Persnickety Tutu

I'm just back from assisting Anthony, my main teacher and the owner of my yoga studio - City Yoga. As part of my path toward eventual certification (which takes something crazy like five years in my school of yoga) I have to do an apprenticeship with a certified instructor. I was only required to assist in one class per week for three months, but I dig it so much, I'm in my fifth month of assisting two classes a week. I mean the chance to lay hands on bodies and bring people some serious bliss twice a week? No brainer.

I am free. I finished my five day photo shoot yesterday and it kicked my butt. I have bruises up and down my backside and legs. I sliced a finger to the bone cutting up ginger for the star photographer who wanted carrot, apple, and ginger juice every day. You remember the handsome photographer I mentioned before? It turns out his girlfriend is a freakin’ super model. Figures!

I got a call to assist Anthony's yoga class over at City Yoga this morning and I gladly took it. It was a total vacation for me after a long week of 10-12 hour days! It was almost shocking how easy it was for me to jump back in and I realized how much I have learned. I was on fire! Anthony, who I adore, told me after class that I am damn good at what I do. He always did support me and he told me I'd be a great teacher one day.

I am becoming one now...

I am creating great balance in my life. Slowly but surely, it is finding me.

More on my upcoming trip to Antigua Guatemala below!

I have been so busy with events I have had no time for my yoga. This is hard for me as it is a delicious part of my life and the part I need to grow.

OK, so I've committed to one class a week at Hollywood Gym here in Los Angeles. It's a real gym that specializes in boxing, but they have some good classes there (I'm going to be working out there myself). My dear friend Holly asked me to take over her class and was, well, fairly relentless about it. I so adore her for that. She is teaching yoga and Pilates full time and still has several classes at Hollywood gym herself. I highly recommend this lovely former ballerina friend of mine. She is damn good and knows her stuff.

As I always need the balance in my life of teaching and still doing events, writing, etc., one class a week is perfect for me right now. I'll eventually rent a small space and teach more of my own private classes, but this is a good fit for me at present. I'll still keep subbing classes for friends as well. They have been very kind to me and have given me total freedom to teach whatever I want and I am choosing to teach a restorative yoga class as I believe Sunday is the day of rest. We all need a day to go within, find some peace, relax and renew.

The first time I took a restorative yoga class I was so blissed out afterward I couldn't stop talking about how amazing I felt. So, I call it BLISS YOGA. It's all about opening the heart, relaxing and re-centering. I also give yummy adjustments that help you stretch and expand. It will be playful as well. Life is far sweeter when plenty of silliness is involved.

So, I'll be at Hollywood Gym on Sunday nights at 5.00 pm from here on out. It's an hour class and if you say you know me, Kathy, you get in for $10 (it's usually $15). I think I'm worth it...

So I taught my second restorative yoga class yesterday. I did a day long yoga therapeutics workshop at City Yoga on Saturday and then taught my class last night. I have to say it all just feels really yummy to me. While I sell my class as a bliss experience for my students, and they keep telling me it is (I thank them for that), I get as much out of it as they do. Sharing myself with my students is a joyful experience for me. I get to step out of my own sometimes crazy world and just be there for them. This is a good thing.

I had a student tell me after class last night that I massage the places on the body most people overlook. I had my students in a supported Savasana (bolster or stack of blankets supporting the back), the most restful pose, and I gave them all head, neck and ear massages. I know I love this myself so I am happy to do it for my students - truly. I even incorporate some acupressure into my adjustments as I know how amazing it feels. I can't even begin to tell you how rewarding it is to feel someone's energy settle and to feel them relax and let go. After all the training and investment in this part of my life I have to say I have not one regret. It is is all so wonderfully worth it.

Once upon a time this little tutu realized she wanted to be a teacher. She also knew she wanted to help heal people and provide them with a little comfort and care. It's amazing what we can achieve when we just dive in.

