I’m thoroughly exhausted and deliriously happy. My head and heart is full of yoga, and I don’t even care that I’ll be sore tomorrow.
Honor Your Body
What was most fascinating to me during my first weekend of 200-hour yoga teacher certification was these 10 women – 11, if you count my teacher, Edie Fischer, the owner of Hot Yoga and Massage Studio – have all unique, beautiful body types. Long torsos, short arms, curved spines, strong shoulders, flexible hamstrings, the list goes on. And each have their strengths and weaknesses in different poses.
From the timid 16-year-old gymnast whose retired marine mother teaches yoga, to the dreadlocked, former substance abuser turned vegetarian Vinyasa instructor, I knew it would be an interesting group. Each of these women first came to their mat for different reasons, and each are taking this training to deepen themselves in various ways.
So here are these women, with the average age of 25, sitting around the studio in a complete circle, and I felt like I was at a bonfire listening to my cool, older counselor tell stories.
We all sat transfixed, some wide-mouthed, some sleepy-eyed, listening to a woman with years of teaching experience tell stories.
We would begin talking about moon salutations, and somehow the conversation would switch to a discussion about ego, about sexual assault, about charity and karma.
Edie has seen it all (Check out her bio here). As a studio owner since 2007, she’s had all sorts of clients, asking all sorts of questions and demanding her time and energy.
She’s been doing a great job of explaining to us the business of yoga in between asana teachings, giving us bits of advice like “don’t fraternize with clients outside of the studio” and “ask yourself, as a yoga teacher, ‘what keeps you safe’ (from a lawsuit)?”
Say Hello to Your Ego
The ego is funny in yoga. The ego causes us to bend our bodies in half because we can. It doesn’t listen when the teacher directs you to modify a posture. It looks around, scoffs at us, and pushes us to do poses incorrectly. It yells at us when we want to go into child’s pose during standing head to knee pose.
It’s hard to accept the fact that your body might not be able to do what your neighbor’s body does in a pose. Each body is made differently. Instead of focusing on what your body can’t do, show gratefulness for what you have. Embrace yourself and honor your body – the capsule that holds your spirit.
Revelation
I anticipate having a revelation every class, but this one is particularly useful:
I learned the way you stand in Tadasana, Mountain pose – with your feet grounding down into the earth, thighs spiraling in, kneecaps lifted, pelvis and abdomen engaged, chested lifted, shoulders rolled back and crown of the head lifted towards the sky – is the way you should be in EVERY pose.
Standing head to knee? Yep. Chattarunga? Yep. Tree? Yep.
Think about it. The muscles you are engaging as you’re standing tall in your mountain – often seen as quite a simple pose (“you’re just standing there!”) – remain engaged throughout your practice.
It’s a lot to think about. Because you also have to remember to breathe. And engage the Bandhas, or energy locks. And make sure your class isn’t passing out from the heat and humidity. And, oh yeah, direct them on how to do it.
My homework is (shocker!) to teach, and to observe. So, any volunteers?
Honor Your Body
What was most fascinating to me during my first weekend of 200-hour yoga teacher certification was these 10 women – 11, if you count my teacher, Edie Fischer, the owner of Hot Yoga and Massage Studio – have all unique, beautiful body types. Long torsos, short arms, curved spines, strong shoulders, flexible hamstrings, the list goes on. And each have their strengths and weaknesses in different poses.
From the timid 16-year-old gymnast whose retired marine mother teaches yoga, to the dreadlocked, former substance abuser turned vegetarian Vinyasa instructor, I knew it would be an interesting group. Each of these women first came to their mat for different reasons, and each are taking this training to deepen themselves in various ways.
So here are these women, with the average age of 25, sitting around the studio in a complete circle, and I felt like I was at a bonfire listening to my cool, older counselor tell stories.
We all sat transfixed, some wide-mouthed, some sleepy-eyed, listening to a woman with years of teaching experience tell stories.
We would begin talking about moon salutations, and somehow the conversation would switch to a discussion about ego, about sexual assault, about charity and karma.
Edie has seen it all (Check out her bio here). As a studio owner since 2007, she’s had all sorts of clients, asking all sorts of questions and demanding her time and energy.
She’s been doing a great job of explaining to us the business of yoga in between asana teachings, giving us bits of advice like “don’t fraternize with clients outside of the studio” and “ask yourself, as a yoga teacher, ‘what keeps you safe’ (from a lawsuit)?”
Say Hello to Your Ego
The ego is funny in yoga. The ego causes us to bend our bodies in half because we can. It doesn’t listen when the teacher directs you to modify a posture. It looks around, scoffs at us, and pushes us to do poses incorrectly. It yells at us when we want to go into child’s pose during standing head to knee pose.
It’s hard to accept the fact that your body might not be able to do what your neighbor’s body does in a pose. Each body is made differently. Instead of focusing on what your body can’t do, show gratefulness for what you have. Embrace yourself and honor your body – the capsule that holds your spirit.
Revelation
I anticipate having a revelation every class, but this one is particularly useful:
I learned the way you stand in Tadasana, Mountain pose – with your feet grounding down into the earth, thighs spiraling in, kneecaps lifted, pelvis and abdomen engaged, chested lifted, shoulders rolled back and crown of the head lifted towards the sky – is the way you should be in EVERY pose.
Standing head to knee? Yep. Chattarunga? Yep. Tree? Yep.
Think about it. The muscles you are engaging as you’re standing tall in your mountain – often seen as quite a simple pose (“you’re just standing there!”) – remain engaged throughout your practice.
It’s a lot to think about. Because you also have to remember to breathe. And engage the Bandhas, or energy locks. And make sure your class isn’t passing out from the heat and humidity. And, oh yeah, direct them on how to do it.
My homework is (shocker!) to teach, and to observe. So, any volunteers?