Day 4, The End...

I love to watch people move. I think it's fascinating to see where people are in their bodies...and where they are not. It amazes me how much one can tell about a person by observing their movements. It's probably one of the reasons I'm drawn to this profession. Part of the reason I find so much enjoyment in my work.

That being said, it would be interesting to see what people thought about my movement when I got out of my car in Iowa City 3 hours after departing from conference and took my first few steps as slowly as an 80 year old. OUCH! One should not do that much yoga and then sit in the car for 3 hours straight. Consider that my tip of the day for you all should you find yourself attending a weekend devoted to the practice of yoga!

I'm sorry to have missed the final session of conference yesterday, but I knew I had made the right decision when in my second session of the morning I spent the whole 2 hours wondering what time it was. My heart was no longer at conference. It was at home with my family...exactly where I wanted to be. Weather wise I could have stayed as the roads were clear and dry by the noon hour, but I don't know that I would have been able to taken in anymore information. My body and my brain were full! It was nice to make the drive home in the light and to arrive back in time to enjoy a couple hours with the family before bedtime rather than simply sneaking in to give goodnight kisses to my sleeping beauties.

I have 3 sessions to break down here to finish out my conference report. So let me get right on that task!

Saturday afternoon I spent 2 hours in Detox Flow with Seane Corn. If you ever have a chance to take a class with Seane, I highly recommend doing so. It's hard for me to explain exactly what draws me to Seane. She teaches beautifully, thoughtfully sequenced classes, but it's more than that. She's amazingly confident in who she is and where she is in her life. She doesn't hide, nor does she apologize for, the imperfections of her past. She draws upon her experiences to bring a truth and realness to her teachings. She embraces the mystical aspects of yoga that can often play second fiddle in our culture where the word yoga most often first brings to mind the physicality of asana. Her words make you take a look at your thoughts, your actions, the choices you make in your life in regards to your health and the health of the world around you. Last spring I attended a Yogini session with Seane at the Midwest Yoga Conference. An experience that proved to be amazingly emotional, yet also empowering. I'm happy to report this session was equally powerful, though thankfully didn't involve as many tears. Leaving a session with Seane makes me want to run out and do everything I can to make our world a better place in which to live...for EVERYONE. I could go on, but I think you get an idea of how I felt about my choice of sessions!

Saturday night I found myself driving back to the condo at which I was staying in freezing rain. While stressful, not near as stressful as the return drive to the resort Sunday morning in about 6 inches of heavy, wet snow. Don't get me wrong, it was beautiful and amazing, but not ideal driving conditions! I arrived at the resort just in time to slip into my first session of the day and settle before it got underway.

My first session of the morning was entitled Salutations to the Sun, Moon, and 5 Elements with Wade Imre Morissette. I knew nothing about Wade before taking this session, but I love the completeness and symbolism of Surya Namaskar. And salute we did! About 25 times. A far cry from 108, but plenty of challenge for this girl on the 4th morning of conference. In addition to the very familiar Surya Namaskar A and B (in the Astanga tradition) we did salutations that corresponded to the 5 elements (earth, fire, water, air, & ether), ending with a couple rounds of Chandra Namaskar (moon salutation). Additionally at the end of each salutation we stood in Tadasana to chant in unison a simple mantra while Wade accompanied us with his guitar. As someone who has never included chant in her practice, I found it both challenging and interesting to find the breath and concentration to not only move through the sequences, but also to sing! It was interesting to find that after some sequences I could easy join in the group chant, while at other times I had to just stop and re-find my breath while I listened to the group chant around me. It was a nice practice in devotion and I found myself thinking less about the physicality of the work and more about the flow of energy though my body which often resulted in finding ease in the work. It was nice.

