Iowa City Yoga Festival, Sunday

7am – Morning Pranayama with Jim Bennitt

Just like Saturday morning’s class but with notably less people. I think everyone was tuckered out.

8am – Foundation to Infinity with Jai Hari Kaur

I would definitely take another Kundalini class just to be sure, but I really don’t think this style of yoga resonates with me. Mostly I just felt silly. And, while I think this would be less of an issue over time, it’s not at all comfortable for me so sit in Sukhasana (Simple Pose) for that long. It’s interesting to note that Kundalini yoga is considered the most comprehensive system of yoga as it combines meditation, prayer, asana and pranayama. “Kundalini” literally means “the curl of the lock of hair of the beloved.” The class ended with a lengthy savasana accompanied by gong. I’d never heard the gong played like that! I think I need one…

10:30am – Strength, Grace and Healing with Max Strom

This was a pretty gentle “prana-flow” class. A true workshop in the sense that we stopped a lot to break down the postures.

“When we are in pain, we become self-centered and myopic. When we heal, we become more empathetic, self-less, and sympathetic to the pain and welfare of others. It is our gift to others to heal.” -Max Strom

1:30pm – Refresh and Restore with Marcie Evans

This was another very “workshop-y” class. She would call a pose and choose a couple of people to go up on the little stage in front of the class to be examples…albeit bad. She asked me to demonstrate my downdog. Apparently I sort-of tuck my tailbone. I need to remember to aim that thing for the sky! Conversely, she had someone else demonstrate hers…she sort-of arched her back which should also be avoided. I was a little uncomfortable being made an example of, but NOBODY brought any egos to this festival. Ultimately, it was a really educational class!

4pm – Keynote: The Global Impact of Yoga with Max Strom

This was basically an elaboration of this article. He told a story about discovering who the Mennonites are and how they have a reputation for doing what they say they’re going to do, doing it well and if it’s not correct, going back and fixing it. His point being that we ought to strive for a reputation like that as yogis. He told the story of Alberto Santos-Dumont. Check out the documentary on Netflix!

4:45 – Closing Ceremony with James Miller

Door prizes & a quick closing speech. He told us how since this was his 1st festival he had learned so much! The MC Yogi concert was open to the public. He was concerned…hip-hop concert…open to the public…he decided to hire 3 security guys. At one point one of them approached him & said “Sooo…why are we here? This is the nicest, most chill gathering of people I have ever seen!” Another one of them told him he was seriously considering taking a yoga class after seeing how cool everybody was!

It sounds like he’s planning on doing it again next year, and if he does I’ll probably go. Although it would be more fun to go with a friend…who’s with me?

• Kundalini Meditation (brighthub.com)
• The 6 types of Yoga (mycitydeal.co.uk)
• Yoga Your Way – Kundalini (timesunion.com)

Iowa City Yoga Festival, Saturday

7am – Morning Pranayama with Jim Bennitt

A pretty chill little 45min breathing class. All of the conference rooms had a grid made of tape on the floor to establish some sort of order for the mats but there were just too many of us. He explained how the purpose of Ujjayi is to create a valve to regulate your breath. The purpose is to avoid “fanning the chitta“. In other words, breathing through your mouth encourages your mind to wander.

8am – Root to Rise (Foundations of Flight) with Brock & Krista Cahill

Whoa. Holy core burning, Batman! These two are intense! Essentially, it was a workshop on arm balancing & inversions. She explained how they’re both a bit “ADD” and their minds easily wander when holding poses like Warrior II…but intense core work and inversions keep them present. I have some experience with forearm headstand (although I’m too chicken not to use the wall) but this was my first time trying tripod headstand and handstand! I had to partner up with a stranger, which was awkward for the introvert in me, but now I’m somewhat less afraid of these postures!

 

Forearm Headstand

Tripod Headstand

They also talked a lot about the bandhas, which I knew very little about.

This video doesn’t go into hasta (hand) or pada (foot) bandhas but they were a big part of the class.

10:30am – Jumping and Floating with Evan & Kelly Harris

They broke down the jumping movements of Surya Namaskara for us. I understand the mechanics of it now but I need a mess of practice at home before I start trying it in front of people at the studio. And I had to partner with a stranger again. I had to grab her hips while she was in down dog and help her experience the feeling of floating before she set her feet down. She was very nice and actually did better without my “helping hands”.

Here is what it’s supposed to look like.

Another thing I learned from this class: yoga has very little to do with momentum. For instance, from down dog, bringing a leg back & then coming forward to set up low lunge is not a kicking/swinging thing. You should be using control with your leg and ab muscles. It’s something I need to keep in mind with my whole practice…am I using momentum or muscle?

2:30pm – Weight Loss Yoga from the Core with Sadie Nardini

The first 1/2 of class was a discussion about yoga & weight loss. I’d like to lose some weight so I can get deeper into the postures. There is some extra stuff that gets in the way as I try to bring my leg forward from downdog to low lunge. She recommended this book.  Then we did some vinyasa. Again, the whole focus of the practice was on breath. She demonstrated Uddiyana Bandha. It’s totally creepy and awesome! It tones, cleanses and massages the internal digestive organs- leading to healthier digestion.

