Yoga in Chicagoland

(Note: Chicago Bean pics below!)

I haven't posted in a while because I left the other Ms and went to Chicagoland with my friend and fellow yogi, Jenn, to attend the Midwest Yoga Conference. I really didn't know what to expect of it. It turned out to be better and more enriching than I could have imagined!

Even being a yoga teacher, I have the same preconceived notions about the greater world of yoga that many people have: that it is full of overly serious people wrapping their legs around their heads and chanting. Well, my world was pleasantly rocked! Overall, my teachers were down-to-earth and approachable and several of them were funny! They are clearly living in the real world.

I experienced everything from a fast moving class set to all kinds of music (U2 and Marvin Gaye, anyone?) to a class where we held poses until my hips screamed. But I feel like I learned the benefits of these different approaches, and hopefully I can integrate all of this into my own yoga and teaching and life. Most of all, I realized that what is attractive to me about yoga is that it cultivates a quality that I've always valued in the people in my life (that's all of you): thoughtfulness. Thoughtfulness in how we treat other people, of course, but also thoughtfulness about our own approach to life, about the choices we make. Plus, yoga is just frakkin' good for your body!

I'm sure this is more than any of you were interested in knowing!! But a quick plug for one of my favorite presenters, Matt Sanford, Volvo for Life Award. He is a paraplegic who found that yoga connected him back to the paralyzed part of his body, a part that the medical establishment (with good intentions) told him to pretend just wasn't there. So he's started a foundation to improve the overall delivery of health care and to help para- and quadriplegic people live a better life. Check him out.

The other Ms seem to have survived just fine without me! In fact, they lived it up by partyin' all weekend at cookouts, celebrating summer and the beautiful weather! Jenn and I couldn't be in Chicagoland without heading downtown for sushi and fun at Millenium Park. Can you tell I loved the Bean? Chicago rocks...