About teaching

I often wonder about teaching yoga. Am I good enough? I wonder less now that I am in a position to teach and learn by teaching. It is coming to me well, and the people who come are good enough student to give me feedback if they need to do so.

But I read a good article on Yoga Journal about "To Each Their Own, to Teach Their Own" with some good points I want to remember (copied from the article):

• If a student objects to your style, then it is their responsibility to change--find another teacher. You are who you are. And so long as you are teaching the techniques without ego, honestly and as you have been taught, the way in which you present is the real you. As a teacher, you have the right—and some might say the obligation—to bring all of your talents to the table and express the teachings through yourself. And students always have the right to listen or walk away.
• It's important as a teacher to be in an open space to receive students' feedback, because it really tells more about where THEY are at than where you are at. As long as you are honest with yourself about your own motivations and choices, you will be on solid ground with most students. In fact, you must find some ground to stand on in order to be a rock for the people you teach.
• A yoga class is a divine appointment that students have made with themselves. It's your job to deliver the teachings, not engage with the ego of your students. To deflect critism without getting on the offensive or defensive, merely say, "You are right. My style is not for everyone."

Other helpful hints in finding you way through critisism:

• Know Thyself, Open Thyself. Your teaching is a combination of age-old wisdom that cannot and should not be changed, and the unique translation of that knowledge through you. You're just the mailman, not the mail. You are delivering, and your style of delivery is unavoidably the manifestation of your own being. Certainly, it never hurts to listen to criticism, to see if possibly it has some merit; but you can't stifle yourself after you've tuned in. What flows through you, the way it flows through you, is the grace of the divine. Being able to simultaneously hold both a sense of humility and a knowledge of your own importance will make the road easier to travel.
• Strength in Numbers. It's harder to reject feedback that comes from more than one student, and over a longer period of time. If one person complains, listen. If more complain, act.
• Shopping Around. On one hand, students are free to leave if they can't take the heat. But on the other hand, it may be your responsibility to suggest they stay through their own discomfort. Western students feel free to shop around for teachers and leave when the going gets tough. They want it to be the way that their ego wants it to be, to feed them in the way they want to be fed and that's not always the best thing for spiritual development. As a yoga teacher, you can try to guide them through the difficulty. Sometimes just talking to them once allows them to stay and find their way. But if it is repeated, then suggesting another studio may be the best course.

Article: Why Yoga Benefits Skiers

I found this article on About.com that talks about the benefits of yoga for skiers. The reporter interviewed a Killington yogi named Karen Dalury. Karen and the author point out that the key skills and techniques needed for skiing--balance, flexibility and concentration--are all honed and sharpened by proper yoga practice. I like some of the following points made in the article:

• Technology and improvements to equipment have helped reduce most common leg fractures, but it still leaves the knee at a high risk for injury.
  
• Developing a yoga practice that increases the dexterity, flexibility and strength of support of the muscles surrounding the knee can help reduce injury. Particularly, strengthen the inner and outer thigh, calf and abductor and adductor muscles surrounding the knee.
  
• Engaging core muscles into balancing learned during proper yoga practice can "bear the load", or redirect the weight bearing off the knees and into the core body
• In skiing, angulation of the hips is involved when we lean on our edges. Angulation is not something we regularly do so flexibility focus on opening the hips helps us reengage massive muscle groups that we have forgotten in our "sit to do everything" world.
  

Fourth Power Yoga Session

I had a record 6 people attend today, and another man! My sinuses were still packed up, but did not interfere too much.

Suryanamaskar A with extended legs, Suryanamaskar B, Vasisthasana ("side plank pose" with both legs down), Utkatasana, Utkatasana w/ twist, Padangustasana, Padangustasana w/ hands interlaced, Utthita Trikonasana, Virabhadrasana I & II, Vrksasana, Standing 1/2 Padmasana (lotus pose), Uttita Hasta Padangusthasana, Purvottanasana, Janu Sirsasana A & B, Navasana, Pidgeon, Upavishta Konasana, Baddha Konasana, Camel, Paschimottanasana, Supta Padangustasana, Dhanurasana, Sarvangasana, Matsyasana, Savasana

Skier Rider Yoga

Signed up for skier/rider yoga clinic with YVT. First class was tonight. I love the change from traditional ashtanga. I love Kathy's enthusiasm. I love getting ready for snow!

