What I would change about Anusara, if anyone asks me…

Now that Anusara is being reorganized, I’m throwing my hat in the ring to be an interim leader. Here is my platform for consistency (I’m over change. I’m going for constant unwavering courage instead.):  Vote for me!

• Instead of being the yoga of “Yes,” we are going to say “Maybe,” especially if we are male and our brain needs a chance to catch up to our you-know-what. And instead of doing the "Dance of Yes and No," we will do the dance of "Maybe we shouldn't."
• Teachers would be able to choose how many poses they wish to teach all five Universal Principles of Alignment TM, if any, rather than the 50% requirement on 50% of the poses 50% of the time. In general, Anusara teachers need a big cup of shut up (me included).
• I’m going to allow music and any other joyful thing into the room, especially hip-hop music or as my Dad calls it, Hippity-Hop, because yoga can be fun and safe. Really. And if my students are cold, I’m going to turn up the heat just a bit.
• I’m going to stick to the light, to the highest and to the reasons I first came to yoga none of which included anything about Wiccans or Witchcraft or sacred covens of sexual whatever.
• Sacred Geometry will not be a requirement since regular old geometry almost killed me. That also goes for the Tattvas. OMG. Tattvas schmattas.
• I would hold our annual meetings in places with 5-star hotels and spas, and 700-thread count sheets, and not anywhere that includes “Wander” and “Lust” or green port a potties in a field.
• Students would not have to rock it out, or be a merry band of bohemians, or find their inner child in any way. We could all be adults on the mat if that’s what we like.
• I would allow teachers to teach anywhere at any time and get rid of the 12-week requirement that no other Anusara event be held within the continental U.S., or Europe, or within 100,000 miles because I believe in Abundance and all the rest protects the ego.
• I am going to remember, every single day, why I love this style of yoga. I came for the Universal Principles, for the teaching from the heart, and for the many magnificent beings I have met. All the rest is there to make me better, wiser and stronger.

Vote for me!

Michelle Berman Marchildon is the author of “Finding More on the Mat: How I Grew Better, Wiser and Stronger through Yoga.” She is a columnist for the Elephant Journal, and teaches Anusara-Inspired and Power yoga in Denver, Colorado. She has been told she will never be an ambassador for Lululemon Athletica. You can follow her on Facebook on the Yogi Muse page.