I N T E N T I O N

My intention this month is
Courageously Take the Seat of the Teacher and Practice Teaching.

the final exam and coursework are due this week!

P R A C T I C E

Practice daily. Use your daily practice to cultivate your technique. Enjoy the Sacred Preparation LIFT OFF playlist on Spotify. We are working with the seventh chakra Sahasrara. The practice theme for this month is Aura. See the Virtual Class Studio or Live Class Recordings to support your practice and learning.

M E D I T A T I O N

Practice daily for 3-11 minutes. Use your meditation this month to elevate your consciousness.

C O U R S E W O R K

The Final Exam and Coursework are due this week!

J O U R N A L

Reflect on this experience.

O N G E N E V A

Share encouraging words and get ready for the Community Classes and Celebration!!

Prep
Bring your questions, comments, thoughts

Call Flow
11:30am-11:45am (15min) Opening: Tias Little Quote from The Practice is the Path
11:45am-12:15pm (30 min) Talk Topics: What’s Next?
12:15pm-12:45pm (30 min) Forum/Conversation: Open
12:45pm-1pm (15 min) Questions and Closing

Opening: Tias Little Quote from The Practice is the Path

In the beginning, the path is often defined by attitudes and beliefs that we bring to the mat. 

Within our connective tissues we hold a history — a personal narrative of thoughts, memories, and ideals. We may harbor inflated (or deflated) expectations of ourselves. Much is at stake, and a potentially crippling crisis arises. Caught in the quandary of self, we struggle with feelings of pride or shame. There is anxiety and a gnawing apprehension: Am I getting this right? Am I good enough? Am I worthy? Unbeknownst to ourselves, we each lug around a heavy pack stuffed with a longing for acceptance and a fear of rejection. 

At the beginning of the trail, and from a vantage point that is extremely limited, we equip ourselves with ideas and beliefs about the journey. In the beginning we make elaborate assumptions about the way we should be. The soul is yet to pass through the gates of fire, loneliness, and deep silence that build maturity and wisdom. We have yet to experience loss and suffering and to witness directly the beauty and fallibility of our own small, fragile selves. 

When we first come to the mat, our beliefs may have been molded by an overarching religious structure that is wont to divide the world in two: right and wrong, good and bad, male and female, pure and sullied, true and false. Armed with fixed convictions, we unwittingly block the flow of the soul-self, which is fluid, shadowy, polymorphous, and full of a raw and wild energy. 

The enduring spirit of the soul-self is nonconforming. 

At the beginning of a yoga path, we may simply wish to become sleeker, sexier, more efficient, or more powerful. We may have a burning desire to get away from where we are. Progress on the path typically becomes a kind of self-improvement project. We may use the practice as a means to escape either the pressures of work, our personal history, or the drone of our own thoughts. Because we are driven by self-interest, the path is inevitably narrow, and we can only see a few yards ahead. 

These first years involve hardship. Physical hardship. We experience pain in our knees, back, and shoulders. In many instances, we seek out physical hardship through “power” practices that are strenuous and uncompromising.

 If we make it through the early trials of practice, the body and mind start to break open. We become less constricted and guarded, less myopic. The dimensions of the path widen, and we begin to see bigger and broader horizons. The path is no longer prescribed by our three-by-six sticky mat. 

From the vantage point of a more panoramic view, we become more available to others. In the flow of our daily lives we are more adaptable, more able to meet the demands of changing circumstances. One of my Zen teachers would always ask, “How wide is your path?” 

Might we see in time that the path is everywhere? Might the way of our path, like the old Tao, include all things? (In this book) we will travel the path together, a path that enables us to see beyond the confines of our own perspective. Each vista on the path is inevitably circumscribed by the view we are afforded, just as we must experience the world from the limited standpoint of our own small selves. 

In the journey that lies ahead, we must leave behind the person we always thought we should be and travel, step by step, to where we are. There is really only one way to do this, for as we will see (in the chapters ahead),  the practice is the path.

-Tias Little Santa Fe, New Mexico August 2019 

Next Steps

• Practicum - March 28 and 29 - your time slots will be posted under in the Practicum Prep room on Geneva

• Celebrate at Beckets 6pm on March 29 - ytt students only, dinner is on us. You are welcome to purchase an adult drink at the bar. Friends and family can meet you after dinner there. I will be heading home after dinner.

• Rest

• Closing Ceremony and Wrap up call is Monday March 31 6-8pm on zoom

• A wrap up email will come your way with a survey and next step options that I’ll share later in the call or post in your notes.

• Submit your certificate to YA and become an RYT-200

Then take each of the following steps slowly …

• Get your bio edited and ready to send

• Have your picture taken

• Take classes where you would like to teach

• Ask to be on sub lists, don’t be surprised if there is hesitation because often there is hiring admin that needs to be considered

• Apply to teach a class.

• Work your business plan, continue your education, and practice.

You will have access to everything as it is until August 15.
Then I will share access when class begins again in September.  

