Yoga Hobos

Just a quick update to say that the two weeks of training are over and I’m now a certified Acro Yoga teacher! Woot! It was a physically and emotionally demanding two weeks, but the experience was incredible and I am extremely pleased. I can’t begin to articulate how much I’ve learned and how my overall yoga practice has improved. Sharing my newfound knowledge is something I definitely look forward to doing.

I haven’t had a chance to go through and check, resize, and upload pictures I like from the training, but I hope to do that soon. As of right now, I’m sitting in a hotel lobby in Thessaloniki, Greece. I’m here with my girlfriend, Rebekah and we’re leaving in a few minutes to catch a plane to Rome, Italy. Thereafter we’re going to be traveling through Europe for as long as we desire. One night soon I’ll go through my pictures and begin to upload them. Much love to you all!

Acro Yoga teacher training is in full swing.  After 16.5 hours of travel, I arrived in Athens, Greece on June 8^th.  I headed to my hotel and before long was asleep.  Around 3pm that day, a large earthquake hit Greece (6.5 or so) which I slept through because I was so tired.  The 9th, 10th, and 11th I did a little sight seeing around Greece.  Below are a couple of pictures of me at the Acropolis which is right smack in the middle of Greece.  As you can see in the second picture, they are doing a lot of renovating.

I then boarded a plane early on the 12^th and headed to the island of Lesvos.  I love this island.  The people, the energy, and the beauty are phenomenal.  Below is a picture looking out over Lesvos from the balcony of the room I’m staying in.  Tough life, huh?

I must admit, however, that I haven’t seen all that much of the island because Jenny and Jason (the founders of Acro Yoga who are leading the training) are keeping us VERY busy.  The following is our daily schedule:

6:40 – 7:00 am – Meditation

7:00 – 7:10 am – Chanting

7:10 – 7:30 – Self Practice and Handstands

7:30 – 8:15 – Acro Yoga Asana Sequence

8:15 – 8:25 – Savasana

8:25 – 8:40 – Inversion Max Outs and Stretching

8:40 – 8:50 – Pranayama

8:50 – 9:00 – Chanting and Meditation

9:00 – 10:00 – Breakfast

10:00 – 1:00 – Acro Flying and Thai Massage

1:00 – 3:30 – Lunch and Siesta

3:30 – 6:00 – Partner Flow, Inversions, Acrobatics

6:00 – 7:30 – Dinner

7:30 – 9:30 – Evening Satsang

The Acro Yoga asana sequence is one of the more demanding asana sequences I’ve ever done.  They’re certainly preparing our bodies to be strong enough to perform high level acrobatics.  I’ll write a blog post detailing it sometime in the future.

While I am having an incredibly fun time, I must say, my body is quite exhausted by the end of the day.  I’ve been stealing ten to 30 minute naps here and there during our dining breaks to keep my body reasonably well rested.  Otherwise, I feel like the level of recuperation that it needs wouldn’t quite be there.  It’s nice to have finally learned to listen to and provide my body with what it needs.

All of the Acro Yoga students (and of course the teachers) are absolutely incredible people.  They’re loving, compassionate, playful folks who it is an honor to practice with.  I have no doubt that I am forming lifelong friendships during this training.  That’s one of the things I love most about Acro Yoga.  It builds community and personal bonds faster than anything I’ve ever been a part of.  And spending so many hours a day playing with the same people for two weeks allows one to really connect with others on a deep level.  I’m so grateful for this experience and look forward to bringing it to others in the future. The pictures below are a couple I snapped while other Acro Yogis were training.

I’ll probably  write one or two more blog posts while I’m here, but no promises.  Time is certainly at a premium and I have to listen to the needs of my body first.  Much love to all of you.

On June 6th, a group of yogis and myself came together at Kiwanis Park in Tempe, Arizona for some Acro Yoga. To say that it was fun would be an understatement. The entire set of pictures in full resolution can be seen here. Below are some pictures I thought I’d share on this blog. I’ll miss my Acro Yogi friends while I’m in Europe, but I look forward to sharing what I learn with them once I get back. Without further ado, some of the pictures from Acro Yoga in the Park.