Tiffany Cruikshank 200 hour Vinyasa Teacher Training

Yoga teacher training 2012 graduation class 

Tiffany demonstrating tittibhasana

A few years ago I innocently stumbled into Tiffany’s Tuesday 4:30 class at Yoga Pearl, I did not knowing the impact is would soon have on my life.  I was in my usual hurry from work, race to change then rush into the studio.  This Tuesday I rushed in and found the room completely full.  I stood by the door nervously looking for a spot in a corner, Tiffany, not missing a beat rolled her mat up and gave me center stage.  For some people this is a great opportunity to shine, for me it was a bit intimidating and stressful to be center stage – I quickly got over it.  The class was dynamic and challenging both physically and mentally, nobody was watching me, we were all absorbed in our own practice.  After the 1 ½ + hour class I walked out a changed person, wanting to be a better yogi.

Early last summer I started thinking about the 200-hour teacher training, I have dabbled in yoga my whole life but have not had the desire to teach.  This was a four-month teacher training with two one-week retreats.  I decided to challenge myself – instead of a Hawaii yoga retreat in January I went for the four-month yoga training that included a Hawaii retreat.  At the time I wasn't sure I wanted to teach yoga, I was more interested in deepening my own practice.

Back October I drove to Whidbey Island for the Yoga retreat and beginning of the training.

http://spontaneousplanner.blogspot.com/2011/10/yoga-pearl-vinyasa-teacher-training.html

After the Whidbey Island retreat a group of us met in Portland every Sunday learning about 
(the out of town people watched videos of the class):

• Meditation
• Physiology
• Sequencing
• Therapeutics
• Pre & Postnatal yoga
• Ayurveda
• Sanskrit
• Yoga Sutras
• Chakras
• Yoga History
• Business

In addition to the weekly classes, there was anatomy homework, a cadaver lab, book report and 10 hours of observations.  I was back in school with yoga homework! 

Second week of January – fresh off a plane from Alaska I jumped on a plane to Kona for the final week of yoga training.  -10 to 80 degrees was a welcome change.  The week was intense, lots to cover and lots of personalities. 

Every morning we started at 7 am with a vigorous two plus hour yoga practice, breakfast, 2 hour review and teacher training, afternoon break, 4-5 pm review, 1 hour restorative practice that often started with a handstand, dinner.  This was not a vacation.

30 minute student teaching

Mid-week we started our 30-minute practice teaching to the class; half the class observed and the other half took the class.  After the class each person got feedback from their peers and the teacher.  That was really the final exam – it was so interesting and informative to watch people’s different teaching styles; what they focused on and how they lead a class. 

30 minute student teaching

Being one of the more physically inflexible people in the training I focused my class on grace and how grace shows up in your life.  How to be graceful in an inflexible body. I was surprised that I really liked teaching the class and putting the class together, normally I don't really like a lot of attention focused on me in large groups.  Yoga has been an important stabilizer and calming tool for me in my life, I was able to get out of being scared and able to share something that has brought so much to my life - it is fun to share.

beach time!

I did not meet my 2011 goal of an unsupported handstand, not even close!  But I can do a supported handstand – one step at a time.

Resources:

Tiffany Cruikshank
Yoga Pearl
Hawaii Island Retreat

sko:p - winter skirts for active girls in cold climates

a scandinavian cure for the cold butt - skhoop

A few years ago I noticed women wearing winter skirts in Anchorage.  Not just for walking around in the cold but for cross country skiing, downhill skiing, hiking, running as well as just walking around town and shopping.  I asked around at a few stores and found out that they were only available on line from skhoop website.  Since I am not in Anchorage that much I forgot about them, until my next visit I saw even more women wearing them.  Being a person that runs cold I was curious if they actually made much of a difference.  So I asked around and the consensus was definitely, I was told that in the extreme cold they helped manage the cold by keeping you an estimated 20 degrees warmer.  