If you would like to continue working with me, I would be thrilled!

Join OYTT Alumni Geneva room. Here I’ll post up opportunities, training and continued education, resources, and make announcements.

YTT Connect Classes - this summer at the Y
Pose Studies Workshops - Saturdays at the Y
Immersion  - 3 month program to deepen what you learned in Level 1. This program fulfills your and 30 hrs of continuing education YA requirements.
Practice Portal - a month long deep dive into developing a personal practice
Core to Cosmos - an 8 week deeper dive into the 7 chakras
Beyond Asana - an 8 week deeper dive into the 8 limbs
Teacher’s Expansion - a 3 month program to prepare you for teaching

These will all become courses on my website soon. Each program is online, we meet once a week and begin with a short yoga practice.There is minimal to no coursework outside of the weekly session. Live attendance is not required. 

Mentorship … I ask that you commit to a minimum of 4 sessions. Mentorship can also count as continuing education in the categories of Yoga Lifestyle, Technique, Training and Practice, and Teaching Methodology. There is a fee, but since you are my YTT grads, you choose your payment. My email inbox is always open for you as well. I am happy to correspond with you here, but if it starts to get complicated, I might say, hey, it sounds like you need a session.

Closing: I have loved getting to know you and this time has changed my life - you have all changed my life and I am so grateful. Thank you. If you wish, we can pick this up tomorrow at Community Class 9-10am. I will stick around after class to answer any questions as well. No clinic.

Instructions & Practice 

Today we’ll do a Closing Ceremony as a way to dialog with symbolism and to start to help you focus on what it is you're calling in - during this seasonal change, during this transition, and to integrate everything that we've talked about.

We’ll start do a short movement practice about 10 minutes.

We’ll spend some time writing to come up with potent questions to ask yourself. Your questions can be about any area of your life. (refer back to Chakra Six, LIFE DESIGN)

We’ll cast a circle of protection to make this time and space sacred.

I have quartz crystal, sandalwood essential oil: the oil sacred devotion, and I have in this dish, a circle of salt. Everything here is symbolic. I have a black candle which represents time as time is something I want to have a good relationship with. If you have anything you want to set up you can. 

This is being recorded so if you want to spend extra time with the ceremony later you can. The New Moon was Saturday but we are still in a transitional portal. I’m told now it is not a good time to manifest, but to release gently, slowly, and intentionally. 

My intention is to go through this once and then sit with it and maybe do it again. You are welcome to do that if you wish. Otherwise we can allow this to be what it is now.

We are going to come up with three questions. 

As you are coming up with the questions, free-write your thoughts and feelings until you land on a question

Your questions can be about any area of your life. (refer back to Chakra Six, LIFE DESIGN)

Your questions can be about yourself, someone you know, or someone who hasn't even come into your life yet. Which direction you want to go. Where you want to live. It can be about anything. 

And those questions are going to come to you intuitively. So don’t feel like you have to come up with something, be patient and let it arrive naturally. 

I don’t want you to be shy when coming up with these questions. Allow yourself the freedom to have these questions arise. Often we seek answers, but we don't ask the questions we need to ask. No one is going to see these questions but you. No questions are silly or wrong in any way. 

These need not be yes/no questions. 

The best questions are open ended. Questions that don’t have a yes or no answer. 

The best questions don’t use "enough" or “more” rather "When" or "How."

The best questions define expectations, are measurable, and are specific to what is being asked.

The best questions are not compound questions; do not include two questions in one.

Ask questions you really want to know!

Don't worry about whether you are doing it right or wrong. These questions are going to arise through your meditation and through your practice.

An example  … you wouldn’t ask .. Will I be happy? … but …  How do I keep happiness alive?

After we move and as we go into meditation, after we move, I’d like for you to listen for these questions. You’ll then begin to land on three questions. 

You can write down anything that comes to you during your meditation, but see if you can create a space for quiet during that meditation time. 

So make sure you have a pen and paper nearby. Make sure you have room to move and if you are seated you can do some of these things seated and modify.  

The first thing we are going to do is create a circle of protection around us, we are calling and casting in sacredness around us for this time.

North is behind me, so I am going to turn around and I invite you to close your eyes and settle into your seat. And before I turn around and call in the North, which is, metaphorically we can consider the North to be - Native folks, Native Peoples, Pixie says the North being that of the ancestors. But since I’m not Native American, I need to make sure that things are aligning with respect to the tradition from which I am pulling. So for me, the North represents things that are felt, in the deep sense of my inherent wisdom. Things that I can’t quite explain but I feel in my bones.

So I am going to cast this circle for us - silently. I am going to speak an affirmation. And then we will get into movement, meditation, and writing. 

Transition to yoga mat.

Let’s get started.

So if your eyes aren’t closed already, please gently close your eyes.

Cast circle silently. 

Affirmation

I sit here in peace and protection.

To feel the universal intelligence of Light in my body.

Each chakra up my spine stores miracles waiting to happen.

