  Sadly, the first day of the classes, the rain came and only 1 student showed up.  It was one of those moments when I would really really really have prefered to 0 students come instead of 1 or 2….but she was there, in the rain…and I was there as well.  We both decided to stick it out since we were there and ended up having a nice practice together.  This is something I teach a lot in teacher training courses is when that situation arises, you must become the BEST teacher for whatever student is there to learn something from you…and also what can you learn from this student as well.  For me, I learned that I have a dedicated student, that I still (even after 8 years of teaching) relate success to class size (which is bullshit!) and finally that I really LOVE yoga on the beach!  Tuesday, the weather was better and I had 7 students and Thursday, a beautiful day after 2 days of rain, there were 13 students to make yoga on the beach.  It was really special as we were at a tourist beach and I gather that many of the yogi’s would have never come to that place unless there was a good reason….but they did!  And it was sweet.  Then, my evening classes at the studio were off the hook!  23 – 28 students almost every class and lots of positive energy happening in the yoga room.  It’s so nice to see the transformation happening and to be in the middle of it as well.
A few random highlights of the weeks:
-There was an Art in the Street night that happened….thousands of people in the streets of Palma celebration art.  I’ve taught some interesting private sessions and have been pretty steady with keeping fresh ftruits and veggie around to eat.
-I’ve been watching some interesting and funny things on YouTube….lots of Sarah Palin stuff, but I’m also very curious about Joe Biden.  As you know, I prefer to put my attention on things I appreciate and want and I’m certain that I want him to be the vice president.  I’m going to do some research to find out some more and keep my attention off her!
-Just started a book called ‘Our Immoral Soul’ but some Rabbi….pretty interesting ideas about our biological bodies being moral and following our ‘commandment’ to be prosperous and multiply while our soul is leaning in to the edges of our morals and breaking our values with God….I just started but enjoy this kind of stuff.
-Any of you in the Bay Area looking for a potent weekend, check out this:

http://www.openhere.me/Home.html The Yoga teacher is a friend of mine and the ‘transformation coach’ is an all star.  I think it’s a great concept and if you have the slightest interest, check it out!
-Two Dutch students made a book of our Yoga and Hiking Retreat in the Alps…it arrived a few days ago and I have looked at the photos 10 times already!
-My Bulgarian housecleaner comes tomorrow and I feel that I have to ‘prepare’ for her by putting things where I want them and telling her not to touch….some control issues are here!
-There are some big changes at the YogaYou school….and looks like I will not be coming back to Mallorca after Brasil for part II of this residency.  Some relief is here!  And curious where/what I want to do?!?!  Me things Holland or other parts of Europe….then a part of my heart called for Mom and Dad time in North Carolina….need to think about what’s best.

This weekend, I was invited to a student’s house for sushi dinner and was completely blown away.  An architect by trade, his house was a spacious and modern massive house looking over the city of Palma….lots of black and white and what I would call chicky chicky style!  And his hosting was truly amazing as he prepared lots and lots of maki rolls and served a group of 5 of us perfectly.  Matched with a homemade Tiramisu, it was a meal of great magnitude.  It was a great night and memorable to just mention here so when I re-read my blog at age 60, I’ll have nice memories!

Today….is new Moon and the Jewish Holiday of Rosh Hashana, the Jewish New Year (based on the lunar calendar).  I remember back in my youth we would always go to synagogue on Rosh Hashanna…and now will teach Yoga class.  It’s like my modern day shul (Jewish jargon for temple) and I do feel a slight rebinnical nature to my teaching!  Maybe I’ll put on the yarmulke tonight?!?!  But I do intend to share some apples and honey with the students as this is the traditional food of this holiday, to make a sweet year!  It is a time of reviewing the past year to find areas of celebration and areas for growth.  I’ll reflect on them and get back to you.

