Category Archives: Yoga teaching 

Yoga teaching

Do Your Homework and Then Let Go!

Posted on May 17, 2013 | Leave a comment

beach

I’m looking forward to teaching a workshop in Corlette in beautiful Port Stephens (NSW) on Sunday sponsored by Nikki Schilling of Yoga Sphere.

I tend to be well-prepared for a seminar that I’m leading. My husband, who is the king of the ‘winging it’ type of presenters, would probably say that I over-prepare.

In the past, the amount of time and effort I put into planning a workshop was usually fuelled by concerns that I wouldn’t do a good enough job.

I don’t know why it took me so long to figure this out (maybe a couple of decades) – if you are worrying about not doing well in leading a group, then you won’t enjoy the teaching experience. And, it naturally follows that the workshop participants won’t have a great time either.

So, I believe I’ve planned the most important ingredient into Sunday’s event, enjoyment, and that everything else will follow.

“Spontaneity is one of the joys of existence, especially if you prepare for it in advance.”  - Alan Dean Foster, Nor Crystal Tears

 

 

 

 

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Posted in community, Yoga teaching 

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We ♥ Our Yoga Bolsters

Posted on April 29, 2013 | Leave a comment

back stretch

Years ago when I opened my north shore yoga studio, I ran a couple of beginners courses so I could start the slow process of developing a whole new core of students.

I’ve done this a few times, starting all over in a new location – training up a new crop. After Beginners 1, the students graduate to Beginners 2, and eventually may go on to intermediate, advanced, and even teacher training.

For some students, their first contact with yoga is a revelation. The light comes on, the darkness disperses and they’re in for the long haul.

There were two young women in that first beginners group who I remember well, not particularly for their posture prowess, but because of their love for bolsters.

It was like an infatuation, so much so that they had to have their own bolsters to use at home. They joked that, since they had no current boyfriends, they would name their bolsters: Bazza and Gazza (nicknames in Australia for Barry and Gary).

You might be enjoying your own love affair with bolsters and perhaps have your own pet ones at home. If so, try the pose above which is an effective and relaxing back stretch. It can be done with plain old pillows or cushions if you are yet to purchase a bolster. And, if you don’t have a wooden bench like the one pictured, you can do the stretch on a dining room table. The height can be adjusted by having a rolled mat under your feet.

Click here for some more bolster enjoyment.

 

 

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Posted in Yoga practice, Yoga teaching 

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Yoga Manifesto and Absolution

Posted on April 25, 2013 | Leave a comment

manifesto

I love it when students tell me that because of attending yoga classes they’ve become inspired to do some practice on their own at home. We’ve designed the yoga anywhere practice cards for that ex press reason.

I love it when yoga clicks with people and they want to attend yoga classes regularly and often.

And I love it when a keen student decides they want to teach yoga and embarks on yoga teacher training to get qualified.

But I also don’t mind if you have no interest in any of the above. I have multiple interests besides yoga. I find it stimulating to talk to people who follow the news, immerse themselves in culture, and are absorbed in academia, perhaps never having seen the inside of a yoga studio.

People assume that I live, eat and breathe yoga.

A friend said to me yesterday that I would be happy to know that ‘the siren of yoga was calling’ to him again. He’s had confirmation of a serious medical problem and is acutely aware of the need that he adopt a better well-being regime – a definite wake-up call, after having been an on-off practitioner over the years.

I received a FB message from another old student who said I would be happy to know he was starting back to yoga after a long hiatus because yoga was being offered to him at work.

Sometimes I  run into students on the street whom I haven’t seen in class for some time and they seem guilty or embarrassed. I’m here to tell you, I really don’t carry any grudges. Really.

I want to announce that I don’t mind if people come to class or not. I don’t mind if they stop practising for a long time.

Yoga is always there. It is forever. I find it supports me in many ways, but people will find that out for themselves in their own time. Or not.

 

 

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Posted in Philosophy, Yoga practice, Yoga Teacher Training, Yoga teaching 

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Cutting Back Those Tiny Twinges

Posted on April 24, 2013 | Leave a comment

How do you know what yoga to practice, or, if you’re teaching, how do you know what to teach?

One answer is: read your body. Another is – read the seasons.

At the moment we’ve been doing autumn gardening – cutting back vegetation and hauling full wheelbarrows across our property to compost. This has taken a toll on my back and hips, and I’ve experienced tiny twinges of sciatic pain.

I knew that early treatment with the right sequence of poses would sort me out and so it has. I’ve taught my students the same sequence this week, as in this perfect weather, everyone has been out doing their seasonal pruning, as well.

