The Kripalu trip post
So Kripalu was amazing. As always. I took the workshop with Timothy McCall on Yoga as Medicine. I had to buy his book for teacher training and it had been one of my favorite books that I had obtained. He was a complete pleasure to listen to. Very knowledgable, witty, and kind. His assistant, Lauren Toolin, was what I considered an efficient bitch ( trust me when I say that that’s a massive compliment ). She gave me a lot of pointers and insight that I have yet to receive anywhere else. And of course, all the others taking the class, whether they were teachers, long time practitioners, or what not, were a massive joy. Being able to share experiences and so forth with others is such a special gift. You can’t trade it with any amount of training.
So the class was broken down as kind of an intro to yoga therapy. Very, very basic stuff. Went over some big components when it comes to helping someone out - anatomy, nervous system, ayurveda, psychology, and spirituality - and then were broken into small groups to apply all of this. I had the opportunity to both help someone out with some yogic advice and also be a “patient” myself. We had to fill out little forms if we wished to be a patient and I was glad to be picked. I think my story was insightful for those who aren’t used to it and their unbiased advice was extremely helpful. I went in more focused on my mental issues than I was physical, but I’ve always had a very tight upper back/shoulder area. They looked at my posture, noticed such little details, and gave me some amazing exercises to help not only bring relief to my upper back, but to also promote my healthy lifestyle and add more tools to my toolbox, so to speak.
Also brought up a lot of stuff within me, both in my group and in the general workshop, about my blocked creativity. I’ve been working on a novel for some time and I keep having spurts of creativity and nothing else. Everyone spoke of how I need to pursue my dreams of becoming a published novelist and I think I took several steps in the right direction. I picked up Julia Cameron’s The Artist’s Way and I’m hoping that helps me out. Also made a sankalpa to write at least 2000 words a day on this particular novel until it’s done.
And this all strikes me odd, too. Back in January, I went to go see a woman who was very connected spiritually, and she gave me lots of advice, like continuing yoga, getting back into photography ( I guess pictures on my iPhone count ), and so forth. But the biggest thing she told me was that something big was going to happen for my during the summer time and that it would end one phase of my “learning,” so to speak, and then I would move on. She was very cryptic about it and I had NO idea what exactly was going to happen. Well, it’s summer now, and I was waiting around for a bit. I don’t know for what, a sign or something, you know? Then it hit me in the middle of the week that perhaps all of this unblocking of my creativity might be onto something. Maybe something will come from all of this, I don’t know, but I have a good feeling about it.
Aside from all of that, I had the most delicious Thai yoga massage ever. He gave me some great pointers to help release tension in my upper back and he simply threw me around like a rag doll. Oh, it felt so good. And to think that most of it was assisted stretching. Hell, he got be into a full locust pose and I wanted to stay there forever. Also reminds me that I need to get into more Thai yoga massage. I love doing it and I just imagine how much I would know ten years from now if I kept at it, continued my levels, and practiced constantly.
So yeah, good stuff all around. Was bittersweet to leave - leaving Kripalu is never easy, but I couldn’t wait to get home to take everything I learned and apply to my life. Good stuff. Namaste!
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