AYRI in the USA

Even though I had been practicing Ashtanga Yoga for three years in the fall of 2001, I was kind of clueless about what was going on.. or maybe I just wasn't ready. But I was living in Virginia and could have easily gone up to NY to do one of those weeks with Guruji. But like I said I was apparently kind of clueless - and pretty much didn't even know it was going on. By the next summer it seems I sort of had caught on with the system, and upon moving to Spokane July '02 registered myself to attend the five day workshop in Seattle put on by David and Satya. (At that time I did not know them at all.) A friend of mine who I had rowed with (and hadn't seen since the "96 Olympic trials)and whose husband was the rowing coach at UW was going to let me stay at their house. So I had a place to stay and a yoga class each morning for a week, and didn't have a job... so off I went. My first day was less than stellar - I have to admit that upon seeing my two friends from the glory days of rowing and consuming a glass or two of wine I was LATE arriving to the venue where our beloved guru of Ashtanga Yoga was going to be teaching for five days. When I finally found the place, there were seemingly hundreds of pairs of shoes filling the anteroom of a community college gymnasium. The owners of those hundreds of shoes were already partaking in surya namaskaras as I sneaked into the very, very, very back row. After I was finished berating myself for being such an idiot - is seems out of all those 250 people, I was the only one who couldn't make it there on time - practice went along as usual. Because I was in the back row, Saraswathi was walking around and helping us bind etc.. Sharath was in the middle, and Guruji was in the very front. After we finished, as we were laying in Savasana, I noticed that people were starting to get up and go stand in this line, that ended at the three of them sitting up in the front of the gym. As clueless as I was I apparently had enough sense to go join the line and wait for my turn to meet this great teacher face to face. I wasn't sure about the kneeling at someones feet, or kissing their feet or whatever it was that everyone was confidently doing, but I continued to wait. When it was my turn I went over to him and sort of semi prostated myself at his feet, too shy to actually touch them, and then just went the easy way and gave him a hug. His smiling eyes, and his bear hug made me forget all my self-consciousness, and then he looked at me and said "you're here?". He must have thought I was someone else, but then of all things, then he thanked me! Wow, meeting him face to face is such a gift.

Well anyways, as the week wore on I was able to make it there on time. I slowly started to make my way toward the front of the room. One day I unrolled my mat right next to a woman named Fiona Stang who I went to high school and college with back East - which was really remarkable. I became more comfortable with the line, the kneeling thing, and began to look forward to that big hug. Since that time I've gone to see our teacher two other times and now (besides going to India) you all can too! He will be in the AYRI center they have built in the US - this March! I highly encourage you to take this opportunity!