Striving for Balance

Not much more to say on this one other than... The state of VA wants to impose licensing taxes on Yoga Teacher Training schools.... Bad Idea. Teaching (even teaching people to teach yoga) is not a profession that pays very well, Its a baaaaad move to impose new fees on these schools. If you get the opportunity, make sure your local government knows how you feel on this issue. Namaste Dave ************************************************************************************** With all the things I do that generate adrenaline, I need something to help me balance things out. I have found nothing does that better than Yoga. I had begun taking yoga classes to help manage my own anxiety but found it so enjoyable that I joined the Teacher Training program. The program is a 200 hour nationally recognized certificate program that teaches all of the major aspects of Hatha Yoga, including Philosophy, Postures, breath work and meditation. This is exposure to ideas that are thousands of years old. Hatha Yoga is the ancient Indian (Southwest Asian not Western) system of physical postures and breathing exercises that balances the opposing masculine and feminine forces in the body, the "sun" and the "moon." In a word “Balance” Fast forward a couple of years of hard yet rewarding study and work; it’s time to start teaching. My first class was filled with people that I had taken classes with before. I think it was a little awkward for them and me. But there was also a trust that was developed. Not to mention the fact that the students trust Ren Fields, my teacher and owner of The Healing Arts Yoga Center. They knew she would not unleash a nut upon them. There was a lot for me to live up to. Although the postures are different for each class based on experience level, there is a prescribed process that starts with smaller, easier, gentler movements and then advances towards larger postures. The entire class is conducted with that gentle kindness and encourages each student to focus within themselves and have “their own” yoga class. This approach honors the fact that every student is different from the person standing next to them. Students are encouraged to make modifications to poses that challenge them. We are not striving for Yoga Journal perfection here. Ren will say yoga’s principle is “no pain… no pain”. Nervous at the start, I was worried that I didn’t know enough. Even though I am well trained and am very involved in my own practice at home, my confidence was waning and I feared that my class would see through me. This evening’s class was designed to shake off the stress of the day. “Tune into the room”, I say as I encourage everyone to let their day go, stop making lists, or mentally completing the day’s chores. But it was me that needed to ‘settle’. I began my own private internal class of deep breathing techniques, helping me focus. Being the instructor is much different than being a student. There seemed to be lots to be nervous about. Students can sense your mood, and it’s up to me to make them feel more comfortable. Here in this class there were 15 people waiting for my next set of instructions. It felt a little like “Simon Says” in that the instruction needs to be very detailed. If I leave one thing out confusion can ensue… and well that’s not calming. Despite my internal nervousness, I took the class through basic postures, ensuring that they were getting the most out of each. Using words of encouragement, I spoke to those who needed it, some needing to ease off, some needing to keep each pose more active and still others needing alignment. Surprisingly, they followed my instruction without hesitation. We spoke to each other in a quiet dialog with me providing instruction and they responding non-verbally as they flowed from pose to pose. This being the first class that I had taught, it was not flawless. Ironically, I used many of the relaxation techniques that I had learned through the Training Program to help me navigate my own nervousness. I got my reward as the students rose from ‘deep relaxation’ – a 10 minute period of rest that allows each student to fully experience the positive effects of the yoga class – each was student was smiling. I had been trained well and I had done my job.