I was fortunate to have the opportunity to take a workshop with international Yogini, Desiree Rumbaugh, last month. Desiree is one of John Friend's senior teachers and she travels the world teaching Yoga. She is based out of Arizona where she co-owns a studio with another Anusara Yogini. I have found the Anusara teaching methodology and Yoga philosophy resonates deeply with me. What I love about it is that it blends technicality, teaching how to properly be in a pose, with deep, heartfelt, joyous, spirituality. It's an uplifting practice filled with so much joy and laughter. I have studied with John Friend also, who is a wonderful teacher. But my experience with Desiree felt even more connected and personal and I'm grateful to have been able to experience her wonderful teaching.

One of the things she asked us at the workshop, was who of us would like to be able to do all the poses in Light on Yoga. Out of 60 people, only 5 of us raised our hands. Desiree laughed and replied, "As you can see, this is not a very popular interest." She said she too, however, had this interest and much of what she devoted her time to in her practice was being able to develop into these poses. If you visit her website, as well as her studio's website, you will see she has quite an advanced practice and ability in the postures. She's truly inspirational, and has been practicing for twenty years since the age of 27.

Over the past 8 months I have been practicing Rajakapotasana, otherwise known as King Pigeon Pose. It's similar to the picture above, but in Rajakapotasana, which is opened up to from Up Dog, both hands are on the floor and then both legs bend together to touch the toes to the back of the head. Much of my practice these days is done on my own, working intently on deepening into poses through regular practice. One of the challenges I've had as I've sought to grow deeper into my practice, is finding a teacher to guide me. There are many teachers who are advanced physically, but perhaps don't have the spiritual integration into their practice. I've had the opportunity, more recently, to practice with a group of Anusara Yogi's, which has been wonderful, as their attention to detail and alignment is very helpful. I feel I'm making progress with my King Pigeon, but the left brained side of me has felt very frustrated recently, wondering if I'll ever be able to get into this pose, and if so, what's a realistic time frame to be able to open up to this posture.

So, I sought the guidance of Desiree a few days ago when I sent her an e-mail. The idea to contact her and ask her a few questions came to me in a meditation. So, I did. And, it was a wonderful blessing when I received her reply yesterday. I've posted both my e-mail to her, and her reply. I hope you find this encouraging for you as you journey through your practice, realizing the infinite possibilities of what you can open up to, not just physically, but in your mind and in your heart.

Hi Desiree,
I met you at your workshop in Dallas a few weeks ago.

It was a wonderful experience learning from you. I am still working on my king pigeon pose in updog.

I remember you asked us at the workshop, who of us would like to be able to do all of the poses on Light on Yoga. I, along with about 5 other people, raised my hand. You had shared you also had this intention in your practice, as well. How did you go about opening up to all of these poses? What was your learning process? How many years of practice did it take you? Did some of the more challenging poses take a significant amount of practice and time? I know these are all very left brained questions, I hope you don’t mind and it’s ok for me to ask you this.

It seems to me you learned many of these poses when you were in your late 20’s/early 30’s so I was wondering if you feel it’s possible to continue opening up the body even at a later age. I’m 29, was a gymnast and ballerina for over 10 years of my childhood, and now aspire to reawaken at a deeper level my flexibility and ability.

I would appreciate any insight you might be able offer and thank you for your guidance. I hope all is well. Happy thanksgiving and hope to see you again soon…

Namaste-

Leanne

And, here is her reply:

Hi Leanne,
The good news is that I didn't even start doing yoga till I was 27 and had had two children. I didn't get this strong until I was in my mid-thirties. That said, you are in great shape! I didn't balance in handstand in the middle of the room until I was 40!!!
You will learn and be able to do all of those poses if you have the guidance of a good teacher. Anusara teachers are well trained in the Universal Principles of Alignment. That is why I love teaching this system. We learn how the body is supposed to work and train each part specifically (rather than learning poses, we train the body) Then when you want to do those advanced poses, you have everything you need to be able to figure them out.

Go to anusara.com and check out the teachers in your area or those you might want to travel and study with.
If you need any more guidance, feel free to ask me.

I worked very hard on a weekly basis and slowly but surely built the strength and flexibility I needed to do all of those poses. By the way, I can't do "all" the poses in Light on Yoga. But my practice is by most people's standards, very advanced.

And the beauty of doing those poses is what we have to learn along the way, re: healing from injuries when we get too aggressive, etc...

much love to you on this path, Desiree
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