24 Apr | 2013

Where I’ve Been (My Couch Mostly)

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Last week I wrote that post about why I still blog and then…I stopped blogging.

And therein lies my problem. Or at least one of them. Inconsistency. (Others include, oh, I don’t know, laziness, distraction, disorganization, um, did I say distraction?).

Anyway, it has been a busy week and I just haven’t been able to sit down and focus in front of this screen.

At work I’ve been tasked with establishing reviving our social media presence, so I’ve been updating our Pinterest, blog, Twitter, Facebook and YouTube accounts, and I’ve even bullied my bosses into redesigning our website. That, in my opinion is the most crucial part of the whole makeover—designing a website that fully showcases our work, and the work we do for our clients.

Naturally, my own blogging, Facebook-ing, Tweeting and Pintersting has all but ceased.

Meanwhile, I have a huge “test” of sorts tonight. I’ve been preparing to teach to my fellow apprentices and all of the mentor teachers in my training. And this is the big night. I have to instruct a large portion of a sequence, and I think I’m prepared. I say “think” because I know this stuff inside and out and I know what I want to say, but I have this problem that when I stand in front of the room, I have no idea what will actually come out of my mouth. Not surprisingly this is an issue I have in real life. Also, not surprisingly, this gets me into a lot of trouble. My luck I’ll be like the news anchor in North Dakota who gets fired after his first time on-air for dropping the F-bomb, a word that flows freely from my mouth.

Anyway, hopefully, I will get through tonight “fuck” free so to speak. If not, it’ll  make a great blog post.

And now I can’t get the word out of my head.

I’m screwed.

Filed Under: #365yogachallenge, Blog, Stupid Shit, yoga Tagged With: , ,
11 Nov | 2012

The Post In Which I Freak Out

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One week from today I will be done with my teacher training program.

But there’s a shit ton that needs to happen between now and then.

Over the course of the 6-month program we’ve had to take 18 additional classes by specific instructors. We were given a list of approved 200-hour instructors who could sign off our classes, which were also specifically prescribed (Level 1, Iyengar, etc.). When we started, 18 classes over six months seemed like a piece of cake. However, in my last couple of weeks I found myself chasing classes all over the city to get them signed off. Today I went to a YogaWorks down in the Hollywood area to pick up a Level 1/2 class, which was absolutely worth the drive because the teacher is a thousands kinds of awesome (I’m turning into a yoga teacher groupie). Today’s signature leaves me with one last class to get signed off before Saturday. Theoretically it shouldn’t be that hard to pick up, but work is so insane lately that getting off on time and driving to a studio, whether it’s 5 miles away or 30 is a challenge.

On top of that, I have ridiculously challenging take-home exam. I’ve spend most of this weekend working on it (when I wasn’t chasing classes that is). Aside from the usual anatomy and asana questions, there are crazy essays about some of the philosophy we covered, which isn’t my strong suit. There are also teaching scripts for asanas. We also have to choose one of two options for sequences, which would be challenging enough, but they also expect us to justify the poses we put in (I’m guessing writing “because it feels good” isn’t really what they’re looking for).

That’s in addition to studying for the in-class exam as well as preparing to teach. And, oh yeah, I have to write my yoga résumé.

The most frightening thing is that I’m second-guessing everything. If I know an answer right away on the take-home, I automatically assume it must be a trick question because it couldn’t be that simple or I couldn’t be that smart.

The word overwhelmed doesn’t even begin to cover how I feel. I’m panicking about not having enough hours in the week to get it all done.

This program has challenged me in ways I never could have imagined when I started. I now realize I’m stronger—physically and mentally—than I give myself credit for. It’s made me focus, get organized and really slow down and be present in the moment.

And now this is the ultimate test.

Think good thoughts for me!

 

Filed Under: Life, yoga Tagged With: , ,
19 Sep | 2012

When The Student Becomes The Teacher

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Good yoga instructors make teaching look so easy, but after observing a yoga class this week, I realized just how difficult it can be.

I was fortunate enough to be able to watch one of my instructors lead a level 1 class. Until recently, I assumed that teaching beginners would be a good way to ease into teaching because you aren’t leading students in complicated arm balances or instructing them to invert. In theory, the sequences are pretty straight forward—half sun salutations, standing poses like Warrior 2 and Triangle and maybe some simple twists.

The reality is so much more.

There were about 30 students of varying levels in the class from brand-new-to-yoga beginners to people I practice with in level 2/3 classes, but my teacher focused her instruction to the level 1 students. There’s a real skill involved in talking to students in user-friendly language—instead of telling students to flex their triceps muscles you tell them to firm their outer arms. She limited the Sanskrit names of asansas and kept the instruction simple and clear. She introduced breathing techniques slowly and she talked a little about philosophy but in simple terms that everyone could relate to in their day-to-day lives.

When you take a class you only hear about 1 out of every 3 words the teacher says, so it was eye-opening to hear how much she kept reinforcing the actions of the body and proper alignment from the start of class through to the end. She did it verbally and she’d stop the class and demonstrate both the way you should look and the way you shouldn’t.

After watching her class, I realized how important it is to choose your words and make them meaningful. Not only is the instruction important but the pitch, rhythm and volume of your voice carry your energy.

In training they remind us to cultivate our delivery, but in the beginning it’s probably the biggest challenge because we have to take all this information and somehow assemble it into a cohesive practice. Thank God imitation is the sincerest form of flattery because most new teachers mimic their own teachers until we learn to develop our own style. We quote them, imitate their tone and teach their sequences.

The scholar Krishnamacharya said, “When you have learned something very well, then the way you express it is different than the way you learned it.”

I hope I can learn this very well.

 

 

 

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