4:45 – Slow Down and Be Inspired with Kyra Anastasia

A SUPER chill candlelit restorative class, which was good because I was pretty much out of gas. We did one down dog toward the end of class. It was the most painful down dog ever, as my wrists were on fire from the earlier classes. My left wrist even made a popping sound, which it has never done before.

7pm – Yoga Demonstration with Jim Bennitt

Youtube vids don’t compare to seeing someone do this stuff in person!

 

8pm – MC Yogi Concert

I could barely keep my eyes open, so I skipped this and went back to my hotel. But I’m with you MC; Ganesh is fresh!!

Day 4…and 5…oh forget it!

I had schedule conflicts with day 4, and then had to take the Cruiser to the doctor on day 5 and with Heather’s help I realized it’s kind of silly to be able to say “I took a bunch of Bikram classes one month!” I’m going to attempt a legit 30 day challenge at some point in the future.

Anyway, I’m here in Iowa City for the inaugural Iowa City Yoga Festival! Tonight was just a “Meet & Greet”  (a veggie tray, a pitcher of tea, a pitcher of lemonade and 30 strangers in a conference room…I opted for the pizza-by-the-slice place across the street.) followed by the opening ceremony. Evidently  there are about 350 registered yogis present.

James Miller (the event organizer/promoter/head honcho guy) MC’d. Sadie Nardini spoke first. She talked about coming home (in the literal sense…she’s from Iowa City) and also the yogic sense. She was one of the main draws for me after listening to an interview with her on Yoga Peeps and also checking out her YouTube vids.

Brock and Krista Cahill followed with an impressive display of “wow” yoga. They’re very bendy & did lots of balancing inversions.

Next was a Bollywood dance exhibition by Hemalayaa Behl. Except it was less “exhibition” and more…I should say “ALL” audience participation. We were instructed to get out of our seats and find some room to move. Every single person was participating. Except “your’s truly”. Yes…I was that jackass sitting in his chair. I’m sorry, universe. It’s just not my thing.

The evening ended with MC Yogi and DJ Drez with a break-dance troupe…I think they were from a local college. We were directed to circle around them and cheer them on. With the “Wave yo hands in da air” and the “Now somebody SCREEAAAMMMM!!!!” Again…not really my scene.

Now I know. If I come back next year…maybe I’ll skip the “Meet & Greet/Opening Ceremony” business.

Instead of “Adventures in Yoga” maybe I should call this blog “The Crotchety Yogi”.

That being said, I am very much looking forward to the next couple days.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

Day 3

Back on track! I did better at staying hydrated & this class was MUCH more enjoyable. I only sat the second set of triangle out!

Before class started I noticed 3 teachers in attendance! “Uh-oh…what am I getting myself into?” I thought. Well the teacher of this class (Kitty) is outstanding! I will definitely be seeking her classes out in the future. And the other teachers in class were sitting postures out or not doing full extensions of them as much or more than the rest of us! Lessons learned: There is no shame in sitting out or not doing full extensions. Also, I need to be less aware of what’s happening around me! Drishti is something I struggle with! And finally, there are 26 vertebra. Each one has 6 muscles attached to it! I never gave much weight to the spinal exercises but I see how important they are now!

 

Image via Wikipedia

 

 

Day 2

Whoa. That was rough. I didn’t hydrate very well or eat very well before class. I ended up sitting a lot of the postures out in the second 1/2. This was the polar opposite in terms of energy level and enjoyment from day 1. Uff-da. Asked the instructor for tips on the 30 day challenge after class & she said I need to HYDRATE!!! I need to be drinking water all the time! She said the average person sweats 4-6 lbs of water out in a Bikram class! I also need to replenish my electrolytes, so I got myself a box of Emergen-C after class.

26-ish day challenge.

26. I have 26 days before I leave home for a 3 month gig. I went to a hot yoga (Bikram) class today & thought maybe I’d try the “30 Day Challenge” thing I’ve read about. Except I only have 26 days. And certain unavoidable conflicts within those 26 days. Like the Iowa City Yoga Festival. And after spending some time reading other people blogs about their 30 day challenges, I realize I’m not nearly as eloquent as some. Or prolific. But here goes:

I attended my first hot yoga class since May (that’s about 5 months) today. I was a little nervous. I’d done a handful of classes in the past and they were always very challenging. I remember having to sit many postures out, especially towards the end of class (usually “tortoise”, “camel”, “rabbit” was about where I broke), and once drank my way through both my water bottles and needed to “advance” one off the teacher (to be paid for after class). Today: not really a big deal! I only sat the second series of “triangle” out and had water to spare at the end of class. Odd thing is: we had a fainter! At some point near the beginning of class she went for “corpse pose”. Hey, I’m all for pacing yourself. But as she lay back, her body kind of let go and her head hit the floor with a “thump”. Not very graceful, I thought, but who am I to judge. Seriously. Well…we get into the second set of “crescent moon pose”

and she drops to her knees for a second…then to her hands…and eventually collapses to the floor!!! The teacher rushed over to her and the student seemed kind of dazed (like “why am I on the floor?”). She was escorted from the class and we continued. “That was bad-ass!” I thought. I liked the element of danger. We’ll see if I feel the same way about all of that after tomorrow’s class.