May we all allow a little more bliss into our lives. We deserve it!

Because we honor our teachers and not only is she the woman who inspired me to teach Restorative yoga, which I now do, she has also become a friend and confidant.

When we allow ourselves to let the light in the light can often bring us wonderful and inspiring people.

And if we're lucky they're wonderfully wicked and fun as well.

Catch Sharon's Restorative Yoga class at City Yoga in West Hollywood on Wednesday night at 7.30. You might just find me there on occasion hanging out to learn something new. Well, and to have some damn good fun too...

Yes, this little tutu is on a plane come Sunday night making her way back to the land of the Mayans for some time by the lake and more time in that special little city where the volcanoes rise up above you and root you so beautifully to the earth - Antigua.

I told my students a couple of Sundays ago that I realized I was feeling rather off center and a tad cranky and I knew when I got that way there was really only one remedy: TRAVEL

OK, travel and yoga. Both feed my soul...

So, I got online and booked myself a ticket back to the land of Jade and for eight glorious days I will be free, open and filled with a sense of adventure and desire. Happy little me.

This is both a pleasure and business trip as I am going to check out yoga retreat spaces on Lake Atitlan as my hope is to create retreats with friends and fellow teachers in the future. I'm a chick with a vision, don't you know?

I am the mistress of my own destiny.

I'll be blogging it out on the road as my new MacBook is coming with me so stay tuned and fasten your seat belts:

There will be tales to tell...

I had one of those blissful Sundays yesterday that was filled with yoga and time with great people. Fabulous...

I was invited to participate in a two hour AcroYoga jam in a park under the glorious sun and with fellow teachers and yogis with crazy practices. I've never done AcroYoga before but a new friend Josh said I'd love it after we played together in another yoga jam at a shared friend's house last week. Last week was Sake and yoga (I've never laughed so hard doing yoga) and we all had such a grand time I think it will be a regular thing. Get a group of yogis together, give them some Sake and let them loose and amazing things happen. We all need to play more. Play is divine!

So there I was flying yesterday. Yes, FLYING. AcroYoga is a combination of yoga, Thai massage and acrobatics. I spent a lot of time being lifted up in the air and doing yoga poses with nothing more than a pair of feet keeping me up. I went for it and tried everything. I even tried basing (being the person on the ground lifting the flyer) and realized how strong my legs have become. Have I mentioned how much I love yoga? Yoga rocks, yo.

After two hours of play I headed home and taught my restorative yoga class. I had my students do some partner stretches I've learned over the past week and even showed them some of what I did whilst playing yesterday. I also gave them a lot of massage and I must confess, I get as much joy out of it as they do. Touch is so healing...

I love my students. They are just wonderful and delicious people. One of them, my girl Rashmi, brought a mask for us to use and we headed off to the sauna for some masking, girl talk and heat. What an utterly perfect day. Man, sometimes I just feel so damn blessed.

A friend took pictures of us all doing AcroYoga and he's e-mailing them to me. Pictures to come!

So, the lesson I have learned over this past week has been that in surrendering, in letting go and learning to trust not only myself but the person I am partnered with in yoga (and this can extend to a lover as well), I break through barriers and walls and become more fearless and therefore more ME. Surrender is a beautiful thing.

Photos below

We've all heard about those people who wake up one morning and realize that the lives that they have been living no longer feel authentic or organic to them. So, they start taking radical steps to create the lives they have always wanted for themselves. We've all heard that old lovely tale, right?

Well, I am one of those people. My name is Kathy.

When I made the decision to take time out of my work life and invest in my yoga training I did it with a sort of blind optimism. I had just gotten to the point where it occurred to me that my life was, well, happening NOW, and that it was about time I created the kind of life that really turned me on, filled me with a sense of excitement and hope. I wanted to wake up every day with a feeling of joyfulness, not just acceptance.

I have no regrets. Best damn money I ever spent. Truly.

