Yin Weekend... Week 12 of Teacher Training..

2/3 of training is complete..  Only 6 more weekends to go.  Training, like life,  is speeding by and before I know it,  we will be taking our group photo and going our separate ways.

Week 12 was a two day Yin Yoga focused class.  In Yin Yoga you hold poses longer and allow gravity and not active muscles to stretch in the pose.  It  gets deep into the fascia and ligaments in addition to your muscles.  All poses are generally either seated or lying down and while many poses are shared with more active Yoga types,  there are differences in how they are held and how some cues are given.   There are also some poses that are pretty much Yin only. In my own practice,  I hold most poses for three minutes but some for five minutes and a few for only one minute. 

I have been practicing Yin for a long time,  so the poses that we were taught in the class were mostly known to me though we did some poses that I was not familiar with (mostly subtle ones) . Our instructor provided a booklet with a number of poses  that will be helpful along with my Yin book that I bought years ago.   I love Yin and posted a sequence a few years ago here.   Link to Older Post
 
We spent a very long time working on the concept of compression verses tension in the body.    This concept was one of the greatest things I got out of my training.    Basically,  we are limited by poses either by tension (tightness in muscles) or compression  (bone pressing on bone).   If a person feels stretching in a pose (tension) ,  then they have room to progress in a pose.   If a person feels compression in a pose (meaning bone is hitting bone),  chances are they can never progress in that pose.   While this may not a complete axiom  (Did he just use Axiom in a sentence?) ,  it is good information to know when you are teaching a student.     You can ask a student what they are feeling and if there is compression  (for example in a forward fold they can feel their hips compressing and not tightness in their hamstrings),  then they should not go so deep in that pose.

We also discussed what makes one person able to do a pose, while another cannot.    For example,  look at the photo below.

These are Femur bones.  The ball on the top left of each bone go into the Pelvis  (the hip socket   known as the Acetabulum).    You can see that the person on the left has less of an angle along the head of the bone and that the spur along the top right (known as the Greater Trochanter)  is more pronounced.     This photo shows that despite us being human,  there is a range of difference in how we are structured.   The person on the left will have a lesser range of motion when widening their legs than the person on the right and thus will be limited by their Femur construction in what is called abduction poses.     The person on the right will be more able to do a split than the person on the left due to this difference.   This is due to the fact that the person on the left may hit their pelvis with their legs abducted before they hit the limit of their muscle flexibility.

Another good take away from this class was how to approach a student in regards to how a pose should be done.   Because Yin is a deep practice,  a class could be varied in how deep each person can go into a pose.  Because of age, injury, muscle flexibility, bone structure etc.,  we are all different and this effects how a person can do a pose.    We need to ask a student where they are feeling something to determine how to adjust them.   Are they feeling compression or tightness or pain?   We need to be able (and learn how) to provide props and other adjustments to allow them to experience a pose.    This is something that we have been learning all along but in the example photo below,   you can see two modifications  (on the left) and the part of a person (on the right) who has gone deep into a pose.   The person on the right was so deep into the pose, that he actually had to be adjusted to go deeper into it. 
 

What was interesting for me is that I have a limited external rotation of my legs  (meaning how far can I rotate my feet out with my heels together before I hit compression) but I am able to do a full lotus (legs crossed over each other) and I can do a lying lotus (legs on the floor, crossed with my back flat on the floor).  The human body is pretty amazing.

Overall,  a great learning weekend.    Probably the best one so far.  I have to give credit to the teaching capabilities of the instructor.   He did a great job explaining the points he wanted to get across.

Namaste.

Weeks 9, 10, and 11 of Teacher Training.

Class are sure going fast.. 11 down and 7 more to go. 