One kinda downer, and I only bring this up because I think it's an important thing to think about as a teacher. Many of the instructors throughout the weekend used their cell phones as their clocks. Something I have done myself when I'm teaching in locations without a wall clock. Of course all the session rooms had NO CELL PHONE signs at the entrance and I'm happy to say that only once did I hear some one's cell phone quietly ringing in a bag at the back of the room. Anyway, Wade was using his cell phone as his clock and I didn't think much about it until towards the end of class when we were "resting" in a Down Dog and he commented that his wife had just sent a text to say good morning. Instantly my thoughts went from being present in the room, in my practice, with my breath, to my family 300 miles away. I'm sure that was not the intent of the comment, but something for us teachers to really think about in how our actions and words affect the mental focus of our students.

My second session Sunday morning, and my last session of conference, was with Marsha Wenig, founder of YogaKids. Admittedly by this time my spirit was already on it's way home and I found myself feeling a bit out of place in the session which was obviously intended for teachers. Not teachers of yoga, teachers of kids. I knew that might somewhat be the case when I picked this session, but decided to attend because we have YogaKids products in our home and I've used Marsha's program as a resource when I've prepared to teach our Let's Play Yoga classes at the studio. The session provided some good information for those hoping to introduce yoga in a school/classroom setting. While I enjoy sharing yoga with my own kids, and occasionally with a group of kids at the studio or a special event, and while I TOTALLY think introducing kids to the tools yoga has to offer early in life, doing so is not something I myself am passionate about in relationship to my own teaching offerings.

And so my Grand Geneva experience drew to a close. My final session, the one I choose to skip in order to get down the road to home was with Richard Freeman on Mula Bandha...a topic I've been exploring a lot recently. I was sad to miss the opportunity to sit and learn from Richard, but have faith that this will not be my only chance to do so. After all, this path is just that, a long and winding journey.

I'm also confident this will not be my last yoga conference. The teacher side of me is much more drawn to the all day intensives over the shorter 2 hour sessions that make up the main conference days. However, I also enjoy the chance just to be a student in the shorter sessions designed to be more practice, less talk. But 4 days was a bit much for me emotionally, physically, mentally. I think 1 day of intensives and 1 day of shorter sessions would be the perfect mix for me, and will take that into consideration when planning my attendance at future events. That may change as my life changes. In fact I'm certain it will.

I want to once again say thanks to all those who made my attendance at conference a reality. Thanks to the presenters who so thoughtfully shared their knowledge. Thanks to my fellow attendees for creating a wonderful sense of community throughout the weekend. And thank all of you who have followed my journey here on HDY. I do hope you'll continue to follow along with my yoga journey and share with the HDY community thoughts and comments about your own yogic path.


namaste

Day 4, SNOW!

I'm in my second session of the morning. I'm admittedly ditching out early today because of a springtime snow storm that has dumped 6-8 inches of wet, heavy snow onto Wisconsin. I'll take some time to break down the last of my thoughts after I'm safely back in Iowa. Thanks for following my journey this weekend!


namaste

Day 3, The Wall...

Here's me hiding out at Caribou Coffee over the lunch break. Admittedly I'm starting to hit a bit of a wall today. Mentally my brain is so busy trying to digest all that it's taken in thus far. Physically my body is tired. Not sore really. Just tired from short nights of sleep, a different daily routine, and from hours of sitting on the floor learning sprinkled with some asana here and there. Really, other than the great, mostly asana session with Jason Crandall this morning, I haven't done much asana. But enough (and with focused attention to specific details) that in combination with everything else it's contributing to the general fatigue. Part of my practice today involves being compassionate and mindful about where my being is today and not pushing too far. Sometimes in the excitement of a class of 75, lead by a nationally (if not internationally) know yoga teacher, that task can be a challenge.

Speaking of my physical being, yesterday after my session with Julie my hips felt amazing. As I was walking out to the car last night I realized for the first time in many, MANY days, I didn't have ANY sciatic related pain. That has remained the case for thus far today as I stay mindful about honoring my body's needs.

Last night's keynote with Rodney Yee was amazing and too brief. Because of the short amount of time he was scheduled, his talk was a little all over the place as he just touched on the points he wanted to share. He did spend a majority of his time talking about his involvement with the Urban Zen Foundation...which I hoped would be the meat of his speech. I'm so inspired by the amount of collaboration one sees anymore between traditional western medicine practitioners and institutions and the alternative/complementary personal care world. I believe that connection is going to be an important aspect of turning around some of our health care issues in the west to involve a broader picture of the whole person (including those in that person's support circle) in care practices. It's an area that greatly interests me. An area and a field of work which is always in my mind when I'm considering the direction my professional endeavors are headed. I think it's safe to say it will be a field in which I will be growing into for years and years to come.