 On my most recent visit to Anchorage it was unusually cold.  Most fortunately I was gifted (actually an early birthday present that I opened because I have to patience) a full length down skirt.  What a huge difference it made in the temps below 20 degrees.  Since I live in the lower 48 where the temps aren't that freezing I traded it in for a mid length down skirt for skiing, running, biking and visiting Alaska.  
The skhoop is originally from Sweden, designed by Sissi Kewenter who - story goes - wanted a warmer solution to getting her mail in her PJ's in cold climates.  In 1999 she started selling the skhoop, which is pronounced S-K-hoop, in northern Europe.  In 2007 she started selling the skirt in Alaska, now you can find the zip up insulated skirt at REI.  At the Skinny Raven in Anchorage I learned that men are starting to wear them for hunting and ice fishing.




Check out:
skhoop
REI
skinny Raven - Anchorage AK

cyclocross and knee high sock - a fashion statement for some

KNEE HIGHS AT THE OREGON CYCLOCROSS RACES:

 

Cyclocross Clothing

Clothing is similar to that of road racing. However, since cyclo-cross is a cold-weather sport there is an emphasis toward warmer clothing such as long sleeves, tights, knickers and arm and leg warmers. 

Wikipedia

Knee sock resources:
smartwool

Icebreaker

I hope your animals are fattening up nicely - Mongolia 2011

12 days in Mongolia

Moon rise in the Gobi Desert

Horse back riding break on the steppe

Camel riding in the Gobi Desert

Ger roof repair at the Three Camel Lodge in the Gobi 

Future house for Richard Gere in an upcoming
movie about Buddism, Gobi desert

Mongolian super highway - pick a lane!

Russian vans in the Gobi Desert

Ulaanbaater - still very much an industrial city

Three Camels ger in the Gobi Desert

bike goat herder in the gobi desert

 modern sheep herders on the steppe

wild horses on the steppe

The beginning of September I set off for Mongolia, nothing too rugged, I was on a tour to see the best of the country.  The twelve days I spent touring around Mongolia barely scratched the surface, this is a country in transition.  In Ulaanbaatar, the capitol, there are building cranes everywhere one looks.  High end housing is displacing the traditional gers (mongolian for yurt) in the outlining hills.  Expensive stores like Louis Vuitton are opening up to cater to the wealthy mining executives and international bankers that are quickly moving in.  I got the impression that Mongolia was a much different place just two years ago and will be entirely different in two more years.


I had signed up for the REI multi sport tour that was actually lead by Nomadic Expeditions.  Our guides were excellent - funny, knowledgeable and very very proud of their country.  Our days were filled with activities ranging from 10 mile hikes, horse back riding and camel riding. The food was surprisingly good, given everything I had heard about it.  There was lots of high speed driving across open lands, the drivers would race each other while we bumped along inside trying to take photos of the beautiful landscape that was flying by.  I feel that I barely scratched the surface of Mongolia and am already planning my next adventure to western Mongolia.


"Perhaps my children will live in stone houses and walled towns - Not I"  Chinggis Khaan




http://www.nomadicexpeditions.com/
http://www.rei.com/adventures/trips/asia/mon.html


Foot note: "I hope your animals are fattening up nicely" is a popular phase to open conversations up with families in the country.

Yoga Pearl Vinyasa Teacher Training with Tiffany Cruikshank

Tiffany and Lulu instructing

Sometimes everything happens at once, I am not complaining, but it is hard to savor the moment when I have to be ready for the next thing in a short time frame.  This is how I started the week long yoga teacher training on Whidbey Island with Tiffany Cruikshank.  I signed up for this teacher training after contemplating it for the past three years and thinking that it would be a healthy focus for me this winter.  Tiffany is an all inspiring woman on many levels and I could use some inspiration.  Plus one of my new years resolutions for 2011 was to do unsupported hand stand - I am still working on that one, but I have a few more months to perfect it.

I was the last of 20 students to arrive at the beautiful and serene Willow Lodge.  My day prior to arrival was packed with activity starting at 6:00 am; pack, drive to Alpenrose Cyclocross race, race, drive to Seattle and drop my dog off (hit major traffic), catch ferry to Whidbey and find lodge.   I walked in about 2 hours later than I expected and was immediately calmed by the lodge and the people around me.  

Surprise - Tiffany has a toy dog.  It was most unexpected and a surprise to have this mini creature running around, jumping on you during practice.  Lulu, the dog was named after Lulu yoga wear, added a level of playfulness, lightness and fun that is often found there in a yoga class.  She helped us not take ourselves too seriously. 