Age does catch up to me as I went to a hot class about 2 weeks ago and pulled my Psoas.     The Psoas is a muscle that runs from your lower spine over your pelvis and attaches to the front of your femur.  It is used for stability and in our society it is a weak muscle because of the amount of sitting we do.   It was able to treat my injury with my Tens device  (the Aleve Tens device is great) to practice Yoga (though not flow) within a few days.   I have to say that the teacher was  too fast on her cues for moving between poses and that may have caused it.    I was not able to move from pose to pose within my breath and I felt rushed and I felt that my transitions between poses were not smooth.    I believe that each pose needs to be completed within a four count breath and I always practice that way. I plan to teach a smooth and easy flow from pose to pose.   Ease into the pose is my mantra.  You get the benefit of the pose..   Yoga is not aerobics and the fashion is much better.

I am now more than half way through my training.   It is amazing to realize how little I knew about the human body,  movement,  and Yoga and how much I have learned and how that much more I still will have to learn.    The ability to link movement to anatomy has especially been a challenge because of the complex nature of our muscles and my ability to visualize those movements with muscles.   We have been given assignment to work through and it has been difficult but enlightening.     I think it is critical for a teacher to have  a good grasp of the anatomy of poses so they can teach them properly so I will always work on learning more about anatomy and movement.

The focus in our classes during the past three weekends was somewhat varied but mainly focused on anatomy, sequencing and different types of Yoga.   We have been working on class sequencing,   understanding how to best support a student in a pose so that they are comfortable with it, and how to build a class to either an apex pose or a theme.

Two classes were about upper body therapy (which was really good) and a style of Yoga called Kundalini.    I really enjoyed both of these sessions as the subject matter was new to me.    I think I will be incorporating some of the Kundalini concepts into my classes  (especially some poses and breath work) as I liked the strenuous but non-threatening nature of the poses.      The upper body therapy class was good because we took difficult poses and made them accessible using blocks, straps and other props.   Not everyone can do a difficult pose,  but with modifications,  they can get the benefit from what the pose offers.

I am still not too happy about the lack of us teaching each other.   I was under the impression that this was going to happen but it has not.    I think many of us need the feedback about how we teach and right now that need is not fulfilled.     I suggested to our class that we ask for a day where we spend teaching each other but there is not full agreement yet on this.    I am lucky that I have been able to teach students,  many of us have not and I think completing the program and  then teaching for the first time in a studio is not optimal.




Namaste.

Teaching Yoga will always be a Challenge / Week 8 of Training

My five week Yoga teaching session is over.  It was a great experience and I looked forward to 7:00 on Thursdays with great anticipation.   I averaged about 12 people a class and I introduced the students to about 40 poses over course of the five weeks.    I really like to focus my own practice on both strength and flexibility, and that is what I tried to focus on during my classes.  Since I had the luxury of an hour and a half,  I was able to do a good amount of teaching and demonstrating while allowing everyone to have plenty of time to practice the poses.    During the last class,  I tried to just lead the class through a Yoga practice without doing any demonstrating and it was good to see how they all knew the poses and were able to follow along for the most part.   My goals were to introduce everyone to Yoga and to prepare them to go to a class at a studio and be comfortable in doing so. I think I accomplished both of these goals.  If just one person continues with a Yoga practice,  I will  consider myself more than successful. 




I learned a lot about teaching and myself over the past five weeks.    The biggest take away for me is that you cannot prepare enough for classes.    I constantly refined  what I wanted to teach and went through my class plan in my home Yoga room a few times before each class.  Even then,  I had to refer to my notes for the next pose or a cue that I wrote down at times.     I have to learn  how to better cue poses comfortably and with ease and to be more concise and remember each step in a pose or a flow.  More than a few times I missed a step or a piece of a flow or a pose.   I also realize that I have to better understand how to notice , approach, and teach adjustments to individuals while I have a everyone in a pose.  I will have to get more proficient about why we do poses and how they impact our body.    This should  will come with study and  time and it is good to have a direction to take my learning.  Finally,  I have to be focused on what I am saying.    People are really focusing on your words and I owe it to them to be clear and concise as I felt sometimes I was not. 

