Teacher Training
I decided to stick around for Annalee’s Hot Power Fusion 5:30 class after we finished with our Yoga Teacher Training Group Session today. The wind outside was still howling and I was in no rush to drive home in it. Besides, one of my favorite things to do on a cold, rainy day/night is to take a hot yoga/Bikram Yoga class. I figured I was already at the Greenwood studio. Why not stay an extra hour and take a Hot Power Fusion class?
I had never taken a class at CorePower Yoga on a Sunday before. I figured class would be pretty empty, especially with the weather outside being so crazy. Class ended up being quite crowded. 20+ people showed up to take Annalee’s Hot Power Fusion class. I couldn’t believe how many people showed up for class. I was surprised. After talking with Annalee after class, she told me she was surprised about the crowd too. Even she thought tonight’s class would be empty. Apparently I’m not the only one who likes to be in a hot yoga studio during a storm.
I purposely set my mat up in the back of the room. At this point in my yoga teacher training, whenever I take an HPF class, it’s not so much about being able to watch myself in the mirror anymore. It’s more about closing my eyes whenever I can and focusing on the teacher’s dialogue and the cues they give during the postures. HPF classes have turned into a moving study technique for me, helping me to memorize the sequence. During class, I visualize my flashcards, listen to the cues and quietly tell myself the breath and name of the posture that’s coming next in the sequence. It’s been quite a fun way to study. And now that we’ve covered all of the postures in the HPF sequence in our training, taking an HPF class no longer stresses me out. At the beginning of teacher training, I used to worry about how long the sequence was and if I’d ever be able to memorize all of the postures. I’m far from having the whole sequence memorized completely, but at least the idea of being able to memorize the whole thing seems much more manageable these days.
During the Half Tortoise Pose, Ardha Kurmasana, Annalee gave me one of my all-time favorite hands-on assists. In this posture, I have a hard time keeping my hips on my heels as I bring my forehead down to touch the mat. Annalee walked up behind me while I was sitting in this pose and gently sat on my lower back. It was only then I could feel my hips on top of my heels and it felt amazing. Then as I came up out of the posture, Annalee helped hold my hips down so they’d stay close to my heels. I’ve had that same awesome hands-on assist in an HPF class a couple of times now and I love it every single time!
At the end of class, Annalee announced she was celebrating her one-year anniversary of teaching at CorePower Yoga today. She thanked all of us for helping her make the last year special by coming to her classes. It was only my first class with Annalee, but I knew I’d be coming back for more. It was inspiring to hear about her anniversary. Just a year ago or a little more, she was probably sitting right where I was in her own yoga teacher training.
Class #22, Hot Power Fusion By Candlelight with Annalee at CorePower Yoga Greenwood (HPF-14)