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A Personal Revolution…of the mat
It seems like ages ago now but I can still remember the nervous energy that flowed through me the morning of the Baron Baptiste “A Personal Revolution” workshop in Dallas. My stomach was in knots and I could barely eats the oats I prepared for us in the tiny hotel sized microwave. We left in plenty of time to arrive at the convention center and really, had no idea what to expect. We knew that there would be three hundred people in attendance but when we arrived, the winding line took us a little off guard. People were everywhere and they were from all walks of life. As they filed us one by one into the practice room, the excited tension built to a level that is impossible to explain.
We were mat to mat, we had about an inch in between us and the person next to us and about four inches defined the space in between rows. Susan and I arrived in time that we were awarded spots front and center on the third row, there was a sea of yogis in every direction we looked. We chatted with the many people around us and waited for Baron to arrive. And finally, when he came, all eyes were on him and each one of us listened intently. He wanted to know what we wanted out of this experience and as the other talked, I set my intention. I wanted to leave there with a new view of my world. I wanted change. I wanted a revolution.
The first physical practice started soon after and instantly, it was hard. I wondered what I had gotten myself into. We moved through intense flows and held poses for what felt like insane periods of time. He had a number of people help him demonstrate poses and he did so with an intense style. At one point, he was teaching us chattarunga and as the girl hovered two inches from the ground, he climbed onto her back and laid on top of her. He pounded into a girls heal as she hung out in ardha chandrasana and even stood on a girls thighs and we stretched back into supta virasana.
Needless to say, it was intense. I was struggling like I never had in yoga, poses that once were my favorite felt like the hardest thing I had ever done. Chattarunga felt like rest and my practice was humbled. I wondered what was going through the minds of my fellow yogis, the beginners in the room and my friend. Little did I know, deep mental work was happening. He repeated to us over and over again that we are on the mat is the person we are off the mat and I was miserable. We we in supta badha konasana and my legs were touching Susan on one side and a complete stranger on the other. I was rolling over and over in my mind about what they were feeling and I realized, I was giving away my energy. I was allowing other people to steal my energy and not just in that room, everywhere. It was a turning point in my practice and what was to come was nothing short of amazing…
{ 5 comments… read them below or add one }
wow, that sounds so intense!
brandi´s last blog ..Homemade
Wow – what a post. So much to say but no words to say it right. I really appreciate your openness. I am learning more and more that yoga really is so much more ‘mental’ and about the mind than we think. We ‘practice’ yoga everyday off the mat…to me the mental part is what I need sorely right now and I hope it continues to develop as best as possible. Namaste.
eatmovelove´s last blog ..Thou Shalt Not Steal…
love this port — thanks for sharing
I don’t think I could hold ANY pose with someone standing or laying on me!
I think it is really neat how an experience can completely change your mindset on everything.
Elizabeth (The Dallas Celiac)´s last blog ..Procrastination
I love how you had that epiphany mid class and was able to reframe your thinking and thus able to thoroughly feel and enjoy the rest of the class.
Rita´s last blog ..I’ve missed Gymzilla