OMmygod

I walked into my lunchtime yoga class today to find my instructor all fired up about a class he’d taken this past weekend with Seane Corn (pictured above). He’d raved about her to me in the past, and I’d Netflixed several of her DVDs, instantly charmed by her openness, and by her laid-back persona.

Today, my instructor sat there on his mat like a kid on Christmas morning, flipping through a tiny notebook he’d filled with wisdom from that weekend’s class. he shared each insight with us and we discussed, satisfied to spin out this period of learning before settling into our ujjayi breath.

I’ve been devouring yoga content lately, seeking to dig deep into this new practice of mine. Copies of Yoga Journal, Yoga International, Whole Living, Tricycle, and Spirituality & Health have been piled up in my bathroom. (“How many yoga magazines are there!?” asked my husband.) I read Kripalu Yoga and Yoga Bitch when I first joined my little studio, and I’ve since made my way through Stephen Cope’s The Wisdom of Yoga and Donna Farhi’s Bringing Yoga to Life. Right now, I’m reading Claire Dederer’s Poser, and many more books wait in line on my shelf.

I’ve been dog-earing pages, underlining sentences, and bracketing entire paragraphs with my mechanical pencil. In bits and pieces, I’ve been gaining a new understanding of what yoga is, and what it can be. (I joked to my class today that I’ve embarked upon the Stephanie Auteri Yoga Book Club… membership: 1.) With each chapter read, I’ve been so hungry to share what I’ve learned.

I’m now eyeing the Yoga Journal conference taking place in NYC, and I think I’ve finally convinced by husband to accompany me to the Wanderlust Festival in VT. I’m eager to learn in person from the people who first brought yoga to me via DVD. People like Rodney Yee, Shiva Rea, Suzanne Stirling, and Seane Corne. I want to learn more about meditation, and surround myself with a community of people who love this practice as much as I do. I want to hoop dance with them. Break bread with them. Do wine tastings with them. Party down with them.

I want to learn even more from them.

Who have you been learning from?