There is LOTS of construction happening near me.  I am in a fairly small tourist village called Cala Major and within earshot, there are 5 projects going on….including the one RIGHT above my head….Ahhhh….Calgon take me away…. So with that….I bid you farewell and send my love.

Looking deeper

Time seems to me moving in two opposing and different directions as I can’t believe I haven’t posted to the BLOG in 3 weeks and at the same time, I just now feel that I getting into my personal rhythm.  Granted, I did post my newsletter which had elements of BLOG posting and takes a long time to write, build, link in, and proofread.  And I have a fairly busy teaching schedule here on Mallorca.

So as I continue to look deeper into my own life for personal growth, the local environment of Palma and Mallorca to raise the vibrations of my immediate surroundings (part of my ‘life purpose’ these days) and to the world for the global consciousness shift….I am finding a WIDE variety of experiences and situations.  Since the last post about the island and the challenges of being a Green Yogi here, I am still finding many of the same situations I posted about about before (plastic…plastic…plastic, trash in the streets, luxury yacht waste, smoking and more smoking, a wide range of societal ‘sleeping’) but I have also begun to unearth pockets of great awareness and a fairly ‘underground’ community of yogi’s, natural medicine people, health consciousness seekers and people with positive intentions.  There is a magazine here called Namaste that I found that not only is pointing me towards the health food stores, restaurants and events….but it’s helping with my Spanish as well! The magazine has shown me there is much more to the island then I have seen in my experience from my apartment to the chicky yoga studio and with the students, who although have great intentions, are quite different in lifestyle then me!  The other day I went to a magical beach sunset with a friend and to dinner afterwards where ‘our people’ were….jugglers, hippies and fun people!  So although I’m still enjoying some solitary time when I can, I have also made good friends with some other yoga teachers, therapists and students who bring a lot of hope and love here.

On the work front, teaching regularly scheduled classes is both great and challenging.  I have a deep desire to offer something unique and special every class and have been teaching various themes and ideas in the asanas while also making sure that the points that I feel are important in the practice are repeated over and over and over again…. Since I am in a bit of a groove with the classes, they have grown steadily and I feel a good connection to the regular students and see their development.  This is exciting and something I miss when I just do weekend programs and special events.  The full time schedule did not impact my practice too much, except this week as I am in a Spanish intensive course in the morning and teaching every evening so my personal practice time has become part of my teaching time.  I’m not a big fan of that as I prefer to be around the room for adjustments but I also feel that it is important for me to have some time to practice mixed with my studies, homework and housework.  Sure, I could be practicing on my own right now, but I am teaching the ‘advanced’ class in 2 hours and will take practice with them.  It’s about finding balance!

I have really been enjoying the advance practice class and am teaching my practice to them….long holds of down dog to start.  lunges….handstands, long headstand with variations and shoulderstand with variations.  Seems to be well received as well people keep coming back ;) .  I also added an Ashtanga Primary Series class to the schedule and that has been well received as well.  I like teaching that and sharing with students where Vinyasa flow can trace its roots.  That also means the Primary Series is part of my practice once a week as well, which my body likes.

My Spanish classes are going very well, although it is a very basic level class and I have a good basic understanding of the language.  I am in a group with 8 other students, mostly Germans, and most could not even ask for the bathroom on day one (donde esta el bano?!?!?)…. I was invited to ‘jump’ to the second class, but I decided to stay in level I to get a foundation….seeing as I’ve been teaching / preaching / living FIND THE FOUNDATION before moving forward in Yoga practice and other aspects of life.  Time to taste my own medicine!  What I am getting out of it is a much better understanding of verb conjugations and some subtle pronounciation things that are very helpful.  Of course, I have become the ‘teacher’s pet’ but I think it’s OK here as I am learning more with her personal guidance and support.  Also, I feel I am helping with the group and that I am a natural teacher…  The class ends on Friday and I will continue on with Private lessons over the next few weeks to get better and better…. The thought passed through my mind that before I leave here, I will make an entire BLOG post in Spanish….and since I published it for the world to see, now it is so!  Before December 23, I will make a whole blog post en Espanol escrivando solo!

