Sage Pose and Summer Sun with Sandy Roth at PS108 in Bedminster, NJ: June 20, 2016

Happy to have landed in perhaps my favorite yoga studio in the country on the first day of my favorite season summer.

Although I confess I am starting to love all the seasons, but that's another blog.

The class is called moderate flow, but in my estimation it was physically demanding but I loved going there with Sandy's instructions because she gives so much juice and room to the practice.

I was struck with her telling of the myth of Matsendra in a concise form. It was as simple as Matsendra was first a fish before he heard the teaching of Shiva and then became a sage.

Although I've heard different versions of the myth many times over the year, it dawned on me today what Van Morrison said

If you haven’t heard from him, it just means you didn't call. – Van Morrison

When I walk into a class, especially on the road, most times I don't have a clue what I"m in for.  Even if I "know" a studio, this is usually the case and often even more so because the "knowing" puts everything in too small of a box. The continual lesson is to keep showing up to yoga in her many faces and forms, seen and unseen. 

In this way I get to learn everyday, and I get to experience God afresh all the time. In other words, just keep calling.

I keep holding cues I've learned and picked up along the way, in particular the linnea alba from Katie, the four moons of the body from Sally, and most recently the altar of the heart from Deanna. Mixed in today with Sandy's awesome flow on the morning after a deep tissue massage and my body was bending and cracking in the best way for the full 75 minutes.

I've been super loving sage pose and was delighted it showed up in Sandy's class this morning with this yummy sequence (best I can remember).

half virsasana

sage pose with 2 way twist

firelog

ardha matsendrasana

pigeon with king pigeon variation

downdog with optional flip

vinyasa

We finished with chanting the Gayatri Mantra to help us open to the summer solstace and the first day of summer.

Namaste