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http://tvnz.co.nz/close-up/rural-canterbury-s-yogi-in-demand-video-4807648
Enjoy this fantastic interview with one of my teachers – Donna Farhi of Canterbury, New Zealand. I have been deeply influenced by her teachings and have been so grateful to get to know her as an assistant when she’s come to the US to tour. She is committed to her practice and teaching in a way that inspires me to continue to grow.
Namaste,
Cheri
I write to you today, this week as I reflect on Christmas and the coming New Year. I haven’t been as consistent with blogging this fall and I certainly still have plenty to say. So here it is.
GRATITUDE.
I am increasingly honored and amazed at how I spend my days here in this town of Eau Claire. My business has done nothing but grow, even with all the traveling and training, and especially in the past year since opening the studio. I am able to set my own schedule, earn a comfortable living (I humbly thank you), and commute less than 2 miles to my job. Most of the time, I try to commute by foot or by pedals…something I hope never changes to a 20-30 minute commute in traffic guzzling gasoline. I see people in all arrays of current health and fitness levels, yet I see the best of all of them – YOU. I like to think that the hour you spend at the studio could be the best hour of your day. Where you get to set aside your work, family, and other roles in life and you get to focus on your fitness. You leave feeling better than you came, usually sweaty, always smiling. I love sharing time with all of my ‘clients’ and do consider you like a family to me.
This year I’ve learned how to reset the breaker at the studio, climbed a ladder a hundred times it seems to set up for TRX classes, enjoyed seeing John poke his head out of the salon door to smile and say hello and deliver some light hearted sarcasm as I head upstairs. We’ve seen three open houses where significant others and kids and friends all gather to try to guess what I did to alter another recipe. I have welcomed my good friend and colleague Paula Steenrod into my business world as an independent contractor. She lights up my world (and my mornings) and I have heard plenty of positives from all of you! And just when I think maybe the economy (schmonomy) will finally impact my business, I continue to see growth through the referrals that you willingly send my way. I am blessed.
I have witnessed countless personal triumphs, coached you through sticky spots and down days, and have seen many of you racing and crossing finish lines, some for the very first time. You’ve trusted me to assist you with personal decisions and times of family crisis, and allowed me to meet your families, even invited me into your homes. I met the cutest little boy a day after his birth, chatting with momma while he slept in my arms. Late night discussions as one of you accepted change, and now has begun your Master’s degree. I have cartwheeled in a yoga class, discovered how much I love running through the woods, and now teach the community, embodiment, and positive change process that is the Franklin Method. I have assisted my teacher Donna Farhi on three occasions, and can call her a friend and mentor. My boyfriend runs with me and encourages my feet to move swiftly and my head to stay focused. He is my climbing partner and best friend and I send thanks to you, Jason Ryba, for how you have helped me shine this year. And I continue to look ahead for more memories, more achievements.
This next year brings my 500 hour Yoga Therapy training with Scott Anderson, and level II of the Franklin Method begins in September, again in Boulder, CO. I have also made a commitment to myself that in 2012 I will complete a 50K trail race. Yes, 30 miles of beautifully brutal trails in the year I turn 30. (Let’s see how I try to top that when I turn 50!) I will be running a lot this next year… In the meantime, I am meeting my goals of living debt free and simply, and resuming artistic work with a couple opportunities to dance and choreograph again. My soul sings its praise for all things good in my life.
GRATITUDE.
Merry Christmas and happy new year to all of you and your families.
See you soon,
Cheri
Hello to all of you! Hope you are well.
I am SO grateful for the weather cooling off at night now. We have had quite the heat wave here in Wisconsin, making exercise a bit more challenging as the humidity makes us melt into a sludgy sloth-like pace. I have been running (sometimes quite slowly) to prepare for a trail race at the end of August. I am going to complete the 15K Duluth Trail Fest run next month and need to be increasing my distance. The seventies this morning allowed me to feel a little better about this process! Not to mention that I have been in the river on a daily basis to chill my organs and cool my skin. Swimming has been a godsend for me this summer and I more deeply appreciate how close I am to the river. How’s your training going? Any races or events coming up for you?
