My student, KiKi owns the studio Sunya Yoga in Shenzhen! I had so much fun teaching at her studio last weekend. We had a really fun Shiva Power master class on Saturday morning. I led a Deep Back Bending workshop on Sunday morning. Thank you to everyone who came to practice with me. The students were so open hearted and very receptive and I think this had a lot to do with KiKi and the energy she is putting out into the world.
These poses have been one of my greatest teachers over the years. It’s not easy to be vulnerable. Backbends help us to open up, surrender, and let go. Being vulnerable is hard. But it also feels amazing! The more I practice yoga — the more I feel that this is the really advanced work. It’s hard but it’s worth it.
This was a big workshop yesterday. We packed a lot of information into 2.5hrs. We discussed yoga theory, philosophy, anatomy review, Asana Breakdown, the spine, the tug of war actions, why we backbend in yoga, and we looked at a number of backbends in greater detail. When we backbend we are primarily looking at movement in the saggital plane, and poses that take the hips into extension, the spine into extension, and the shoulders into either flexion or extension.
Backbends have never been easy for me. My hip flexors are incredibly tight. I’ve been working on opening them up for a long time. The progress is slow but I’m making progress. And it’s incredibly rewarding!
One of the challenges I see in our yoga community is the rise of yoga as a business. You have to be very careful as a yoga teacher. Many of the things that your students need are not the things that they want. You can see how they are out of balance and you can help them find more balance. But if your goal is to be popular or if you are running a business you have to be careful you aren’t just trying to please your customers and always giving them what they want. Swami Satyananda has this great quote where he says, “first I find out what my students want and then I try to give them the opposite.”
From our Backbending workshop last week in Shenzhen at Dream Space Yoga!
I love this deep Shoulder stretch and Chest opener. It’s a great partner pose that is a real “feel good” pose for both partners.
I’ve been working a lot on opening my shoulders and my hip flexors to deepen my backbend poses.
If we are really honest with ourselves, the “yoga mirror” shows you everything you need to look at, all of your imbalances, all of your strengths and all of your weaknesses. Do you have the courage to look in the mirror — and are you willing to put the effort into making the necessary changes in your life — both on and off the mat to find balance?
What are you working on right now? What areas of your body need to open up or get stronger? What areas of your life need some attention?
