Are you ok? And 3 things I learnt from teaching
1. The class was made for the students, not you I loved my experience as a student of fast-paced yoga that transitions from one pose to the other. And that’s the joy that I want to share to others as a teacher. But the reality is, while that’s my preference as a student, my priority as a teacher are my students, not me, or god forbid, my ego. Students come to class with a multitude of intentions, and as teachers, while we might have planned the best (trust me, it’s always the best til the next one comes in) sequence based on all our strengths, it’s on us to take a step back and consider the types of students that’ll come to class and what might best work for the majority of the students in class. 2. You got to go with the flow Pun aside, Jessica did mention that as teachers, we’d get to a point where we’d learn to temper the class based on the responses of the students, and that we would almost instinctively, adapt to the class. I didn’t think I would need to do that on my very first class. 45 mins in, I was still in my standing sequence, and in biggggg trouble. Staring down at the barrel of a time gun, I calculated that I had 10mins to flow through seared, prone and supine, before the 5 mins of shavasana. With cogs turning at full speed, I made it by the teeth of a hair, skipping the peak pose, shortening the holds, and focusing on key cues for the class. Thinking on your feet was definitely part and parcel of being a teacher 3. Being a little sadistic is all in good fun You see, I love me a good torture session when working out, but Im very aware of the Pitta I am. For everyone else, I usually feel really sorry for them, and teaching friends, I truly couldn’t help but want to remain liked after the session. 20 mins in, I was wearing out the phrase, “Are you ok?” to the point that I felt sorry for myself. Speaking to Jessica after class, she reminded me that yoga is uncomfortable and also incredibly strange to the average person. My job as a teacher was to be aware that a little discomfort is perfectly fine, so if no one got hurt, and to get them over that thin line between pleasure and absolute torture whilst working out. 4. Sometimes words of care come across as patronising I get excited. Facts. I’m the golden retriever that gleefully laughs at the distracting something that is in the corner of my eye. I’m also Jigglypuff that needs to make sure that doesn’t hurt you way too much, so instead of singing, I talk. I use filler asks like, “Are you ok?”, or filler call outs like “Good Job!” Jessica pointed out that after a certain amount of asks or call outs, its starts to get a little patronising. Sheesh. But I wont discredit that. Words are hardly my love language and while they don’t mean much to me, I assumed that someone in my class might like it. See, this is where authenticity comes into play. Students know when you are faking it, don’t not be yourself when you are the teacher. They get in touch to the energy you, the place and the practice radiates. So don’t give them the BS. The student deserves the real you—a little sass, a whole lot of sadism for drills 😉 Nurul 200 Hour YTT Feb-May’21
Week 8: Inversions, Focus and Awareness
This weekend, we worked on our handstands and also practised other inversions and arm balances. We all love challenging ourselves and getting every improvement we can, to get into these difficult poses. It is definitely the most physically demanding aspect of asana and common among practitioners to aim to achieve. For me, I have wished and dreamt for the longest time to be able to hold a pincha mayurasana/handstand, and every new arm balance I try still gives me exhilaration. That sense of achievement is something we all seek and enjoy. But besides the superficial perks from inversions such as looking fancy, physical fitness and ability, or simply enjoying the thrill, I think inversions and arm balances also train the mind. The more obvious benefits from attempting these asanas would be perseverance (how many times have we fallen or failed before we can get 1 successful 0.5 second hold?), and focus. What is the most challenging for me, more so when going upside down than balancing on hands, is body awareness and knowing how to control isolated muscle groups to get into alignment. I have tried countless times to tuck in my ribs when upside down, but it is so difficult to even locate my ribs. Jess’ assistance by pinching my ribs/tummy while upside down helped me in getting a better sense of how/what to engage. I also find that it helps to tuck in everything while still on the ground, and trying to maintain that on the way up. I think my problem is releasing the core on the way up. I also tend to forget plugging the hip into the hip socket, which contributes to backbending when kicking up. Maybe training my mental ability to control muscle groups while upside down might help my pincha/handstand practice. I wonder if practising different variations in tripod headstand/supported headstand would help? Michelle Cheung 200 Hour YTT Feb-May’21
Hard Work Paid off
11 April 2021 Finally, I managed to do Pincha Maryasana, and some of the arm balancing poses never in my mind would I be able to do such challenging poses knowing that my upper body was weak. Happy that I never give up trying, patience with myself and work hard on the drills plus all the chaturanga push ups definitely help! Still a lot more to accomplice. ?? Lianny 200 Hour YTT Feb-May’21
