Two weekends ago, I attended a workshop with Seane Corn at The Sanctuary Yoga Room in Fort Worth. Last weekend, I attended a workshop with Tias Little at the Dallas Yoga Center in Dallas. In between these two workshops, I taught 5 yoga classes: 2 to seniors ranging from their late 60s to late 80s, with a huge range of ability, and 3 to adults ranging from late 20s to late 50s, also with a huge range of ability. This life, I had no clue I would be living it 5 years ago, or even 6 months ago for that matter. I’m beyond grateful; words cannot express my gratitude for yoga, for my life, for this world we live in.
And the workshop with Seane Corn, it awakened me in every shape of the word. She ripped my little world apart. After the Friday night training, I was lit up, excited, ready to conquer the world. Her teaching instilled a fire in me, and I was ready to go, ready to soak up her knowledge, her passion. Later that night, I got sick, really sick, and couldn’t put the two together. The next morning, I went to training, pushing away my pain, eager to learn and soak up her magic. And what happened was, I got even more sick. I couldn’t deal with it. I was emotionally, physically drained, so much so, that I didn’t go back to the afternoon session. After Saturday morning, I was pissed, angry, mad at her, mad at myself, wondering why the hell people study with her, wondering why many of my all-time favorite teachers have studied with her.
And by Sunday morning, I got it. It clicked. This is supposed to happen. That’s when I realized, this shit is awakening me. It’s stirring up all the details in my life that I drown out. All my worries and sorrows and pain. She made it all come to surface, through the art of yoga, through some intense yogic therapy. I’ve been to therapy before, and I’ve been through many a yoga training and workshop before, and I’ll tell you, there’s nothing like studying with Seane. The Sunday session was equally as emotional for me, and the second I could, I left, bolted out of there, got into the cool, fresh air, emotions and breath surrounding me. I hurried home and finished journaling from the night before, processing every emotion, every pain, every piece of anger and worry and fear.
Yoga works you to your core, if you let it. It hits muscles and fibers and tissues deep in your bodies that store all your problems, all your fears, all the things you’ve hidden from life. The weekend workshop with Seane brought all those feelings out of me, all at once, and it literally made me sick. But that’s the point, to be awakened. To be alive. To be shook up. Yoga can be there for you in the shape that you want it to: it can be a workout, a relaxation, a stress relief. It can also be a form of therapy, or work alongside your therapy. It’s perfect for diving deep, into the places you don’t always want to go, if you’re ready to listen. It’s good for discovering and rediscovering parts of you that you didn’t know existed, or had completely forgotten about.
If Seane Corn comes to your area, my suggestion is to go, set aside the time and learn from her. But know that she will work with your mind, body, and soul, most possibly in ways that you have not experienced before. Know that her workshops will open you up, get you a little closer to your awakening, get you a little closer to the areas in life that you hide away from. Show up ready to let her light into your life.
It’s Fall, kind of. It’s still warm in Texas but that has not stopped me from making my favorite breakfast each morning: steel cut oats with peanut butter, almond milk and bananas. Warm your body up with a big bowl of oats!
Awakening with Steel Cut Oats, and Seane Corn
Ingredients
- 1/2 c. steel cut oats
- 2 c. water
- 1/4 c. almond milk
- 2-3 tbsp. peanut butter
- 1-2 bananas (optional)
- 1-2 c. blueberries (optional)
Instructions
- Boil the water and add the steel cut oats, reduce to a rolling simmer, and cook for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- During the last 2 minutes, add your almond milk and peanut butter, and stir together.
- Pour the oats into two bowls, and top with bananas or blueberries.