First posting!
Is it bad to get your inspiration to start writing a blog from Julie and Julia? Well, that's how it went for me, so that's how it has to be.
I've been working on a book about yoga, a compilation of yoga sequences for students to try in their practice, and mostly just navigating through the publishing maze. Not a whole lot of yoga or sequence creation involved, but a fair amount of deep breathing. The reason I wanted to put the book together was that I saw a genuine need for it. Last summer, I lived at the Kripalu Center for Yoga and Health, and was, at first, curious about how many people sat in the back of yoga classes taking notes, but not actually doing any yoga. After some time there, I realized that, with every new group of guests, there would be a different set of people sitting in the back of the class, frantically taking notes.
These fine folks, I came to learn, were always in the back of the room, taking notes. They are yoga teachers, coming to Kripalu for the inspiration of new and exciting sequences to bring back to the classes they teach. There are books out there for yoga in bed, yoga and trees, and probably yoga and a multitude of pets, but, for whatever reason, there's no book out there that carefully, step-by-step, lays out different sequences.
Of course, there are books that lay out the sequence for specific styles (ie, Ashtanga). What I see a need for, however, is a series of sequences not related to any style. As a yoga teacher, I know that sometimes you get caught up teaching slight variations on the same sequence pretty often. That's because it's what feels good in your body. But what about your student's body? A compilation, with submissions from lots of yogis with lots of body variations, would help remind a teacher that different sequences might help their students in ways they didn't even know they were missing.
Hence, the blog. The book isn't happening for awhile, at least. And the real point of putting the book together isn't to be able to run my finger along the spine (although that does sound kind of nice). I see a real need among my fellow yogis, yoginis, and/or teachers. So, why not start the service now with a blog? I'm not in a rut right now, like Julie was in the movie, but am feeling drawn to explore a particular passion in my life, like Julia was in real life (um, and the movie).
There's a word in Sanskrit called seva. It means, more or less, selfless service. Without looking for personal gain, giving without expectations. I see this project, this collection of sequences, as my seva. Because of that, I will be posting one sequence every day. Some of them will come from classes I teach, some will come from classes I take. The hope is that folks will come to hear about my project, and contribute as well. If you did happen to find your way to this address, and would like to contribute, please do! In the meantime, enjoy the sequence a day.
Namaste.
I've been working on a book about yoga, a compilation of yoga sequences for students to try in their practice, and mostly just navigating through the publishing maze. Not a whole lot of yoga or sequence creation involved, but a fair amount of deep breathing. The reason I wanted to put the book together was that I saw a genuine need for it. Last summer, I lived at the Kripalu Center for Yoga and Health, and was, at first, curious about how many people sat in the back of yoga classes taking notes, but not actually doing any yoga. After some time there, I realized that, with every new group of guests, there would be a different set of people sitting in the back of the class, frantically taking notes.
These fine folks, I came to learn, were always in the back of the room, taking notes. They are yoga teachers, coming to Kripalu for the inspiration of new and exciting sequences to bring back to the classes they teach. There are books out there for yoga in bed, yoga and trees, and probably yoga and a multitude of pets, but, for whatever reason, there's no book out there that carefully, step-by-step, lays out different sequences.
Of course, there are books that lay out the sequence for specific styles (ie, Ashtanga). What I see a need for, however, is a series of sequences not related to any style. As a yoga teacher, I know that sometimes you get caught up teaching slight variations on the same sequence pretty often. That's because it's what feels good in your body. But what about your student's body? A compilation, with submissions from lots of yogis with lots of body variations, would help remind a teacher that different sequences might help their students in ways they didn't even know they were missing.
Hence, the blog. The book isn't happening for awhile, at least. And the real point of putting the book together isn't to be able to run my finger along the spine (although that does sound kind of nice). I see a real need among my fellow yogis, yoginis, and/or teachers. So, why not start the service now with a blog? I'm not in a rut right now, like Julie was in the movie, but am feeling drawn to explore a particular passion in my life, like Julia was in real life (um, and the movie).
There's a word in Sanskrit called seva. It means, more or less, selfless service. Without looking for personal gain, giving without expectations. I see this project, this collection of sequences, as my seva. Because of that, I will be posting one sequence every day. Some of them will come from classes I teach, some will come from classes I take. The hope is that folks will come to hear about my project, and contribute as well. If you did happen to find your way to this address, and would like to contribute, please do! In the meantime, enjoy the sequence a day.
Namaste.
