Namaste, (or how to really open your heart!)

        I have been taking lots of yoga classes recently.  It's an area of my life where I can really see a lot of growth, so I have been watering and fertilizing regularly.  What has been fascinating is that, though the poses grow ever more challenging, the hardest part is the emotional and spiritual growth.  I'll give you an example in the word "Namaste."
      As I explain to each new student, namaste means "the divine in me salutes the divine in you."  In practice, it means as the student learns from the teacher, so the teacher learns from the student.  Over my years of teaching I have found the second half of the statement to be particularly true.  Teacher training is important, but the practical experience is what refines and defines you as a teacher.
     So here I am, going to all these new teachers (with the cold and flu season we've been having, there have been loads of substitutions), and challenging the first half of the statement, the idea that everyone has something to teach me in every situation where we come into contact.  As a rule, I prefer a quiet, challenging class, with a teacher who knows a lot about the functions of the muscles and bones, and avoid a class that is more like a "workout," that leans towards Pilates.
     A few weeks ago I ended up with a teacher who leaned towards the workout end of the spectrum.  When I heard the other classes she taught, my mind and heart slammed shut.  Through the whole class I kept telling myself, 'there is something to learn from everyone' and 'keep a open mind.'  It was an uphill struggle.  I'm getting old enough and gaining enough experience to understand how hard it can be to keep an open mind while we age.  The idea of "been there, done that"  raises it's ugly head ever more frequently.
     After doing sit ups and leg raises (ugh!), we moved on to the prone portion of our class.  Here my struggle was vindicated.  We got into a prone twist in a way I have never seen before in 14 years of practice!  And it fit so perfectly with the direction my teaching and personal practice has been leading.  I was so grateful to be wrong.  The best part was the prone twist (Supta Matsyendrasana) was turned into a heart opener. Truly the divine in my teacher was revealed to me, though it had been there all along.
      Namaste.

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For those of you playing along at home, here's a great addition to your practice.

Begin lying on your side, stacking knees, hips, feet, shoulders, arms, hands.  Arms are straight out in front of you, just below eye level.  Think classic side sleeper's posture with straight arms.

Move your top hand up a little so the fingers touch the floor on the top hand and the back of the hand touches the floor on the bottom hand. 

Keeping the legs stacked, begin to trace a rainbow on the floor over your head, trailing fingertips along or near the floor.  Your hand begins at about shoulder height then moves up and over your head and out to the side. As the arm passes over your head allow the body to begin to twist open.

Finish moving your hand when the arms are stretched open wide.  Enjoy the feeling of an open supta matsyendrasana.

To exit the pose, sweep your hand and arm back over your head.  Roll to the other side, stacking hips, knees, feet, shoulders, arms, hands. Repeat the sweeping opening of the arms. Enjoy.