Teacher trainings are so much more than Sanskrit, anatomy, philosophy and asana courses. In the hands of good trainers, they are programs for personal development. Especially if the training is longer, say a year, the trainees learn better ways of relating to themselves and others.
I’ve started to realise how important it is, vital even, to get away and see the world. To shake off the cobwebs and get far away from the perfect flat white you order at your favourite cafe.There’s a great opportunity coming up this winter for all you yoga teachers and trainees to give yourself a complete break. You can retreat to the little hamlet of Stroud, NSW.
I’ve taught many different aspects of yoga, but I do have my favourite subjects. I was able to teach one of these yesterday–yoga adjustments–at Forster Yoga Studio. I presented theory and practice on the hands-on, physical way of instructing students in postures.
In an article in “Yoga Suits Her, I described three main styles of learning. One of them is kinaesthetic. I’m someone who learns this way–hands-on, experientially. I’ve discovered through my teaching over thirty-five years that a disproportionate number of yoga teachers learn kinaesthetically. […]
Why we don’t make up our own quotable quips? Why do we rely on celebrity or guru quotes, which are sometimes misquotes or misattributed)?
Yoga teachers-in-training tend to spout their teachers’ words exactly when they begin teaching. I still do. My Iyengar teacher from the eighties, Martyn Jackson, pops up in my classroom instructions on occasion. As do more recent influencers, like Donna Farhi or Judith Laseter.
As yoga teachers become more seasoned, they fashion their own phrasing. And then, their quips, quotations and word pictures will undoubtedly plant find their way into the next generation’s repertoire.
I’ve taught many different aspects of yoga, but I do have my favourite subjects. I was able to teach one of these yesterday–yoga adjustments–at Forster Yoga Studio. I presented theory and practice on the hands-on, physical way of instructing students in postures.
In an article in “Yoga Suits Her, I described three main styles of learning. One of them is kinaesthetic. I’m someone who learns this way–hands-on, experientially. I’ve discovered through my teaching over thirty-five years that a disproportionate number of yoga teachers learn kinaesthetically. […]
Decision time: yes or no?
This is the exciting time of year when you might be considering learning something new. Cuban dancing, contract bridge, an on-line undergraduate course…. Or, you may have been thinking about deepening your understanding of a subject about which you are already knowledgeable.
If you are a keen yoga practitioner, you probably have thought about doing a yoga teacher training at one time or another. […]
I’m saddened when I hear of certain kinds of yoga teacher trainings that happen factory-style. Two week courses or even a month are just not enough.
Why would ‘caveat emptor’ apply to yoga teacher training? Probably because the trainings are now commodified, as yoga teaching has become an popular industry. Generally we can enjoy the fact that yoga is more mainstream, but for those considering teacher training, they have to do their do their due diligence. What is it that makes a great training course?
Fitting in Personal Yoga PracticeI had a stimulating conversation with my friend and student, Alexa Nehter last week. We discussed an age-old problem: how do yoga students and teachers fit in a regular yoga practice? We are all so busy! I’m semi-retired, and even though I don’t have a job to go to each morning, I’m too busy, too.Sadly, busy is a cliche. So is the expression, ‘Everyone has the same twenty-four hours in the day.’ While it is undoubtedly true, we have careers, kids, relationships, mortgages, and HOUSEWORK. […]
Professional Development for Yoga TeachersLast week I submitted details and documents to Yoga Australia (association) that support the professional development I’ve completed in the period July 1, 2014 till now. This is the method whereby I maintain my status as a senior yoga teacher in this organisation.You can’t get away from P.D. No matter what field you are in these days, you must keep up with your profession. […]
‘Be great, none of this humble stuff!’, said friend Heather to me as I trundled off to teach an out-of-town yoga workshop. I can see why she would advise me thus.
I probably come across as not overly ambitious when I teach. I don’t mean to be blasé. I do a lot of planning for any seminars I teach. If anything, I over-plan. When I do that, I end up more worried about my plan than being present to workshop participants. […]
The Challenge of Tennis
Daniel and I played tennis the other day. So, what’s unusual deal about that?
I haven’t played tennis in maybe 15 years. It was too painful for me to play when I had hip arthritis, so I stopped. During the period that I was suffering, I stopped riding my bicycle, too. I didn’t do much bush walking. I let other people do the heavy lifting. You get the picture.
Little by little, the list of physical activities I could participate in dwindled until yoga became my last refuge. […]
I don’t usually study with other yoga teachers and here’s why: I live hours from any major city centre and tend to stay close home. I like doing my own practice in the Yoga Shed. And, well, okay, I’m a bit of a snob. I want to study with the best when I take time to travel long distance and spend time with a teacher.
Recently, when the opportunity to study with Donna Farhi arose, I leapt at it.
She and I go back. […]
This last weekend, I had the privilege of teaching a group of yoga teachers and keen students in a workshop entitled “The Art of Adjusting.” In the lunch break I spoke to one of the participants about her concern that her classes seem to stay small, even though she’s been teaching them for some time.
What do we mean when we say a small class? These days classes can have fifty students in them, or more. […]
I’ve been thinking for a while of putting on a partner workshop. When I was first learning to be a yoga teacher, the other trainees and I would practice together. It was fun and brought out our creativity, sometimes leading us to design new ways of doing old poses. Also, because we were working with the resistance or support of another person’s body, we found we could go deeper or further into a pose.
For a while partner yoga was popular. Then I don’t know what happened. […]
In 1978 I fell under the spell of a yoga teacher named Martyn Jackson. Martyn taught a kind of yoga that he’d learned in Pune, India from his teacher, B.K.S. Iyengar.He alleged that, in the sixties, he was one of few western students to study with Mr. Iyengar.
Martyn went to Pune from New Zealand to undertake one-to-one lessons with Mr. Iyengar. He had a story about arriving on Mr. […]
I’ve just finished my stint of teaching in the Byron Bay Yoga Therapy Course, which will continue until next week.
My contribution to the course is in the area of “Working with the Older Client”, i.e., what are the complaints of the Aged and how can yoga help.
Even though the above photo of the group shows us behaving like silly mugs, these trainees are very inspiring. Yogis decide to train as teachers because of a huge love of yoga. […]
This week I dropped my Monday night class from my timetable of teaching at The Yoga Shed. I thought long and hard about stopping a class I’d been teaching for 4 years on Mitchells Island. I can scarcely believe that I’ve taught in a Monday night time slot going back to the mid-eighties.
I began teaching this class during a dark, cold winter when there was only one other regular student besides my loyal husband. […]
Yoga is ancient. It is forever deep and wise. […]
Lululemon via Pinterest
I taught a couple of classes this week which elicited happy responses from the students who attended. It’s not unusual to hear that people enjoyed a yoga class, but I did notice more compliments than usual. […]