Healthy Spine, Healthy Life

The more you know, the more you realise how much you don’t know — the less you know, the more you think you know.

~ David T. Freeman

When I chose to attend Bikram's Teacher Training in 2007 after 4 years of regular Yoga practice, I had built what I thought was a deep level of Yoga practice and knowledge of posture technique - I naively thought that I knew all there was to know about the postures within the Hot 26 Series. It wasn't until I spent two weeks in Milwaukee, Wisconsin on a Backbending Club (BBC - now known as Jedi Fight Club) with Esak Garcia and Mary Jarvis that I realised that I really had a looooong way to go and I was nowhere near being the 'expert' that I thought I was. It was an incredibly humbling experience for me, and far surpassed anything that Teacher Training gave me in terms of learning about the postures and the practice. During that time, and in the months and years of training following my first stint of time with Mary and Esak, I went from doing the postures to becoming the postures; and even then, in the photo in 2009 and the other photos I have of myself in standing bow following that point, I knew that I had a lot to learn and a lot more work to do - and it was FUN and incredibly INTERESTING!! 

During our time at Backbending Club, Esak and Mary had us focus on two specific postures that we wanting to hone in on and improve - ideally a backward bend - and one of these postures for me was Standing Bow. During our Yoga Intensive at YogaVenue Oxford later this month, 22nd-24th February, we will all be doing exactly the same thing. What you will find is that by spending time doing the work and looking deeply at a couple of postures, your entire Yoga practice will transform, not just the two focus postures. You do not have to be preparing for a competition to practise in the way that I did back then - you simply need to have the interest and the willingness to do the work (a lot of it!) over and over and over again.... It is always easier in a group environment and under the guidance of a teacher. In an ideal world, we would all go spend two weeks with Mary and Esak doing intensive training everyday - but failing that, a long weekend of a Yoga Intensive at YogaVenue later this month will give you a great start (or a check-in if you are already on your way) with someone who has done the work and knows how to guide and support you as you practise, practise, practise! 

By Kristin Bergman-Ward

Kristin returns to YogaVenue for another intensive weekend workshop from Friday 22nd to Sunday 24th February. Join us for the full weekend, or choose from a variety of options if you can't make it for the whole event. Click here to find out more.