Attempting to start...

my independent research study. I have several resources and I spend an hour reading through them this afternoon. The most obvious thing I see is that several different book call the same poses different names. I have some books from the mid-70's and some that were published more recently. I'm comparing them now. I'll give me thoughts in the blog as I go along.

But, I an doing a good job procrastinating. I think I am waiting for some kinds of spark of inspiration. I better just schedule my first teaching session--it will provide a spark for me.

Third power yoga

This morning I taught power yoga again. I had a male student today! The other three were repeast yogis. My sinus infection/cough did not stop me, but did make talking and breathing difficult. I had a little less confidence, but still was able to get through the poses without a mental block.

Suryanamaskar A, Suryanamaskar B, Padangustasana, Utkatasana, Utkatasana w/ twist, Utthita Trikonasana, Prasarita Padottanasana, Virabhadrasana I & II, Arda Chandrasana, Utthita Parsvakonasana to "Reverse Warrior", Vasisthasana ("side plank pose" with both legs down), Paschimottanasana, Purvottanasana, Janu Sirsasana, Upavishta Konasana, Baddha Konasana, Navasana, Supta Padangustasana, Bhujangasana, Dhanurasana, Urdhva Dhanurasana, Sarvangasana, Matsyasana

Breath is Life

One of the things I have changed since pursuing my yoga training is my focus on breathing. Not just doing more pranayama exercises, but being more mindful and conscious of every breath I take, and being more aware of the importance of breathing.

Prana is life force. Without or life force, we expire...die. Sometimes, I realize that it has been a while since I took a real breath. I then inhale and fill my lungs with fresh air, and expell out all the air, removing stale air that seemed to be hanging around in the lungs too long. Other times I wonder how long can I go without a nice, deep inhale? What happens to my body if I don't take care of "recharging"? What if I forgot to breathe?

I think about this conscious breathing and a small part of me thinks that doing this will keep my mind and body healthier, cleaner, "fresher."

Pratyahara Saturday session

Sense withdrawal or pratyahara, was today's Saturday session topic. We talked about the senses a little bit and examples of pratyahara, like when you change the senses to a more intensified focus or withdrawing from other senses to focus on the task of a particular sense. We listed ways we have experiences pratyahara for each of our senses:

Smell
1. zeroing in on who's baby has a poopie diaper
2. identifying if the strange smell in the house is a gas leak
3. inhaling the scent of roses to relax and enjoy

Taste
1. ascertain if I ate something bad
2. enjoy the taste of real, dark chocolate
3. test a recipe's edibility

Touch
1. feel if there is a fish bone in my mouth
2. searching for car keys in the bottom of my bag
3. feel around behind furniture for a particular toy

Hear
1. distinguish if it is my child crying or the other kid
2. defining a sound (ie a boat or motorcycle)
3. determine where the "meows" are coming from to find where the cat got stuck

See
1. determining an object far away
2. reading
3. looking for a child in the woods

Pratyahara, although considered "sense withdrawal" is the time of change when we go into the sense withdrawal. Kathy wants us to notice the following instances:
- when we are falling asleep
- a situation that intrigues us
- a situation that repels us
- when we begin to notice that something is funny

Blindfolded/Earplugged Experience
We spent over an hour practicing yoga, blind-folded and with earplugs in. At first, I was hesitant and slow. I kept reaching out my hands and feet to find the corners of the mat. During suryanamaskars, I checked in with my body and mind. My breath was "in my ears" and I focused on its volume and quality in my head. I found myself adjusting and strengthening my ujjay breath. I also checked in more with my bandhas, feeling if they were engaged or not.

After a while, I began to build pace as I started my standing postures. This is when standing and lunging became a little difficult. I kept feeling like I was moving, like on a sailboat. A slight sensation of motion sickness, but never developed into nausea. I became off balance, and because of this I had to reminded myself more than usual to lock bandhas. The standing big-toe posture was nearly impossible. I missed having my focus point or other point of reference--a knot of wood to stare at or a crack in the wall. So, I imagined the knot in my mind's eye. This helped tremendously and I was able to hold steady and get deeper into the posture.