Here are some of the poses from the sequence. Use a block held between the thighs to help internally rotate them, and to widen the sitting bones:

Tadasana – Mountain pose

Urdhva Hastasana – Tadasana with arms overhead Urdhva Hastasana

Baddha Hastasana – Tadasana with hands interlocked, arms overhead

Paschima Baddha Hastasana – Tadasana with arms folded behind back

Adho Mukha Svanasana – Down-ward facing dog pose

Uttanasana – Forward fold pose

Other helpful poses are:

Utthita Hasta Padangusthasana – Standing leg stretches

Supta Padangusthasana – Floor leg stretches Supta Padangustasana A

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Posted in gardening, Healing, Health, Yoga practice, Yoga teaching , Yoga Therapy

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W.A.I.T. – Why Am I Talking?

Posted on April 23, 2013 | Leave a comment

what to say

Let’s talk about talking. You know the great Aussie expression, ‘he could talk under water’, or even better, ‘he could talk under wet cement.’

Loquacious individuals can be entertaining at times, but they can also be as exhausting as a spin class at the gym. I find voluble people most tiring when they talk mainly about themselves.

A friend of mine who is a masseuse says that she feels like she’s failed in her craft if her client keeps up a line of patter through the whole session.

I feel challenged when I teach to a group of chatty students. But I know that banter can be quite a good pressure valve in class , especially when the work has become intense.

A few years ago, I learned an expression that I still am inspired by: the anagram for it is W.A.I.T. – Why Am I Talking?

So often, we do run off at the mouth. It can happen as a result of nervousness, or more to the point, because we’re afraid we’re not going to be seen or understood. At these times it pays  to pause, pull ourselves up and see whether what we’re saying is a contribution to our listeners.

As an experiment, see what happens when you say less, particularly if you are the sort of person who is continuously talkative. It may feel risky. I remind myself to shut up from time to time when I’m teaching, to allow for the students to consolidate their postures. I admire a yoga colleague who conducted some of his restorative classes with the barest minimum of verbal instructions, so his students could become more introspective.

In the United State, legislators use a procedure called a filibuster which lets them obstruct the passage of legislation by ‘talking a bill to death’.

As teachers, I think we need to make sure we aren’t talking our students to death –  to the point where they are no longer connected with their own internal process, which is the point of yoga practice, isn’t it.

 

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Posted in Wisdom, Yoga practice, Yoga teaching 

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Remedial Yoga in a Holistic Context

Posted on April 17, 2013 | Leave a comment

ViparitaKarani

In this morning’s yoga class there were six students: one with a pinched neck nerve, one with a strained rotator cuff, one with dodgy knees, one with an arthritic ankle and elbow tendonitis, one with a sore back, and one ‘normal’ (at least for the time being).

In looking at a group ‘remedially’, I saw a collection of ailments. Looking through the holistic lens of yoga, I saw students who are totally fit to practice yoga according to their ability.

For my money, I believe everyone should adapt yoga according to their individual needs and constitution. The teacher who uses this approach has more demands on her than if she were conducting a class where everyone is doing the same routine. It takes skill, knowledge and intuition to teach to individuals, and probably is best done in one-to-one sessions.

Not all can afford private lessons, so we teachers do our best to skill up so we can accommodate and give value to the students in public classes.

Here’s a few things that I’ve found helpful for teaching to individuals even in a mixed class:

  1. Student information. Have a complete, up-to-date form on each student.
  2. Attendance sheets. In a comment column, make any notes that will help you remember current injuries/conditions with which the student presents.
  3. Teamwork. Have a circle of practitioners you are acquainted with who you might suggest to the student if they need an interdisciplinary approach to a problem, i.e. doctors, acupuncturists, masseurs, physiotherapists. Some students may need a thorough assessment plus images.
  4. Professional development. Yoga teachers need to keep learning. If you are going to teach remedially you need to be qualified to do this. Practice what you learn on yourself first so the new knowledge has been consolidated before instructing others.
  5. Be inclusive. Students don’t like to be singled out in class for special treatment. Nevertheless, with sensitivity and diplomacy (and sometimes humour), you can allow the student to still feel part of the group.
  6. Yoga ethics. Practice these yoga ideals to keep yourself on the straight and narrow: ahimsa (non-injury), satya (truthfulness, brahmacharya (continence), samtosa (contentedness), isvara pranidhana (devotion)

When we teachers are mindful of the aim of yoga – the harmonious development of the whole person, that is body, mind and spirit – we are most likely teaching to our highest level of ability.

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Posted in Healing, Health, Philosophy, Wisdom, Yoga practice, Yoga teaching , Yoga Therapy

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One for Your “Back Saver” File

Posted on April 14, 2013 | Leave a comment

Several years ago I did a workshop with a well-known Sydney physiotherapist who was a practitioner of Ashtanga Vinyasa yoga. She schooled us in how to assess ourselves for any back problems we might be suffering.  Then, she gave us a few poses that are useful in ‘re-booting’ one’s back after long sitting or standing sessions.