I have been asked to teach another Restorative yoga class at this really lovely studio here in Los Angeles called Urth Yoga. It's in the Silverlake area and I felt at home the first night I taught there. It also happens to be an eco-conscious studio to boot and the space is simply fabulous. Now I just have to work on my bio for them. No easy task!

So, catch me Sunday nights@ 7.00 and get your bliss on at Urth Yoga.

I'm telling you, this good stuff just keeps finding me...

Just a short note to announce that april 15-22, 2009, I will be holding my first yoga retreat on Lake Atitlan in Guatemala with my friends and fellow teachers, Linda Eifer and Tom Jermain. Yes, I am doing it! And yes, it will be playful and joyful and amazing! We three are such a great team. They have both been my own teachers and I have grown so much with them beside me. Now they are my partners as well. I am humbled that they believe in my vision.

We'll have a website up soon. I just wanted to share the news. And it will be a true vacation retreat where people get a taste of the Guatemalan culture, get to do some yoga, eat great food, savor spa treats and simply relax. It's the retreat I'd want to go on myself.

And yes, we really can make our dreams come true...

I'm setting off for San Francisco tomorrow morning. I'm going up to do another yoga teacher training and will be there for six fabulous days. Yes, another one! The more I know, the more I grow. And I'm all about growing my fine and lovely people. Oh yes...

I'll be studying with Judith Lasater, the women who wrote the bible on Restorative yoga, Relax and Renew. Restorative is my specialty so I figure why not go and play with the big cheese? I'l be at the Yoga Tree Studio in the Castro for five days getting my Restorative groove on. I'll have my nights free so I'll be meeting with the oh so fun Sharon from Slow Travel for some wining and dining on Tuesday night and then Friday night it's a Summer in the City night with Marcia and David and a few other wonderful Slow Travel cats. Fog City Diner, here we come!

This is sort of a training vacation as I'll have mornings and nights free. Just me and the city at my feet. Bloody beautiful...

I'm flying Virgin America for the first time and I've been looking forward to trying them out. I'm staying at The Metro Hotel which is a sweet little neighborhood kind of place with real local flavor. I also got a free week long parking coupon for LAX airport parking in the mail so I'm just driving myself there. No fuss, no muss. It's always a pain in the booty trying to find rides to the airport so I might be onto something here!

Just livin' life...

I'm on day three of my yoga training with Judith Lasater. I am having an amazing time and I spend my days getting yogafied and my nights with friends eating, drinking and making merry.

Last night I had dinner with my friend Sharon and we had the most delightful meal at 2223 Market Street in the Castro. The Pinot Noir was exceptional and we lucked out as Tuesday nights have a special $12 menu! We finished things up with sorbet, tea and coffee and then I was home, meaning The Metro Hotel, to bed.

I just love the Metro. The guys there take such good care of me and every day they have a huge bowl of fresh nectarines out by the front desk. My room, 115, is fantastic, large and quiet. It feels like home and I look forward to returning to it at the end of the day. The Metro Kathmandu is right next door and I popped in the other night for a glass of Pinot Noir and a spinach salad and ended up eating dumplings and drinking wine with Roshan, the owner. We became fast friends and I'll be back tonight for more chat, company and good food. I could see living here. The people just fit and the energy of the city really suits me.

I'm sitting in the cafe next door to my hotel drinking my usual morning pot of tea and watching the locals come in to get their morning coffees. Life is happening all around me. I just love settling into a place...

I spent this past weekend knee deep in Anusara yoga anatomy training with Martin Kirk. I'm one of those chicks who needs to understand things to the core and his training proved to be just what I was craving.

I realized last night as I was preparing to teach my Restorative Yoga class over at Urth Yoga that I have done three yoga trainings and two yoga and philosphy worshops since June. Seriously, that's a whole lot o' yoga my fine and lovely people! Good grief, since when did I become such a dedicated student?

