Yokohama

Yokohama

After teaching in Nagoya Kumiko and I headed out to Yokokhama for the Yoga Festa. We taught Hip Hop Asana and it was soooooo much fun. The class was 3.5 hours with a half hour break in the middle. Having been sold out for over two months there was a lot of anticipation. Again there were many new students and those who had taken my class many times. I did not get to see the venue very much and there were some people I was hoping to see on this trip but missed. I would have liked to take some classes with Govinda Kai and Duncan Wong but I did not have the time. I ran into Uncle Dunks and as always he is a whirlwind of energy. He is one of the hardest working men in the yoga community today, traveling, teaching, giving demonstrations etc. I also wanted to take class with Ken Harakuma perhaps next time. I did see Ken but we did not get a chance to talk. He is a very sweet and soft spoken man. Hip Hop Asana on the other hand was loud and sweaty. We began class with Aka Pan...not his real name it means Red Pants, because his pants are always red...anyway he taught some hip hop dance to the class for about 10 minutes instead of Surya Namaskar. It was great. People were dancing, sweating, laughing and seemed to really be getting into it. Afterwards we went into some arm balances and the second half was a bit slower and I talked a bit more about what HHA is. Anytime I teach a HHA class the money I make is put aside so that when I return to the states I use the money to teach at places for free or purchase blocks or mats for those who come to class but cannot afford them. It also gives me the freedom to teach more without asking for anything in return. At the end of the class again we went out for some vegan dinner. Its great to share dinner with students and especially those who do not usually eat vegan. Afterwards Kumiko and I split up, she went to Tokyo and I went out to Kyoto, Osaka and Fukouka. It was a sad but necessary moment...ummmm I think Kumiko was ready to get rid of me.