This morning started a bit earlier as sessions today got underway at 8 instead of 9. My first session of the morning dealt with yoga therapy applications in relationship to the low back, sacrum, and hips. It was taught by another P.T./yoga teacher, Emily Large. Emily is trained through the Viniyoga school of yoga founded by Gary Kraftsow. We again talked in a very pointed way about anatomy in relationship to special concerns of the focus area. Our practice time included a simple clam shell exercise to help strengthen the piriformis muscle (an external rotator of the hip) which my Mom first showed me a couple years ago. Emily provided great information and I look forward to the email follow-up she promised post conference.

My second session of the morning was with Jason Crandall. Jason has studied mainly under Rodney Yee. Since Rodney's videos are what started it all off for me, I felt right at home with Jason's style. He has that same thoughtful, encouraging, warm and welcoming tone of voice. He is very thoughtful with his words and pays attention to details without being fussy. Our practice today was about finding the balance in all our poses between effort and ease. It was thoughtful, yet challenging. We flowed, we flexed, we opened, we even balanced on our hands (which usually scares the heck out of me but Jason's approach was so thoughtful with so many places for feeling "success" that I ENJOYED the challenge.) I experience probably the most comfortable Wheel/Up-ward bow I've ever lifted into towards the end of class...3 times! I would could see myself practicing regularly with Jason if it wasn't for the fact he's in San Fran...and I'm in Iowa. Bummer.

My final session for the day is with Seane Corn. A detox vinyasa class. I have a feeling a fair number of twists are going to be involved. I'm hoping lunch is well on it's way through the system by the start of class!


namaste

Day 2, Like Candy...

I came to yoga through exercise science and a growing interest in the mind-body connection. I came to exercise science through a fascination with the human body and a desire to help people. So my session to day with Julie Gudmestad, P.T. on Body Mechanics & Yoga was like candy for my being. (Julie actually stated it that way at the end of class when I thanked her for a great day. I thought it was indeed a great way to describe how I feel about anatomy based learning opportunities!) I get all giddy with mention of words such as "the articulating surfaces" and "facial release". Yes, I am a geek in that way. It's also one of the reasons I am totally in love with the practice of asana.

Julie's knowledge as an physical therapist with 30+ years of practice and an Iyengar trained instructor is amazingly broad and deep. She lead our session with that typical no non-sense approach Iyengar instructors seem to have. An approach that while it might not fit my personal style of teaching, I adore and appreciate when it is my turn to be the student!

We covered a lot of information in relationship to various asanas and how they affect joints and soft tissues. As always I'm walking away with a hand full of new "tricks in my bag" that I hope will help me better serve my students and their quest for a pain free, injury free, life long practice. I very much look forward to future opportunities to learn from Julie. Some day I may have to make my way to Oregon for her week long training. I get weak in the knees just thinking about a whole week of asana and anatomy work!

Also on today's schedule was a noon panel discussion on the business of being a yoga instructor. An hour's panel discussion didn't do much more than scratch the surface of the topic. But it was interesting to hear various views by the panelists who make their living in the world of yoga...a little bigger and broader than I currently do.


This afternoon after the end of our session I ran into town to grab some light supper and take a walk around to check out the scene. The beach was a bit cool, but still a beautiful sight.


On my way back to my car I happened by this shop. I couldn't help but snap a couple pictures as I thought about my RAGBRAI crew...



I'm ready for summer!

As I finish this up people are starting to gather for the opening keynote by Rodney Yee. It's quiet exciting to finally be seeing in person the teacher who was such a foundational part of my early days of practice through his videos and publications. I'm equally excited about his topic of discussion this evening. That being our role as teachers of yoga. I'll of course let you know how it goes!


namaste

Day 2, mid-day...

