You can do astavakrasana!

Just look at that picture of Rodney Yee, yoga superstar. It's beautiful. It's amazing.

He's beautiful! He's amazing! Right?

You really gotta be something to do that pose.

Wrong. You don't.

It's called astavakrasana. It means the 'crooked in eight places pose.'

It's a pose dedicated to a great sage who was born crooked in eight places. He was, as we used to say, crippled.

But his physical handicaps left him one day when his father blessed him.

That's what comes to mind when I think about how I learned to do this pose.

I struggled with this pose for a long time. And then I threw it on the scrap heap of yoga poses I'll never do.

You know that scrap heap, don't you?

Then, one day, as if receving a simple blessing, my teacher taught me three simple things I could do.

When I did them my mental and physical limits dropped away and I was up in the pose. And I was very happy.

When you join us for the Teach Me Astavakrasana (pronounced: OSH tuh vuh KRA sun) workshop you'll be blessed with the three simple steps that will get you up and going in this pose, too.

And, Sallie and I will give you the whole story about Astavakra. You'll learn why he was born with his crooked limbs and what he did to receive his father's blessing. It will make the pose and the pose name unforgettable for you.

Join us, won't you?

It's by donation only. So you can't be overcharged. It only lasts an hour. So we won't waste your time. You'll love it.

Meet us at Show Me Yoga Center on Wednesday, November 1 at 6:45 pm. We'll finish up at 8 pm.

Please call ahead to let us know you're coming: (573) 636-5656. Or sign up at the front desk when you come to your next yoga class.

By the way, when you do your astavakrasana, it'll look more like this.

We can't wait to see you there.

Kevin Perry & Sallie Keeney

Surrendering Teens

Last Friday at the Simonsen 9th Grade Center, it was quiet. Imagine 60 14 year olds, sprawled on their backs in Savasana, as I whisper...*Become aware of your breath....just breathe...* *Feel your feet. Feel your legs. Feel your belly. Feel your heart.....* I could hear a pin drop. Magic? No... Yoga? Yes. After 6 weeks of classes, these teens had learned to surrender. I could actually whisper in the gymnasium. And they heard and received. And they blossomed. We had just learned Handstands, and their trust in the process of yoga had reached the tipping point....they understood it was safe to let go...Nobody had gotten hurt learning handstands....Noone had been shamed.....most had been able to kick up...so why not relax??...It was safe for them to surrender, and listen to the small quiet voice of their own inner truth. And they did. I have never felt such compassion and joy as when they slowly arose from rest, to greet me with smiles and bowed heads and yes...More Silence. I teach teens at Simonsen from all socioeconomic levels, all colors, all creeds, all ethnicities...and yes I teach the physically challenged. These teens have proven again that what matters the most is our human-ness. Perhaps, because of Yoga, they will leave their 9th grade years with more empathy, with more validation, with more belief in the beauty of our world.....Maybe even changing our *Adult* world-view of scarcity...to one of abundance....there IS enough for everyone.There IS enough to allow surrender to Grace. I pray that we support the teens in Missouri....please donate so that this project can continue...these teens WANT mats! They WANT props! They WANT a boom box! THEY WANT YOGA. Om Mane Padme Hum.......bless this world with peace. It begins with our Youth. Namaste, Megan Sappington

A gift of Namaste.

Namaste. "The inner light in me honors and respects the inner light in you." As Teachers and Students, we say this word constantly, and sometimes with little or no awareness of it's true meaning. What does it mean to honor another's light? How do we make that part of our every day experience? How do I let you know how much you mean to ME?? I received a gift last Thursday from Elaine Proctor. She had sewn a quilt for me, embroidered with a poem about Gratitude that I had read in class a long time ago. I remember that she asked for a copy of it after class....but never expected that request to blossom into such a beautiful gift. A gift of honoring our inner lights. A gift of Namaste. See for yourself. GRATITUDE thank you for the breath of life. thank you for those who gave us life. thank you for our faithful bodies. thank you for our loving friends. thank you for our generous hearts and our creative minds. thank you for warm and tender memories. thank you for this sacred earth. thank you for the divine nature of existence. thank you for every precious moment. And on the front is this: Megan My Yoga Teacher Namaste Elaine Oct. 5, 2006 What has me blown away is the embodiment of Gratitude that Elaine has demonstrated.... It's really easy as a teacher to stand in front of a class and read a poem... It's an entirely different level of Living Yoga to turn this poem into a work of art. Elaine is Yoga. She is one of my most dedicated students, she lives the Yamas and Niyamas, she is consistent, loyal, passionate, and devoted. She embodies Namaste. I am humbled. I am amazed. But most importantly...I am Inspired by her..... Thank you Elaine. NAMASTE. Your Teacher, and Student. Megan Sappington P.S. Please stop by the studio to see this amazing quilt. And be prepared to be humbled. As humbled as all the teachers are at Show Me Yoga by all of our students....you all have no idea how much YOU teach US.

The Middle

Last night after class I sat on my deck and watched the harvest moon. The stars were beautiful. It was quiet. Peaceful. Tranquil. And I was overcome by a sense of *middleness*.......huh? Let me explain. I envisioned a long-line of people who have come before me....and the long-line of people to come after me....I am now the *middle*. Right here. Right now. I am the Middle. I will be attending a family reunion this weekend in the middle (!) of Kansas. My grandmother is turning 90. Family in abundance...history that is rich with stories I may never know.... I come from a long line of beautiful women who have lived their moments...women who have given birth, endured heartache, fell in love and out, lived, loved and laughed....and what's amazing is that another long line of women will come after me.... after I have had my moment. This moment, now, is the hyphen in our tombstones...the time between birth and death. Allow your practice to be about the hyphen....we come from a long line of yogic masters...we share this amazing practice with each other, passing the lineage, so that we can become more aware...so that our own hyphen is rich and abundant. aware... aware of our middle-ness.... so much behind us. so much ahead of us. yet more than we realize is right here... Now. We are the middles of our lineages....make it count...make it beautiful... Open to this grace of being in the middle. And our awareness will spread like dye in water....into the next long line of family...when it's their time to be in the middle. Om Mane Padme Hum. Peace. Megan Sappington