Old Moon Yoga

I stand there staring at the group of women chatting amongst themselves. My hands are on my hips, face a gesture of displeasure as the rest of the class watches in awkward silence. The group continues engrossed on their conversation. The tension builds and as the room becomes ever more silent. Then one of them notices me. “Oh is it time to start” my wife, and probably the ring leader, laughs.

Newcomers to the class might have felt a little un-comfy at first but now the ice is broken and everyone knows there is more than Asana going on here. It is great the people come to class not just for the workout but that they come for the “social event” too.  But this got me thinking “what is the best way to start a class?”

Sit there eyes closed until the room goes quite.  This is a tough one for the teacher to pull off unless they are very experienced and the class is familiar.  I have been in a couple of classes where proceedings have started this way.  It’s a great way to start unless you are the last one talking of course.  It’s like that nightmare scenario seen on TV so many times; the loud party suddenly cuts to silence leaving me talking at the top of my voice and mid sentence. “ … three days to get rid of the spot on my … ”

Chant or Sing. Some styles of Yoga start with something other than asana. It is not for me personally I am there for the asana, at least at first. Having to chant, with a voice like mine, before we can start, feels like when I was a kid.  “You can’t watch TV until you have cleaned your room”, “but my favorite program is about to start!”  The expression “sing for your supper” springs to my mind.

Deep thought for the day. Then there is the style where you get a “thought” for the day. A little advice on how to conduct your life. “Ahimsa: non-violence, inflicting no injury or harm to others or even to one’s ownself, it goes as far as nonviolence in thought, word and deed.”   the teacher quotes, “let’s consider this first of the 5 Yama vows.”

Mmm lets consider how I got to my mat tonight.  I leave work early, much to the displeasure of the boss, and spend 45 minutes on the parking lot otherwise know as  101. Cycling through parking practice, racing starts and various hand mudras, for the benefit of the other motorists. Outside the studio after the woman in the red car steals my first choice parking spot I finally nab a parking spot 3 blocks from the studio. Now late I run to check in and have to fill out the new questionnaire thrust in my hand from the girl behind the desk, who is apparently more interested in her computer than this Yogi stress level. As I complete the form she tells me that my 10 class pass just ran out. “But I renewed it only last week” I exclaim.  Finalizing the bureaucracy I step into the studio to find the only available mat space is between to the guy with an ego and the shirtless Adonis who sweats like the rainy season in LA.

“I just want to do some asana” I scream, to myself,  at this point I am exercising more inner Ahisma than she can possibly imagine. This I do not need a lecture on right now. Can we please stretch? This feels more like attending Sunday school when I could be playing soccer.

The point really is that the start of class is not the time to expect a Yogi to be at their most receptive.

Begin with meditation? Some people seem to really like this. I have playlists built around this being the start point. It works great sometimes. Inevitable though people show up late, that 101 traffic and mudra practice can really slow people down. We start in meditation, the first sign is a face appearing, nose squashed against the frosted glass as they attempt to peer into the studio.  “Has the class started yet, can I interrupt”.  I wave frantically at the large flat nose gesturing to come in.  They clatter in, dump their stuff, stomp across the floor to place their mat. Everyone in meditation is just waiting for the tale tell thwack of a Yoga mat being unrolled and dropped to the ground.

Guard the door and meditate. I used to have a teacher that would stand and hold the door shut during meditation. But I prefer to start with a slow warm up first. 5 minutes or so of neck and side stretches allows the stragglers to get in and settled before we close our eyes for meditation. It’s also a good time to learn who knows their right from the left. “There’s always one J”

This works especially well in the morning I believe, because a gentler warm up is what every one needs after staggering out of bed at 6:00am. At some sports club yoga classes the action starts straight with sun salutations. Can’t waste time on gentle warm up get straight to the aerobic asana. Personally I like to warm the spine up a little slower than that.

Medidate sure, but for how long?