I was pretty up front with everyone about using these classes as an opportunity to become a better teacher and I really appreciate the fact that everyone was open to that.    I told them a few times that I am trying something out and they more than obliged.  There is no better teacher than experience.

Week 8 of training is 2 weeks in the past.    We spent a great Saturday working on lower body therapy and simulating difficult poses using props.   We started the class going through about 10 poses described in the "Light on Yoga" book but BKS Iyengar.    His descriptions are very technical and very focused on getting into the highest level of a pose.      We then took these 10 poses and worked them through using props and alternatives set ups.    It was really great to see how using blocks, bolsters, or straps  a person can get the same benefit from a modified pose as they can from the "harder' version of that pose. 


Our Sunday was spent on looking at the front body line and working through a sequence addressing those muscles and ligaments.   We also spent a good amount of time building a sequence toward an assigned "Apex" pose.    An Apex pose it generally the hardest pose in a class and the class should be set up in such a way as to prepare the students for that pose.   The take away for  me is that the
sequence that is built needs to get the body ready for the Apex pose and that all cues used in the Apex pose should already be used in previous poses within the sequence.   It was sort of an "aha" moment. 


By the end of the weekend,  after 6 - 7 hours of Yoga, I was sore in more than a few places.    A good sore,  but sore none the less.

Namaste.

Teaching / Weekends 6 and 7 of Training

My teacher training program requires us to do ten hours (or more) of volunteer teaching as a part of our training.  It is our responsibility to find a place to teach and to prepare our classes.    I was able to set up  a once a week program at a church near me where I would teach hour and a half class over the course five weeks.   My first class was on May 18,2017  and my second class was one week later.

I have about 15 people whom, for most part,  this is their first time doing Yoga.  I spent about two weeks preparing, honing, and practicing my class flow before the first class.  I spent so much time practicing that I neglected my own Yoga practice.  My twin goals were not to have to use notes too much and to also work on my move cues .  Since the class is mostly beginners,  I decided to focus on basic poses that are not too difficult and to also spend a good amount of time demonstrating poses. 

I thought that I would be nervous getting in front of so many people and starting to teach but the opposite was true.    I felt comfortable in what I was teaching (thanks to lots of preparation) and I felt at that moment that I made the correct decision taking the teacher training plunge.   It is hard to describe the feeling when you ask a class to do something and they actually do it for the first time.    Watching 15 people do a spinal twist in unison is like ballet.     It was great when one student came to me after class and said that our one Yoga class made her gardening much easier the next day.

During my second class,  I spent less time in front of the room demonstrating poses and more time observing,  noticing where adjustments may be needed, and doing the adjustments.   This is the benefit of doing these classes for me.   I am learning my class voice,  my teaching style, and class management.    I know I made mistakes and I will learn from them.    I realize that I need to slow things down a bit when I am not leading a flow and I need to give better verbal cues for some poses.   I did get everyone to do "Legs up the Wall" but I could not walk them through it verbally for example.

In the middle of all of this teaching,  weekends 6 and 7 of training are now in the past.   There is now a ton of outside work and preparation for each class.    The pile of open books in my dining room is quite impressive.   Its like college all over again except for much less drinking.

We spent two full days on Yoga history and philosophy.   While I find the subject matter interesting,  I am not certain of the practicality in the modern Yoga world of Vinyasa flows.     The Yoga Alliance requires it but I think two days spent teaching each other would have been move beneficial to us as teachers.   We do what we have to do.

We spent a full class on pose modifications.   This was an important learning because as teachers,  we need to know how to adapt poses to make them as accessible as possible to people.  We were given a few poses where we had to develop modifications  (using blocks, blankets, straps etc.) and teach them to the class.   It was a very quick five hour class.

