Yoga Conference

Saturday, January 2, 2010:

I signed up at the last minute for an all-day yoga conference at the Sheraton Hotel Oceanfront. It was colder than should be allowed in Virginia Beach and I hate the cold. Cold usually keeps me inside. But at 6:00 on a Saturday, I bounded out of bed and prepared.

8:00AM: Yin Yoga with Angela Phillips. We were in a modified ballroom at the hotel, yoga mats in place. Yin yoga requires you to hold poses between 3 and 20 minutes. We started with 3. And 3 can feel like 20. Angela chose poses that would detoxify the liver since the holidays and eating have likely taxed that purpose-driven organ. I've been steadily committed to Yoga since November 1st. Most weeks, I go 3 to 4 times. But this was my first yin practice which allows you to sink into the joints and the ligaments, places we don't normally reach in yang yoga which is more muscular in nature. My joints need to change their outlook on life. And yin yoga is going to help them find their way.

10:30AM: Ayurveda with Kim Austin-Peterman. Let me just say that I have been looking for an Ayurvedic Practitioner since 2003... possibly? They are few and far between. I read a book in college on Ayurveda (a naturopathic Indian science of life) that focuses on treating the system and not the symptom and I was instantly fascinated. So, I began looking for a practitioner. No avail. Saturday, I got a two-hour crash course and am looking forward to a consultation in the near future. What an awesome find for me! The idea of balancing my nutrition and my activities to support my character and my natural body is something I have searched for and strived for since I was diagnosed with Ulcerative Colitis and Enteropathic Arthritis my junior year of college. We make no random decisions.

Break for lunch: Table for one overlooking the ocean. Hot tea, Lobster Chowder and a Greek Salad. Unbelievably cold. But enjoyable all the same. I'm not opposed to eating alone. I'm not uncomfortable with it. What better way on this day to be mindful of the food I was eating and the power of the ocean to my left. I had hoped there might be an opportunity at lunch to mix and mingle and learn from others at the workshop, but there was much to be learned in my hour of solitude.

2:00PM Discovering Your Authentic Self: Breathwork and Chakra Class with Gabrielle Gerard. Two hours of guided breathing with brief lecture in between. There are few words to describe this: amazing is one of them. I learned to breathe with my entire diaphragm, expanding my body from my abdomen to my throat. The lady next to me fell asleep. When Gabrielle said two hours was not enough time to scratch the surface of Breathwork, I thought...sure. Ha! Two hours was two minutes. I left the class in a daze, possibly an oxygen rush. I think I was dizzy; not sure I could see out of my right eye. Pretty sure my right arm was numb. But I'm certain I breathed clean, pure air directly into my soul. It was beautiful and I hope only the beginning of breathwork.

4:30 PM The Art of Relaxation with Melanie Kordis. I think I was pretty much useless by this point. I expected this workshop to be about "how to relax" versus the act of relaxing. It was more restorative yoga which my hips and back just couldn't tolerate at this point. BUT the energy in the room was delightful. Soft voices, sweet smiles and a gift: an eye pillow, lotion and lavender pillow mist. All day I was thinking: "I really need to get an eye pillow." I saw the gift bags and I said to myself, "Self, I bet there's an eye pillow in there." Unbelievable. In the final few moments of the workshop, we were allowed to do shoulder stand which next to plough is my favorite posture. After such a long day, it was perfect.

Interim: I skipped dinner. Dad picked up a salad for me from Panera and it waited at my house while I starved. BUT in lieu of food, I spent about 30 minutes on the Biomat. Um. Whoa. The biomat has something to do with negative ions and heat and guided relaxation. Beyond that, clueless. All I know is that I checked out. Altered reality. Maybe I was asleep. Maybe I was dead. I remember nothing for a very long time and then, a lady touched my arm and said, "Honey, are you okay?" Ha. Good question. So, I went directly from the Biomat to a chair massage. Really? How good is life? I met an Astrologer; I bought an Ohm Pendant and a mat for my knees from lovely Betsy at the Peace, Love, Balance stand. (She owns a store in Hilltop which I never seem to get to so she came to me. How nice.)

8:00PM Kirtan with Daphne Tse. Call and response yoga...singing, chanting, sitting on the floor with new friends and their guitars. Wow. Completion of energy.

Angela P. asked me yesterday if I felt the conference was worth the money. $175 for the all day event. And until that moment, I hadn't really thought about the price. $175 means a lot to me. $175 is very important typically because it takes such a very long time to earn. But this year, I cannot put a price on my sanity. I cannot put a price on my health and my journey toward peace. Saturday was an investment and I guarantee, the effects of Saturday will be felt LONG after my IRA runs out.