Always a student- Teacher Training in NYC

MIND BLOW.

 I am learning SO MUCH at yoga school!

I decided to do my advanced teacher training (300 hour) with Laughing Lotus in New York City!

NEW YORK CITY!!! (Said in a very Southern cowgirl accent)

After teaching yoga for ten years, I knew that I wanted to continue in my personal growth and career as a yoga teacher... Always a student! This past year included a lot of meditating and manifesting where the best place for me would be. I wanted to find a school that would challenge me, encourage me, and inspire me. And I feel like IT FOUND ME. Laughing Lotus New York kept popping up everywhere, from friends talking about it, social media showing it, and last April I walked by it- so I decided I would stop in. The events that led me to it were very serendipity- It was my first time as an adult in NYC, and I had won the ticket to the Yoga Journal LIVE Conference that year. And I fell in love. I felt like I was HOME immediately. From the sparkly, colorful walls, to the big smiles behind the desk, I was welcomed. Lotus has a very unique feel to every class- soulful and insightful, while allowing you to 'move and groove like you'. The alignment cues are smart, well thought of, and the flow of every Lotus class absolutely talks to the body. It is truly the whole ✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨shebang✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨

My body, heart, and mind are healed.

And I know I made the right decision to do my advanced teacher training with them.

The teachers have so much heart, speak with intelligence, and teach as a conversation of connection.

Side note: for those of you that don't know, The Yoga Alliance has two different kinds of certifications that a yoga school could offer- the 200 hour, and 300 hour. You can not proceed to the 300 until the 200 is completed (usually accompanied with other requirements depending on the school).

Never stop being a student. Never stop learning.

You can learn from everyone and everything, and every situation, if you only have the right perspective. When we stop being open to learn, we stop growing. I think it is vital to remember the student within, the thirst for more knowledge. After all, we can never be at this place of 

"I'm good. I know it all, and no longer have anything to learn. All filled up." 

Hello...ego check?

One of my dear friends, and first teachers (who is spoken about in an earlier post), Shannon- once told me to look at the learning process of yoga (and life) like a ladder that never ends. And boy am excited to take this next step with Laughing Lotus!

I get to break the 300 hours into 50 hour segments over the next 3 years, which I am excited to take my time, and have an adventure for the next few years. I love the idea of learning, coming back to Austin, and digesting, then sharing. I will be traveling back and forth from New York City to Austin for the next three years. My laboratory is my mat. I will study, reflect, and grow.

The 50 hour training I'm doing this week (my first one) is appropriately named 'Super Sequencing'. I have learned the template sequence behind the LL class. They are appropriately geared around the seven Chakras. I have also learned so many creative transition and playful variations of poses. 

Mudras, meditations, and mantras! 

The most powerful realization I have had this past week is the idea of going outside the box. There are infinite areas to explore in your practice, and in yourself. Laughing Lotus encourages you to be CREATIVE. Be wild, and be bold on and off the mat. Allow yourself and your students to explore different shapes in the body and how they connect with our inner world. 

MIND. BLOWN. 

Namaste Friends!

As always, thank you for being apart of my life!

xoxo

Patsy

'tis the season to CONNECT and LOVE

Hi guys! 
I know its so easy to get stressed out about gifts, and to-do lists, and Christmas parties this time of the year. But, please don't forget your most important gift to others- your presence and being sincere with others. Connect with a stranger, and let your loved ones know that they are LOVED. It is more important to BE PRESENT with someone, than to spend a butt-load of money on a gift without being there. I think it's important to keep this human connection and sincerity alive during the holidays. 

After all, what are the holidays for anyway? Things or people? 

Slow down and hug each other. Slow down and love. 

Love you all!
Hope to see you on the mat this week!! 

xoxo
Patsy 

I'm Back!

I'm back!

I have decided to get back into the habit of blogging! I don't know if anyone out there in cyber space will read this, but at the very least it's therapeutic for me...

During the holiday season, we get so damn busy and bombarded. From ending one year to planning for the next, there is a lot of energy and emotion in the air. And when we are busy, we tend to forget about self care and rest. Something I have been thinking of lately is the active participation in being PASSIVE. As they say- sometimes the best response is no response. 

Can we find a moment of stillness when we feel the chaotic pressure of the season?  

Right now, possibly more than any other time of the year, it is vital to connect with your meditation and find the power of rest. Instead of filling up your calendar with appointments and to-do lists, can you put aside some time just for you? Which might look like 15 minutes of snuggle time with your pets, maybe a 30 minute meditation, reading a book, or taking a phone-free walk. Treat yourself through the small indulgences of life. Find pleasure in simplicity and knowing that you don't always have to be doing something. It is so worth it to take time for you. When you are able to be more passive, and less active, you might just find more energy later on when you need it most. 

