I met my yoga idol. Adriene Mischler.
You may know her from the very famous YouTube channel, ‘Yoga with Adriene.’
I have been following Adriene for years. I have practiced with her more than any other teacher in the whole world. And finally I was able to meet her. She was right next to me! Walked on my mat! We have the same toe-polish!!!
And this meeting really couldn’t have come at a better time. If you read my previous blog, you will know I’ve been having somewhat of an identity crisis. What I realised I needed, was to get back to my basics. And I have been. I’ve been holding back from trying to do crazy-cool, Insta-worthy shit, and I have been sticking Warrior 2. For like, an hour! (Not an hour, but a couple of minutes in Warrior 2 feels like an hour).
What I’ve discovered, and what I’ve always known, is that there is so much more to these ‘basic’ poses. I think to call yourself an ‘advanced yogi,’ you understand this more than anyone.
There is always more to explore.
The practice Adriene held in Berlin was a sequence of some absolute basics.
And I worked hard. My quads hurt the next day. My hips woke up again.
When you are fully aware of every part of your body in a pose, whether that pose is compass or tadasana – you are in an advanced pose. Being good at yoga has nothing to do with how it looks. It’s about how it feels. And only you can know how it’s feeling. And if you can’t feel it, how can you adjust your body so that you can. Because you will. Even if it’s not as tight as it used to be, or you’re stronger than you were before, there is always more to explore. Always.
I spoke to Adriene about how I’ve been coming back to my basics, and how that practice she just held was perfect for that, and she totally understood. And also pointed out what I’ve been talking about – you realise that those poses are not basic at all. Not when you’re in your body instead of your mind.
Don’t get me wrong, the pretzel stuff is super fun, and I won’t stop playing with that either, but for now, this is what I need. My foundations. My roots. Remembering why I love this incredible practice. Why I love the community surrounding it. There is nothing wrong with pairing back in order to discover more.
There is always more to explore.
Ok, side note:
Adriene is super freaking incredible in person. She is exactly like she is on YouTube, and I knew she would be. She is the exact same height as me too!!
I also wrote her a letter because I’m a fan-girl like that. And we did Namaste Shark Fin together.
Oh, and she does this funny goddess squat thing when she goes in to hug you.
