how low can you go?

i hadn't intended this to be my first yoga post, but, hey, so it goes.
background:
i've been practicing yoga for quite a while. 20+years, the last 10 seriously. for the last 3-5 years, i've been studying iyengar yoga. this form, created by b.k.s. iyengar, focuses on precise alignment, and holding the poses longer than other forms. it is NOT flow and glow yoga. it is rigorous and demanding, not just physically, but mentally, emotionally, and spiritually. all yoga is that way, really, if done right.

foreground:
this weekend, i had the pleasure of attending a workshop given by neeta datta, a senior iyengar teacher. i've been to several of her workshops before, and the effect has been, every time, profound. she embodies yoga, and i'm not talking about asana (postures). i'm talking about the philosophy of yoga, and how you live your life.
this is how my weekend went.
friday:
go to yoga teacher training (didn't i mention this? later), leave in the middle to go teach a class, return for the last part. go home for a few hours, back to the iyengar center for the evening part of the workshop.
learn more in 2.5 hours than i've learned in the last 6 months.
saturday:
back to the workshop, for 4.5 hours. learn another 6 months worth, stagger home to an epsom salts bath, and red wine. (so i'm not a fully evolved yogini-sue me.) ponder what i've seen, heard, and done, what i've learned, what i've not yet integrated. wonder just how sore i'm going to be on sunday.
sunday:
yep, sore, not as bad i had expected. tired, tho, very tired. not so much physically, but mentally.

i get a great amount out of these workshops because i am intensely focused on what's being taught. there is just so much information being offered, on so many levels. when neeta corrects another's pose, and i can see what's happening, there's a whole other layer to learn.

i love yoga. if you ask me about yoga, i'll do my best to be brief. i will probably fail. i could do yoga 8 hours a day, as long i had time left for some other fun things, like food, photography, reading, and sex (not necessarily in that order.) the philosophy of yoga makes perfect sense to me. it's a very well thought out, time-tested way to live a good life, and if you're so inclined, reach samadhi.

so if you've ever been even mildly interested in trying yoga, do it. your life will thank you.