I arrived in Dallas, Texas last night for my Yoga Therapeutics training with my teacher, Judith Hanson Lasater. I'm staying at the Holiday Inn and when I called the manager and told him why I was coming and asked for a good deal, he hooked me up with a king suite on the top floor complete with two flat screen tellys and a mini-kitchen. I am in hog heaven for a mere $79 a night. SWEET!

I'll be here for the next five days so I'm looking forward to checking out downtown Dallas this week. The hotel offers a free shuttle so last night I had Rudy, my fab driver, take me to the Whole Foods for some healthy treats and a fab salad. It's the little things, you know?

Off to my day. More to come!

The training with Judith Lasater is going really well and I am learning so much more about working with client's ailments and issues. Judith always laces philosophy and little stories throughout her trainings (this is my second) and I really appreciate them. She was one of the people who started The Yoga Journal! It all began in her living room... This chick is old school. It feels good to be so fully present with someone who returns in kind. She truly is a remarkable yoga teacher and woman. I feel inspired.

I am incredibly grateful to Scott, the manager here at the Holiday Inn Market Center for hooking me up with the Queen's Suite. I'll have some of my fellow trainees up for wine and snacks one night before I leave. There's room for everyone. I feel crazy blessed for the good stuff that steps out and finds me. I'd like to think I am manifesting it myself. It's amazing how making positive changes in your life throws open those doors and lets to good jiu-jiu in.

Did I mention that there is a Mr. Teachick on scene these days? Well, there is. He's yummy and loving and came as a surprise. There you have it. This single and Solo girl is a little less single, but still enjoys her solo adventures. Thankfully, he's just as much of an adventurer as I am.

As if it could be any other way?

Things are a bit hectic back in L.A. at present but just a quick note to wind up my time in Dallas.

A big fat thank you to Kendall Inman of Living Yoga Dallas who ran the yoga event and training with Judith Lasater. She is a truly fabulous woman and I'm sure we'll be spending more time together in the future. She's a fellow yoga teacher and she was a blast at the training! Namaste, sweet girl!

I met a wonderful new friend in Dallas and she became my partner in crime. LeAnn, if you read this, thanks for the amazing girl talk and sake fun. You are a jewel to me!

And a shout out to Scott, the manager at The Holiday Inn Dallas Market Center. His staff took such god care of me and when one little thing got funky (a crazy noise that kept me up all night) they comped me a night's stay and apologized profusely. I hope you liked that bottle of red wine I left you, Scott. It's a sweet little number from California. You're the best!

And I am once again both humbled and inspired by my teacher, Judith Lasater. I came home a richer soul who has better skills as both a yoga teacher and a human being. Her husband, Ike Lasater, teaches something called Non-violent Communication and I am looking forward to studying with him one day. Judith incorporates this into her teaching style. It is utterly brilliant. Seriously.

So, on next to my advanced Restorative Yoga training and certification with Judith in NYC come May if all goes according to plan. Good stuff!

Yoga therapy is a new and wonderful addition to my teaching repertoire. I love this path that I am on. Oh yes...

I've been savoring a weekend long Thai Yoga Massage workshop with Saul David Raye this weekend at Exhale Center For Sacred Movement in Venice. Thus far I've given and received two simple and amazing Thai Yoga Massages and tomorrow, the last day, we'll dive in a bit more to go, well, deeper.

Ah....

I'm seriously considering Saul's 9 day residential certificate training up in Ojai at the end of October. It sounds utterly delish and I am finding that so much of what we are doing is similiar to what I already incorporate into my Restorative Yoga classes. I find it incredibly validating as it's that yummy feeling you get when you start doing something and it's like, look at me! I'm doing what I love! Pretty freakin' exciting, really. And what a great way to get a taste for it. A weekend workshop is the way to go, especially in these touch economic times. Start slow and see if you like it. All good things in time...