I continue to occupy myself with work items as well… booking and scheduling the rest of this European autumn, marketing Morocco and Brasil events and scheduling through 2009…. It’s nice to have time and energy to put forth into my planning.  There’s something in my constitution that really enjoys that.  People say it’s my Moon in Scorpio that keeps my ‘working mind’ busy all the time.  Whatever it is, I also feel it is rooted in deep desire to keep sharing yoga, life music and love with as many people as I can.  Today, I found a printer to make 500 postcards for teacher training in February and I am doing as much publicity for New Year’s retreat as I can.  So far, I have 5 of 20 spots confirmed in Essaouira and I keep my attention on selling the retreat out.

Thanks to SKYPE, I am in steady communication with Mom and Dad and a few other friends who are on frequently.  If you want to chat…hit me up!  davidlurey  ….really!  I was feeling a bit homesick during Burning Man, but that’s passed and I feel really good here.  I do not have the ‘depth’ of friendship of my Bay Area crew around me, but I am making relationships with friends here that open fairly quickly.  Many of the people here on Mallorca are travelers as well so can relate on that level.

I’ve organzed a weekly AcroYoga Jam on the beach that is going great….there are some superstar flyers here and one other base and we are making a great sangha.  the other base is 85 kilos and a big guy, so I am enjoying flying him….and he’s loving it too as not too many people can fly him!  The people who are coming to this are the ones who I feel the most connected to, which makes sense, I will work on a new location for the next few weeks when the rain is supposed to start.

This Sunday the 21st is UN World Peace Day and Global Mala….I am organzing 108 Sun Salutations on the beach in the morning and 108 minutes of Kirtan in the evening at the Yoga studio.  It will be interesting as most of the students here have never done Kirtan before.  It will be nice to support them in opening their voices in the name if the divine (although I will keep it ‘digestable’ for all levels of spiritual seekers!).  The 108 Sun Salutes should be nice too, but I am making it a 10:30 AM which is SUPER early for Spain.  However, I think some dedicated and curious yogi’s will come.

Oh, one other thing before I sign off….I have been listening to MC YOGI’s new album that I got off iTunes.  Holy shit, Nicholas has done something really special there!  If you like fun conscious hip-hip, you’ve got to check it out.  All the songs are great, but he has one about Mahatma Gandhi called ‘Be the Change’ and I have been listening to it a lot because it’s what I’m up to here!  So thanks, Nicholas!  Nice work!

New photos on the Mallorca Photo Blog from flying friends and other things….I have not been taking to many photos as this feels like my ‘home city’ for a while….but I will shoot some in the next weeks and get them up for everyone.  However, there was a rainbow outside my balcony on Sunday morning and it looked like this!

Light and Love > David

Getting Settled

Wow, within a week (plus a few days) a lot has happened here on Mallorca.  I have moved into my own flat overlooking Cala Major and feel very grounded in the space.  I have begun my first week of teaching regular classes at YogaYou and feel very welcomed and well received by the staff and students.  The staff are new but there are many students from last year which was great to re-connect and get back the practice!

The studio itself is a very interesting place to teach.  It is a beautiful and big space, but is is made of all concrete and steel and feels a bit cold (energetically) and lifeless.  I have felt this a few times in the space and hope to invite some plants, more wood (the floor has a wood covering) and prana into the studio so that it starts to feel a bit more lively.  Downstairs from the studio is a very nice boutique from YogaYou and the whole environment is a new experience for me to be in as there is a lot of shopping for expensive clothes and high priced Mala’s before and after class.  It is actually helping me to realize that I have enough of everything I need!  In fact, during my 2 days in San Francisco this year, I shipped 2 boxes of stuff to Mallorca anticipating the desire to have different clothes and more stuff.  I did need the FindBalance DVD’s I sent as I had sold out already, but while unpacking another hat, 4 more shirts, pants and shorts….I was thinking to myself; “what were you thinking sending all this stuff?!?!”  For now, I look forward to leaving presents with people when I leave in a few months!