My day is going great. I'm in a body mechanics session today. It feels like going home. I'll explain later. Right now I'm in a panel discussion on the business of yoga. I should pay attention.

More to come later of course!


namaste

Day 1 cont...

When I'm packing for a yoga conference or workshop I'm often an emotional, insecure mess. I spend way more time than necessary thinking about what pants I'll wear what days with what tops based on what type of practice (or practices) I'm scheduled for each day. I worry not so much about looking the part or fitting in, as NOT sticking out. For example I think about how best not to make a spectacle with my saggy baby belly bulge during a class with sun salutations. I don't know why, but getting ready to attend a conference always brings up this "I don't look like a yogi" thought in my head. You know...like those yogis you see on the cover of magazines, books, and promotional materials. I'm not sure why that is because it doesn't much cross my mind in the comfort of my own yoga community.

I'm happy to say that insecurity once again has melted away with the actual start of conference. I love watching the myriad of people in attendance. Bodies of all sizes and shapes. People of all ages with varying years (or even sometimes just months) of experience. Those committed to one specific type of practice, and those who "shop around" when it comes to practice style. Those who teach and those who don't. We're such a diverse, yet uniquely connected group of individuals. It's a wonderful thing.

As a teacher I go to conferences and workshops to gain insight and knowledge. Often while that growth is happening I also find a sense of reassurance for the work I've already put in to this practice as a student and teacher. For the techniques, tips, and teaching style I've developed over the past 5 years as I combine knowledge gained with lessons learned from my own body and the bodies of my students. That was very much the case this afternoon in the second half of my Intensive on Yoga and Women Cancer Survivors. While today's class, and more in depth training offered at OM Yoga, was specifically designed to target survivors of breast cancer, many of the considerations that should be taken can also be applied to individuals with other special considerations. Much of the gentle opening work we talked about today, some of the propping and modifications demonstrated, we currently do in our regular Gentle Yoga class at the studio. It was nice to feel like even if we don't necessarily have the population to support a class specifically for breast cancer survivors, we do offer a class, that with a few minor adjustments, can provide an environment for health and healing for individuals who are/have battled the disease.

I think for me personally, as someone who has not dealt with breast cancer on a intimate level, today's class was a nice eye opener to all the complicated layers of treatment and recovery a survivor deals with over YEARS once a diagnosis is made. And it was nice to hear from women, survivors and those currently undergoing treatment, who carry with them so much strength and hope. So much knowledge based on their personal experiences. Most shocking for me was the information on reconstructive options for women who care to make that part of their treatment if mastectomy is elected. I had no idea the number of options available OR the extent to which those procedures themselves could damage and weaken the body. It really made me think about what I might choose should I be faced with that choice.

At the end of class today Cyndi (on the left) and Tari (on the right), a 8 year survivor herself and today's main presenter, were kind enough to take a moment for a photo op.


I explained my little blogging project here and shared the Happy Daisy URL with them. Ladies, if you're reading, thank you for a lovely day of connection and growth!

This evening I took the opportunity of a open night to run away to nearby Madison for supper and conversation with my dear friend Marie. We also hit the Coop so I'm well stocked with lunch items for the next few days. What ended up in my basket you ask? Well, I am in Wisconsin and I do love me some squeaky cheese curds...

It's time for bed as tomorrow is a new day.


namaste

Day 1: Hello Geneva...

NOW it's official. Conference has begun. I'm currently sitting outside having a little lunch break. It's beautiful here. Both the weather and the scenery. The drive over today from the hotel was fun. I'm glad I got to do it in the light of morning rather than the cover of darkness last night. The area is so Midwest. One minute your admiring beautiful expansive newly built homes surrounded by a highly manicured golf course, the next you're watching the geese fly over a corn field divided by a lane that makes it's way to a 100+ year old farm house. I love the Midwest and everytime I'm in Wisconsin it steals a little piece of my heart.

The Grand Geneva resort is just that...GRAND. Beautiful and expansive it's almost like it's own little town out here in the middle of beautifully wooded hills. Apparently this land was once connected to the Playboy fortune. Hmmm...interesting fact. Thus far my favorite sight has been the stable and barn just as you turn onto the property, and the lovely view of a small lake I can see out the window of my first session.

