DEFINE 'ADVANCED'
Here is what my MacBook dictionary says:
Advanced: far on or ahead in development or progress, OR, new and not yet generally accepted.
I looked this up as a result of one person's comment yesterday evening. In what context? I was telling the person about the Sunday 'advanced' class I taught (see yesterday's post). I mentioned the pose, the students attending, their reaction to the sequence. And, what did this person say? "do you think you worked them hard enough?"
Wait, stop the presses, think (or not). Where in the definition above does it say anything about "work hard enough"? And, come to think of it, doesn't just thinking about the pose, vishvamitrasana, conjure up thoughts of hard work?
But, back to my original thought -- why, when people think of an 'advanced' class, do they automatically go to the words 'work hard', 'tough', 'brutal', 'sweat-producing' -- words that do not appear anywhere in the definition of 'advanced' (think progress, development, new). Maybe if you used the word 'work' in the right sentence, it could apply; something like "she worked hard to make progress".
So, I am seriously thinking about what people expect when they attend an 'advanced' yoga class. Do students get up in the morning and think "I want to get my rear-end kicked today, so I'll go to an 'advanced' class." or are they considering the new, the development, the progress they will make in a class labeled with the word 'advanced'?
Based on the comment I heard yesterday, I worry that we (yoga teachers, in general) have promoted an image of tough, brutal, sweat-producing when we recommend our 'advanced' classes. As in, how many chaturanga dandasana's can a class include, on top of handstands, backbends, twists, etc. Why?
Don't get me wrong, I enjoy a good sweat once in a while. What I enjoy even more is to work hard (with or without the sweat), and make progress in my yoga practice -- even if that progress is simply making an ordinary uttanasana extraordinary. To me, that is 'advanced'. (Can't seem to get off this ordinary/extraordinary train of thought.)
All this is a 'rant', as C. Sell so aptly labels some of her blog posts. This one may not be as eloquent as hers, but I think it's food for thought. I plan to promote 'advanced' classes as places to hone our yoga skills; truly embrace citananda -- awareness and the ability to create beauty through that awareness. 'Advanced' classes require I walk in with a beginner mind, just like every other class -- the ability to step back, be the student, embrace my strengths and weaknesses, learn and grow. Enough.
Today? House and yardwork, a meeting with our financial planner, pick up a light I've had re-wired, then - taking a cooking class on Indian cuisine.
Hope your Wednesday is a good one,