Feeling the Love in Indy
Since starting down the path of the vagabond Nia teacher, I had yet to make it to Indiana at all. Of the lower 48, it was one of the last four JAG free states. And I was in touch with several people, it's not like North Dakota or Kentucky when I simply didn't know who to reach out to, but I had been reaching out persistently to one or more of the teachers in Indianapolis, and each year, something came up so that the event couldn't happen. I don't dwell on such things, so I honestly can't even remember why it never worked out, but if I ever got the message that I should stop trying, I would have.
I didn't.
This year, Robin was able to secure a really cool yoga studio in the Greenwood neighborhood of Indianapolis.
When I arrived at the studio, she told me I could choose between the two rooms. One room had darkly painted walls, a shiny wood floor and dim, moody lighting. The floor wasn't bamboo color, but a dark wood like maple. No windows. Along some of the walls were mats and yoga paraphernalia organized in cubbies.
And the other room had one wall of windows to the outside so it was flooded with bright light. The walls were painted sky blue and the yoga equipment was on shelves instead of cubbies. Along one of the walls there were a big assortment of colorful hand weights. But what really caught my eye was the astroturf. Since this was to be the Woodstock Experience, I was really drawn to using the grass.
For any other Nia routine, I think I may have chosen the wood floors. The grass felt kind of funny. Soft but prickly. And it was over concrete, so not the most forgiving surface. But we'd be FreeDancing mostly, so I thought people would be OK. I chose the room with the grass.
We danced and it was beautiful. We did a spectacular Love Spiral, which I prefaced by asking them "do you trust me?" I didn't want them to let go or panic when the spiral looks like it's going to collapse in on itself. It worked like a charm and we all cheered and celebrated.
One of the students, after I invited the class to commune with the crystal, held out her hand and said that her Nia community had gifted this to her and now she wanted to pass it along to me. It was a red glass heart.
After class we gathered in the lobby of the yoga studio for a group photo. The yogis had a class in the grass room so we needed to clear out quickly.
They came from far and wide for this class. A group of people took a two hour drive up from Louisville KY, and an0ther group was a contingent from Bloomington, IN.
I didn't.
This year, Robin was able to secure a really cool yoga studio in the Greenwood neighborhood of Indianapolis.
When I arrived at the studio, she told me I could choose between the two rooms. One room had darkly painted walls, a shiny wood floor and dim, moody lighting. The floor wasn't bamboo color, but a dark wood like maple. No windows. Along some of the walls were mats and yoga paraphernalia organized in cubbies.
And the other room had one wall of windows to the outside so it was flooded with bright light. The walls were painted sky blue and the yoga equipment was on shelves instead of cubbies. Along one of the walls there were a big assortment of colorful hand weights. But what really caught my eye was the astroturf. Since this was to be the Woodstock Experience, I was really drawn to using the grass.
For any other Nia routine, I think I may have chosen the wood floors. The grass felt kind of funny. Soft but prickly. And it was over concrete, so not the most forgiving surface. But we'd be FreeDancing mostly, so I thought people would be OK. I chose the room with the grass.
One of the students, after I invited the class to commune with the crystal, held out her hand and said that her Nia community had gifted this to her and now she wanted to pass it along to me. It was a red glass heart.
After class we gathered in the lobby of the yoga studio for a group photo. The yogis had a class in the grass room so we needed to clear out quickly.
After class, several of us when to eat at a local BrewPub called Tax Man. I almost wished I liked beer, all of the craft brews they got looked so good. But it didn't seem appetizing to me to have a whole beer, so I just stuck to my water.
And of course I got a burger, which I'll go into more detail about on my BBQ blog.
River was a heavy topic of conversation as there were a lot of dog-lovers fascinated by the degree of attention I needed to give my damaged doggy. So I talked them through the story, and River gave us some lovely demonstrations of the types of things that set him off and how we handle it.
I think I'll always picture Indianapolis and Indiana as being drenched in rain. I know it's not usually the case, but it seems that whenever I had passed through, and now that I've stopped, it also holds true, that it's always either raining, threatening to rain, or just finished raining. Not complaining, I love the rain!
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