I leave tomorrow morning for San Francisco, where I will attend the 5th Annual Yoga Journal Conference. I'm really looking forward to it, not only as a time to focus on my practice and growth, but also as a chance to work with a couple of new-to-me teachers, reconnect with some old friends, and see a new city!
"Conference" makes it sound like a bunch of yogis sitting around watching slide shows and discussing the future of yoga. I think that a better term for an event such as this would be "Convention", which indicates booths, stuff to see and do, more all-around involvement.
I'll be attending three 2-hour classes per day, starting Saturday with an 8 - 10am women-only class with Seane Corn. You may have seen her picture, even if you don't know the name. She's a recently well-known yogini, teacher, and activist. I have never worked with her, and am looking forward to experiencing how she teaches. At 10:30 I'll have a class with my teacher, Aadil, called "Mastering the Five Winds (Vayus) in Purna Yoga Standing Poses". This will probably be a sweaty class, if we spend even half of the class in standing poses. :-) Thankfully there's a nice long break until the afternoon session, so I can freshen up, eat a light lunch, catch the Keynote Address, "Power to the Peaceful" and turn in my photos for the Yoga Journal Model Call. At 3:30 I'll have the honor of hearing Aadil give a talk entitled "God and the Universe", which will be physically restful, but with plenty for my spirit (and probably my mind) to munch on.
I have all evening free, and then start again bright and early Sunday morning with another new-to-me teacher, Suzanne Sterling. She's a singer and is offering "Wake Up and Sing!", in which I'll get to "learn about the power and beauty of sound, and explore ways to use chanting as a tool to enhance [my] yoga and [my] life." Cool, eh? Come 10:30, I'll be back with Aadil, working on twists and backbends (yay!) for a couple of hours. At lunch time there'll be a discussion panel which I'm really looking forward to, "Women in Yoga". My afternoon class will be with Shiva Rea and it's another women-only class ("Yogini: Living Shakti for Women").
On Monday I will work intensively with Aadil all day, exploring the myriad therapeutic tools Purna Yoga offers those living with high blood pressure. It will essentially be an "above and beyond" workshop based upon his chapter in the recently-released book, Yoga As Medicine. Later that evening I catch the next-to-last flight home, and get to ruminate in all the wonderful stuff I learned during my down time throughout the week.
If that sounds like a busy, but delightful weekend....it will be! There'll be another one like it (different topics, but many of the same teachers participate) in Boston this coming May. Every year, Yoga Journal offers a bigger, longer conference in Estes Park, Colorado. These conferences are not just for teachers, they're for anyone who wants to more deeply (or broadly, as the case may be) explore yoga practices, lineages and traditions. Every conference even has a "Beginner's Track", a class schedule full of introductory-level classes. Of course, there are also "Teacher Tracks" for those who are working on continuing education credits, certification, etc.
Hopefully I'll have some fun pictures to share. I'll try to remember the camera. Have a wonderful weekend!
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