I CAME FOR YOGA!

My classes are not your typical class, that's for sure. I feel like they should actually come with a disclaimer. I've always been different...and at times I tried to hide it, to "fit in", but now I fully let my freak flag fly and after many years I finally feel 100% comfortable in my own skin, with who I am, with what I say, and with all of my actions. A vow that I'd made while in India studying this past winter was to honor that authentic being not just in my day to day life, but also in my classes....*GASP*. To be fully me in the everyday world is different than being fully me in a yoga studio - because people come through the door with an idea about what "yoga" is. Quite frankly, here in the West, people don't know dick about yoga. Period. End of story. They know Asana. They know Sweat Yoga. They know Power Vinyasa. When people ask me what type of yoga I teach I never know what to say....I teach Authentic Yoga. I teach All-Encompassing-Yoga. I teach Eight-Limb-Yoga. I knew that I'd upset some people with my teaching style, but I made a promise to myself that I would always honor my Satya and never stray. Well, this holiday weekend was interesting. It brought in people that usually wouldn't regular a yoga studio, and several who have a very vivid image in their minds of what "yoga" is. "Deep breath in, Deep breath out...you got this Cailin." I was yelled at about the studio running out of lender mats (we have a dozen!). I was hollered at about how crowded the studio was (if I could have manifested a bigger space then I would have!). And people stared me down when I told them that unfortunately the studio was full and we would hope to see them the following day. All of this and I hadn't even begun to teach yet! Oye Vey! .....

30 people in a small room, mat to mat, and you're bound to get heads in butts and elbows in armpits...it's just the way it is. I had someone freak out when I told everyone to touch the persons foot in front of them, and then yell at me as they stormed out of the room. Another interesting class was one where someone yelled at me, "I came here for YOGA!!!!". Well listen here, you came here for asana -- which you think is yoga -- alas, it is not. It is only a fraction of the whole. A slice of the pie. A drop in the bucket. Asana is only ONE of the EIGHT limbs that make up "YOGA". All in all, it was a super amazing and super fun weekend - with a few challenging moments and hostile individuals that instead of defeating my spirit were an amazing learning opportunity. I felt myself grow as a teacher and also as a individual as I met people who didn't appreciate the authentic me. When I got home today and checked my email, I didn't have one....no, not two...but THREE *very long emails* from students who passed through my classes this week - all singing praises and gratitude for my raw and amazing classes. So...deep breath in, deep breath out...you can't win em all! Stay True to You, all day - every day - because that's all that matters.