Namaste!

My lesson in this class was incorrect assumptions on my part. While I had a good full class of students I had a few students that are very fit, they enjoy a vigorous vinyasa flow, I also had 2 beginners. One of them was her very first class. So I immediately started thinking about how to modify and change my sequence slightly to make it more accessible for beginners but also leave some challenges in there for my advanced students. All the way around I took it slower, held the poses longer and took a few extra child’s poses etc. So as I’m teaching and walking around I am noticing that one of my advanced students was getting really fidgety. Not wanting to stay in the poses, not looking at herself in the mirror but I felt her looking at me to hurry up to move to the next pose. I would ask my students to close their eyes in some poses, to think about something and instead she wiggled around with her eyes open. I was really getting frustrated by it and I simple thought I should say something that may speak to her in a non obvious way. “I know some of you are used to a fast paced vigorous flow class, but sometimes when we slow things down, hold our poses longer and really work on settling into them with our minds and our breath that can be just as challenging if not more.” I go on about my class, and in my closing thoughts leave them with, “flexibility with twists is not just physical but as we rotate around we must be willing to change our vantage point on the world, see and recognize things beside us, around us and behind us.” It was a really great spiritual closing that I’m super proud of. The ladies all left and said thank you they enjoyed it!

Fast forward as I’m driving home from class with my mom in the car (she came to class) and told her how I felt about what was going on and she said “Oh no no no, I was gathering my things after class next to her and she said, “you think you are in shape and then you come to a class like this”. Wow. Shame on me for assuming the worst just by their unique and personal behaviors. That was a very good lesson for me. Not to create my own false perception of what might be happening but to let each and every individual have their own experience however they chose. That is a priceless life lesson that I am learning off the mat too. It is a journey but it’s part of letting go and in the end just realizing that I am doing the best I can possibly do as an instructor and a person and that’s all I can do. Again, I can only hope that I am bringing something helpful or insightful to them on and off the mat.

Namaste

          I had been preparing for months to teach my first class. I was so concerned with having the perfect sequence, the perfect flow, the perfect music and the most perfect ques for each asana. I read tons of sequencing books, searched online and asked my fellow yogi friends for advice. I literally had no one to practice on so I would say it out loud to my fish, in the shower and I would say it aloud in bed and put my boyfriend to sleep. I’m not sure how he found my voice teaching sun salutations so calming? Anyway, I got to my class and no one was there. It was spring break so I’m sure that’s why we were missing most of the class. But then right before 1:30 I went from zero to 5 people, 2 of them being the owners! Yikes! That made me even more nervous. So I took a deep breath, turned on the play list and started the class. Once I started going, I surprised myself at what came naturally. I didn’t even have to look at my cheat sheet but once! I am embarrassed to say my cheat sheet was actually 4 sheets, typed out with each pose, transition and multiple verbal ques. That tells you just how important teaching the perfect class was to me. So by the end I felt relief that the first class was over and out of the way. I ended up with really great feedback and I felt a sense of accomplishment for overcoming “public speaking.” Something I was terrified of. What was the biggest lesson of all to me was realizing that there is no perfect class. There are endless possibilities to working on balance, coordination, strength, spiritual enlightenment, you can’t possibly create a one and only perfect class. It opened my mind to a new way of thinking; that we can work on ourselves in all types of different ways and the more you teach that, the more you can offer to your students. It was a “letting go” experience. An experience that mentally loosened me up and taught me to just breathe and go for it!

Until recently when I was corrected by a knowledgeable instructor, I was doing my Chaturangas poorly. I immediately would come down and hover way too low, putting a lot of unnecessary pressure on my shoulders and elbows. I wasn’t gaining any strength in my core or arms but doing this. And I was exerting twice as much energy fighting to come all the way back up to upward facing dog which is too hard on the triceps muscles working to extend the elbows not to mention the forearm pronation. It’s not about how low can you go in this case. Simply lowering down and keeping the arms at a 90 degree angle while keeping the elbows in close to the body is where you build your strength. Then you flip the toes and come right up into upward facing dog. This forces you to stay an extra second in Chaturanga and that also helps build that strength that will help you through out your practice. This is the correct way to flow. My instructor that does private classes with me told me she can always tell a great practitioner just but her Chaturangas. Interesting! Something to keep in mind!

Sometimes this can be challenging and sometimes I get shaky. But It’s better to fight through the shakes, building strength and stamina then to do this incorrectly and overall I find it getting a little easier the more I practice. Just like when you get further into down ward dog, these poses encompass so much evolution in them! I hope this tip helps. Take a look at the video and you’ll see what I am describing.