This is the pose from that workshop that is my favourite for de-compressing my lower back, especially after all the car travelling we do because we live remotely.

IMG_0271

Really, all you’re doing here is a tractioning stretch, while hanging off a rail, knees slightly bent. To get the most out of it, you lengthen the sides of your body with  your tailbone tucked under a fraction. Hold for 30 seconds or so, take a break and repeat.

Having just returned from a 4 hour drive, with no time for a yoga practice upon arriving home, this pose has set me straight for the evening – until I get to the yoga studio in the morning.

 

 

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Side Wise

Posted on April 10, 2013 | Leave a comment

Source: etsy.com via Alison on Pinterest

 

This week I came up with a sequence I enjoy doing and teaching. The theme is all about stretching the sides of your body, particularly hips, waist, rib cage, shoulder blades and arms.

Somewhere along my yoga travels, I heard an expression that I like: ” the sides of our bodies are the lonely parts”. I get that. If you think of all the ways a body can move – bending forward, backward, rotating – then, sideways bends are most unfamiliar movements. I think that one of the reasons that trikonasana and parsvakonasana are such a popular poses is because we get to exercise our  lateral bending.

Here’s the ‘goal’ pose of my sequence, parivrtta janu sirsasana (revolved head-to-knee pose):

 

Near to the end of your yoga practice, when you’re properly warmed up, it’s a great thing to first do this pose on each side, and then do it again and hold longer on the second round. That’s when you surrender more, and feel the increased space of the inner organs: liver, gall bladder, stomach, spleen and, of course, lungs.

At the finish of your session just before savasana, try this. Sit on the floor with your legs straight out and together. Bend forward into paschimottanasana (double-leg forward stretch) and hold wherever you can…hands on shins or holding your feet. After stretching up and out, bring your extension into the sides of your waist and ribs. Then, take the stretch into the outside of your shoulder blades, upper arms and elbows, even bending them. See how much your side body helps increase your forward momentum. It feels good, like an itch that has been scratched….And maybe even not so lonely anymore.

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Posted in anatomy, Side-bending, Yoga practice, Yoga teaching 

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What’s the Invisible Ingredient That Yoga Schools Offer?

Posted on April 9, 2013 | Leave a comment

 

I think yoga schools miss the crucial bit of information in their advertising that explains why yoga class attendance can be so enticing. It’s not because of building a body beautiful. And not because all stresses will be dissolved in the arms of savasana (yoga relaxation) at the end of each class. And, it’s not even because any annoying ailments or injuries with which you arrived will miraculously be cured by doing yoga postures.

The thing that is so enrolling about good yoga schools is invisible, in a way. It happens over time, but doesn’t even take that long.

It makes you feel good about yourself, the school, the teachers, and yoga.

You encounter it in other domains in your life, potentially many of them. And, this special thing gives meaning, purpose, and direction.

I was thinking about this special thing as I was teaching my class yesterday evening in the Yoga Shed, as I watched people chatting at the beginning of the session, setting up their mat-stations.

I was thinking about it as I (apparently) lost control of the group at various junctions when amusing comments were made – some by myself, some by others – demonstrating the importance of levity in yoga teaching.

I especially noticed it at the end of the class, when people slowly, peacefully roused themselves from savasana, then sat with hands in namaste and connected in the spirit of good will, silently.

Of course the thing I’m talking about is community and being a yoga family.

 

 

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Posted in community, Health, pleasure, Yoga teaching 

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Practice Makes Pleasure

Posted on April 8, 2013 | Leave a comment

Source: yoga.in via Allied on Pinterest

 

I can tell when students in my classes have taken up doing home practice. I’m such an old hand at figuring this out that I can even guess at how many practices a week they do.

What is it that gives them away? Well, these students are continuously improving in their poses. How quickly they evolve is in direct relationship to how much personal practice they do.

Another thing is the high level of attention these yoga practitioners have when they attend classes. I can see their minds ticking over and mentally filing away individual poses to try on later or even the whole sequence of the class.

A great place to get the content for practising on your own is from your regular class(es). When I attended classes at the Iyengar Institute in Poona, we paid for and did six sessions a week over a month’s period. Then, as a bonus, you could pay a little more and do an extracurricular practice each day when the yoga room was populated with serious practitioners, as well as the Iyengar family and other teachers.

Mr. Iyengar would be watching like a hawk to see if what you’d been taught in the public classes translated to what you did in your own practice.

If your memory isn’t so great, rather than try to remember the whole class program, just take away a few poses that intrigue you, either because they are challenging or because they are novel.

The expression ‘practice makes perfect’ doesn’t necessarily fit with yoga philosophy. But a good outcome from the work you do on your own might be that your level of enjoyment and interest is such that ‘practice makes practice attractive’. Then, you’re truly hooked!

 

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Posted in Philosophy, pleasure, Yoga practice, yoga sequence, Yoga teaching 

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