This was my third time going to the Interfusion Festival. It's a different experience every time, and while I knew what to expect, I was pleasantly surprised.
This year's festival was the most organized it has ever been: everyone signed up for classes ahead of time, and there was always a volunteer to check people into each workshop so the classes weren't overcrowded. And while I still think there needs to be more time in between workshops for bathroom breaks and lunch, this time I planned my schedule so that I would have those breaks; perhaps staggered start times for the workshops would help. The hotel was too cold (as usual), but that's not the festival's fault; the ipads were a bit finicky for check-in, but that should be an easy glitch to fix for 2020. I might go back to the regular plastic bracelets as opposed to the cloth, satiny ones we got this time (if you got water on the fabric from washing your hands or taking a shower, it would stay wet for a long time). But I will say, in past years I feel like I've had a million words of advice on how to make the festival better, but this year they really turned it up a notch! This time I'm not even doubting whether I'll go again; I WILL be there next time!
I took so many workshops over that weekend, mainly because I could attend classes on Friday (since I'm only working part-time). Here are the workshops I attended during my first day at the festival:
AcroYoga - In the Beginning
I had done acroyoga at the Interfusion Festival before, but this time I didn't feel very confident. The warm-up turned me off from the get-go. Rather than just doing some stretches or even a quick yoga practice, we had to cross the room mimicking different animals (both physically and verbally). I just could not get into that (although I appreciated that some people really had fun with it). We also played a silly game where everyone closed their eyes and had to whisper to each other to find "home" until everyone was there (I'll admit I left the room so I wouldn't have to do that part.). I thought the instructors (Kelly Marburger and Eric Sipes, from AsanaRoots in Baltimore) were very good, but they didn't offer enough supervision for us as we practiced (well, at least not for my group), so we struggled a lot. In the past I have left acroyoga sessions feeling good and strong, but this time I felt like a failure, as if I didn't learn or improve upon any skills. Perhaps if I want some real direction, I need to go to a real acro studio.
This was the most disappointing workshop I have ever taken in all my trips to Interfusion. I was excited to learn about reiki because I think the idea of using your own energy (and that of someone else) for healing purposes is fantastic. But this workshop was just a sales pitch in disguise. The instructor, Linda Pisani, is the founder of Holistic Grotto, and she really just wanted all of us to learn reiki through her (and pay her a lot of money for it). She spent the first 10-15 minutes just talking about her own life's journey: how she's from Australia and hated her job and had her daughter and then found reiki...blah blah blah. Then we did a brief meditation exercise, where we held our hands toward one another (like a prayer pose but with a few inches in between the hands); I could feel the warm, rolling energy between my palms, so that was really neat. But that was it! The rest of the time was spent with her telling us about her business, which days we could take classes with her, what kinds of certificates she offered, how much the classes would cost... It was like she was saying, "If you actually want to learn or do anything with reiki, you need to pay me directly, because I'm not giving you anything during this workshop." I hope the festival does NOT bring her back!
I should have read the description of this Gui Prada workshop before I signed up for it. It was a partner exercise in which pairs would intimately sit across from one another, getting closer and closer, from eye gazing to pressing foreheads together to one person sitting in the other person's lap, all the while breathing at the same rate. This sounds like an amazing exercise and an incredible way to connect with your partner. I just didn't feel comfortable doing all of that with a stranger; I've done similar exercises with strangers before, but only for a few minutes, not for a full hour-plus with one person. I did know someone in the class, and I would have been happy to do it with him. But his wife was with him, so clearly he already had a partner! So I ended up leaving and using that time as my lunch break.
Hardy Cook is an old professor, which I really liked because he was funny and comfortable addressing a group. He told us about his life and how chronic pain brought him to meditation, and how much it has helped him (I didn't mind him telling his life story because he was scheduled for a two-hour workshop, not just a 50-minute one.). He taught us some good breathing techniques to help keep our minds from wandering (like different ways of counting); he also recommended tools to use, like the Insight Timer app and Muse headphones. I am glad I took this class to learn more about the history and philosophies of meditation, as well as ways to practice at home. He even gave us a printed packet to take home with us! Once a teacher, always a teacher.
This was really just a regular yoga class. I was hoping for something a little special, because I already take yoga once a week on my own. The best advice the instructor gave us was to activate our inner thighs to imagine bringing our legs closer together, mainly in lunge and warrior poses. The instructor, Anjali Sunita (founder of Baltimore Yoga Village), was very good, but she was annoyed by how little time she had; she was slotted for 50-minutes, so she should have been prepared to teach a shorter class!
I should note that I did not take any dance workshops or go to any of the evening dances during the entire festival. I dance about once a week on my own (mostly blues dancing, but sometimes Latin dancing), so I didn't feel the need to do that. Plus the evening dances started really late, and this year I spent the night with friends in Alexandria, so I wanted to spend my evenings with them instead.
*Read my previous blog posts about the Interfusion Festival:
February of 2017: here and here
September of 2017: here and here
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