Check-in was uneventful once I found the conference center, though I unexpectedly got a little teary and emotional over the whole thing. I think it was the reality of actually BEING here finally setting it. I'm so fortunate to be in this space at this time with these people doing this work. A fact that will probably not totally sink in all weekend. Here at the start of break I was able to find and introduce myself to my contact at YJ which was fun. She then introduced me to the conference director as "our scholarship blogger." Cool.

My first session has been amazing thus far. We started out the session learning about how this Women's Cancer Survivors program got started 6 years ago and where it's headed in the near future. We then took time to go around the room and briefly introduce ourselves and why where here. I probably took longer than the intended "brief" 2-3 minutes, but it was hard to contain my excitement. The room is full of women of all ages, all sizes, and with varied back grounds. Some work in health care, some are themselves survivors. We all share the desire to help through yoga which is what has brought us all together today.

After intros we did a sample class. Sample in the fact it was a class that Tari, one of the presenters and main teacher in this program at OM, would lead a room full of survivors with varied limitations and abilities through. I'm always amazed and inspired when a whole group of women sit down and share a deep resonating OM together. It's an incredible experience everyone should experience.

Mini's battery is running low so I'll sign off for now. More to come tonight after part two of today's lecture. Hopefully with a few pictures from our group!


namaste

Namaste Wisconsin!

Conference weekend has officially begun! Well, official in the sense I'm in Wisconsin but not officially checked in to the conference because my arrival here was at about 12:15 am Wednesday night/Thursday morning. Yes, I'm still up even though my first session starts in just over 8 hours. Being a night owl, and having just driven 4.5 hours in the dark of night, and because I'm waiting for my fresh coat of toenail polish to dry, I'm writing.

The drive was uneventful. I left home about 7:30 having taught my normal Wednesday evening classes and then stopping back past the house to hug my hubby and girlies on my way out of town. I was a bit worried when I got not much more than an hour down the road and decided that I already needed to stop for a potty break and that coffee was definitely going to be needed if I was going to make it to my reserved room at the Delevan Super 8. (I would have LOVED to stay at the resort where the conference is actually being held, but alas a room there for even one night is a bit out of my budget. My room here at the Super 8 is nice, clean, has wireless, and is about a 15 minute drive to the Grand Geneva.) Luckily a bagel with cream cheese, a latte, and a nice chat with my little brother helped to perk me up so that the rest of the drive went rather smooth. It seemed like one minute I was turning north off I-88 and the next I was being greeted by the Wisconsin border.

Tomorrow I will be spending the day with Cyndi Lee of Om Yoga for a workshop on Yoga and Breast Cancer Survivors. I made sure to pack to TaTas tank for the day!

I should mention that this next 4 days of growth would not have been made possible without much love and support. Yoga Journal's offer of a scholarship spot started the ball rolling. My husband has been just as excited as I and has been a huge help in making it possible for me to run away to play at conference. My father-in-law generously offered to come stay at our house and help care for our girlies in my absence and even offered up a few travel funds. My daughters even seemed excited for me to head out today giving out plenty of hugs and kisses and telling me to have fun doing yoga in Wisconsin. My fellow teachers at the studio have willingly arranged to cover my classes for the rest of the week. I've had countless words of encouragement from my home yoga community, family, and friends. I'm truly blessed and want you all to know how much I appreciate your love and support. You'll each be with me on the mat this weekend.

Well, I think my toes are dry. I best get some sleep!

Until tomorrow...


namaste

Finding Middle Ground...

The next time I'm scheduled to go to a conference, I'm NOT taking a week of vacation before hand. Not only is my body all cranky and out of whack from A LOT of driving, but I'm feeling fat and bloated from a week of my Mom's cooking and little to no activity. Putting on tight fitting yoga wear yesterday was about the last thing I felt like doing, but classes were on the day's schedule. So I grabbed my loosest yoga pants and a dark "slimming" top and headed to the studio.

