Two Days in Sedona

Even though I was staying in Flagstaff, I commuted to Sedona for two days of Nia there.  It's a lovely scenic commute and only about 45 minutes.

On Wednesday, I was there in the morning to teach my Amazing routine. Sedona was one of the contributing cities to the routine, and the two teachers that helped me create the titular song of the routine were both present for the class. I have loved the experience of teaching the songs to their creators, and this was no exception for Alba and Wendy. I don't remember how much I've changed what we came up when we first put it together last year, but I suspect it has morphed a bit. Judging by how enthusiastically the class responded to the song, and how well they knew the movements, I'm thinking it didn't change that much from what the local teachers were teaching.

Sedona is a breathtaking town. I've been back several times and each time I'm re-impressed. I forget, I guess, how amazing it is. And I didn't take many pictures because when I've been here before I've taken pictures and I hate them. They lie. They don't even come close to capturing the majesty of the red mountains that surround the town.  Everywhere you look is gorgeous.



After class I scooted right back to Flagstaff because I wanted to head north and do some sightseeing there. I blogged about that here. 

The next day it was raining. I've never seen it anything but hot and sunny in Sedona. Good to learn that a bit of rain doesn't detract from the scenic wonder. Personally, I can more easily enjoy myself when I'm not hot and being sunshined on. Unless I have the freedom to be mostly unclothed, I don't like being in the direct sunshine.

In the morning, I was booked in a Pilates studio to teach an old routine called Miracle. I learned it way back in 1997 or 1998, just a few years after first becoming a White Belt and it was one of my favorites for many years. So it was nice to pull this one out of the vault. Polishing it up in preparation for this morning was like a trip down memory lane.

It was a very interesting experience to see the routine now, after I've had so much more experience and training. I could clearly see my neophyte self and how I approached the routine back then. If I were to learn the routine now I would (and today I did) approach it in a different way and understand it in a different way.

It went really well. I was nervous, but amazed at how well I remembered the routine and the movements with my body.

One woman seemed to be upset by the amount of masculine energy I was bringing and that is present in the routine. She let her arms dangle lifelessly when we were doing a powerful forearm movement called The Warrior and stood stock still during a section when we were making strong chops. Eventually she unceremoniously left the room.

After class the students and I had a long chat. The way the routine ends puts people in a very relaxed and spiritual place, conducive to sharing, so we sat in a circle for about half an hour and talked about our class experience and other things.

For lunch, Alba bought me a "Paleo Bowl" from a local restaurant I can't remember the name of. While she did that I changed from the Pilates studio to the same one I was in yesterday, which is the one Alba teaches in. Wendy teaches in the Pilates studio.

The food was delicious. It was chunks of grass-fed beef steak on a bed of roasted yellow bell peppers, mushrooms, sweet potatoes and Brussels sprouts. It was a lot of food and I could only eat half of it. I could have maybe eaten it all, but knowing what I was about to do, I opted for prudence and put half of it away for later.

Our afternoon session was more Miracle. But this time I did a movement breakdown for each song. We did a deep dive into Miracle and it was so awesome to get into the details of such an expertly crafted routine.

There were a couple of students who had signed up but weren't exactly clear on what we were doing. At one point, one of them was ready to leave because she feared I wasn't going to stop talking. She wondered if we were going to move. I explained that I would talk a little and we would move a little, but that it wasn't a workout, it was an educational experience. She stayed and had a great time.

The other one balked at the price until I reminded her that it's three hours. Then she said, "OK then it's a bargain." And she stayed and also had a great time.

There were three teachers there. I hope I gave them enough of Miracle that they can start teaching it themselves.

Afterwards, I stopped at the Natural Grocer on the way out of town. I needed to refill my water jugs and I thought maybe I'd find something else to get. As I shopped, I was a little curious that I didn't hear River make a peep. Still, out of habit, I shopped very quickly and got out of there.

His head wasn't popped out the window as usual. And still no sounds were heard. As I got closer to the car, I could see that he was in the driver's seat. He doesn't usually do that. Then when I got to the car, I saw why: He had found my leftover Paleo Bowl and finished it for me. I was bummed since I was looking forward to finishing it myself, but relieved because that meant I wouldn't have to feed him that night.

So, being without food, I did a quick search when I got back to Flagstaff. I found a BBQ place which I will blog about on my Burgers and BBQ Across America blog.

Tomorrow I will get back on Route 66 and continue heading west.

Comments

Unknown said…
Jason, I just saw this!
Loved revisiting your time here through your blog.
I was and am so grateful that you keep coming back to our little neck of the woods.
So sorry River finished your Paleo Bowl.....we"ll get you another one when you return.
Let me know when you will be swinging back around.
Love you my friend, thanks for all the Nia magic and expertise you bring us.
BTW, I'm halfway through Miracle as my Virgo self requires that what I teach be pretty ready an polished before I present it.
Love the routine, love all that you bring to us and to the experience.
And I LOVED LOVED LOVED Amazing <3
Alba

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