I ordered to Forks Over Knives DVD, have already received the companion book in the mail. This fall I hear from a connection of mine at UW Stout that there may be a film festival happening. Keep your eyes peeled and if it comes through I will certainly let you know. This film is going to be great!
A couple other professional updates: First up thank you for allowing me to teach you and share my experience of living well in this body! I am grateful. I have decided to wait on graduate school (some of you know I was weighing a certain opportunity pretty heavily this spring….okay, for the last few years really!) and I feel that my gut is saying no to that particular path. I am still interested in somatic psychology and movement therapy, but feel changing to a clinical counseling practice would be obviously different than how I work now. When we are well, move well, feel our bodies and minds are connected and communicating – that helps keep us sane! I am going to continue working on total wellbeing through the vehicle of movement transformation and encouragement. In the mean time I am applying for a 500 hour Registered Yoga Teacher program. After my work with Donna, my 200 RYT is in the paperwork process and should be set by the fall…the 500 Hour Yoga Therapy program with Scott Anderson takes place over the next two years. I am looking forward to completing the application process and hope to receive acceptance to the program. Starts in February 2012.
Last udpate – I had a skype date with Narelle Carter Quinlan last night. This fabulous brilliant woman from Australia has inspired me and we’ve been talking about co-teaching a workshop together since we met in New Zealand. Well, folks. It’s going to become a reality this OCTOBER! We are working on developing content to help you find balance and ease in your asana practice by moving with deeper connectivity and embodiment of the organ and fluid systems. When we move from the inside out, our practice is no longer about forcing and fighting. It’s about deep listening and honoring ourselves from the juicy inner landscape to a beautiful outer expression within the form of Yoga asana. Save the date – details coming!
At the studio we have AC cranked up as of Tuesday, so come on in and enjoy your session. Namaste!
Cheri
Hello fabulous students and faithful blog followers. Happy healthy Thursday!
I returned to Wisconsin safely after about two weeks of travel, and had my first day back at the studio yesterday. I love teaching and I am happy to be back at it. Sorry if any of you expected a gift of Austin TX heat – it’s chilly here in Eau Claire today!
I taught with Donna Farhi three days in Austin, TX. We had some repeat students and most of the groups consisted of fellow teachers. It’s always a nice test to make sure I’m on my game and really embodying the moment and the content we’re teaching…also humbling and refreshing to work with new students and observe different bodies as they move. I really enjoy training my eye and my heart to listen clearly to what is being presented in front of me before I step in to teach. On Thursday, June 9 we taught the contentment and containment workshop intensive. During our afternoon seated meditation and chanting I felt such a new experience of openness and expansive clear space through my heart, spread wide open across my upper back and into the space behind me. It felt like the sound and vibration of the ocean was flooding through my middle, washing my insides and clearing out any yuck that may have been hiding there. I walked around with that sensation for days afterward…kind of lost it with the two days of traveling, and now I’m working on restoring it with my practice. My memory and imagery is clear and I will recreate it.
Franklin Method training in Boulder CO also left me feeling mostly inspired, only a bit fatigued. It is amazing when you’re learning how tough it is on your nervous system – in a healthy way, but we need to be mindful about creating balance and rest in order to keep going! We studied the spine and shoulder – amazing stuff! I have a totally new sense of where my shoulders live, and how the head is attached perfectly and fluidly into the spine. The atlanto-occipital and neighboring atlanto-axial joints are SUPER! Embodying function in these areas gives me a sense of release through my shoulders, hips, and even better grounding into my feet. Whew! I will be offering a couple more workshops (as part of my continued training) in July or August for “sample” Franklin method classes. Again, these will be offered for current students only at no cost. Enjoy!
Remember to sign up for Summer classes soon – grab your spot and make it official. See you soon!
Namaste,
Cheri