Last night a student asked me if I practiced when I'm on vacation. Truthfully...No.

Unless my vacation is centered around an activity (biking, hiking, etc) or is to a location that has a studio that peaks my interest to take a class (like our trips to KC to visit my in-laws), I have a hard time making practice/activity a priority. Which I realize is not all bad considering the amount of abuse my body gets on a week to week basis with my current teaching schedule. Sometimes I do just need a break to allow for recovery and repair. But I also know there's such a thing as a happy medium between too much and too little activity, and I wish I was better at finding that middle ground.

Trips home to visit my Mom seem to be the hardest for me when it comes to finding/making time for practice. Across the board (not counting my kids or my brother into the equation) my family (immediate or extended, by blood or marriage) isn't one that gravitates towards activity. And to be honest, without a specific reason, I myself am not good at making regular exercise a priority. In high school I was active because I played sports. But since there have only been two main reasons that I've maintained a regular exercise routine:

• Times I've committed to loosing significant amounts of weight. (Weight gained during periods of inactivity mind you.)
  
• Times when my job has required me to be active. (A very convenient aspect of working in the wellness field.)

I enjoy being active and feeling healthy, but given the chance can easy gravitate towards more sedentary activities and hobbies such as knitting, sewing, and reading. I'm not one of those people who have to be constantly going and moving to be content. (No surprise that every time I've done quiz to figure out my Ayurvedic dosha I'm heavily weighted as a Kapha!) It's an interesting personality quality considering my chosen profession. You often hear that people tend to go into a line of work because it provides something they themselves need in their lives. Often we're not even aware of that need on a conscious level. I guess in my case my passion for wellness and helping others find better healthy through activity is indeed a direct reflection of my own body's need to be more active.

I've often thought about how much I wish the rest of my family would change to make activity more of a priority in their lives. Partially because I want them to be healthy and around for me to enjoy as long as possible. Partially because it would make being active together easier without as much initiative and push from me. Initiative I'm not always very good at taking when I'm away from the studio. I know I can't make anyone change their habits. I can only set an example by my own choices and provide support and encouragement when they themselves are ready to explore healthy habits themselves. That's a hard fact for me to make peace with sometimes.

I guess taking a look at things and a return to a more sedentary life once in a while is a good reminder of why the other 50 weeks of the year I do what I do. And maybe with conscious awareness I can do a better job of finding that middle ground in the years to come.


namaste

The Countdown...

The family and I are home from a week spent visiting family and letting my Mom spoil us with way too much food and her hot tub. It was a much needed break for my body, mind, and my spirit. But I'm glad to be home and the countdown to Wednesday evening's departure for Wisconsin and the Yoga Journal conference has officially begun. I'm actually glad I have 4 days of classes in between vacation and the start of conference to work out the kinks of 1300+ miles of driving, strange beds, abnormal eating habits, and a a total lack physical practice. (Well, I did pull out the walking shoes and the mat one day...)

I'm pretty pumped to share that my little spot here on the WWW may be linked to the YJ events page and mentioned in an upcoming email newsletter to conference attendees. I plan to be blogging from conference to share with my yoga community at home (and all of you lovely regular readers). It will be nice to welcome a few extra readers!


namaste

Good News in the News...

I'm not much of a news follower, but last week I happened to catch this story on NBC. As someone who has professionally worked in the wellness field for over a decade trying to help people understand that the best way really IS eat less, move more, I'm so glad to see a story out there helping to back up those words!

Yesterday my Daily Insight email from Yoga Journal was also a much needed message for this teacher considering how I've been feeling about my Sunday evening class lately.

"Luckily, you don't have to become a yoga casualty by jumping into inversions before you're ready. If you are new to yoga, take your time before inverting—a year (or even three) is not too long. Work closely with an observant and knowledgeable teacher. Attend class regularly. Learn the fundamentals: Find the extension of the spine, open the shoulders, and develop balance, clarity, and strength within beginner poses first."

The short email newsletter had some very good points about how our society encourages many to move into inversions before they are ready and what affects on one's physical being that can have. It's well worth the read.


namaste

Finding Middle Ground...

