Over the years I have listened to podcasts featuring famous yoga teachers, many of these teachers teach at the Wanderlust festivals. It didn’t take me long to compile a list of teachers I HAD to learn from, through in some HAVE to events (SUP, hiking, flow classes, yin and meditation) and my days were full.
It was all working out so beautifully…on paper.
I mentioned previously that I was having trouble with the scheduling app and the trouble continued for weeks. Long enough for all of the SUP classes to completely fill up.
Devastation set in. Wanderlust is NOT yoga began repeating in my head all day, every day.
THURSDAY – All day immersion. Within the classes for Thursday, they had a few different immersion classes you could take. There was breath work (pranayama), meditation and a Vinyasa style class titled Building a Warrior Heart. Where meditation is strong, Vinyasa is weak, I decided to strengthen my weaknesses.
The description for the Warrior class REALLY spoke to me. “Learn to remove the emotional shielding from your heart so it can truly and honestly feel each new experience afresh…..The workshop begins with a ceremony of song, invocation & smoke blessing. Anna Forrest and medicine man Jose Calarco honor the ancestors and custodians for our sacred land.”
Although I listen to the whispers of the wind and look to the trees for weather indications before this class, I didn’t realize that in a past life I was native. It was during the sacred ceremony filled with the smoke of sage, chants recalling the spirits of the soil and dancing with bongos that I felt in the core of my soul; that I saw little people dancing on my shoulders.
I realize that sounds crazy, to see people dancing on your shoulders… but let me explain. They were about four inches tall, a smokey grey color, they each danced the tribal dance but to the beat of their own unique drum. There were eight miniature people, some female and some male and something just told me that these were lives I have already lived. Although odd, it was comforting.
The class was challenging. The main teachers brought assistance along to aid in adjustments and helping people get deeper in the pose. Because I often feel like I’m doing it wrong, I loved the assistance helping, but that is a personal preference. The class got harder as the day went on. When we broke for lunch they told us to have to only have a smoothie, nothing huge. I was exhausted by the end of the second part and craved the hot tub for my aching muscles.Here are my take-a-ways:
Here are my take-a-ways:
- Go within and explore who you are.
- Honor the gifts – Food – actually TASTE the food. Nature – Feel the sun, wind, cold.
- Use your senses.
- The chakras resonate with sound notes in the key of C, D, E, F, G, A, B
- Honor the spirits of the soil by asking for their help and taking care of the Earth.
FRIDAY – I had a full schedule but started out with a Cosmic Waves Meditation with Yotam Agam. He had different frequencies playing in a loop that unlocked potential. We meditated to the sound of the Earth rotating around the sun in a year, in a day and on it’s axis.
It was very refreshing and the perfect way to start the day.
From there I went straight on a hike. It was a healing journey hike with Zonia Lucero. She is native and used the energies of nature and the medicine wheel to show us how to read what we need. We hiked to a waterfall, then she gave us pine cone seeds. We found the meaning of each seed by pinching it between our thumb and forefinger to feel the heart beat of the seed, then we asked the seed to tell us what we needed to know and how to remedy or solve the situation. From there we numbered the seeds and placed them in our medicine wheel. It was incredible how different everyone else’s journey and visions were.
I basically had to run to my next class, so the hike down was completely solo. Zonia did tell us, if you get lost in the mountains, LOOK UP. Follow the trolley lines back to camp. I thought it was great advice because it is easy to get disoriented within the trees.
MN born and raised Chelsey Korus was the next class I did. Her sequencing and poems are so beautifully thought out.
I decided to skip the next two classes I had booked. I wanted to enjoy and running to and from was getting exhausting. The space between the class locations were pretty large and there wasn’t a ton of time to get to each class. Instead of rushing we decided to meet up and take the trolley up and look at the pool party. The top of the mountain was gorgeous. We could see Lake Tahoe from the top and man, it was rejuvenating. There is something about the mountain air that makes me feel at peace.
Afterward, I talked my fellow yogis into a class with 10,000 Buddhas. She was sharing the story about the Goddess Durga. Amanda Giacomini is a great storyteller. There were no umms or pauses, she was able to tell the story without pauses or retelling. I’m always amazed when this happens.
To recap the day we went out for dinner and talked about our experiences.
SATURDAY. I started the day with an early morning class with Seane Corn. On my way to the class I saw the moon still out above the mountains. Something about the moon is very calming. Seane’s class was UNBELIEVABLE. It was by far the best class I have EVER been to. She doesn’t practice while she teaches, like many teachers do. She often doesn’t cue the asanas other than saying, ‘right foot forward, left side’ and the posture name. She talks the entire class, in a good way, she’ll mention how our souls have chosen to live in this time, in THIS body. She talked about how your body remembers all of your past lives and stores it within your DNA.
If you ever get the chance GO TO HER CLASS.
After that was MC Yogi. I wanted to take his class because on a podcast he mentioned how he HATES taking a yoga class from teachers that are terrible. He also said that satisfaction was guaranteed. Hmm…, I thought, really your ego is THAT big that satisfaction is guaranteed?! I thought egos were supposed to be left at the door.
I won’t lie.
His class was awesome. His opening song was Girls Just Wanna Have Fun, and anyone that knows me knows that is my THEME song! His fun beats, super up beat energy and singing his own raps above the beats was incredible. I danced with strangers, spent some time in postures but really just wanted to be around his magnetic energy.
The first two classes of the day were the best two classes I have ever taken.
Some classes were just average, but for the most part the teachers and what I learned definitely helped me justify the cost.
Namaste, Jes xoxo