Pranayama
Seated meditation has proven to be a challenge but I managed to learn more about my body. I like to fidget around, touch my face, and my mind floats to different thoughts and feeding on them. Hence, I never enjoyed meditation. With my rounded back, I have the tendency to slowly shift my weight backwards and soon I find tension building in my arms and shoulders. My hands went from resting on my knees to grabbing them. That is when Jessica starts to cue reminders on our posture and explaining why we are feeling the tension on our arms and shoulders. Honestly, I have yet to feel the benefits of meditation in a drastic way but perhaps, the fact that I was able to feel grounded for most part of the meditation and somewhat at ease (until the soreness kicked in at the lower back), I consider that a breakthrough. As the weeks progress, I explored the use of blocks and sitting on my knees, with my sheens on the mat. With the former, I still feel tightness in my hips which could make my hips even tighter and hence, I do prefer the latter to a certain extent. Nate 200 Hour YTT Feb-May’21
Week 7: Adjustments
This week, we learnt how to safely adjust students to help them into proper alignment while in poses. I would have to say this is by far the most challenging part of teaching to me. It’s easy to process what to do when watching a demonstration, but when it’s time to do it myself, I fumble and feel so unsure. I do hope with more practice and visualisation, this would come more naturally to me. Even though we were paired up, I was kiasu and practised on another friend when there was any extra time xD Analyzing a different body type in a split second is really challenging and also needs practice and experience. We’ve also been layering our teaching more and more – on top of walking around while giving cues now, we also have to start observing what students are actually doing and give customised verbal and physical adjustments when necessary. That’s the end goal and a necessary skill that a teacher needs. While it is helpful that we are taught how to adjust for each individual pose as a beginner level of adjustment, I think I would need to identify patterns (e.g. the push-pull effect, at least 2 points of contact etc.) that could help me ‘formulate’ how to adjust each pose naturally, since I’m bad at memorizing steps. Furthermore, there would be many other poses that we would need to form our own safe adjustment methods too. There should be similarities depending on the shape of the poses, which was apparent across the standing postures that we were taught adjustments for. Going through the adjustments also made me worry a little because my friends coming for my first community class are mostly beginners. Not being able to give physical adjustments due to COVID restrictions also means that we have to be extra precise on instructions and also give personalised cues to those who need them, while keeping count and not losing track of the sequence and time. Teaching yoga is really the most multitasking job ever! Michelle Cheung 200 Hour YTT Feb-May’21
Guiding Light
Moments after community class I was feeling half anxious and excited for my community class this weekend. The days passed in a blur – even during work, I was reciting my sequence and instructions at the back of my mind. I was wondering, ‘Is my sequence too easy/ too hard? Should I put in regression poses? Have I put in progressive poses for more stronger students? How about some drills to keep things more dynamic and keep energy higher’? I had my sequence all planned out but was not sure if it was enough. I have tried the sequence myself and even called upon my husband for support. He said it was fine. Why am I still feeling uneasy then? I did not sleep at all that Friday night, the day before my first community class. Contrary to my beliefs, first class went rather smoothly with minor hiccups. I felt I was slightly thrown off course when a student came in late for class. My sequence and pacing were good, but I forgot about doing warmups before progressing with the class. Nevertheless, I felt good seeing the beads of sweat from students. Feedback for my first class was that I needed to be more engaging to my students and that the tone of my voice should be firmer (rather than in a higher tone) which sounds like a question rather than instruction. I seems that I was ‘in my own world’ while teaching, thinking of what is next, rather than giving my 100% attention to my students. That is when I realise that it is THEIR PRACTICE today. It is no longer about what I can do, it is about what can my students do. I am there to provide with necessary adjustments, guidance, and encouragement. It is up to my students to discover and learn about their own body. I am merely a guide for their class. Thus, for my second class, I took my time and paid attention to them, without worrying what is next – I have already memorised various poses from the sequence. Anyways, I can always make add or remove certain poses within the time limit. You cannot tell my relief and joy after my second class; but I was brimming with pride & gratefulness when I heard that I was told that I passed my teaching practical. Grace 200 Hour YTT Feb-May’21