I came home and practiced on Simon tonight. I left him all blissed out in bed. Good stuff. I can tell he's looking at me in a whole new way.

Who am I kidding. The man just wants more massages.

I'm leaving in the morning for one week in my favorite US city, San Francisco. I am doing my Advanced Restorative Yoga training with my teacher, Judith Lasater, at Yoga Tree S.F. I was with her last year in S.F. and I've loved teaching all the more since I connected with her. I am now registered at restorativeyogateachers.com and will soon be one of a fairly small list of teachers to be registered at the advanced level. I'll just need to complete my final project for her, much like the one I did last year, and I'll be done. I love what I do!

I am staying at my home away from home in S.F., The Metro Hotel, and have extended my trip by two nights so Simon can come up and join me for some play. I will hunker down and savor my week of study and then relax and settle into the city as a tourist. We are both eager to check out the Georgia Okeeffe/Ansel Adams exhibit at MOMA. We also look forward to green tea in The Japanese Tea Garden in Golden Gate Park.

It's the simple things, you know?

For our last two nights we're there I've landed us a great deal on Priceline bidding low and getting The Hilton Hotel in the center of the city. It was cheap. Love that!

Off to pack then. More coming from San Francisco...

Two months ago I made the commitment to immerse myself in another full fledged yoga teacher training. I mean seven full weeks of Hatha and Kundalini yoga training with nothing but all yoga, all the time. I'm talking daily home practice, weekly classes at the studio, and hours upon hours of lecture, teaching one another and discussion. That's right: I invested in me!

It has been one of the best decisions that I have ever made for myself.

Though I am trained in Anusara Yoga and Restorative Yoga I have felt for some time that something has been missing. While I love many aspects of Anusara Yoga and am grateful for the solid foundation that it has given me, I have been missing a softer kind of yoga, something that I feel is more in keeping with my Restorative Yoga teaching.

I set out a while back to bring something new into the mix as I have wanted to create soothing asana classes that I know are needed in today's fast paced world. I ended my search for another teacher training when I found Kelly Wood and Karuna Yoga here in Los Angeles. I signed up a few days later.

I have found during this training that I took in more than I did with my first asana yoga training as we were a very small group which made things very intimate and nurturing. There were only nine of us which I loved. This training was also not about teaching only one style of yoga which I found made it more relatable and accessible. Kelly is lovely and her combined experience as a Kundalini Yoga teacher and a Hatha Yoga teacher really brings something rich and full to the table. Her experience as a dancer adds something wonderfully graceful to the teachings as well. She's also incredibly intelligent. I like my women smart!

Her Yoga Dance class happens to be my all time favorite yoga class - ever.

After two incredibly full months of training I turned in my final exam this past Saturday. It was 12 pages typed and felt like gold in my hands. The feeling of completing this journey was so empowering. The love and connection this small group of yogis shared was profound and beautiful. We came together with our own life stories, issues and convictions and left with one shared story of this time together. I hold a special place in my heart for each of these shining creatures. I am forever humbled by them.

I've done many teacher trainings now and I will say that this was more than a yoga training. It was a life altering experience. I am facing things that I have long run from and in doing so I can feel my feet more solidly on the ground. Each day feels a bit different. I feel more settled in my skin.

Who doesn't need a little bit more of that in their lives?

Kelly herself is a complex creature. Very beautiful and centered and yet so clearly real and flawed like the rest of us. This makes her a very present teacher. The more I get to know her the more I respect and care for her. My gratitude to her for creating such a supportive space where I have found my feet and felt safe in expanding my work as a teacher and healer.

Bellissima...

If you are looking for a yoga teacher training here in Los Angeles that is small and feels very grassroots and grounding, I highly recommend Karuna Yoga and Kelly Wood. It's not just a Yoga training, it's a life experience.

Live life. Love fully. Savor anything and everything delicious.

Namaste & Sat Nam...

Kathy

Photo cannot be reprinted without permission.