For a little over 2 years I've been teaching a yoga class on a local college campus. A class that has been organized by a group of students who wished to foster a yoga community amongst their peers and extended campus community. A class that's conveniently located on campus and is free of charge as the cost of my services is funded by moneys obtained through the student government association. I've been honored to be part of this lively and dynamic yoga community.

This year however I've struggled with finding a peace with these classes. The attendance at these classes, while good in numbers, is very dynamic. There are a small handful of "regulars", but usually the remainder of the 10-15 students who fill out the group each Sunday night is ever changing. It's been hard to observe students progress in their practice as it may be weeks in-between times that they join us for our Sunday evening gathering. Even now, three quarters of the way through the school year, it's not unusual to have a student or two each night who are attending their first yoga class ever.

I'm a firm believer in setting good foundational habits in one's practice from the get go. As I have often explained to the group, no matter your reason from coming to yoga, one can not safely or effectively build a practice on a shaky foundation. I think they get that, at least in theory. However I've struggled with how to help them be aware of that foundation in practice.

It's interesting to teach a room full of 18-22 year-olds who have mainly chosen to attend this particular college because of the quality and reputation of it's challenging academic programs. Some are student athletes, some are not. Some participate in other movement groups/activities on campus such as dance, some do not. Some have practiced yoga before coming to my classes, some have not. (One student shared with me that her mom is an Iyengar instructor.) I can honestly say my idea of what teaching to a room full of college students means in terms of connection to their physical beings and their physical abilities has been greatly challenged over the past 2 years. I've learned to assume less because their of age and react to what my sight is telling me about the direction our practices together should travel. These kids spend a lot of time in their heads. Not near as much in their bodies.

As a result, our practice has been much more basic that I would have anticipated. Basic but foundational. After all most of them are very new to their practice. A practice I hope they are able to continue long after their short time spent here as students. Hence why I feel obligated to help them build a solid foundation.

However, foundation work isn't nearly as glitzy and glamorous as the images of amazing fluid "wow" poses that often grace the cover of yoga magazines, DVDs, and websites. And let's face it, as 18-22 year olds, we all want a little glitz and glamor and wow in our lives. And this is where my need to create a solid foundation and their desire to explore the whole spectrum of asanas has clashed, giving me this sense of unease.

In addition to our weekly classes, the group has arranged to bring in an instructor from out of town for monthly workshops which often offer classes focused on these more dynamic/challenging poses. They have also taken it upon themselves to arrange peer led and video based practices in between our weekly times together. I wouldn't be honest if I didn't admit that my ego has been a little bruised by these additions, even as much as I'm happy that they are consciously exploring their practice as a group more than just once each week. Different personality respond to different instructors, different ways of practice and I totally get that. It's a good practice in letting go of my "mothering" tendencies to let them venture out and explore on their own.

But I worry. Having watched the group move, I worry about their safety as they venture off into this area of exploration, maybe well before I would choose to lead a majority of them in that direction. True, there are a small number who are physically ready and able to take these steps, many even more so than I. But a good portion of the group still has so much connection to make to find safe alignment in "basic" asanas that I worry a lack of connection could translate into injuries as they try to take tight joints and weak core strength/awareness into arm balances and balancing inversions.

This week I tried to find a middle ground, instructing them through a class that focused on core strength and awareness and how that foundational piece plays into various poses including standing poses, balances, twists, arm balances, and yes, inversions. I think it was well received. Our practice had a great feeling of focus, awareness, and presence. It would be interesting to know if that's how it was perceived on the other end.

Do I worry too much? Am I avoiding teaching these asanas because they are truly not ready, or because many I can not effectively demonstrate myself? As a believer in the practice of yoga as a life practice and not simply a physical exercise, how can I communicate my belief that a well rounded and effective practice CAN be obtained through deep exploration of "basic" asanas, only moving on to exploration of more advanced asana when one is truly ready? How do I help them set a foundation without stifling their freedom to explore and find a practice style that suits their individual needs/personalities?

These questions and more are at the front of my mind lately.

Please share your thoughts.


namaste