Vitality creates a certain depth to life.  ~ Laruga Glaser ~ My weekend with Yogi Earth Goddess, Laruga Glaser at Miami Life Center.

Let me start by talking about who Laruga Glaser is to me. I remember when I first started doing Yoga 5 years ago, I looked up videos online to start my research on this miraculous new journey I had begun. I remember seeing the video of her by Alessandro Sigismondi https://youtu.be/SZCxKjgReQ4, were she just floated like a butterfly from posture to posture and I remember thinking, oh man I can’t wait to be there. Her grace and elegance was so captivating, I remember feeling her calm nature through the screen. There was something she had, that I knew I wanted to attain. She was a huge inspiration for me to continue practicing even though I knew from the begining this journey would not be easy. I started following her on social media less than a year ago and absolutely fell in love with her character. When I saw that she would be doing a workshop in Miami, I jumped on it!

I got into Miami with more than three hours to spare and get accommodated. I had purchased an Airbnb a couple of blocks away from the studio. When I got there I couldn’t get into the building and someone on the intercom told me I should have my host refund my money because it’s illegal to do Airbnb in that building. Of course, there was a slight sense of panic and fear that set in. Being in unfamiliar territory and being told that what I’m doing is illegal, sent up so many red flags for me. I immediately sent him a message and told him what happened. And I started searching for a hotel room to be safe. I found one through Expedia and when I get to the hotel to check in the front desk tells me there are no rooms😱 but I had already paid, so I’m on the phone with Expedia waiting for the front desk to find me a room mind you time is running out. I finally by the miracle of God get into a room by 5:30pm and have enough time to take a cat bath, get dressed and bounce. I was like 15 minutes late and of course when I get there they send me to the front lol and she looks at me acknowledging my tardiness but I could tell she wasn’t upset. I hear her say, so we will be doing full primary tonight and my heart skipped a beat lol. I really didn’t eat lunch or dinner because I was in the car and snaking on fruit and didn’t have time to get food since I was trying to find a room. Thank God I had a protein bar with me and ate that while I was waiting for my room. Class ended up being amazing and exactly what I needed after such a troublesome afternoon. There is something about the way I move when I am in a group filled with other energies. It’s almost as if I have this extra support lifting me up. When we were leaving I saw her putting on her Vans and the internal geek inside me said, “hey cool she wears Vans too!” It just made her so much cooler in my eyes 😍

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e next morning we met for Mysore at 6:30am, I made sure I was there by 6 😉 Practice was also, very uplifting. Even though I was one of two that early, everyone starting trickling in one by one filling up the entire room. Laruga had this soft ninja presence. She has this powerful but soft spoken energy that is very stealth. When I didn't think she would be there, she was, it was interesting. There were many of us so I didn't expect to get tons of attention from her. She just seemed to know exactly which postures I really needed help with and was there to assist. After practice we took a little break and met back for the Art of Ashtanga were we went through some of the main postures of the primary series. ​You can check out the video on my YouTube channel Link below https://youtu.be/tW_6yLmp8ro

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er our intro to primary series, we took a break for lunch and then we came back for some back bending. I learned some great new techniques for coming into back bends more efficiently. But after all that bending and flexing I was ready for a salt soak and bed. The next day we started the intro to intermediate at 6am. So this time I made sure I was there by 5:30am😁  We briefly talked about the different series and she spoke about how each series has its own rhythm to it. This made so much sense. It opened up a whole new door for me to explore. She quickly got into the series and we started going through the postures working through each one up until Kapotasana. With each posture she covered, I attained a nugget of wisdom that I know comes from her years of experience.

You can watch the full video on my YouTube channel link below https://youtu.be/FeOEto8lwpY After our breakfast break, we met at noon for Chat and Chai with Laruga and Tim Feldmann (director of Miami Life Center). Tim asked Laruga who Krishnamacharya, Srí Pattabhi Jois, and Sharath Jois are to her. She said she finds herself using their journeys as inspiration for her own. She said when faced with an obstacle in her life or in her practice, she often finds herself asking questions like, “what would they do in this situation?” Encompassing the full spectrum of what it means to be a teacher, Laurga began to share her experiences through her own path to Yoga so that we may understand that it is a journey, not a destination. When the floor opened for questions, she answered each one with depth and intellect. After chat and chai, we met for the last section of our workshop, awakening the core. Going through specific core exercises and core strengthening postures from primary series. Here she showed us numerous ways to strengthen our core. By the end of the day, I felt stronger, more flexible and like I had soaked up so much knowledge. I am so grateful for my time with her. She is exactly how you think she would be, down to earth, warm and sweet. I really felt like I learned so much new information that I can take back to my own personal practice and to my students.