The living quarters were pretty tight, most rooms were 4 to a room with a few exceptions.  Our schedule was intense and very focused. 

• detox drink, tea
• 7-9 am vinyasa yoga focusing on a different area of the body 
• 10-12 anatomy
• 1-3 pm alignment
• 4-5 pm adjusting
• 5-6 pm pranayama & meditation
• 7-9 pm talks ranging from Chinese medicine to an evening in silence

sun and break time

yoga instruction

The first vinyasa class Tiffany broke the tension by going right into handstand practice and then each person instructing a sun salutation.  Yes, that would be 21 sun salutations in a row with a few variations.  After that exercise we were ready and excited for the week.  As with most of these classes people find themselves there because they are in some transition in their life; divorce, loss of a job, need more creativity and activity in their daily lives.  This experience was no exception there were intense discussions at meals and lots of self inquiry.  Every night I would climb into my top bunk before 9 pm and blissfully pass out.  Except the last night.  The last night was retox - we took our healthy bodies and clean livers and enjoyed some yummy red wine and chocolate.  Delish - but was very strong after the week of purifying ourselves.  I climbed into my bunk and was wired from the chocolate, all of us were.  We chatted and laughed until after midnight giddy as school girls.

RETOX night

BONUS:

Boom back to my life - pick dog up, drive to cross race, race, drive home and relax.  I am still standing and sitting a little taller from the week and missing Karen cooking lovely meals.

Karen, the owner of Prasad, cooked for us the whole week.  She was absolutely amazing.

Check out:

http://www.tiffanyyoga.com
http://prasadcuisine.squarespace.com/
http://www.yogapearl.com

one year in co-housing

my cute little house

Almost exactly a year to the date I bought my house, I sat in a title company office in Portland signing to sell the very cute little, 575 sqft, house I bought in a co-housing community.  The signing brought my adventure with co-housing to a close.  Last year it seemed like such an elegant solution to live in Portland during the week and in Hood River on the weekends.  By doing that I could avoid my daily commute, but more importantly I could sleep an extra hour in the mornings and not be super rushed to meet the van pool at 5:30 am.  Not having a community in Portland I thought that the four unit co-housing community would be perfect, and in theory it was perfect.  There was a beautiful common area that was landscaped with edible plants and a generous court yard to hangout in, a community BBQ, a bike barn built from recycled materials with a living roof, a cob guest house and weekly Monday night dinners.  It was all very cozy.

entry to co-housing community

What I quickly realized is that community for me is people that know me, I know them and we look out for each other.  After the fall of hanging out in Portland doing things I started going back to Hood River every weekend to do things and to be with people I know, and to be in my house that was more comfortable for me.  The Monday night dinners became a burden instead of something I looked forward to.  The dinners soon became comical as I struggled to make it on time to Portland with excuses that I really couldn’t even let them know because they sounded so made up; I locked myself out of my house and had to climb into my second story window in biking shoes, I got a flat tire and had to have the tire repaired at Les Schwab the same week that everyone was taking the studs off their cars, the best one was having to buy a refrigerator for my rental house at Sears in 15 minutes.  After driving frantically to Portland only to walk in late to another dinner and facing the glares I started thinking this is just not really working for me. 

finn dog at the beach retreat

An annual weekend retreat was something that was planned for the community to get to know each other better and check in with how things were working.  Originally I thought that could be fun, by spring I was beginning to realize that it would not be that much fun.  But I was open to being surprised, but I could feel that I didn’t really belong there, I didn’t have a lot of spare time and I spent most of my free time in Hood River.  Sometimes at the weekly dinners the sesame street song would start playing in my head – which one doesn’t belong?  Needless to say I was feeling a bit awkward at the retreat – my feeling was exacerbated when I was shown where I would be sleeping for the weekend.  It was in a loft area above the living room, up a latter that my dog would not be able to climb.  So while everyone got bedrooms, even the two kids I was on the couch in the living room.  This made me think about what community was for me and what I expected from a community.  Saturday we did a bunch of different activities, during one of these activies/checkins someone told me that they resented my lack of participation in the community.  I replied by saying that I thought at this retreat I would get voted off the island.  After that it was clear to me that I would not be able to meet their expectations of community living nor did I really want to.  I realized that I like my own garden space, I like to figure out when I want to work on the garden, I like the flexibility of my time – when we have the first sunny day all year I want to be able to enjoy it by biking not doing a work party.  My adventure in co-housing came to and end.  I let them know that I would be selling my house, shortly after that I signed up for Monday night short track race series and stopped going to the Monday night dinners.  I was having a lot more fun and felt a burden of responsibility lifted.  I don’t like to fail people but in this case I had over extended myself and felt I was failing all over the place.

