pearls of wisdom

my alarm went off at 4am, hopped in a cab at 4:25, and the excitement began. quick train ride up, arrived to my first session with rusty wells only 10 minutes late considering a minor train delay. not bad for a snowy morning during rush hour in nyc. the class was amazing - turns out he's from alabama, not arkansas - and he had us sing my fave govinda chant while he tapped his tambourine. a perfect way to start a thursday - 3 hours of yoga! then i listened to a discussion on yoga and took notes. rusty described vinyasa yoga as a blend of dance and prayer. what a PERFECT description.

forever a dance lover, i took my extra 30 minutes to run across the street to the a chorus line box office and got a ticket for tonight's show. i'm soooooo excited. when i was taking dance lessons in grade school and junior high, i used to love watching the movie to get motivated before my saturday morning classes. now i get to see it live and guarantee i'll be singing along. i'm like a proud mama in the audience. get tears in my eyes, the whole nine yards. even though i don't know a soul on broadway, i'm secretly very proud of them all!

it's crazy to do such a whirlwind trip in my favorite city. 6 more hours of yoga tomorrow, the book party in the lower east side, and then a bus ride that drops me back in dc at 3am. being here makes me feel electrified and paralyzed at the same time. so many options is stimulating and overwhelming at the same time. know what i mean? or is it just because i'm a girl from oklahoma?

i'm gaining numerous pearls of wisdom to bring back to the studio. hand placement - one teacher said middle finger forward in down dog and my second teacher of the day said index finger forward in down dog. it can be tricky to determine the best path for oneself with so many conflicting ideas. however, as noted in personalized practice (chapter 1 of htc), we're always changing and growing and just because the middle finger forward once worked for me, doesn't mean that i can't spice it up with the index finger.

isn't life like that? always playing with what we're told to determine what works best for us as we grow, get to know our bodies better, and gain more wisdom. gotta dash upstairs and get cleaned up so that i don't show up to tonight's production in the same yoga clothes i've been wearing since 4am! au revoir.