So I've been drifting from studio to studio for awhile, trying to find one that I like, and yesterday I took a class at a Anusara studio, and I loved it!  The studio is a little bit of a drive for me, but it's worth it.  The teacher gave me corrections that I've never gotten before.  Some where such minor little corrections, but they changed the way an entire pose felt for me.  I'm so exited about this studio that I can't wait to go back.  Some of the other studios I've gone to lately, the classes were ok, but something just didn't fit.  I'm curious now as to how all of you have gone about picking you studios.  How did you know you were in the right place?

Samantha

I took my first "true" Anusara class today, also at a studio in NJ (could we be neighbors?), and this was four months after my teacher training mentor had recommended it to me! Guess I just wasn't ready for it when she first mentioned it. The studio where I've been practicing for the past two and a half years (my entire yoga "life" so far) does a meld of all different styles; if you ask the teacher/owner what style yoga she practices, she'll tell you she practices yoga, plain and simple. So I've known nothing other than that as well.

The reason I first started going where I go is that the studio is 2 miles from my house. Before that, I was doing DVDs at home for about a year, which I really don't count as having practiced yoga, even though I was familiar with most all of the basic asanas from my first class. So when I was ready to finally go out there into the world and interact (I felt it was way past time for me to find a real live teacher), I did a web search and tried the first studio that was the closest to me geographically. Turns out, a friend of mine had been telling me for months about this particular studio, but I just wasn't ready to listen (funny how that happens, eh?). This friend has now become a very good friend and we're both currently taking the 200 hour teacher training together, along with 14 other women. Can you imagine the shakti going on with that group?!

My mentor has also recommended another Anusara studio, about 40 minutes from my house, where she did her training. I hear they have a 3-hour master class there on the first Wednesday of every month, so maybe I'll try that one out in a couple weeks. Another girl from my training had also recommended that studio as well, so we'll see.

It's so funny, when I first heard from the other trainees that they take classes in other studios, I thought it was like heresy or something. Since that studio has been my first and only studio, I identify yoga with it and would never even think to go look for another place to practice (other than at home, of course). I guess being halfway through the program now, I'm feeling the urge to expand outward, and it's not as scary as it was when I first started. And that was exactly the theme of the class today: pull inward and strengthen, then expand outward and shine. I like that. It made me smile.

OM

A friend of mine was on her way to the class yesterday morning but never made it there: the traffic was so bad, she had to turn around and go home. I think that's even worse than wanting to go and not being able to because of being stuck home waiting on a repairman (I've had that happen several times and I know how frustrating that is). You really have to practice your yoga then in not being attached to attending class.

I normally attend a meditation class on Tuesdays followed by an asana class at my regular studio, but I have a PT client coming this morning at the same time as the asana class. She normally would've come yesterday but didn't, which is why I was able to attend the Anusara class. As much as I love working with my clients, I sometimes find it difficult to shift the focus from what I want to what they want. I tend to feel caught between being the student and being the teacher, like I can't exactly find my identity there yet. But I guess it's all part of the process, since I am still only in teacher training. Attachment is such a tough thing.

OM