My oh my has it been an eventful couple of weeks!
I have taken my first stab at drafting a lesson plan, and in doing so, have gained a new respect for yoga teachers. With over 12 years of experience as a yoga practitioner, I thought “It won’t be that hard! I know a lot of asanas. I mean, really — how difficult could it be!”
But oh how wrong I was…. It is far more complex than I ever imagined. How do you design a yoga class that flows well, and where transitioning is effortless, and that is both fun and different? My first attempt was woeful. Then I took it a bit more seriously. I did a rough draft that I thought was pretty good. And then I tried to do it myself. Oh no! It didn’t work at all! It was stilted, and lacked grace. Really poor actually. That taught me that writing something down, and working through it myself were both absolutely essential to a good class. So many, many further refinements ensued, and I finally came up with something I was happy with.
Or so I thought…. The fateful Monday to teach it arrived, and yours truly (genius that I am) forgot my typed out version. So I had to read my handwritten notes and try to teach at the same time. Did I tell you all that I use reading glasses? Have I explained that my handwriting is abysmal? Try that one on for size. But hey, enter my lovely teachers Nicole and Jess. With the ultimate in patience and kindness, they proclaimed that (although it needed some restructuring) it wasn’t all bad. I think I was much harsher than they were. And my kind colleague and fellow student Ericka let me know repeatedly how hard it was to do, and that she thought I would make a good teacher someday (voice over emphasis from self on “someday”)
I do think, however that this was an invaluable learning experience. It isn’t enough just to write something down. You MUST MUST MUST try it yourself. Repeatedly. Not just once. No other way I am afraid to find the mistakes and the sticky bits.
So my dear teachers, thank you. I think I am getting the hang of this. One down, four to go!