“We meditated for 10 minutes”, “We must have been in meditation for 30 minutes before we started class.” I have heard both of these reports from Yogi at other classes.  10 minutes is a really long time, 30 seems like an exaggeration to me, ironic perhaps in that meditation is supposed to suspend time.  I think it should be long enough to notice the breath and get in under control. Long enough to feel an initial level of calm, that is all that is needed.

At the beginning of class neither mind nor body is ready for anything too deep, unless its conversation with fellow yogis you have not seen for a week of course:)

Drop and give me 20

“Can you speed up the class and push us harder?” the fitness fanatic asked after a very nice class “No” replied the teacher. At the time I could not really appreciate why. I was a member of the sports club that provided Yoga classes as part of the over all fitness program. We liked our Yoga hot and fast.

As members of the sports club we defined our workouts in terms of sweat and breathlessness. “You had a good workout then” was the comment many of us would appreciate from fellow members as we made our way back to the locker room. The basic metric being how wet the tee shirt was. Soaked half way down was ok, but what you really needed, to get a hi five, was a tee shirt soaked right through and two additional dripping tees in the left hand. Imagine, then, the disgrace of completing a Yoga class and having to sneak back to the locker room with dry shirt. “um yes just got here actually, no not worked out yet”.

Even with this peer pressure I still attended each and every Yoga class at the club. Luckily there was a water fountain just outside of the Yoga studio, so soaking a couple of tee shirts after class was always a good face saving option. But I was really about soaking up as much Yoga as possible. The variety was great and being able to remember sequences easily allowed me to practice at home too. Obsessed would not be too strong a word for my approach to Yoga.

Occasionally I would “sub” for a teacher who did not show up. As I could remember the sequences it was easy. Of course, I discovered, I really loved to teach too. At the end of one such class someone said “ it was a nice class. You should try Yoga in a real Yoga studio, you would really like it. “yeh right” I think. I could not see how Yoga could be any different elsewhere. I had done every style from Yin to Yan, Iyengar to Vinyasa from a wide variety of teacher. Was I missing something?

Having now entered the world of Yoga in the studio it is hard for me to think about going back to a sports setting to practice. Where is the mood, the setting, the atmosphere? At the gym we switch those for ego driven ab attacks, and using force to muscle our way into poses we are not ready for. Once you cross the bridge there is no return.

So how much keep fit should we introduce into a Yoga class? Are people coming for the workout or the Yoga feeling? Are they coming for both? These days I don’t like Yoga classes to seem like a fitness workout. Yoga should be more subtle than that. Sneak a little ab work into the regular poses maybe, but not an obvious 5 minute set of screaming core work.

Yikes this is pilates!

Then the call comes from Devi. “Can you sub a Yogalates class?”. “oh of course I don’t mind subbing the class” I reply. Like Laurey, from the musical Oklahoma, I can’t say no, to subbing. Even though I have no idea at all what Yogalates is. I have never taken a Pilates class much less taught one. In 4 hours time I will be teaching, this should be interesting. A little research reveals that Yogalates is mostly Yoga with additional core work.

Yogalates, I realize, is the gym/yoga studio cross over activity. Come for the fitness stay for the Yoga. Stomach crunches and sit ups work for the sports fanatic. Yoga is about how you feel when you leave. “Get down and give me 20 press ups” seems a little out of place in a pure Yoga class but back in my early Yoga days I attended a yoga class where we did do 20 press ups as part of the warm up. I decide to teach the class like a yoga class but with emphasis on the poses that work the core.

Only now do I understand that teacher who would not change her class for the keep fit fanatics at the club. Oh dear I have become a Yoga snob? Maybe, but maybe not, these thoughts and Dick Van Dyke’s infamous cockney accent in Mary Poppins inspired the theme for today’s class.

“Core blimey”

Had this been a classroom full of 10 year old kids the reaction would have been fits of giggles. An audible burst of flatulence in an adult Yogi class is a little different. Like Rod Stewart I deliver my well rehearsed ad lib line “good idea everyone find something to release”.  Yikes the elephant in the room just got even bigger. “I am sure in some cultures that would have been funny” I tell myself oh that fragile ego.

