Otsukare Sama Deshita!
Yoga teachers Sunny Kurosaka and Akira Watamoto get the Furthest-Traveled Award for enduring a 10-hour trip from Tokyo to attend the conference. 
Watamoto-san owns a Raja yoga studio in Tokyo, where he and Kurosaka-san both teach. Watamoto is also head of the Japan Yoga Meditation Association, a group founded by his father when he was a child.
Their favorite teacher at the conference, so far, is Rodney Yee. In class, Yee taught them how to balance effort and surrender. "I love his teaching way—I learned how to use the groin to open the hips—not to pull too much, but contract the muscle from the inside," she said.
Due to a special interest in yoga therapy, they look forward to studying with Tias Little, Gary Kraftsow, and Desiree Rumbaugh. They're interested in teaching yoga therapy "because many Japanese people have neck pain," Kurosaka said.
Photo Credit: Todd Semo