So, my friends- I encourage you, I challenge you, to rest and nest. Find strength in being passive. Not every moment needs our active attention. Allow yourself to drift and dream and breathe and be. Be content in the non-doing. 

Be well. 
Namaste,
Patsy 

Check out my Website!

No Shame in Child’s Pose!

No Shame in Child’s Pose!

                There is absolutely no power in pushing through. Let me say this again because I believe it so strongly: There is absolutely no power in pushing through. When you need to rest, rest. My encouragement for you this month is to slow down, smell the daisies, and take it easy. We can push and push ourselves until we literally can’t go any more. And possibly explode. Or, we could live a life of awareness of each breath and every moment. After all, what is at the end of the ‘race’ anyways? I invite you to have a sincere conversation with your body and notice how you are feeling. Is it time to slow down a bit? Check in with yourself and know that there is no shame in child’s pose. Not just in a yoga studio setting. Anytime you need a moment for YOU, to just BE, and to breathe- find your way to child’s pose. Become in tune with the present YOU. Do what is best for you. For some of us, we want to push through the pain for the physical pose. I highly encourage you to ask yourself the reasoning behind the want of the physical pose, and if it is the right time to progress to the pose. Is it to please the ego, or is it a natural progression in your asana practice that is accompanied by your own awareness? Pushing through pain creates nothing but more pain. When you can trust the natural progress of your practice, you can let go of the pushing through and the rush, and find a deep seated beauty in rest and patience. Trust that it is okay to slow down. Move throughout your day with ease and grace, rather than hurry and chaos. Breathe deeply, rest often, laugh loudly, and be mindful. And repeat.

Winter is here!

"december is a holy month. maybe it is the dark, silky silence that descends so early that speaks to me of reverence. maybe it is the promise that december holds -- that no matter how dark, how cold, how empty it can get, the light is coming back. something always shifts in me when december arrives -- i embrace the darkness, and am eager for the coming solstice when the whole world is still and holds its breath, waiting to be reborn again." ~ meg casey

I just had a discussion with a fellow teacher, Veronica Armstrong, on how we are okay with staying in, and the cancellation of plans at times. It gives us time to reflect. Especially during this weather, it is a time to bundle. Bundle our thoughts and dreams around us to prepare for action when Spring arrives. This is the time to slow down, calm down, and find stillness. During this cold weather, many of us want to hibernate-  and that is okay...

Shortly after my chat with  Veronica, I received the following e-mail from Say Om Yoga Austin. They could not have said it better...

'as the winter solstice approaches this is the time to relax into the darkness and trust that the light is quickly approaching, taking time to set intention for what we would like to emerge. using the practices of yoga, conscious dance, and creative expression process, we will explore the darkness that exists inside and around us at this time, reflecting the organic rhythm of nature and the hope for rebirth.

the sanskrit word bhavana means “to call into existence through deep connection to feeling and experience”. bhavana in motion™: the practice is a tapestry of three principal elements ~ tantra yoga, conscious dance, and creative expression, interwoven with shamanic ritual, meditation, breath, and the whisperings of deep silence. each experience is unique, anchoring into a theme and sequence of elements that change shape each time we practice. we learn to trust our bodies’ organic wisdom and feel our way into what is possible when the rhythms of our bodies and minds are in alignment with our hearts’ desire, the clarity of truth, and the earth that nourishes us. we then explore how we can take this practice into life.'

How it all got started for me

In the beginning...

So I get this question quite frequently and my best advice would be to define your own yoga practice before teaching. And a lot of times, what happens is that you will find yourself in a place of sharing your practice, or teaching, without really making the effort or fully realizing that you have endeavored on such a thing. And take as many classes as possible. As many different styles, from as many different instructors. You will find that what might be right for someone else won't be the right choice for you and vice versa. Also- this constantly changes. When I first started yoga- I was soooo anti-power. I was very traditional, hatha. All about the meditation. Looking back, I see how closed off I was and the only one suffering was me. And today- While I still meditate, and have my strong roots in Hatha, I also love the power, I am very attracted to the mixture of Eastern philosophy meeting Western 'fitness' (for lack of a better word with that). I really enjoy Baron Baptiste school of thought, or way of thinking- he says we all should 'be of power'. 

