An Idea Born of Frustration: Practice Week

A couple years ago we (Ida and I) submitted an application to Yoga Journal to be ambassadors. The job was to travel around the country for 6 months, talking to yoga teachers and students while writing and making videos about it. They were looking for a team of two people, so we figured we were perfect. They contacted us almost immediately as finalists and we started making arrangements to fly to Colorado to meet the team at YJ.

As weeks progressed, they got slower in returning our phone calls and emails, until the inevitable news came: They had chosen another duo for the job. Our hearts sank, we were frustrated and disappointed.

That same day, with the frustration fresh in our minds, we started having the "in a perfect world" discussion. We've all had it. "In a perfect world, things would work like this..."​

A PLACE TO PRACTICE
Our minds turned to the over-represented focus on teacher trainings in the modern yoga world. It seems that when a student of yoga (including us) reaches a certain level of proficiency, they are automatically encouraged to become teachers, even though teaching is a completely separate skill from practicing. If we seek to deepen our knowledge or practice, there is nowhere to go except teacher trainings. What if we could make an immersive experience for yogis who simply want to deepen their own knowledge and practice?

So we came up with a week-long curriculum for yogis who want to deepen their practice. What sort of immersion did we wish that we could attend?: Asana practice that extended beyond the beginning stuff that is available in most public classes, plus explanations about how and why to do them; Pranayama practices that deepen our subtle awareness. History that illuminates the purpose and nature of practice. Most of all, the opportunity to learn new things and practice them.

We have held "Practice Week" 3 times. Some have been big, one was small. But I have never tired of offering it, because I think it is rare and valuable. It was born out of a moment of frustration and rejection, a moment when we tried to bring something worthwhile into the world.