Perfect Moment Monday -- Hanuman Yoga Festival

Seane Corn (think cover of Yoga Journal) and I
at the Hanuman Festival 2011.

Each week I participate in Perfect Moment Monday, sponsored by the blog, WriteMindOpenHeart.com According to Lavender Luz, "Perfect Moment Monday" is about noticing a perfect moment rather than creating one. Perfect Moments can be momentous or ordinary or somewhere in between." And so, here is a Perfect Moment for this week.

This year for my birthday and Mother's Day, I asked for a yoga retreat, not knowing that my special weekend would be right around the corner.

The first annual Hanuman Festival was hosted in beautiful Boulder Colorado. I got the luxury of taking four days of a variety of yoga classes -- asanas/poses, philosophy, etc. as well as connecting to a much larger yoga community. It was four days FULL of Perfect Moments!

Prior to attending, I wasn't familiar with the story of Hanuman, a monkey god who is known for his service, strength, devotion...and his ability to jump (think about hurdling forward into the splits, or what is called Hanumanasana in sanskrit.) 

Several of my classes were held in a large tent
on the lawn of the local high school, near a babbling creek.
Perfect for yoga!

Hanuman's story is told as part of the Hindu Mythological story, The Ramayana...of which before the Hanuman Festival, I knew little to nothing about the monkey and could barely do the pose that bears his name.

As you might imagine, many of the classes were centered on hip and hamstring openers, in preparation for doing the splits.

One of the classes that took my practice to the next level was presented by Tiffany Cruikshank. The class was called, "The Anatomy of Inversions."

Not only did Tiffany give us the technique and opportunity to try several inversions, but she explained the anatomy behind building a strong foundation in the shoulder girdle...so the pose makes sense not only to my body, but to my mind as well.

Over the past two weeks, I have been enamored with  being upside-down. Right after I returned from Boulder, I jumped up with both legs into handstand (next to the wall, of course), but I bet after some practice, I will be just as comfortable in handstand as I am in Warrior II (at least I hope).

The Dushanbe Tea House...DELICIOUS!

One of my practices was with the dynamic yogini, Kathryn Budig (think Toe Socks "naked" ads) -- she WAS wearing clothes during our practice. And MC Yogi and his wife Amanda Giacomini. There were a couple of local yogis, Simon Park and Jeanie Manchester. ALL of my classes were fabulous!!

The restaurants in Boulder are fabulous. I loved all of the healthy options and the culture and freedom of the community was apparent as I walked down the streets of the Pearl Street Mall.

My sister, Lavender Luz, and I attended Thursday sessions and then went to the Dushanbe Tea House in Boulder (see picture).

Hula Hooping in Boulder...very yoga!

There were SO many vendors on the lawn with a variety of products and offerings. I took advantage of watching partner asanas (poses) and trying a hula hoop, which is an activity I loved as a kid.

Why do we forget to do fun things like hula hoop and handstands as we get older?

The one part of the Hanuman Festival you may have heard about was the porta-potty-peeper. Check out this Denver news story. By the way, the Peeping Tom has been apprehended. AND I did NOT use any of the porta-potties during my four days at the Festival. And...the Peeper was caught this past week. What a "poop-head," literally!

All I can say is "EWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW!"

The other PERFECT thing that happened is that I gained a deeper understanding of my yoga practice and lots of tips, poses and sequencing that I can use while teaching students.

One last yoga-related Perfect Moment that happened in the past two weeks was that I received my 200-RYT certification from Yoga Alliance. I guess that I'm now on my way to earning my 500-RYT. Yeah!

As I type this, it brings back so many great, perfect memories. I am so grateful to be able to attend this yoga festival. A special thank you to my husband and family for giving me this wonderful gift! 

If you'd like to check out more Perfect Moment Mondays go to WriteMindOpenHeart.com by clicking here.