Michael

Chapter 23 Reflections First, I thank you from the fullness of my heart for reading this memoir. It is not exactly light reading. It does require stick-to-it-ness just like the practice of traditional Yoga. Twelve years is the traditional number of years recommended in Classical Yoga for mastering any of the practices. There is a Zen story about being mentored by a teacher for 12 years before presuming to teach. Now, there are one week and even one-weekend teacher trainings!…

Chapter 22 Back In The USSA The memory of listening to the Beatles as we flew over India reminded me of their song Back in the USSR as I returned home to my life in the USA. I had experienced a lifetime of postural, devotional, contemplative and meditative practices to process for many years. It has been over 14 years now and I still feel the grace of the subcontinent inspiring how I teach. I assisted in an Integral Yoga…

Chapter 21 India Part 6 I arrived in Ernakulam feeling the freedom of going solo for the first time in five weeks. In my 20’s, 30’s and 40’s, I took the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator test based on Jungian psychology. I changed from ESTJ to INFP. I went from extroverted, sensing, thinking and judging type to introverted, intuitive, feeling and perceiving type over the course of three decades. I attribute this shift to yoga and meditation. Like the dosha and kosha…

Chapter 20 India Part 5 Coimbatore is sometimes called the Manchester of the south for its textile manufacturing and engineering products. Many professional conferences are held here. It was a pleasant and easy going city without too many attractions for tourists. Most tourists may use it as a hub to go to the Ooty, Coonoor and other Nilgiri Hill stations that are part of the Western Ghats range. We traveled to the Karl Kubel Institute Foundation for Child and Family…

Chapter 19 India Part 4   The Ideal River Resort was the sister resort to the Ideal Beach Resort where we visited near Mahabalipuram. It was like a posh boutique resort on the Mexican Riviera but it was only $25 a night in 2003! I had my first private room. I went swimming and booked an Ayurvedic treatment. Ayurveda means the science of longevity or life. It is an ancient holistic health system originating in India. To learn about it…

Chapter 18 India Part 3 Driving in India can be a white knuckle and hair-raising experience. I was very thankful I did not drive during the six weeks. We had kind and skilled drivers for our van. I learned not to look when other vehicles would pass within inches of us. Otherwise, there was a lot to look at. We were in Tamil Nadu and the landscape varied from arid to lush and from sub-tropical to tropical. There were areas…

Chapter 17 India Part 2  I was eager to meet my group on the third day. I was still feeling jet lag. It was a forty-hour journey and my body was catching up. The hotel had a restaurant and pool. It was 80-85 and clear most days in January. The biggest expense can be the flight. I knew some folks who were traveling quite comfortably on a one to two hundred dollars a week budget. Breakfast included idlis or dosas…

Chapter 16 India Part 1 The years of 2003, 04 and 05 were momentous for me. I was going to India. I would be assisting in a Hatha 1 teacher training in Yogaville that summer. I would start my first teacher training as an official Integral Yoga (IY) trainer in the fall of 2004 and spring of 2005. We moved from our home in downtown Erie, where I had lived for over 20 years, to a wooded setting next to a…

Chapter 15 The Business of Yoga   When I became certified in the fall of 1996, there were only a handful of teachers in the Erie area. Today, there are over 100 identifying themselves as yoga teachers whether they are certified or not. This increase reflects the popularity of yoga in America. Since I opened the first studio in 98, I have seen several studios open and close. Some can only survive by offering regular teacher trainings that can flood…

Chapter 14 The Training Years   The Integral Yoga Hatha 1 teacher training was my first formal training to earn a certification. I felt I had already been in training for over 25 years. The prerequisite for this training was a recommended six months of practicing the Integral Yoga Hatha 1 sequence. Today, prerequisites can range from very little experience in a specific style to at least a year. Our group ranged from very little experience to myself and a…