I’m trying to archive old hard drives. I have like 40Tb of data that all needs to go into deep storage and be organized. Yes. That is 40, 4-0, no typo. I have enough data to warrant buying a RAID array. Anyway, I’ll save you the multiple wormholes those first two sentences sent me on. I came here to say that I posted some of my “vintage” yoga flows to my Congruence Yoga Youtube channel.
I practiced to “Challenging Upper Body and Core Flow” a couple days ago and I wanted to share it with you here as well as some thoughts since hindsight and all…
…Thoughts
1. I am so glad this phase of hair is no more. I couldn’t get my hair out of my face without what I call “The Unicorn Pony.” I have had so many different hair styles over the years. I think on this website alone you will be able to count at least 4 or 5. The Unicorn Pony was a necessary evil in growing my top knot out but damn. Not a fave.
2. My body has changed so much and also very little. It took about 6 months postpartum to get back to my normal weight range. Five years later and I’m still hovering in that same zone. Where I carry fat, muscle density, tone, etc. are all in constant flux. If I’m lifting I look different than if I’m walking, skate or doing yoga. But my overall weight is remarkably consistent. More noticeable to me is how I move. I look stiff here imo. I will never be hypermobile. I am just simply not expressing that gene, though it does run in my family. I have made huge strides in looking more fluid in my movement from this video shot 4 years ago but even to this day I find it surprising to actually see MY body get into some of the shapes it does. The way I get into flexy shapes is so different than how more flexible people get into the same shapes.
3. Wow. My pincha has come a long long way.
4. I’m immensely proud of my sequencing and cueing. This was a very challenging flow that incorporates methodologies that are just now being highlighted as “foundational” to any movement practice. And I was doing those things in very creative ways four years ago. I’m talking functional range training, spiral movements, breath-work and more. Not only that. I really did and still do my best to honor yoga’s roots when I’m teaching. I try to teach YOGA not just poses. I think that comes through.
5. Teaching at Thunderbolt was hard but it really elevated my teaching game. Some of that came from without. Carly gave me a limited structure to work within. The challenge then became to test the limits of the structure without stepping outside of it. I worked very well in that environment. Until I didn’t and that is a different story. For the most part, structure aside, my teaching is an offering of mySelf beyond self. I teach from a place of joyful creativity, expression, healing and intuition. The recordings for the video come from live classes I taught. Its a style I borrowed from Black Swan Yoga and I still prefer this format to pre-recording in a booth, teaching model students or dubbing over after the fact. You get to hear a moment in time that will never be re-created and I think that’s really special.
Five is an arbitrarily good number to close it out. I hope you enjoy this flow. Share feedback, successes, ask questions in the comment here or Youtube. Om shanti, shanti, shanti and thanks for your time.