What a start to the YJ conference! I arrived in Boston tired and achy after a long, bumpy flight. My mood was sour, and my jaw was tight. But after an all-day intensive with Saul David Raye's partner massage class, I was ready for my mat and beginner's conference sessions. My plan is to take it easy for the first day or two with Thai Yoga Massage and an Anatomy lecture. Sunday I'll start early with an Ashtanga Primer, ease into backbends with Barbara Benaugh, and then finish the conference with Intro to Meditation with the lovely Sharon Gannon and an all-day restorative yoga intensive on Monday.
In Saul's class, I was lucky enough to partner up with a professional masseuse, who was looking to explore Thai Massage. It could have been awkward to be so intimate with a complete stranger, but Saul created a safe space so that we could all trust each other --- even when we had to massage a partner's posterior. And there was no way of getting around that. It wasn't exactly a formal handshake, but it did the trick and I got (and performed) a two-hour massage out of it.
Saul David Raye, co-founder and director of Shanti House and the director of the Thai Yoga Therapy training program at the White Lotus Foundation, demonstrates and teaches rhythmic massage techniques during a morning session.
Saul David Raye has been a student of yoga, healing, and meditation for more than 15 years. He is cofounder and director of Shanti House, a non-profit foundation for yoga, Ayurveda, and seva, and the director of the Thai Yoga Therapy training program at the White Lotus Foundation.