As I moved to seated postured, things became easier and I found my mind clearing. I began to sense more "little things" like the touch of my hair on my cheeks, a small itch on my shoulder, pants falling down. These thing I never notice before, or if I do, I clear the sensation without thinking about it. While blindfolded, the sense of these annoyances was magnified.

I found myself visualizing myself doing the yoga. I could not see my hands and legs in motion, but I imagined them, the way I remembered seeing them before. It was as if I were watching myself do yoga, not really doing it.

Discussion
We had a long discussion about how yoga, and attending the workshops, has changed our life. Many of us felt an almost depression after we spent the entire week together in July, then we had to return to our daily lives. Kathy described it like putting on armor. How do we continue to practice yoga, when the rest of the world is not? We have to deflect everything else and try to take care of ourselves first.

One person talked about how a friend left his "real world" and entered into a peaceful commune. It was easy to live in a yogi way there. He found that there were no challenges to it, and left the peacefulness for the rest of the world again, where he could actually practice yoga, and strive to be a yogi without having the yoga already done for him (in a sense).

In a future blog, I will write about how yoga has changed my life and how in everything I do, I think about the consequences and if I am happy with my decisions. Particularly with what I consume and how I raise and love my children and family.

Kathy reminded us that we are always connected with the divine. How we chose to honor that connection is how we live our lives. Through discernment, we learn what to do with our lives and how to make choices. Through contentment, we learn to be happy with our choices.

We discussed a little bit about the difference between self-depreciation (mentally beating yourself up, ie "I'm too fat") and self-improvement.

Kathy reminded us that we should read biographies of great yogis and learn about the world's religions. Learn what is Hinduism, Islam, Christianity, Taoism, Suism, Buddhism, Judaism, etc.

I made a note that I need to work on my splits.

We ended class learning some assists, particularly assisting Adho Mukha Svanasana.

More confidence

I taught another power yoga class again this morning. Four people again, but a three were different than last week (so one return!!). One seemed a bit disappointed that Stacey was not there, but I just went ahead. I thought I had a good plan. This time I did prepare a bit, writing down poses I wanted to do the night before. But I did not use a cheat sheet like at boot camp a few months ago. I'm more confident now. I added a few moves to get the blood pumping, still think I can get them moving more. Next week, I'd like to add Utkatasana and more balancing postures like tree, half moon and warrior 3.

Suryanamaskar A, Suryanamaskar B
Padangustasana, Utthita Trikonasana, Prasarita Padottanasana, Virabhadrasana, Utthita Parsvakonasana to "Reverse Warrior"
Vasisthasana ("side plank pose" with both legs down), Paschimottanasana, Purvottanasana, Janu Sirsasana, Eka Pada Rajakapotasana (one-legged king pidgeon pose), Baddha Konasana, Upavishta Konasana, Supta Padangustasana, Urdhva Dhanurasana, Sarvangasana, Matsyasana

"Graceful"

Graceful is how one student described my method of teaching at this morning's session. They seemed to accept me and I felt confident in delivering a session this morning. After, of course, I thought of all kinds of things I want to do with them next week. I'm almost happy that I have not been wrapped up in yoga the last few weeks. The confidence I had this morning is from years of practice, not weeks of cramming. I won't make them OM (unless they want to), but I will introduce concepts of yoga that go beyond the physical realm--gracefully. :)

Teaching Power Yoga

Tomorrow I teach my first real power yoga class. As I have mentioned in earlier posts, I will be teaching from Sept 6 to Nov 8 at a local health and fitness club run by a good friend. I have not attended yoga in studio for over three weeks. I am feeling a little out of it and wonder slightly if I'm up to the "challenge". I trust my previous training and years of experience to guide me thorough tomorrow. Good news is that it's only 45 minutes long....I'm used to 1.5 hours!

The Invitation

by Oriah Mountain Dreamer

It doesn't interest me what you do for a living.
I want to know what you ache for, and if you dare to dream of meeting your heart's desire.

It doesn't interest me how old you are.
I want to know if you will risk looking like a fool for love, for your dreams, for the adventure of being alive.

