Ashtanga teacher training begins

Today began my 40-hour intensive Ashtanga teacher training with David Swenson. We did 45 suryanamaskar A....each person led the class through one.

The biggest take away from today: breath. As you teach, count the breath out loud (say the number after the EXHALE), make sure you leave time for a full breath, and keep the breath pace (don't teach to your student's breath, keep your cadence steady for the class). And remind students that no matter what you do in your practice, keep the breath flowing evenly and deeply, even if you can't do a pose. Ashtanga strongly emphasizes the continuum of breath and movement: vinyasa.

Another thing David told us about that I found interesting was a Surya Namaskar modification: use the wall. He had a student once with extremely weak wrists so he led her to a wall. Begin your surya, and when you lift to jump back, place hands on a wall. Chaturanga to the wall, up-dog, down-dog. 5 breaths. Finish to standing.