QUOTES
Do you notice when you read a particular quote you feel better / empowered / as though you are doing the right thing? I do, and the following struck all those chords in me this morning:
“Yoga is the ability to do something tomorrow that we could not do today, to make the impossible.. possible.” TKV Desikachar
I taught my regular Friday class yesterday morning at Sage Yoga in Bonsall. (17 in the room — be still my heart!) I asked them to set aside their aspirations for the ‘big’ pose and work on strengthening / stretching the areas needed to work into inversions. I focused these efforts towards Pincha Mayurasana (peacock pose) and Adho Mukha Vrksasana (handstand). I also prefaced this work with a forewarning that we would not be attempting the poses.
This would include efforts to move towards the pose, not do the pose (at least not that morning).
After the Friday class, I went on to teach the Chair Class I’ve recently started at the Fallbrook Regional Health District Wellness Center.
In both classes, I heard comments that speak to the quote:
First, “my shoulders will benefit from this work”.
Second, “look, I couldn’t get my forearms together (in front of my chest) until now”.
Some would hope for BIG accomplishments and I’d be lying if I said I don’t have those same hopes. However, I have a great sense of accomplishment when students attending my classes feel the work, appreciate the potential benefit(s), and tell me when they notice a shift.
Why? It tells me that they are aware of their bodies. Not so worried about accomplishing a BIG pose, and appreciative of the benefits of the work — big or not-so-big.
Until next time . . .
GRATITUDE
I can be grateful for the smallest events as well as the very exciting ones!
I begin my Friday Fundamentals class (and my Tuesday Gentle Yoga class) with observation of the breath followed by a moment when each of us offers ourselves a silent note of gratitude for showing up. I then ask people to insert anything else that they are grateful for. Again, this is done silently, to ourselves.
This morning, I couldn’t contain myself. I had to share my additional gratitude thoughts, which were:
Two of my 3 local grandsons, ages 15 & 17, play on the same school Lacrosse team. Last night I was able to get away with husband to attend the game. SO exciting! The boys’ school won the game, with 3 goals contributed by my Grandsons!!! Everyone was as much or more excited than me, but watching them play made my heart sing.
I have begun the third (of 8) classes in my online Integrative Nutrition course. This class has a different instructor so, while much is the same, there are nuances to adapt to. Again, for 11 weeks, each week’s homework is due that Sunday night by 11:59pm. This morning, I completed the homework, including a quiz — 3 questions, 3 correct answers. Yeah me!
Finally, be still my heart — there were 21 students who chose to attend my Fundamentals class this morning. That number hasn’t been achieved (by me) since pre-Covid. A great group - fun to teach and to learn from.
I’m now at my office waiting for 3 afternoon appointments (12:30, 2:45 and 4pm), then it’s on to have pictures taken. I will be extremely grateful if my hair holds out until then.
I often tell students of the young man I know who shifted his journalling from re-counting the days activities (the good and the not-so-good) to writing about the events that brought him joy and gratitude. And, I don’t think I could write about a BIG gratitude event each day. However, I know I could write about asking everyone to offer a ‘full stretch’ (thank you, John F.) and watching them give it to me. Little things can offer joy as much as the big ones.
Enjoy your weekend. In San Diego County it is supposed to rain (torrential, according to the Weather Service), which will put a damper on Easter Egg hunts around the city — unless the Weather Service is wrong.
No matter what you do this weekend, insert a note of gratitude, please and thank you!
Left / Right or Right / Left ???
One of the skills I’ve tried to perfect over the years is the ability to ‘mirror’ my class.
As in, when I look out at a group and raise my right arm, can I accurately instruct them to raise their LEFT arm - in essence, to be a mirror to their actions.
When I was an up-and-coming teacher, my teacher advised me to look at people and note which was their right and/or left arm. It worked, and I learned how to effectively be a mirror to those I was teaching.
That is, until recently.
Back in the day, I taught students lined in rows in front of me, facing me. Today, especially at one studio, the students seem to hug the walls. This means they circle me. All facing me, but some are on my right, others on the left, and some facing me. Mirroring is not so easy. So, at that studio, I’ve all but dispensed with mirroring.
That means when I return to the ‘home’ studio, where everyone is in a row facing me, I try to go back to mirroring. The operative word here is ‘try’, since it’s not working so well.
I guess you could call this post a bit humbling — as in, stating to the world my foibles (def: minor flaw or weakness).
But, on the same day my ‘mirroring’ skills were at their worst, I received a very nice acknowledgment of my teaching from the studio manager for my work to create a community within my classes. It’s all about community, isn’t it? Practicing together, whether it’s a right arm or left leg.
Look for the good; it’s in there somewhere.