The bubble in the level! I love this description. The whole piece put me right back into your yoga classes. That ebb and flow of glorious humanity that is a full class with “New York real estate.”
“Right then my practice was not doing yoga, it was teaching yoga. My job was to protect the mandala, our sacred environment; the beautiful old wooden floor, eggshell walls, and sky blue ceiling that contained and supported us, allowing us to relax the gripping so often required just to get through a New York day.”
This post made me cry! Happy, nostalgic tears. Sarah Clark first told me about Om and her afternoon class helped me survive my first year of teaching in a high-need public school. I took a 1-hour train ride from New Lots to Union Square so I could be a part of this studio and get the resilience, reset, and rest I so desperately needed to get through another week. I remember weeping in the locker room after Sarah’s last class and another student just looked at me saying, “I know.” I remember Frank helping me in my first urdhva dhanurasana saying “I won’t let you fall, I won’t let you fall, I won’t let you fall.” I used to dream of being a yoga teacher like Sarah, Frank, Cyndi and Edward. After class, I would get back on the train and just feel high. If there were no seats, I would sit on my rolled up yoga mat like a stool. I was exhausted in the best possible way.
Eventually I took the last 200 hour TT in 2012 and Cyndi’s 300 hour TT 8 years later. I’m proud and honored to offer some of what I learned at OM in my classes. When I see little aha moments in my yoga students, similar to the ones you describe here, it takes me back to the studio above the Strand. I still practice and teach in my “no place like Om” shirt with my blocks and blanket from the when the studio closed and gave away all the props. They are some of my most special possessions. Thank you, Cyndi. 🩷
The bubble in the level! I love this description. The whole piece put me right back into your yoga classes. That ebb and flow of glorious humanity that is a full class with “New York real estate.”
It was a time and a place but it relocated to VA for a magical period, too. Soooo glad you were a part of it all.
Me too!! It’s a lifelong dance I’m happy I learned from you.
“Right then my practice was not doing yoga, it was teaching yoga. My job was to protect the mandala, our sacred environment; the beautiful old wooden floor, eggshell walls, and sky blue ceiling that contained and supported us, allowing us to relax the gripping so often required just to get through a New York day.”
The way you weave a yoga practice into love and presence is felt so deeply, thank you 🙏
❤️
Henry Shroy! I love what you wrote. A moment in time with all the right people going on the same ride together. So good, right?
This post made me cry! Happy, nostalgic tears. Sarah Clark first told me about Om and her afternoon class helped me survive my first year of teaching in a high-need public school. I took a 1-hour train ride from New Lots to Union Square so I could be a part of this studio and get the resilience, reset, and rest I so desperately needed to get through another week. I remember weeping in the locker room after Sarah’s last class and another student just looked at me saying, “I know.” I remember Frank helping me in my first urdhva dhanurasana saying “I won’t let you fall, I won’t let you fall, I won’t let you fall.” I used to dream of being a yoga teacher like Sarah, Frank, Cyndi and Edward. After class, I would get back on the train and just feel high. If there were no seats, I would sit on my rolled up yoga mat like a stool. I was exhausted in the best possible way.
Eventually I took the last 200 hour TT in 2012 and Cyndi’s 300 hour TT 8 years later. I’m proud and honored to offer some of what I learned at OM in my classes. When I see little aha moments in my yoga students, similar to the ones you describe here, it takes me back to the studio above the Strand. I still practice and teach in my “no place like Om” shirt with my blocks and blanket from the when the studio closed and gave away all the props. They are some of my most special possessions. Thank you, Cyndi. 🩷
Waiting for the new book!
Warmly!