Winnie the Pooh and KBuddah, too! Namaste!

I've had some of the best teachers! I learn things all the time from them and their lessons come back again and again. This week the lessons did a nice little smash up. Things from all of my teachers came together.

Khris has always challenged me in a variety of ways. The challenges are never meant to be challenges just for the sake of challenge, as in to do something that looks hard or seems advanced. There's a reason for the challenge. In Nadja's hot yoga this week, we did a super challenging sequence that I did as best as I could.

It was just like when I do something super challenging with Khris. I loved it because it made me focus and really think about what I was doing. I was really in it the whole time. I didn't care that I couldn't do some of it. I felt really good about giving it my all and trying it.

Heather talked about the idea that Level 2 yoga is about subtle improvements. Khris works on that all the time. We take squats or push ups or basic exercises and focus on small adjustments. It's the same way in yoga. We know what Warrior 2 is and now we focus on tiny adjustments in alignment and creating space or making small changes to progress.

Sometimes you can't even see the changes, but you feel them in your body. I know when Khris breaks down a familiar exercise and focuses on tiny adjustments, you can feel it in your body. It's not about doing more; it's about doing better.

Nadja always makes me think about things when she's not even trying. She talks about saying I'm breathing in and I'm breathing out when trying to relax during restorative yoga to bring your attention back to the breath. She gives other mantras like Inhale Let; Exhale Go. But I like I'm breathing in. I'm breathing out.

I'm not a good visualizer and I don't like abstract things when doing yoga. When thinking about relaxing and meditation, it's common to think we're supposed to clear our minds and not think at all. Or get out of our bodies and minds. But Nadja made me see things differently when she said, we want to focus on what will bring us back to our bodies. We want to ground ourselves in reality.

That changed the way I look at meditation. I want to be in my body. I want to be in the moment. In the now. Khris did that for me when he told me to use Inhale. Brace. Exhale. I use that all the time in training even when he doesn't tell me to. It keeps me focused on being in my body and in the movement.

Being in reality reminded me of Winnie the Pooh's Say What You See game. It keeps you in the moment. It's a simple meditation. Your mind can't really wander or worry, if it's focused on naming what you see.

Alisa's intention for us this week was observing without judging. That's exactly what Pooh is doing when he plays his game. A funny way of seeing how you can get caught up in making stories around what you see instead of just observing is watching what happens when Pooh's friends try to play his game. 

And finally, Heather's topic for the week was magic. The simplicity of all of these things creates the magic that is yoga. That is training. That is meditation. That just is. 

Christopher Robin: What are you doing, Pooh?
Winnie the Pooh: Sometimes when I’m going somewhere and I wait, a somewhere comes to me.