At Home in Hollywood

Florida, that is. It's quite nice here. I have been neglectful about taking photos but I will make up for it today and add some in before my final posting about my trip here. So this is the first Yoga Journal Conference in Hollywood Florida, and my first conference as well. I have been reluctant to attend one, even the most recent gathering that featured Anusara, which was held in Colorado in September (all good things in my world), the reason being that I tend to shy away from mass anything. Reason? Oh, I could probably give you a few, but regardless, the main reason I decided to come down here and check it out is that Desiree is here. I will be doing my Teacher Training with her this February in Tempe, where she is from, and I thought I could use a few days in the sun of the beaches and the radiance of one of the best Anusara instructors. On the planet.

So yeah, I get down into the Fort Lauderdale airport on Friday afternoon, with just enough time to let the one-armed man check me into my room at The Waves, before heading to the Westin Diplomat to pick up Mikey and head to a local studio where she taught a Master Class from 6 to 8:30pm. It was nothing short of fantastic, trying so many new poses and so many outlandish twists on other ones (like one-sided backbends--picking up one arm and then the SAME SIDE leg so you are in a backbend with just your right hand and right foot on the floor!!) and all sorts of other stuff. She is Marc's mentor, so we got to chat about him moving off Maui and launching himself out in the larger yoga world. And then I collapsed into bed with two of the biggest slices of pizza I have ever seen in my life--literally as big a flattened traffic cone--and awakened at 6 to try and find a place for a quick breakfast and email check. It turns out the nearby Marriott was the only place open, serving coffee that tastes like dark chocolate (for real) and free internet, right on the beach. One egg white and veggie omelet later, I make my way into the conference center for two more Des classes, the first from 8 to 10 the second from 10:30 to 12:30. My body was happy to be horizontal on the lunch break and then I attended a really really cool class that got me thinking.

There is a guy named Dr. Robert Svoboda (I am assuming you all know by now that when I have something highlighted like that it's a hyperlink to the website, soyou can just click on it and read all about it?) who is some super scholar about Ayurveda. And you know what Ayurveda is? Yoga plus science. My two favorite topics! I was thrilled and I took tons of notes and learned all about Cultivating Your Prana. Basically, techniques for increasing your life force, strenghtening your energetic body and enhancing your vibrancy. And I am thinking the whole time, THIS I could study. It actually appeals to me a bit more than actual yoga.

Mikey and I went out to dinner at a Thai place, and we both deliberately overordered, which meant I got to eat Drunken Noodles for lunch today. I know Michale from his visits to Maui, but he actually lives in Greensboro North Carolina so I get to practice witih him when I am here or when he was visiting Maui. He has an incredible practice and is really really fun. Here is is website. I spent this afternoon blowing off some classes because I needed to be in a bikini more than I needed to be on a mat, and I am now being chased away from my outdoor spot at the Marriott pool bar because it is so cool and breezy!

More tomorrow...