We have also begun working on anatomy and movement within anatomy.   To understand this connection and to have a good grasp of the underlying anatomy of poses is important for a teacher to know.   There is a good amount of studying and preparation for this subject and the training go over a few weekends.     There are so many bones, ligaments, muscles, and  muscles under muscles that it makes this study difficult at best.   I am finding anatomy to be my favorite subject so far as I   had very limited knowledge in the area.  

So.  The class beat goes on.   Next weekend is lower body therapy and ventral lines in the body.

Namaste.

Weekend 4 and 5 of Teacher Training

I am working with a neighbor to set up a 5 week long all level weekly Yoga class in his  Church.  If this happens,  and it looks like it will,  I will be teaching.  Lots of preparation will be needed.   

Weeks 4 and 5 are now in the rear view mirror.   Homework and classwork and life and Yoga are all blending together.     There is always something to read or prepare for the next class or the class after that.

During the first part of weekend 4,  we spent a good amount of time on how teach.   We used most of one day discussing the language of Yoga and how to lead and communicate in a class.   It is one thing to know how to bring yourself into a pose but it is another to clearly and concisely communicate how to get into and out of a pose verbally.   We talked about language and identified different action words, notice words and other verbal strategies.   We spent much time just identifying action words and action phrases that you can use as a teacher.    I actually had the chance to lead the whole group in a five minute "slow flow" sequence.    It is a power so great,  it can only be used for evil.

When I am in a regular Yoga class now,  I find myself tuning into what the instructor is saying and identifying how fluid she or he is in their language and cues.   I have been doing this for quite a while but this will be a continual learning process.   Remembering that for some people,  poses have to be broken down to clear steps,  adjustments have to be done and then they need to be lead out of the pose is a good first step. 

As part of week 4,  we also worked on another anatomical line  (Dorsal ) and discussed Psoas anatomy and poses and learned about the mysterious Bandhas.     The Psoas discussion was interesting to myself as I always am working through Psoas tightness and soreness.   The Bandhas are something that one always hears in the class  (something like "Engage your Uddiyana Bandha") but either no or a very cursory explanation is given as to what it is.    The engagement of the three main Bandhas (Mula, Uddiyana and Jalandhara which are pelvic floor, abdominal muscles and throat bone) gives stability and strength in poses.


Week 5 was split into one day of physically easy but mentally tough breath study  (known as Pranayama) and one day of physically challenging Ashtanga Yoga.

Pranayama is one of the eight limbs of Yoga and involves different breathing techniques.  One of the main breath techniques is called Ujjayi breathing.  Ujjayi is encouraged to be used during most Yoga practices.  It is a closed mouth, nose breathing with an ocean sound emanating from the back of the breath.   By focusing on your breath,  you are aware of when it stops and it keeps you more mentally in the pose. 

Ashtanga is a standard series of poses that is followed each time one practices.    It was developed out of Mysore India and is considered to be the practice that the modern American Vinyasa style of Yoga developed from.  There are (depending on who you talk to) up to 6 levels of series starting with the primary series.  A person progresses to the next series only after the preceding one is mastered.    We did a full primary series in class and it took almost 2 hours to complete.   The practice is very physical (you do about 50 Chaturangas ) and has at least 50 different poses that you flow in and out of.   Many of the poses are difficult as best and some, if done successfully,  allow the practitioner to achieve full pretzel status.     Jumping in and out of poses is expected.  I had taken one class a long time ago and for a year or so did a self practice that revolved around the primary series.  I didn't know that my area even had a place to practice Ashtanga.  It has been a while since I did the primary series and I was very challenged by some of the poses.     I even fell out of my headstand,  which I had never done before.   I am quite sore today.   The 5 mile walk I did after class may not have been the best idea.   At my age, mastering this practice may be beyond me,  but I am thinking of going back into it as I felt my best progress was done when I followed the series.

Namaste.

