A Weekend of Yoga, Family, & Friends

This past weekend I attended my very first yoga workshop with Amy Ippoliti at PradipikaYOGA in Clinton, CT. I follow Amy on Instagram and I’ve read her book, The Art and Business of Teaching Yoga. When I found out she was coming to Connecticut, I jumped at the opportunity. I’m from Connecticut and this workshop presented the opportunity to combine a yoga workshop with a visit with family and friends. I’m a big fan of happy coincidences like that.

I flew in Thursday night into Hartford and I was pumped for the weekend. I had never done this much yoga before in such a short period of time. I was really looking forward to spending time learning from such an amazing teacher. My expectations for the workshops were exceeded beyond all expectations. I learned about the anatomy of the shoulders, hips, and the core. Beyond learning about yoga, I learned more about myself. Taking the typical yoga class adds some of that yoga magic into my life but taking a 2 hour workshop? That was pure magic. Taking the time to explore poses and dig deep into the anatomy surrounding the poses is amazing but the best thing about a workshop is the ability to look inside and connect to what is being taught on a deep level.

Self-Reflection

Over the weekend, I learned quite a bit about myself. As we went through the four workshops, Amy brought me to the edge of what I thought I was capable of so many times. I struggled at times throughout the workshops for a variety of reasons. One of the most obvious reasons (to me at least) is that I was not aware of how poor my posture is. I slouch often and neglect to stand tall and proud.

Another reason why I struggled at times is a lack of confidence in myself. I felt like I was standing at the edge of a cliff and I needed to take the leap of faith and trust that my dedication to my practice would keep me safe. I faced a lot of fears this past weekend and I came out ahead. As I approach the start of Yoga Teacher Training at Practice Indie, I realize that I still feel unworthy of yoga. I feel self conscious about my practice and even more embarrassed that I do not have the body that people see of the yogis on Instagram. I do not feel graceful and controlled. I feel clumbsy and awkward at times.

I realize that the only thing holding myself back at this point is myself. I am entirely in my head. I remember Amy saying at one point that we are worthy of practicing yoga. We already possess what we need to practice yoga. She quoted the first Sutra of Patanjali, “Atha yoga anushasanam”, which translates to “Now, the teachings of yoga.” This means that yoga is meant to be accessible to everyone, as they are. I honestly think that this is the most important takeaway from my workshop weekend.

My weekend of yoga was enlightening to say the least. I originally wanted to reflect back over one post but I realized that I cannot do the weekend justice with just one post. I need to be detailed and break it down. So I will be posting my reflections down by day. I’ll start off with the workshop on Friday titled Hip Opening & Setting Intentions, coming soon.