Transformed

"Through our beliefs, thoughts are formed"-- Anand

In Christina Sell's recent blog (Anusara Instructor/Trainer out of Austin), she explains why the rules or guiding principals make such a difference in Anusara, which I think applies well to my teaching style both in yoga and pilates. While I do not want to appear to be legalistic (or bossy, as someone recently described my teaching style!), I do want people to practice in a way that is safe, effective and will allow them to be challenged (physically and mentally) while growing to their full potential both on and off the mat... to dare to be transformed.

"Instead of understanding the letter of the law, so to speak, the Anusara Yoga practitioner has to learn the spirit of the Law. We laugh all the time that "it depends" but it is not enough for us as teachers to just say "it depends." We have to endeavor to teach our students what it depends on. We have to, as practitioners, go deep beneath the surface where rules live, to principles and to what is at the essence of the principle itself. It is such exciting work. It really is.

So really, I don't want the method as it gets bigger to get reduced down to a bunch of small minded rules and Anusara-isms that we spout off like dogmatic automatons. That, to me, would be a tragedy. I want us to grow as a mature group of practitioners and teachers who love the exploration, who love the questions and who see the boundaries as guiding lights to our own wisdom."