A couple of years ago, several of the women in my office and I put together an after work yoga class once a week. We *tried out* a few teachers before we found our ideal mix of someone who was a certified instructor, who could lead us through our practice with enough authenticity to make it worthwhile, but at the same time, someone who would not have us chanting and ohming or worse, offend the Lutherans! We finally found a fabulous female. (Nice alliteration!) One of those elf-like people who look ageless, even with her naturally gray hair. Just her presence speaks volumes about the benefits of yoga! And the things she can do with her body - all the while, talking us through our *asanas* or poses with the quiet, mindful voice of someone who's words seem to come from another time.
I especially like it when she uses the pose's proper or Sanskrit name, like Tadasana for Mountain Pose, or the lyrical Adho Mukha Svanasana instead of the awkward sounding Downward Facing Dog. For the longest time I thought the Sanskrit word for my favorite pose - Warrior Pose - was the name of a mythological woman warrior - Vera Vedrasna....
Until I looked it up for this post!
Sure it sounds like Vera Vedrasna, toned, tanned, flexible ancient desert warrior, but look how it is spelled: Virabhadrasana. Oy, that looks like something you'd see under a 10th Grade Biology microscope!
Well, no matter - after not going for almost 6 months because of my toe surgery, I've started up again - and its amazing what a little stretching and twisting, will do for you! There's a little Vera Vedrasna in me after all!