The Spanish lifestyle is VERY different then how I have been living lately and there are a few ‘growing pains’ in regards to my search for fresh vegetables, non-techno dance music, smoke free areas and environmental consciousness.  Fortunately, I have found a few great markets to feed me Biologically (what they call ‘organic’ in other parts of the world) and I have my iPod for dancing…. I hope to organize a dance jam at the yoga school soon where I can make a World Beat Party!  Meanwhile, I’m dancing at my flat a la Tom Cruise in Risky Business!  As for the smoke free, this is a real problem as I love to go out and enjoy a glass of Rosado, live music and the company of my friends but I can only handle about 30 minutes.  Almost everyone here smokes… and at the same time.  Other countries in Europe have made steps to stop smoking in public places which I so appreciate, but it hasn’t hit here yet…. meanwhile, it’s out to the street for air and lots of washing my hair and clothes.  yuck.

However, the most personally challenging area is around the consumption of plastic.  Water bottles and shopping bags are EVERYWHERE and no one really seems to give a shit about them.  The water from the taps is not potable (drinkable) so there is a need to buy plastic water bottles all the time.  I bought a Brita filter for my home and and filtering as much as I can and still it doesn’t seem like enough water for me to drink!  Then on the beaches, they sell hundreds of little bottles and put them in plastic bags and they go straight into the trash, or the sand or the sea!  There seems to be very little awareness of the problems with plastic water bottles and the answer of recycling is not going make much of an impact where there aren’t really many recycling cans or intentions for people.  Yes, it’s a bit preachy but it hurts me to see that there is such little awareness.  When you throw something ‘away’… where the hell is ‘away’?!?!?!?!

OK, so back to my life ;)

I have a beautiful little porch that I awake in the morning and do my morning waking things and several times have enjoyed several hours of personal practice there.  It is sweet to have that time and space.  However I have felt tired recently and been enjoying sleeping in and having mini-practices.  I made a commitment to the AcroYogis to add pushups and v-ups in my yoga practice and there have been a few days where I sit on my toes, do my hand and feet work and then the pushups and v-ups and that’s my practice.  This weekend felt great though as I had 3 days of deep long practice…it’s like a homecoming to my body.  I have also been enjoying some great Acro flying sessions and am starting a free weekly Acro Jam on Cala Major on Friday afternoons before my class.  Yesterday, I was taken to a magical sea-side place (not really a beach b/c it was all big rocks) and swam and flew and ate and played backgammon by the sea that was really really sweet.

I have been busy organzing the next 4 months with workshops and events around Europe and looking beyond to 2009, which is already pretty full and posted on my schedule page.  I feel the need to step up my attention to marketing the Morocco retreat and Teacher training and intend to focus time this week for that.  I also have a big poster board here at the apartment with my organizational notes for the teacher training manual.  It is a big undertaking and I want it to reflect a very deep and well rounded path of yoga.  Lots of work to do!!

Now, the neighbors downstairs are playing some terrible 90′s Spanish pop music… so I guess I’ll take a glass of vino to my porch and learn to love it ;) Until next time… D

Conscious Loving Community

dear readers,

I am writing from a magnificent hilltop home overlooking the Bay of Palma de Mallorca as the sun is setting, boats are floating, dogs are barking and the Summer here in beginning to wind down.  I arrived on the island on Wednesday after successfully completeing the Acro Yoga teacher training on Sunday (photos are up!).

The last week of the training was truly potenizing on all levels.  I learned some incredible new Jedi Acro Yoga skills (star, turntable, side star and several of their acrobatic flows that rock!), was shown my psychological dark and scary places very clearly (sharing the ‘teaching stage’, only speaking necessary contributions, opening to deeper levels of communication) and all the while found a deepening connection to the divine force of the universe through a very supportive, conscious and loving community of people.