Lucky for me once I got a realtor I had an accepted offer on the house 10 days after being listed.  Yesterday I moved out – it was a beautiful sunny day in Portland and I sadly left the house and went back to Hood River.  I will miss the French bakery three blocks way, the great grocery stores close by, the very hip shops on Alberta Street, $3 movies at the Kennedy school, running on Alameda Street, biking through Irvington neighborhood and the excellent restaurant choices.  I will not miss the Monday night dinners and feeling like I am not doing enough.  As I said my silent good bye to my house that never became a home for me and to the community I grab a handful of raspberries and Marion berries growing in the garden area, I left with a sweet taste in my mouth.  Co-housing was not for me, at least not now, but I am glad I tried it.

saying yes to things that scare me

super relax team kit

Tuesday before 4th July weekend I received a text while I was sitting at my desk trying to focus on an abstract land use staff report, it said; “Hey, wanna do a super relax co-ed relay team for six hours on Mt Hood on July 3^rd?  I don’t want to do this solo and all my riding buddies are sick of me.  It’s about five 35 minute laps each, 7 miles and about 400 ft elevation per lap.”  Curious, I didn’t recognize the number the text came from.  It can only be one of two people.  I asked a few more questions hoping to figure out who it is, no luck.  In a moment of I should try new things out of my comfort zone, I reply “yes”.    I learn that it is my friend’s husband that asked me to race with him, he has been racing mountain bikes all season and is in great shape.  I on the other hand just bought a mountain bike Memorial day weekend and similar to my skis, it rides better than I do.  My old mountain bike was heavy and most serious riders that saw it commented that it wasn’t really a mountain bike.  This was going to be a big challenge for me – but I want to do new things and there is nothing like a race to make me face and conquer my fear. 

This same thinking got me into short track racing earlier this year – 25-30 minutes of sprinting around obstacles and hills, I am not fast or even a very aggressive rider but it a lot of fun and different from other sports I have done.  With my recent experience of short track racing I thought this mt bike relay would be a fun challenge.

Saturday before the race Jeff and I head up to Ski Bowl to pre-ride the course, my idea, I wanted to know what I got myself into and to be prepared.  That was a mistake!  I was so nervous that everything looked hard and more technical than what I was prepared for.  That night I didn’t sleep, I was so nervous, I didn’t want to let Jeff down and I didn’t want to kill myself.

Early Sunday morning Jeff picked me up and we head off to the race.  I am trying to make casual conversation on the drive and not reveal how scared and nervous I was.  When we get there we set up our staging area, the weather is perfect sunny, not too hot.  We agree Jeff will do the first lap.  The race starts and I sit anxiously waiting for Jeff.  What feels like a long time, but in reality is not very long, I see him coming down the hill, I line up to be tagged.  I was so nervous, I just wanted to get the first lap done with, actually I really just wanted to be moving and not be sitting there waiting and over thinking everything.  Jeff tagged me and I was riding.  I conquered my fear right at the beginning of the first lap, the first and longest down hill I had been so nervous about came quickly.  I picked a line that other bikers had established and followed it all the way down the hill.  After that first decent I was fine, very focused, I wasn’t fast but I did ride almost everything.  Each lap I felt more confident and slightly faster, by the fourth and my final lap I was starting to have fun. 

We didn’t win – but we didn’t come in last either, 10 out of 20 for coed’s.  Thanks Jeff for having the confidence in me to ask me to ride that race with you, I would not have chosen that on my own volition.

Six Hours of Mt Hood - relay

specialized Safire