 

 

Next, my second point of advice would come from my 10th grade teacher, Mrs. Mooney, who always said "The best educated man is the SELF educated man." Do your OWN Studying, Reading, and Research !!!! Find out on your own the Sanskrit (ancient language of yoga) names and anatomy and so forth! I can not tell you how many classes I have gone to where the names of poses are completely made up, or just WRONG all together. I feel embarrassed for all yoga instructors everywhere when this I witness this. I understand it is one thing to make an honest mistake for a pose or two- but why change all the ancient, traditional names that have had that name for freaking ever?!?! but I'll save this rant for another blog, ha...

 

So How did I get my start as teaching yoga for my career choice and dream job come true?

I was first introduced to yoga when I was 13 from my aunt who actually teaches yoga in Los Angeles to people with MS (awesome group of people to target for yoga, right? I love it!). But that was not my turn on. Doing 'lion face' with my family on all fours when I was already a shy, low-self esteemed teenager wasn't exactly the ideal way for me to spend my afternoon. But I was interested. I thought it was pretty cool- but I was still somehow (unfortunately) too cool to develop my own practice and discipline at that time. After that, my mother did something I will always be grateful for- she signed me up for a yoga class at Tyler Junior College's West campus. So my mom and I started doing a few classes together under the instruction of Julie Rainwater-- whom is a very cool lady. Julie has a super great way of being a little whacky and fun, while maintaining this 'in control, cool, calm and collected' energy about her. Within the past year I emailed her thanking her for classes that she did, because she had a way of making me feel comfortable while holding my body in positions that I were extremely silly, at least at the time, to my teenager mind.

So a few years passed, where I still never found a discipline within my yoga...

And then I met the beautiful Shannon Davis.

Now let me tell you, there is no one like this wonderful person. As soon as I met her- my soul jumped! She is so full of life, energy and beauty, you can not help but to smile when you are around this girl! She just brightens your day. And she happened to be one of the best yoga instructors I have had the pleasure of knowing and being a student under. And when she decided to move out of Tyler, she had asked me to take over her classes at a very small studio in little old Troop, TX. So, at that time, just to get my foot in the door and have something- I took an online course for $100 certification (you can literally get anything from the interwebs) to start teaching. After a few months of experience, I then found myself teaching at Woodcreek, and World's gym in Tyler. I then decided to continue my yoga education and earned my certification from YogaFit. Which was a great way to continue the education, meet some like minded people, but it ended after one day. And I was thirsty for more. So I continued to search out what I wanted from my education with yoga. At this point, I had been teaching at Windhorse Yoga Studio in Tyler and really enjoyed the new sense of strong structure and soft energy that these women I was around seemed to cultivate. I was very fortunate to meet Michelle Thomason and Patty Kirkpatrick. I looked up to both of them, and had learned more about the woman I was becoming and wanted to be by being around them. I am sorry to say that I had lacked some maturity at this point in my life (I was 21), and am sincerely apologetic for not being more grateful of this studio and these people that were in my life at this time...

I then packed up my stuff and my dog and we hit the road for San Marvelous, Texas. Before the move, I was invited to be apart of the Group Fitness Team at Texas State University. After about a year, I became head of the yoga department. Some of my students became some of my closest friends. Brittany Flurry is someone whom I am very grateful decided to come to my yoga class, because it was the key for our paths to cross and our friendship to blossom. And she happens to be one of the very most talented people I have had the privilege of knowing. It's kinda funny, cause before college I had set a rule for myself that I wouldn't develop friendships with my students- and that was SO crazy/dumb! I'm really happy my students know me outside of the studio- and know that I am a REAL person. I make mistakes, I like to have fun. I discovered that I can't be someone else on the mat/in the studio and someone different when I go out with friends. Take your yoga with you. Be a yogi. Not just someone who does yoga...

 

I graduated college, and decided to go to

INDIA.

And I am quite sure India will be a post on itself. I discovered a whole new world. And a whole new me. It was difficult, beautiful, and very crazy. I was in India for six weeks, lived in an ashram In the end I received my 200 hour certification...

 

To be Continued...

 

  

let's talk about YOGA, baby.

Namaste! After practicing yoga for over a decade and teaching/sharing my passion and practice for 7 of those years- I have finally decided to blog about this wonderful thing in my life! Now, I am not by any means a natural 'blogger' or writer- so you might have to bear with me as we do this together (if you are still reading this, I guess we are together on this). I have many people via social networking ask me constantly about different yoga questions- so I figured I would just start to direct them here! Think of this as your personal yoga FAQ, or just a place to see what I'm up to with my yoga practice and teachings... Welcome!