A Teacher is Always a Student
A teacher is always a student
In front of a yoga class one day I was not able to demonstrate an asana (yoga posture) perfectly. I was almost there, ready to express this amazing asana, and in so doing prepare the students to try the asana. Well it did not go as planned. Although I felt confident, I had studied and practiced the asana many times. It was not going well. Prior to this demonstration I led the class through a series of gentle Hatha yoga asanas to warm up. The introduction included time for the students to settle in and set and intention for their practice.
I had arrived before the class in order to setup the room, lights, temperature, props, and other tasks that should be complete prior to the students arriving. I had cleaned my mat, the studio mats and cleaned the floor. It seemed that my preparation of the room was an integral part of my personal practice. Even when I am at home preparing for my personal yoga session, I take time to arrange the space in order to fully immerse myself into my practice. Once I start moving I notice that even very loud sounds that may be going by outside, such as a truck, bus or motorcycle are hardly noticeable because of the focus and attention I try to maintain during my yoga session.
So, there I was at the front of the class, working my way into the asana demonstration and then I fell forward. All of the students were watching for my reaction. I thought briefly to myself, that maybe I have not practiced enough and that perhaps I should not try to teach this asana at all. I recovered and immediately tried again with the demonstration, again I fell forward. What I discovered was that I was missing one very important step in the demonstration. Being honest with myself. Even though I had practiced and I felt confident that I was prepared to demonstrate an asana for the class, my expectations of myself on that day exceeded my ability on the first two tries. And one of my thoughts was to give up, then an there. Let it go, and move on to the next section of the class. By this time the students may have been waiting for that to happen too. So, I said, "let me take it one step at a time and I will try again". Slowly, I added the words of compassion as I demonstrated this time. Talking out loud as I expressed the foundation for the asana, the alignment, the balance, the space and possible modifications. All of these essential elements came together and the students were really interested to try. One by one, each person with assistance from me along with clear guided step by step instructions was able to see themselves in some form of the asana.
This was not about achieving a goal or a perfect pose. I felt like it was more about following my intuition, by showing that the teacher is also a practitioner of yoga. And that it is okay to try more than once in order to allow your mind and body to find equilibrium as you move into, hold and exit the asana. That day I learned a lot more about myself and it felt like this was one of my best classes.
The primary reflection from this experience that I wanted to share with the class was to remember that yoga is a practice. And each time we come to our mat we should clear our head of preconceived notions about how things might turn out for us that day. In other words, let go of expectations, desires, yearnings for the perfect asana. There is no such thing. The asana practice is only one aspect (one limb) of a yoga journey. We must be honest with ourselves and trust the process. The achievement in yoga is gained over time, with patience, you become more attuned to listening to your intuitive wisdom and with the guidance of a teacher who is not afraid to be honest with her/himself you will learn so much more about yourself that transcends into your everyday life.
Namaste
Dee Williams
www.kanjinyoga.com
(c) Photograph by D. Williams
In front of a yoga class one day I was not able to demonstrate an asana (yoga posture) perfectly. I was almost there, ready to express this amazing asana, and in so doing prepare the students to try the asana. Well it did not go as planned. Although I felt confident, I had studied and practiced the asana many times. It was not going well. Prior to this demonstration I led the class through a series of gentle Hatha yoga asanas to warm up. The introduction included time for the students to settle in and set and intention for their practice.
I had arrived before the class in order to setup the room, lights, temperature, props, and other tasks that should be complete prior to the students arriving. I had cleaned my mat, the studio mats and cleaned the floor. It seemed that my preparation of the room was an integral part of my personal practice. Even when I am at home preparing for my personal yoga session, I take time to arrange the space in order to fully immerse myself into my practice. Once I start moving I notice that even very loud sounds that may be going by outside, such as a truck, bus or motorcycle are hardly noticeable because of the focus and attention I try to maintain during my yoga session.
So, there I was at the front of the class, working my way into the asana demonstration and then I fell forward. All of the students were watching for my reaction. I thought briefly to myself, that maybe I have not practiced enough and that perhaps I should not try to teach this asana at all. I recovered and immediately tried again with the demonstration, again I fell forward. What I discovered was that I was missing one very important step in the demonstration. Being honest with myself. Even though I had practiced and I felt confident that I was prepared to demonstrate an asana for the class, my expectations of myself on that day exceeded my ability on the first two tries. And one of my thoughts was to give up, then an there. Let it go, and move on to the next section of the class. By this time the students may have been waiting for that to happen too. So, I said, "let me take it one step at a time and I will try again". Slowly, I added the words of compassion as I demonstrated this time. Talking out loud as I expressed the foundation for the asana, the alignment, the balance, the space and possible modifications. All of these essential elements came together and the students were really interested to try. One by one, each person with assistance from me along with clear guided step by step instructions was able to see themselves in some form of the asana.
This was not about achieving a goal or a perfect pose. I felt like it was more about following my intuition, by showing that the teacher is also a practitioner of yoga. And that it is okay to try more than once in order to allow your mind and body to find equilibrium as you move into, hold and exit the asana. That day I learned a lot more about myself and it felt like this was one of my best classes.
The primary reflection from this experience that I wanted to share with the class was to remember that yoga is a practice. And each time we come to our mat we should clear our head of preconceived notions about how things might turn out for us that day. In other words, let go of expectations, desires, yearnings for the perfect asana. There is no such thing. The asana practice is only one aspect (one limb) of a yoga journey. We must be honest with ourselves and trust the process. The achievement in yoga is gained over time, with patience, you become more attuned to listening to your intuitive wisdom and with the guidance of a teacher who is not afraid to be honest with her/himself you will learn so much more about yourself that transcends into your everyday life.
Namaste
Dee Williams
www.kanjinyoga.com
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