I prepare to allow each center to build, open, and receive all messages from the Universe.

I detach from my expectations of what I think this looks and feels like and I turn into what the universe has to share.

In my root I am secure.

In my belly I dwell.

In my solar plexus I bring forth strength.

In my heart I embrace love.

I hear for I am in tune.

I see for I am clear.

I now sit in silence and embrace the messages that I receive.

Sit for meditation 5 min

(transition to seat)

Begin to think about some questions.

Your questions can be about any area of your life. About yourself, someone you know, someone you haven’t met yet, a new job, a new home. These questions are personal, and intimate. The best questions don’t ask more or enough, the ask when or how.

Ask questions you really want to know.

Take a moment to connect with or imagine a part of yourself that is all-knowing. I know it can be hard to believe but you can predict anything you want to know about the future.

What the future ends up as we cannot tell. But there is a part of you that knows. And you are going to give yourself a gift. The gift is an answer to any of the three questions of your choice. Which questions would you ask?

As you’re coming up with questions, free-write your thoughts and feelings until you land on a question - it can be about anything.

Ask yourself questions and what you want to know. The truth is you already know what you want to know.

Go ahead and grab your piece and paper.

You can refine these questions later, but for now you are collecting information.

A question like … will I be happy? Happy is an end state .. and happiness comes with complications. Instead of creating complications for yourself .. ask .. how do I keep joy alive in my heart? How do I take what I already have and let it be in service of other people? … for example.

I will leave you to write. 7 min.

Wrap up the sentence your on and put your pen down and close your eyes again.

Take a moment to sweep your breath through your entire body and let what I say next to land in your heart.

I am willing to open my mind to the growth of my self knowledge, to the growth of my knowing. I am invoking the powers within to enhance my life for the good and positive. My intuition, my knowing reaches its highest expression. I affirm my oneness with Source, with Universal Life Energy and I’ll pay close attention to messages I receive. I will examine my hunches to examine how accurate I am. Surround me with additional vibrations needed to reach my knowing potential.

Look at your first question, your second, and your third. Take the next 2 minutes to refine those questions and then we will close our writing with meditation.

Go ahead and wrap up your writing again, then find your seat once more and close your eyes. We’ll spend a few moments in meditation before we close this circle. As we do, listen for the answers to your questions, write them down if you wish. 

(silence)

Keep your eyes closed for a moment longer and take yourself through your whole system, reflecting on the last several months, the lessons of last month and this month so far. Your sense of knowing, your crown. Then bring your attention to your midbrain, your third-eye - consider the lessons of sight and vision you received. From there bring your attention to the base of your throat, consider what you have listened to and said. Then allow yourself to drop generously into the space of the heart, feeling deep breaths and you expand your ribs and lungs. Allow yourself to land and dwell in this heart space. Then drop into the power of your belly, your sense of self, your strength. Then from there dip into the pool of your pelvis. Allow yourself to soak there for a moment, before rooting deep into the earth, feeling your ground of being. I would like for your hands to find your heart. Honor your practice. Honor this journey that you have almost completed. See if you can hold gratitude in your heart for this experience and for those - sisters and brothers that  shared this time with you.

Thank you for your time and attention. Thank you for your practice. I bow to you..

I wanted to open up some space for questions, and I will talk about a few things before we close.

This is the start of the path, there’s lots more to learn and there are things that you will continuously learn overtime.  I would like to offer up my time as a resource as you get started, formally through mentorship, but my email inbox is always open for you. Learning happens over time so be patient with yourself. Continue to practice, find a teacher you can trust and count on and you will grow in ways you cannot even imagine. 

Along with my children and husband, teaching yoga has been the best gift of my life. My practice has taken me through everything challenging in my life and it always leaves with me a sense of wonder, awe, and joy. So please don’t stop, please stay on the path. 

A wrap up email will come your way with a short survey and next steps. So any questions about that may be answered in that email. So if you have other questions, please ask them now - about anything. 

Take time today to revisit these questions, refine the questions and continue to listen for the answers.

Live the questions. 

If you are willing, I would like for you to sit with these questions in meditation each day until the full moon (on April 12). Then write the answer on a small piece of paper and set them aflame (safely) to release the intentions out to the Universe.

I would also like to express my gratitude to each one of you for going on this 7 month journey with me. It has been intense, but we had fun, and we have all learned an incredible about. The level of transformation is only going to deepen over time, over the course of your engagement with this practice as a student and as a teacher, hopefully both. I am very grateful to you for trusting me with your most precious resource, your time. I’m grateful that you have been real with me, open with me. I felt free to be authentic, to be myself. Thank you very much. Namaskaram.

Program Next Steps

Rest

Complete this survey and send it back to me.

Register with Yoga Alliance if you want get started teaching.

I will support you any way I know how, please feel free to connect with me inside the OYTT Alumni Geneva room, via email, on socials, or in person.

You have all forever changed my life. Thank you for sharing your practice with me.
Please stay on the path.

With Love,
Kat