It doesn't interest me what planets are squaring your moon.
I want to know if you have touched the center of your sorrow, if you have been opened by life's betrayals, or have become shriveled and closed for the fear of future pain.
I want to know if you can sit with pain, mine or your own, without moving to hide it, fade it, or fix it.
I want to know if you can be with joy, mine or your own, if you can dance with wildness and let ecstasy fill you to the tips of your fingers and toes without cautioning us to be careful, to be realistic, or to remember the limitations of human beings.

It doesn't interest me if the story you're telling me is true.
I want to know if you disappoint another to be true to yourself,
if you can bear the accusations of betrayal and not betray your own soul.
I want to know if you can be faithful and therefore be trustworthy.
I want to know if you can see beauty, even when it is not pretty every day,and if you can source your life from its presence.
I want to know if you can live with failure, yours or mine, and still stand on the edge of the lake and shout to the silver moon "Yes!"

It doesn't interest me to know where you live or how much money you have.
I want to know if you can get up after a night of grief and despair,
weary and bruised to the bone, and do what needs to be done for the children.

It doesn't interest me who you are now or how you came to be here.
I want to know if you will stand in the center of the fire with me and not shrink back.

It doesn't interest me where or what or with whom you have studied.
I want to know what sustains you from the inside when all else falls away.

I want to know if you can be alone with yourself, and if you truly like the company you keep in the empty moments.

(Note: a little over ten years ago, someone gave me a copy of a copy of a copy, etc. of this poem. After being on my fridge for a while, I lost it. I recently found it online, and was renewed by the power of its prose and words. Older now, I connect more with it than I did ten years ago. I post it here so I can often remember its message.)

YogaFit

I have heard YogaFit mentioned twice. Once from my friend and local health club owner, and once from my teacher when she was discussing Yoga Alliance. My friend has said she was trying to get a YogaFit instructor to Vermont because it is a system that is structured for the "gym". But they don't seem to respond. My teacher mentioned YogaFit as a group that Yoga Alliance does not recognize as yoga. And I can see why after reading the book.

As a "classically trained" yogi, I'm surprised at the picture of yoga that Shaw paints. Although she states that she has a "deep respect" for traditional yoga, the books organization comparisons deliver a different message. She does her best to omit traditional yoga terms, but then signs her letters "Namaste'". It is also clear that "YogaFit" is an advertising tool. It is targeting a particular group of people, and the book points outrepeatedly where one can empty their wallets to YogaFit. But, aside from her superciliousness and overbearing marketing, I found the organization of the book helpful for planning yoga sessions in gyms and health clubs where importance on the physical self is emphasized--so I bought it.

After viewing the YogaFit website, it looks like Yoga Alliance has worked out a deal with YogaFit to certify YogaFit instructors. I also notice that YogaFit offers more traditional yoga resources (like a book on Chakras!) that Shaw's messages indicated that YogaFit would NOT do. I guess in the end, traditional yoga does offer more...

Yogaha karmasu kaushalam

Satchidananda's Weekly Words this week are about how everything you do is yoga and when you do something, you need to do it with complete mindfullness and do only that thing. As stated in the Bhagavad Gita, "Yogaha karmasu kaushalam" which means perfection in your every action is Yoga.

It reminded me of my personal epiphany I had in teacher training several weeks ago about how yoga is not the complete clearing of one's thoughts--ie, think of nothing. It is the focus of thoughts on one thing, or steadying the random thoughts to concentrate on something.

To do this, it is setting ourselves on a path to do that one thing well.

Neti and Nauli

My second attempt at Neti was a failure, but several days later I tried a third time. The eye burn still occurs, but I am able to get a clear stream in and out of my nostrils. I do feel the benefits from this form of cleansing. I will try to remember to keep doing it through the winter as the air gets drier and viruses run rampant.

As for Nauli, this has been going on rather well. I have developed a routine to practice nauli after my morning "movement" and before I eat anything. My 22 m/o son seems to think it is funny to see me hunched over pulling my guts up and down and attempting to get them to roll in each direction. Sometimes he comes over and looks up at me with a look of sheer delight and giggles as I grunt and wiggle.