Universal with Tatiana Cira Sanchez

Cut out of work at 3:45 and hauled ass down to Yoga Now to take class with one of my favorite Chicago yoga teachers, Tatiana Sanchez. Everybody was drinking anyhow, St.Paddy's day in Chicago seems to be a four day ordeal of bottomless pints, bad fashion choices, and folks drinking themselves into oblivion while wearing funny little green plastic hats. The actual day isn't till Monday, and everyone already seems to be sloshed...

Anyhow, felt obliged to take a class because last night at Moksha was a serious gut check in terms of realizing how out of shape and touch I am with my body. I haven't done any serious yoga at all in 2008. No classes, no workshops, no personal practice. I do however, have a pile of excuses. It's been a hellish winter, I totally overcommitted myself, and somewhere along the line I got horribly sick for the first time in years. January and February were rough on me, and I figured I'd make up for it by jumping in wholeheartedly once teacher training started. The only problem with that is, I have ground to make up just to get back to a decent sense of balance and integrity. I'm overweight, I can't breath right cause I've been coughing up bronchial crap for weeks, and the -20 degree weather & assorted work projects have left with all kinds of kinks and blockages in my chi... Everything hurts, and that's not a good place to start from...

Anyhow, made it to Tati's class 5 minutes late, but she was kind enough to lay out some mats for me and promptly led a very inspired class through a great sequence. Tati's a disciple of my favorite yoga master, the Ukranian legend Andrey Lappa, who's an inimitable presence and walking repository of esoteric knowledge. I've spent two weeks with him over the last two years, and more than anyone I've ever learned from, he's completely blown the hinges off my perceptions of what's real and possible. Physical limitations and spiritual boundaries become very elusive around Andrey, and he teaches sequences and poses that no one else has even conceived of. Very few folks in Chicago teach Andrey's style, but Tati manages to incorporate a lot of his teachings into every class she leads, ranging from a few Dance of Shiva elements to arm balances and long asymmetrical sequences that ultimately lead to states of awareness that few other yoga teachers manage to canvass. It was a great class, and it kicked me into gear, and set me up for what promises to be a long weekend studying with Daren. I needed that...