These things can happen. It is going to happen to all of us at some point I am sure.  You can only hold Mula Bandha for so long. So from a teacher perspective it’s a good thing to “hear”.  At least one Yogi is now a little more relaxed for the practice. Well, once they are past the social embarrassment of course.  So what is a good way to handle this “feedback” from the class?  Ignoring the elephant is awkward. Ideas welcome as clearly a well delivered “ad lib” is not the answerJ

“It is good to yawn” I remember a teacher telling me once. “It means the body needs more oxygen and the yawn is the body’s way of getting it”.  I look across at 4 yogis opposite me. As usual one yawn starts a chain reaction that has set in and all four are yawning now. Is one looking at the clock too?  I am not so sure about this “yawn is a good thing idea” I think to myself.  These bodily functions are really taking their toll on this fragile instructor.

The class is in forward fold as I look around the room I see a Yogi picking away at her toe nail polish. Having never worn toe nail polish I am not intimately familiar with the psychological relaxation benefits of peeling small pieces of paint off.  “Could you just sit up and yawn or something” I think to myself. “Find something to release” I suggest to the group, hoping she does not see this as the green light to start on the other foot. Is my class really that boring, fragile, fragile

For final savasana, if the class is not too large, I have recently been using a sand bag across the hips. It helps to deepen the relaxation, or so I think.  A yogi came up to me after class recently with this advice “Sand bag on a full bladder, not good”. He looked so calm and relaxed too.

Teachers are human too.  Hard to believe, possibly, but it’s true. For us the pressure (no pun intended) of maintaining Mula Bandha for an entire class because of an ill chosen curry the night before is no joke. Imagine the size of the elephant in this situation. Mmm maybe not, lead by example, well there is only one way to learn more about the acceptable social etiquette.

I teach an early class twice a week and start the morning with at least two mugs of strong tea. By the time I get to class I have more caffeine in me that downtown Seattle on a Monday morning. The class starts smoothly enough then I begin to realize that the last mug was maybe one to many.  The door to the bathroom seems a mile away and getting smaller. It’s ok for students. They can get up and walk out any time they like. “Everyone take down dog” while I nip to the bathroom is not really going to fly.  I hang on modifying the sequence of poses so that I don’t have to demonstrate quite as many twists.

If you have read my previous blogs you will know that there is no way I am “nipping out” during savasana either.  Class ends with no one any the wiser, clearly, as two Yogi come over to talk about poses. Normally I welcome this but today I am unwittingly inventing a new stretch. This expanding balloon pose does not have a name yet. “Party poppers” “Caffeinasana” perhaps?  Or may be just omg omg omg omg.  The mantra used both during the pose and when it is finally released. These bodily functions are really taking their toll on this fragile instructor.

Bodily functions are natural; we cannot switch them off for the duration of a yoga class. So relax and find something to release, unless you are in “Caffeinasana” of course.

"Happy feet" she demanded

“Happy feet” the instructor demanded. We were in Ardha Chandrasana (Half Moon Pose) at the time.  I had not been doing Yoga that long, but I resisted the urge to swing upright and shuffle from foot to foot like a cartoon penguin nearing extinction. Instead I spread my toes and pulled the foot towards me. The pose transformed.  My now tense back leg is strong and stable as we hold the pose.

I am still not sure why the command “Happy feet” converted into this action, but I guess there is not that much you can do to make your feet “happy” when standing on one leg and struggling for balance. She could have said “screaming feet”,  “feet in hot water”  or “feet with cramp”. They all would have worked.

Recently I have been noticing in my classes this “other foot” is often looking a little sad. In Iyengar classes there is always careful consideration to all limbs in all poses.  In Vinyasa flow, though, we tend to be less precise making it more about the feel, the breath and the movement.

Is it a bird? Is it a plane?

