Well. Preparing for my workshop on developing a personal yoga practise (why we do what we do in class) and teaching it were so entirely different that there might have been two different workshops.
In fact, there were at least two, many more if one counts all the workshops in my head and those which I prepared for. I devised this fairly esoteric workshop delving into the Yoga Sutras and Ayurveda. How I hoped to address this in two hours is anybody's mystery. As part of the workshop, I had worked out what poses addressed various doshas and ailments. Of course everybody knows their doshas, their environments' doshas, the doshas of their life stages and how all of these fall out of balance. We all do, right?
Also, there was the workshop about taking care of your body while recovering from illness or injury. Then I prepared for the workshop about breath practise or pranayama. And of course the workshop about meditation, diet and what to do at home. In two hours. Goddess. Gods. What was I thinking? Squishing all of this together into two hours was kind of crazy.
Obviously, next time I need to narrow my focus significantly or teach an ongoing class that is 2-3 hours long.
It was great seeing all the different levels of practitioners who wanted to deepen or re-enter their practise. I only wish I could go on longer or teach an ongoing workshop of this nature. Plus, I rediscovered one of my favorite quotes: "To the yogi, death is like a sauce that makes life savory." -Iyengar
Showing posts with label yoga. Show all posts
Showing posts with label yoga. Show all posts
Saturday, June 13, 2009
Saturday, June 6, 2009
Yogini Vision (as opposed to television?)
Whew, I have to take a break from angsting over all those IEP issues. Today's post is about yoga, specifically teaching yoga.
It is so interesting to me to watch people (particularly women) shift from Tadasana (mountain pose, standing hands by one's sides) to standing with hands in Anjali Mudra (prayer pose at the heart).
Starting with Tadasana: Many of us stand with hips thrust forward, chest collapsed ala sullen, yet cool, teenager. Also popular, collapsing the solar plexus, center of the will. What does this body language say? 'Here I am, all sex, no heart.' Or all sex, no will ~both popular attitudes in today's world, certainly. In relation to the chakras, it pushes the earth, fire and water chakras to the fore. In relation to physiology, these stances make it very heard to breathe. Some of this is learned when we are kids, trying not to take up too much space or trying not to say what we really want for fear of being ridiculed or failing. I am not saying that all people with poor posture have these issues. Rather, I think that many of us once had these issues, held our bodies this way and developed a habit. Yoga can free us of this postural habit and the shallow breating that usually accompanies it. Neurolinguistic Programming (NLP, sure but where did that come from?) and Somatics tell us that once you hold your body differently, you hold your mind differently almost automatically.
Quite a lot of people do stand upright without collapsing their solar plexus or heart centers. Some of these people, once they pur their hands into Anjali Mudra or prayer pose, collapse their hearts and or solar plexus...almost as if the concept of praying rather than lifting the heart and spirit, causes it to sink. Or maybe, praying is like being good and that sinks one's heart--a concept that makes one question "good," eh. Ideally one's connection with Spirit, with Divinity should make one's heart soar and strenghten rather than weaken the will. Well, that is the Mighty Eye's vision, anyway.
It is so interesting to me to watch people (particularly women) shift from Tadasana (mountain pose, standing hands by one's sides) to standing with hands in Anjali Mudra (prayer pose at the heart).
Starting with Tadasana: Many of us stand with hips thrust forward, chest collapsed ala sullen, yet cool, teenager. Also popular, collapsing the solar plexus, center of the will. What does this body language say? 'Here I am, all sex, no heart.' Or all sex, no will ~both popular attitudes in today's world, certainly. In relation to the chakras, it pushes the earth, fire and water chakras to the fore. In relation to physiology, these stances make it very heard to breathe. Some of this is learned when we are kids, trying not to take up too much space or trying not to say what we really want for fear of being ridiculed or failing. I am not saying that all people with poor posture have these issues. Rather, I think that many of us once had these issues, held our bodies this way and developed a habit. Yoga can free us of this postural habit and the shallow breating that usually accompanies it. Neurolinguistic Programming (NLP, sure but where did that come from?) and Somatics tell us that once you hold your body differently, you hold your mind differently almost automatically.
Quite a lot of people do stand upright without collapsing their solar plexus or heart centers. Some of these people, once they pur their hands into Anjali Mudra or prayer pose, collapse their hearts and or solar plexus...almost as if the concept of praying rather than lifting the heart and spirit, causes it to sink. Or maybe, praying is like being good and that sinks one's heart--a concept that makes one question "good," eh. Ideally one's connection with Spirit, with Divinity should make one's heart soar and strenghten rather than weaken the will. Well, that is the Mighty Eye's vision, anyway.
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