Yoga inspiration

As international teachers and travelers, we can’t keep track of the people who skitter in and out of our lives. Some encounters are short, entertaining and casual, such as a chat with tourists who heave their oversized backpacks in the corner of the fruit shake shop and share their travel stories. Other encounters have an enduring impact. In this post, I introduce you to Lily Russo, a yoga teacher who visited Vientiane recently and changed my life.

When we returned to Laos after our month-long winter break, I received an email from the Vientiane Yoga Studio saying there would be a guest teacher for the next couple weeks. After just one class with Lily, Tony and I both developed a big crush.

Colorful feminine tattoos devoid of dark outlines embellished her arms – rainbow finches, symbolizing her parents and her brother, on one arm, and elegant blooming flowers on the other. Her soothing voice offered specific instructions to attain proper alignment in the asanas while making each person in the class feel like we were doing everything just exactly right. Her vinyasa-flow-style classes challenged us to find our edge, to focus on the breath, to revel in our strength and flexibility. Energizing music, often lyrical takes on traditional mantras, accompanied her practice. Emerging from savasana at the end of each class, I always felt happier and more relaxed than I did at the start.

For three weeks, I didn’t miss a class with Lily. I also caught myself chanting softly and practicing pranayama (breathing exercises) at school. I felt joyful and light, even when faced with life’s daily frustrations. Patience, not usually an attribute assigned to me, suddenly came quite easily.
A week after Lily’s departure, I still feel the inner peace she brought to our hectic little city. My history of on-again off-again yoga obsession suggests I’m unlikely to maintain that gentle connection. But I hope I can.

Lily and her husband, Chris, left Laos to travel through Thailand and later up through Nepal and India. They plan to arrive in northern India about the same time Tony and I move to New Delhi, so we’re keeping in touch. (If she sees this blog post, she may start to worry that I’m a stalker. But I swear, I just deeply appreciated her reminder of yoga’s transformative power.)

This week, a new guest teacher arrived with her own brand of inspiration. Toni, a lovely yogini from England, leads strong hatha classes followed by wonderful restorative yoga. Unfortunately, she’s only here for two weeks. If you know of any fantastic traveling yoga teachers, please send them to Vientiane!

Following Lily’s last yoga class, she invited us to play on a slack line she had rigged up behind the studio. I had never heard of a slack line, but according to the rest of the ladies, they are incredibly popular in parts of Europe, Australia and the U.S. It’s basically a tightrope strung a couple feet off the ground. Here are a few photos.

Lily offers some slack-lining tips.