The class is taking Marichyasana I.  You know the pose where you try to get your knee behind your shoulder whilst maintaining a flat back and bending forward head heading towards the knee, arms wrapped around the back and knee and keeping both butt cheeks on the floor. “The world is your oyster once you can get your leg behind your head” I spout encouragingly.  As I look around there are lots of “sad” feet. So, just what the Yogis need at this point, yet another thing to think about in the pose, “Happy feet” I announce. It is like magic. With the foot and therefore the leg now engaged, the poses look more solid, more grounded. The yogis don’t look any happier though, better save the “smile at the instructor” command for next week

There are so many poses where “happy feet” make a difference. Supta Padangusthasana (Reclining Big Toe Pose) for example is another great one. The forward facing leg all limp and sad, then the command “happy feet” brings it back as an integral part of the pose. All of the body now engaged as it should be. Once again the pose transforms.

Pigeon is another great pose to practice happy feet.  Curling back the toes on the bent leg this time helps protect the knee from the strain the hip puts in it.

A Heron, obviously

Ever noticed how Yoga instructors use Sanskrit names for nearly all poses but always use English when it is time for “Pigeon”? I think this because the Sanskrit is Eka Pada Rajakapotasana, enough Sanskrit to trip the most nimble of western tongues. It is rivaled, perhaps, by this classic “Triang Mukha Eka Pada Paschimottanasana” which, unfortunately for us poor instructors, has no ornithological comparison to use as a short cut.  Apparently one leg folded under with the other leg behind whilst leaning forward looks like a pigeon.  One leg folded under with the other leg in front while leaning forward on the other hand does not look like a bird. Ah but lift that leg in the air and suddenly you have Krounchasana (Heron Pose).

the ecstatic unfolding of the enraptured heart.

The Sanskrit seems so much more expressive in comparison to their western translations.  e.g  Camatkarasana has this poetic translation according to Yoga Journal “the ecstatic unfolding of the enraptured heart.”  In English we call it “wild thing”.  Imagine the strange looks as I try this in class though “everyone flip your dog into ‘the ecstatic unfolding of the enraptured heart.’ The class stares blankly at me, wondering if I have been at the pain killers again  ….. “Err um …. I mean ‘wild thing’

Well I wanted a Sanskrit translation for “happy feet” and called on my Indian friends. They tell me that one translation is  Svasthyapada   Literal translation – healthy and contented (svasthya) feet (pada)”.  I love it

Happy feet can make a big difference to so many poses. I have been trying it out recently in classes. It always seems to work. “Happy feet” I suggest. The reaction is immediate and just what I am looking for. So if you are in my class this year expect to hear the command “Svasthyapada” or more likely the original….

“Happy feet.”

It was always my plan to teach Yoga. Little did I know the teacher training program would change my life entirely. One short year ago, along with the 17 others in my class I received my certificate. A tight knit family for those intense 3 months of training, we now went our separate ways, each of us evangelizing their own particular style or love of Yoga.

Getting your first teaching assignment is not always that easy. We hit the streets looking for opportunities to ply our newly honed craft only to be hit by the Yogi teacher’s catch 22. “We don’t hire any teachers with less that 2 years experience” one studio owner is kind enough to tell me.  Another looks at me like I have two heads. I can see she is thinking “you can’t be serious” as she takes my name and adds it to the waiting list, which appears to be located very close to the waste basket. “I already have more teachers than I have slots for” yet another tells me. One friend with a studio offers me an audition and one Sunday I teach a group of her teachers. I feel like an out of work actor looking for their first opportunity. “I’ll work for free” I beg as my mind goes back to the teacher training class where I tell everyone not to sell themselves short.  To anyone looking all I can say is don’t give up. I ended up on the schedule with regular classes at 3 out of 4 of those studios this year.

My first break came when, luckily for me, my son was leaving for LA and his teaching slot at the local YMCA was available. I leapt at the chance. The YMCA, and other similar establishments, offers one of the best “ways in” for budding Yoga teachers. The members pay a membership so in a sense the Yoga classes are free to them. In theory building a class here should be easier, famous last words.

