Refreshed

On Friday night we had a lecture on The 8 Limbs of Yoga. This lecture was long anticipated. Our main teacher, Darren Main, had referred to it several times, by saying something about the 8 Limbs and then mentioning that Karl will tell us more about it when he talks to us later about The 8 Limbs of Yoga. I've read about the 8 Limbs in at least 4 different books, and I've made several attempts to memorize the Sanskrit and English names of each Limb. Most recently I read the Sri Swami Satchidananda translation and commentary of The Yoga Sutras, and I focused on the sections describing the 8 Limbs on the weeks prior to the lecture. The lecture was on a Friday night between 8pm and 10pm, and the teacher mentioned that late at night isn't the best time for concentration and study. However, I sat tall in a meditative seated position, focused on my breathing and the teacher's meaning, and I managed to pay attention during 95% of his talk. It was interesting, although sometimes so philosophical that my head got fuzzy.

On Sunday Jane Austin taught us about Post-natal yoga. First she reviewed the yoga suggestions for pre-natal yoga. Then she taught the class about Labor & giving birth. Jane Austin and the wealth of information she shared with us were great. She taught us some exercises that are good for women to do in the weeks after giving birth. After the class, I met up with Bob and some friends who have an 8 month old baby. I talked to them about what I had learned, and taught the mom one of the simple exercises I learned. It was a wonderful coincidence that our dinner plans with the new parents was right after my post-natal workshop.