I’ll never forget the first time I tried it. It was exhilarating. I’d never felt anything like it.
I was a little embarrassed about the marks on my wrists, though… Despite the summer heat in Washington, DC, I kept my suit jacket on at work. I didn’t want my colleagues to get the wrong impression.
It was powerful too. I found when I was on it, I could try things I otherwise might not have the courage to do.
Yet when I was on it, I found I could truly “hang.” I could open my heart in ways I never knew were possible.
There’s simply nothing quite like the Great Yoga Wall®. In fact, it’s what got me teaching.
I had been taking classes at a small yoga studio just outside of DC. When the owners installed a Great Yoga Wall®, I fell in love.
At the time, I was doing a lot of weight lifting. I stretched quite a bit before and after each training session and was practicing yoga. Nothing helped me stretch deep into the muscles like the Great Yoga Wall®.
It was the best partner too. I could trust it completely. I never had to worry whether it was strong enough to hold me or whether it was paying attention as I turned upside down or did a daring suspended backbend.
And I was hanging upside down and backbending on it every chance I got.
Just a few months later, the owner of that little studio in Virginia, Ellen Carroll, asked if I wanted to go train with one of the owners of the Great Yoga Wall® company, Bryan Legere, in California. She offered a small scholarship, and in return I agreed to come back to the studio and teach yoga with the Great Yoga Wall®.
I jumped at the opportunity! Little did I know how saying yes at that moment would change my life.
I learned so much in that first Great Yoga Wall® Level 1 training, and I used the Great Yoga Wall® in almost every class I taught back in Virginia.
Yet, my body and soul wanted more.
A few months later I traveled back to California for the Great Yoga Wall® Level 2 training, and within a year, I moved to California to study with Bryan and earn my 200 and 500-hour teacher training certificates.
We had so much fun doing Great Yoga Wall® things. I assisted him in several Great Yoga Wall® trainings. I apprenticed with him and learned even more about how he incorporated the Great Yoga Wall® into classes. We spent hours together filming an instructional video and taking photos for the training manuals.
Life eventually took me to Chicago to live with my amazing husband, and Bryan to Oregon with his lovely wife Stacy, where they built a beautiful studio for retreats and Great Yoga Wall® trainings on their scenic ranch (see the picture at the top for just one of the stunning views).
Then, all too soon, life took itself from Bryan’s body. See my tribute post to him to learn more about what a talented teacher he was and how he impacted my life. I will always be grateful for the generosity with which he shared his knowledge, the opportunities he gave me, and the ways he continues to help me from the other side.
So, when Bryan’s wife Stacy called me and asked me to carry on his legacy of Great Yoga Wall® trainings, you can imagine how honored and touched I felt. Since then I have been working with one of Bryan’s other long-time students, Barbara Lawrence, to bring the joy of the Great Yoga Wall® trainings to you.
Great Yoga Wall® Level 1 training gives you the opportunity to dive deeply into the healing benefits of working with the Great Yoga Wall®. Physically, your body will experience the poses you know and love in a new and rich way. Your posture practice will evolve faster than it ever could on its own. Mentally, you’ll feel more confident, grounded, and fearless. Emotionally, you’ll discover the joy that can shine through when you allow yourself to open so playfully yet profoundly.
There’s a reason my shorter workshops using the Great Yoga Wall® consistently sell out. There’s something about the way the Great Yoga Wall® safely anchors one part of you so you can really stretch, which opens up a host of other benefits.
What you’ll get in a weekend in the Level 1 training would take months if not years to acquire on your own and cost far more. It’s simply an amazing tool for cultivating bliss, courage, strength, and freedom.
You might see some of the pictures and say to yourself, “I can’t do that pose!” The beauty of the Great Yoga Wall® is that it helps yoga students and teachers alike find a whole new level of practice. It helps you do what you think you cannot do. In my last shorter Great Yoga Wall® workshop, the participants ranged from in their 20s to in their 70s, and had conditions like scoliosis, low back problems, and neck and shoulder pain. They all did every single pose, hung upside down in several ways, and did backbends they didn't know were possible.
Or perhaps you’re thinking that you don’t have enough experience to spend three days working with the Great Yoga Wall®. We’ll have ample breaks and pace the course to your needs. I assisted Bryan many times in the Great Yoga Wall® Level 1 and 2 trainings, and each time it was different because he tailored it to who was in the room. I’ll continue this approach, and you’ll be surprised by what you can do and how much you’ll gain.
Are you ready to join me? Click here to learn more and stay informed about the next Great Yoga Wall training. Who knows? It just might change your life.
Speak Your Truth
How has yoga changed your life? Do you have a Great Yoga Wall story? Let me know in the comments!
In wellness, joy, and inspiration,
Tami