19 Oct Diaries of a Yoga Student: Week 5
You know that feeling you get on the first day of school that has your heart beating out of your chest and your palms sweaty with excitement? It’s the one that lasts until you have your first homework assignment but quickly fades when reality sets in. Except, in this case, we’re in Week Five of teacher training and that excitement is still as fresh as it was on day one. We’ve had a week off now and it’s apparent that everyone was desperately aching to get back to each other.
A Fast Track To A Meditative State
I once read a blog that described Kundalini Yoga as the best form of exercise for a Scorpio, so you can imagine my excitement when Jill announced our Friday would be spent practicing Kundalini led by Thomas Fessler.
This style of yoga originates from Raj yoga, or Royal Yoga, meaning it was first a practice only taught to the royals to help them achieve spiritual enlightenment. It combines all 22 schools of yoga and is commonly known as the Yoga of Awareness. The word “Kundalini” is a Sanskrit word that means “coiled snake,” and the notion of this practice is to unclog the divine energy that is commonly stuck at the base of the spine to increase the fluidity of energy throughout the body’s energy centers.
My Kundalini experience was emotional and enlightening. The night gave me an opportunity to uncover anger, irritability, and clarity in areas of my life where I need to relinquish control and just be. I first believed that the idea of Kundalini being best for a Scorpio was the fact that it would be a “spiritual breeze,” however it seems like it’s more the impact it has on self-actualization. For that, I am grateful with slightly sore arms.
Exploring The Chakras
After my self-realization breakthrough on Friday night, it wa
s refreshing that Jill surprised us with a journey through the chakras. Our energy centers have been an area of healing arts I’ve been especially interested in since I’ve deepened my yoga practice, so working from root to crown was exciting for me.
Jill’s style of teaching for retention is flawless and unassuming, allowing us to soak in what we needed to without feeling pressure to remember it all. We will, after all, retain everything that we’re supposed to. Which is one of the most reassuring things that has given me confidence throughout the past five weeks.
As we took a physical journey through the chakras, Jill taught us the importance of each detailing out physical side effects of a blocked chakra, and what it means when it’s balanced and freely transferring energy. Understanding each chakra, I now have a path of exploration to balance my energy centers and continue a journey of self-love and care.
Balance, balance, balance
As Sunday rolled quickly to the present, we jumped into our balancing series of the sequence including eagle pose, dancer’s pose, and tree pose. As we broke off into groups, we swapped and mirrored each other’s language while teaching and observing. Being a little over a third of the way through with training, it’s beautiful to see everyone’s personalities start to shine through their teaching as we build more confidence.
We ended our weekend in circle, transferring loving looks to one another and knowing we’d be back together in a few days. I must admit, Monday through Thursday feels like a lifetime when I anticipate joining together again to continue creating and collaborating to save the world – one “flowery” message, one asana, at a time.