It has been a magical year of teaching which has proven to be more rewarding than I every imagined.  “You changed my life” one particular student explained to me. This took me quite by surprise, what must be the ultimate compliment and I really had no clue. Mmm wait she never said it was changed for the better.

The faces that look back at us as we teach each have their own story their own mystery. Over time perhaps the instructor gets a little glimpse into the complex Yogis in front of us. That was one thing I learned from this year, everyone is different and Yoga and our teaching affects each one of them in separate and different ways.

So how did it change my life?

Your fired!, I think, possibly, maybe

The list is pretty long and risks sounding like I am “blowing my own trumpet” but I never really expected so much to happen in one short year.

For one I get up at 6:00am two days a week to teach a morning class. Early morning Yoga was not something I did previously let alone teach. But I love this class and getting up early to teach it.  Little secret, I now start the morning these two days a week with a handstand, before the Yogis arrive. I also learned skills such as how to shower and brush my teeth in the dark so as not to wake Dawn up. Still have to arrive at the studio early though in case I have my shirt on backwards.

I read a book once that said if you never got fired from a job you were not trying hard enough.  I got fired, and it only took me 6 weeks to achieve it. At least I think I got fired. In Yoga we tend to be more gentle, more subtle, fearing that bad Karma perhaps. I was no longer on the schedule and recently my picture disappeared from the web site. More of a gradual melt into the background that a hard nosed “clear your desk while the security guard watches over your” affair.

I stopped going to Yoga classes. My schedule has ended up too busy, I don’t seem to find time to go to classes anymore. Something we were warned about in teacher training. I can still touch my toes though, must be the morning Yoga and all those demos.

For some crazy reason I decided to start a blog. For reasons even more bizarre to me people actually read it, or at least they visit the home page occasionally. A couple people initially took pity on me offering to help sort my grammar out.  Rapidly seeing this as a lost cause they too have melted away. But now I can’t seem to stop blogging even when I have nothing to say. Yes you can stop reading now, nothing to see here, move along.

Nice mudra

I also discovered the challenges and the time consuming process of developing a half decent playlist. How do the experts do it? I spend days finding potential music. Get it in what seems like a plausible order. Listen to it. Try a practice session at home only to discover that Eminem just is not going to work. Re-order, reorganize, I even chop bits out of particular tracks if I think that will make a difference. Then I have to listen to it again and again tweaking and perfecting. Then finally the test in front of a live audience, a class, “I preferred last weeks” a regular tells me helpfully. My son has the right idea. “Great play lists dad can copy yours?”

The year was not without its exciting moments too.  3 faints (I can spot that dull thud now without even looking up), 4 or 5 people falling out of Feathered peacock. Only one I managed to catch in time the others looking like a collection of run away slinky toys. Rain on the studio floor as I try to teach a morning session. 2 students locked out of my morning class, banging on the door to get in. Think I know why I cannot get the class to grow in numbers now though.

There was also a lot of feedback on my teaching which I was very grateful for. “Mumbles too much”, “can’t understand his accent” “classes are not hard enough”, “classes are still not hard enough”, “classes are still not hard enough”. Well no one complains about the class being too easy anymore, got the message on that one. As you saw in last weeks blog I have even backed off a little to make the classes more accessible. But I am sure I still mumble and this accent is here to stay.

Above all I had a lot of fun and have been welcomed into the Yoga community, a community I did not know existed 18 months ago, with open arms.  My thanks to each and every one of you, With special thanks to my mentor and friend, John, who made much of this teaching year possible and Wendy who was brave enough to give me my first break. A teaching assignment in her wonderful new Yoga studio.

Can't seem to stop, even when I have nothing to say

This first year as a Yoga teacher has been a whirlwind for me and gave me more than I ever expected when first decided to try my hand at teaching. I am currently teaching 8 classes a week and still loving every minute. For some reason I am still writing this blog. Today’s comes to you without the aid of  a safety net (my daughter, my grammar teacher, is out of town) but if you got this far you probably already realize that.

Happy New Year everyone! Have a great 2010!