With the help of my teacher/coach/friend Jason, I was able to jump to handstand without the wall and hold it for about 10 breaths!  This was maybe the 3rd time in my life doing it, and I am convinced that the conditioning and training we were doing, in combination with the insighful eye of Jason, gave me the inner power and confidence to do it.  This was one of my personal goals for the training and it felt amazing to get it!  The group had a number of super hand-standers that were great inspiration and it was good for me to watch them every day and build the desire to stick it.  I also learned a lot from them about basing Acro Yoga and I am stoked to work on the new tricks here in Mallorca.  I have a flier ready to go and we will meet next week to start our training ;)

The last week of the training also had us team practice teaching and I was really faced with my own control issues again as part of the exercise was to cultivate equal voice among the teachers and to play on each of our areas for deepest growth.  We met 3 times and had some very intentional communication combined with fears, doubts, support and fun.  What an experience!  Thanks to the NorCal team for being patient with me, reflecting honstly and ultimately ROCKING THE HOUSE with our class!

During the class, I was also faced with a dark and scary spot in me as part of the exercise had the ‘students’ of the class (our TT classmates and teachers) behaving like 8 year olds.  This was our training on how to deal with rowdy classes and it was really tough.  At one point, one of my friends was truly playing the part of the ‘I’m not listening and I’m doing what I want” student and I lost it…. I could not tell the difference between the exercise and reality.  My heart was racing, I didn’t know what to do and have never in my 8 years of teaching encountered such a student.  After ‘lets take a deep breath’, ‘do you remember the teaching example?’, ‘would you try it slower’….I finally said “OK, if you want to fall, then fall….” and walked away in disgust.  The rest of the class, he continued to play the part and shot eye daggers, pouted and energetically disturbed the whole class.  It was really confronting.  In our post class processing, I was still nervous and admitted what happened and how I lost my cool.  The coaching from the teaching staff offered me some insight how to handle it in the future (walk hiim out of the room and have a ‘can you help me out conversation?) but even still, it will be rather confronting if I ever have a student like that.  Thanks Jean-Jacques for the advance training ;)

Our crew of trainees (now official teachers!) finished the week with lots of break-downs leading to break-throughs and a great deal of comunity support for one another.  This was an underlying theme of the whole training ands the Kula (community) we built feels very strong.  I am stoked to co-teach Acro Yoga with many of them and know that the foundational work we craeted in the 3 weeks will help us all in our development as teachers.

I’m not sure if I mentioned it in the last post or not, but we came up with a group mission statement and then created a song for it.  It’s a catchy one and we sang it lots!  And as we’re in the modern age, we recorded a few versions as well….here’s the hippie’s on the hill variation!  Enjoy:

We, Acro Yogi’s, create Consicous Loving Community with Trust and Playfulness through Healing Movement, Radical Self Acceptance and Metta, MATE!.

The final night of the training was Full Moon and a group of us stayed out on the Gymnastics mats all night being bathed by moonlight and enjoying each others company one last night.  It was really sweet….and our closing circle was a pool of tears and acknowledgments and love.  I learned a great deal about group dynamics, exercises and practices that I am very excited to share in my trainings, workshops and LIFE!

I had one night in LA after the training and the following morning made my final runs to Whole Foods, etc for all the organic body care and tools I can’t get here in Spain and off I went…. 11 hours later waking in London, connecting to Amsterdam for a night at Nicki’s!  And have arrive on Mallorca feeling stoked and alive.  I have a partner workshop tomorrow with a theme of Trust of Playfulness! and the teaching residency starts on Monday.  I have a sweet apartment overlooking the Bay, a sense of goundedness to be in one place for a few months and an excited feeling with the monsterous To Do list I have in front of me….perhaps I’ll take a moment and shift that second word to what we worked with in the training and make the rest of the evening about me TO BE list!

I am being trusting, playful, loving and open!  Jai Ma!