-
The Choice To Thrive
The Choice to Thrive “Do you teach at a yoga studio?” “I really loved it when you taught at XYZ Yoga Studio.” “Are you planning on teaching again at XYZ yoga studio?” Dear Yoga Student, I know these questions come from a well intentioned place. I know that the studio was convenient for you. I know that you don’t understand that sometimes, I taught 2 hours of Mysore style Ashtanga for under $10. I know that you don’t understand that most of your monthly membership went to pay for the overhead of the yoga studio and not to me. I know you don’t understand that the average yoga teacher in…
-
Dear Physically Gifted People
Dear Physically Gifted People, Please stop using words like “easy” or “simple” when doing a demo, teaching a student or posting a video or picture. Why? It is too subjective. Just because something is easy for you does not mean it is easy for someone else. Using the words “simple” or easy, with a student who finds the movement to be difficult, can make them feel like there is something wrong with them, that their efforts will never be good enough, and that they are inadequate. It can make them feel shame and question whether or not yoga is for them. I understand that this is not happening on purpose. …
-
Adventures in Mysore India, Social Media, Teaching Ashtanga, Uncategorized, Yoga Philosophy, Yoga Sutras
Teaching Ashtanga and the Benefit of Doubt
I will never forget when I went to a Kino MacGregor workshop and a woman, who comes to Ashtanga, seriously like once a year, told Kino that I was her teacher. I was standing in line for a picture. Kino was turned towards me and the woman had her back to me. I looked Kino dead in the eyes, and shook my head back and forth, “NO”. Yes, it is super sweet that she felt so connected to me those two or three times I taught her that she considered me to be her teacher but I was not going to take responsibility for anything she was doing in…
-
Adventures in Mysore India, Ashtanga Adaptability, Ashtanga Quotes, Social Media, Teaching Ashtanga, Uncategorized, Yoga Philosophy, Yoga Sutras
What is a Yoga Teacher?
I used to have such a hard time describing what Yoga was! I always tried to frame it in a way I felt would be PC or approachable…and failed miserably. Even after studying the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali, which gives a very simple definition of Yoga, I still had trouble with it. After I started teaching, it got worse. I became a card carrying member of the “Yoga gross over simplification club” because I thought, “I need to get people into my class with something catchy!” As the years progressed, I started to notice that nebulous definitions of Yoga led to nebulous teaching and nebulous integrity. When Yoga can be whatever…
-
Advice For Yoga Teachers on Motivating Students
Great Blog post by David Garrigues David: There is a direction of flow and this is very key. And the direction of flow is that the student has got to want the teacher’s knowledge and that desire has to be very strong. And so without that there is nothing you can do for the student as a teacher. But when there is a sincere and sustained desire to learn then the teacher has a lot to work with. It is necessary for the teacher to be encouraging of the direction that the student wants to learn, to be enthusiastic about the particular aspects of the practice that interest the student. I…
