Tonight’s teacher training class was wonderful.. Course, one of my favorite local teachers, Jennifer Piercy was the guest teacher so that probably had a lot to do with it. Her classes have a delicious quality to them while still having enough challenges in them for me to feel satisfied. Why do I need challenges do feel satisfied?? I don’t know. I suppose it has to do with balance. These calm, slower classes leaving me feeling cracked open and soft. It is a beautiful feeling.
I am really enjoying the teacher training so far. It is full of information without being overwhelming. The women in the class are great and all very different which provides a delightful variety of perspectives on yoga. I am being continually impressed by the comments and questions my fellow students contribute to the classes.
Tonight we studied the Yamas and Niyamas which is sort of guidelines/code of ethics for yogis. These are the first two limbs of the eight limbs of yoga. Patanajali’s Yoga Sutras is a famous yogic text the covers these eight limbs. Patanjali compiled 195 sutras or concise aphorisms that are essentially an ethical blueprint for living a moral life and incorporating the science of yoga into your life. We looked at different interpretations and translations of the Yamas and Niyamas which was fascinating. One of my favorite interpretations was by Nischala Joy Devi. She has a marvellous feminine approach to the Sutras. I think the next purchase will be her book “The Secret Power of Yoga: A Woman’s Guide to the Heart and Spirit of the Yoga Sutras“