Last week, my homework was "Centering" - I needed to write a bodyscan from the sitting bones upwards, reciting phrases (that I came up with) that would help my potential class of students center themselves for practice. I wrote out on index cards a few phrases that I thought would be effective at helping people "center" themselves - basically preparing themselves mentally and physically for what was about to happen for the next hour on the mat. When the time came on Wednesday's session to pair up with a classmate and guide them into a centered state, I realized I was woefully under-prepared. I wrote out something that I thought was great - anyone hearing my words would be sure to feel centered as their yoga practice started, right? - but when I heard the thoughtful, sensitive words of my partner, I realized that I didn't give my "centering" the attention it deserved. She sounded like a pro - someone who had been teaching for years, using imagery, key phrases, and gentle guiding words to help people settle in on their mats. When I complimented her, she fully admitted that she "pinched it" (she's English). I recited my poor attempt, and she was polite, but I knew I left a lot to be desired. I pledged to give a lot more thought and devotion to this week's homework.
This week, my homework is to create a 3-minute practice (3 minutes, that's IT!) that will center my class, warm them up, and bring them to standing (tadasana). It is such a hard assignment. I've already devoted 45 minutes to writing out this sequence and trying it out myself - and I feel like it's not right. My biggest problem is limiting myself to 3 minutes. In most of the classes I've taken in the last year, the centering alone takes more than 3 minutes. How the heck am I supposed to get a beginning yogi relaxed and into a standing posture in 3 minutes? I tried it out on my husband (NOT a yogi) last night, and it did not go well (to say the least!).
We are supposed to write our practices assuming that everyone in our class is a beginner. It would be an understatement to say that my husband is a beginner. On top of that, he has some sort of ankle injury (this foot problem happens on a regular basis, and probably should require medical attention, but that's another blog entry for another day). I should rally and say "Well, yoga is going to sort these problems out for you - trust me!" I should be ready and knowledgeable about how to modify the posture so that it helps strengthen these troublesome muscles and joints. Instead, it devolved because I had written a sequence for someone who was familiar with what I was talking about. And because it was me, my husband had no problem saying "Ow! That hurts. I have no idea what you mean. I can't do what you're doing!"(I was just sitting on my knees, in a "comfortable seat", btw). I truly don't think he would have been as vocal in a yoga class with another teacher - he would have "played along". Either way, it was late, it was me, and he had no problem speaking right up!
That said, ANYone taking a yoga class shouldn't "play along". If something is uncomfortable, a yogi should feel comfortable enough to speak up and ask for a modification. And the teacher needs to be knowledgeable and flexible enough to offer up the mods. Sadly, that's not how it went down last night. I got frustrated, he got frustrated, and the 3 minutes opened my eyes to exactly how much MORE I have to do. I don't have to scrap everything - but I do have to be more descriptive and much more considerate.
I guess it's back to the drawing board for me - hopefully, this time it won't take 45 minutes to write out 3 minutes of a sequence. I'm not ready to throw the towel in. Yet.
By practicing yoga, impurities dwindle away and the light of wisdom dawns - Patanjali's yoga sutras
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