Weekend 3 of Yoga Teacher Training

Weekend 3 of training is in the past and weekend 4 is just around the corner.  The frequency of the classes and the amount of out of class work has quickly reached  a crescendo.   There is a good amount  of reading to be done and digested and it is not easy material.  We have journaling to do,  questions to answer and mini classes to prepare.   On top of all the class related work,   I still have to practice Yoga, do my regular job etc. etc. etc.

Each day on the training weekend has a different teacher and the focus and the tenor of each class is different as a result.    The focus is mostly on anatomy and poses related to the anatomy points but the style of the classes are vastly different.  There was less Yoga on Saturday and a long and very hard session on Sunday.

On Saturday,  we spent a good amount of time on a type of yoga called Slow Fluid Movement, spinal anatomy and the Bandhas.   We use our Bandhas to engage our body energy and provide strength and stability .   They are very important to understand in our Yoga practice and much of the class was focused on the five.     The yoga practiced was very slow and deliberate and mostly used to make a point about something.

An important topic (for me) was the  range of motion in poses.  From my perspective, this was one of those "aha" moments in Yoga.    If  you move within your optimal range of motion in a Yoga pose,  you range will increase over time.   If you move outside of our range of motion,  you risk injuring yourself.   Yoga is about yourself and no one else.  

Sunday was discussion of what is called the Spiral Line in anatomy.  This was basically focused on twists and how to best work on twists.   The two main things that I learned was that your spine must be in neutral before doing twists and that that twists should not be forced as it can cause injury.  Much of what we spent on in the long practice was just that,  how to work within our range of motion of twists and how to properly start twists and how not to force them.

During class,  we did some arm balances, one of which for the past two weeks I have been trying to do without success.   This is eight limbed pose.   It will be my nemesis forever (at least for now).     I have been trying with limited success.    At this point, it is pure ego.    I think its within my range of motion though,  so I will continue to try as long as I feel I will not injure myself.



By Sunday,  I was pretty wiped.   These are long weekends.

Namaste.

4th Anniversary Post: Weekend 2 of Teacher Training.

Four years of  writing this blog.   I am amazed that I have kept it up.  Finding subjects was difficult for a while.   Now with teacher training, I have a new source of topics to mine.

My birthday was last week and it was a quiet one.  A nice dinner and a "flight" of  5 ounce craft beers at a local brew pub was more than enough party for me.   I cannot remember the last time I had more than a few beers,  it has been a long time.   My daughter did bake me a no flour chocolate cake.   It was most delicious.  It was so good that I had a small piece the next day.

As I grow older,  I have come to the conclusion that from a physical side, I am now in long term maintenance.    I feel more aches and pains than I used and it is not easy to do a challenging pose I may have done a year ago but have not done much since then.    The alternative, however,   is not to do anything and let myself go.   That is not going to happen.   I will continue to walk, hike and practice Yoga until my last breath.. 

Weekend two of teacher training is over and it was pretty intense.   There was a focus on anatomy on both days and we spent much time working on poses and flows that focused on the points of anatomy we were discussing.   Both days involved lots of yoga and I was exhausted after each one.    We also started our study of the Yoga Sutras. 

On Saturday,  we broke into small groups and we were required to "teach" one pose to our group.  We then got feedback from them and our teacher about how we taught the pose. I was pretty nervous to do this even with a small group and I forgot some of the "script" that I had written out beforehand. There is so much to remember for each pose about preparing, giving cues and adjustments.   I had written out a whole list just for the fairly basic pose that I chose to teach.     Preparing for the single pose made me realize the depth of the challenge that teaching will be.    I will really have to learn my subject and how to teach each and every pose that I present to a class.

This upcoming weekend we have to teach everyone the first five minutes of a class.    I have prepared two scripts  (one quiet and easy, and the other more intense) and I will decide the day of our class which one to teach.   It all depends on the mood of everyone and what has been done before hand.    Much of my thought that went into the preparation was not how to start the poses but how to start the class verbally and make sure people begin breathing properly.    I probably have fretted too much about the preparation but that is my nature.   I of course will be nervous.



Namaste..