Thursday, April 26, 2012

AGAIN? THIS COULD BE HABIT FORMING!

Yesterday, another drive in to Del Mar. Another drive accompanied by the 'traffic gods' -- 40 minutes door-to-door, Fallbrook to YogaDelMar, to practice for 2 hours with Desiree Rumbaugh and Geri Portnoy and forty 50+ year olds.  A few new faces; many repeats from last week.

First, let me say thank you to Desiree and Geri for putting this together, this opportunity to practice EVERY week with a group of women and men similar in age to me. I am loving it. And, as Desiree asked when we began -- "Who couldn't wait for it to be Wednesday?" -- my arm was among the first to shoot into the air.

So, how'd I do?  Fine.  Enjoyed every minute of week 2 of "Wisdom Warriors".  The goal is to move through a full spectrum of Level 1 (Anusara syllabus) poses -- standing, balance, inversions, seated, twists, etc., etc.  And, that we did.  What do I love most?  I love the laughter, the feeling of camaraderie in the room and I love that I can stay 'in the room' -- not tired, tho there is room for much improvement in my inversions.  (I am also woefully weak in my backbending skills; therefore it's important to confess that we skipped urdhva dhanurasana this week; as we did a lot of backbending in other ways earlier in the class.)

I bought a pass = commitment.

One of the side benefits of this weekly practice is a reminder of all the poses I forget are out there to teach and to be enjoyed.  Not to mention the exercises that open me up and prepare me to do these poses.  I hope to carry this forward to my classes.

Speaking of classes, today is Basics at 4pm at Living Yoga.  A small but faithful group. Last week I took them into a few arm balances -- new territory for at least one.  It was great to see each find something in the poses they had not experienced before -- especially if it was to get feet off the floor or simply into the beginning shape of the pose. Why? Because our bodies will remember and next time, it will be easier. Yes!

Raining here in sunny So. California; good for the avocado trees (and good for our water budget).

Hope you have a great Thursday!


Thursday, April 19, 2012

SUCH FUN!

Yesterday, I made the 40-minute drive in to Del Mar (this, my friends, is VERY good time; the traffic 'gods' were with me).  It's probably 40+ miles of 2-lane highway (some of it under construction, yet) and freeway driving from my home to Del Mar.  I love the studio, Yoga Del Mar, owned by Geri Portnoy, but it is a long drive and often fraught with traffic 'demons'; so, I don't make this drive often enough.

Why, then, yesterday?  Because Desiree Rumbaugh and Geri Portnoy scheduled a 2-hour practice for those of us 50-years-of-age or older.  They call the practice group "Wisdom Warriors", and the plan is for it to gather weekly at Yoga Del Mar on Wednesdays, 1-3 pm.  It will be co-taught by Desiree and Geri - a good thing, since Desiree is often traveling.

I left my house at noon, arrived at the studio 40 minutes later -- amazing!  (You have to live here to appreciate just how amazing.)  When I walked in, there were perhaps 20 women and 2 men in the room.  As the group gathered, mats shifted, until 40 (FORTY) 50+ year olds lined the walls ready to do yoga.  Geri and Desiree took position between our two rows of 20, and this first week Desiree led the practice, with Geri assisting.  We even enjoyed Andrew multi-tasking between practice, playing DJ, and assisting.

It's important for me to say that I was a bit nervous about this.  It has been a while since I have pushed myself.  It is so easy to walk out to our small studio, warm up, then do whatever I am planning for my Gentle or Basics classes.  I rarely think about urdhva dhanurasana and kicking up to a handstand -- well, let's just say, even when alone for me this is an embarrassing attempt.  My worry (nervousness) came from the fear that I have let myself travel the Gentle/Basic path for so long that I would not be able to keep up.

Wrong.

I did keep up.  I felt good through the entire 2 hours; could have gone on longer.  I still didn't kick up to handstand by myself, and I still didn't get my head off the floor in urdhva (a definite backslide), but everything else felt good, great even.  Small things please me. For example, just getting my leg on top of my shoulder and being able to squeeze in to the midline -- WOW!  Love that feeling.

We capped off the afternoon with a snack at a local market (Barney's).  And, we agreed this weekly practice is a VERY good idea.  Looking forward to next week.

Here's to doing yoga with friends. Hope you have a great Thursday,

Monday, April 16, 2012

ON MUSIC IN MY YOGA CLASSES

I do not play music when teaching my yoga classes.  Oh, confession -- there was a time when I put on a Deva Premal song during savasana; but, since moving to So. Calif., music has been non-existant in my classes.

This isn't because I don't like music; I do.  It's because it's not part of my teaching 'vocabulary'.

Having attended classes where music is a big part, I know that I can get involved in the music; more involved in the music than I am in listening to what the instructor has to say.  I find myself tapping to the tune, rather than focusing on my yoga.  Perhaps that's the reason I've chosen to (consciously or unconsciously) leave it out of my 'vocabulary'.

I hadn't thought much about it, until after one of my classes last week.  As we finished up, one of the students commented "I didn't even notice that you weren't playing any music, until class was over; and I didn't miss it."

It is challenging for me to plan a class, to keep everyone doing what they need to be doing to stay safe.  Add to that, creating a playlist of music and, for me, that's overload -- more than I need or want to be doing as I plan a class.

That's just my 'thing'.  I won't walk out of a class I'm attending with music, but you won't hear any in mine.

Today?  Library class - curious to see how a recent publicity 'plug' will affect attendance.

Hope you have a great Monday!

Saturday, April 14, 2012

FACIAL EXPRESSIONS - ALMOST PRICELESS

"ALMOST" -- because in many cases they aren't worth a darn!  The problem with them is that I allow myself to look at the expression, read into it whatever insecurity I'm feeling, and live with that.  That is, until the person whose face I'm looking at tells me what's going on.

What am I talking about?  I teach 5 classes each week.  In each of those classes, I can quickly point out the people who I wonder about.  You know, the stoic ones, or the ones grimacing, or the ones who are not quick to laugh at my jokes.  I immediately jump to "they're not happy with me" or "I'm not teaching them what they came to class for" -- always, without fail.

Last week, however, I got a wonderful surprise.  Behind the features - whatever they might be - lies a wealth of information waiting to come out.  Here's an example:

One student, very fit, but because of a traumatic injury attends Gentle Yoga; and, she was very quiet for the first few weeks.  You got it -- I'm feeling insecure.  Then, at the end of class last week, the comment:  "you know, since I've been using my hands in the way you're teaching, my issue with carpal tunnel has decreased."  Whoaaa!  Be still my heart.

Then -- same student -- a week later:  "the circumference of my injured leg is increasing due to the work in these yoga classes".  Another 'whoaa' moment.

And, from another quiet student, the comment:  "your pace is perfect, the sequence great; I work harder in your gentle class than in some basic classes".

All this to say that I must not look at students and read something into their facial expressions -- it just will not be accurate.  I thought I had learned this a few years ago, when I asked a grimacing student if something was hurting.  Her response "no, I'm just thinking".

Just like I will never know the full extent of a student's history, I cannot trust facial expressions.  They will deceive me every time.  Even the smiling, seemingly attentive student might be thinking "this class can't end soon enough!"

Hope you have a great Saturday!

Monday, April 9, 2012

SPIRIT AND BRAVERY

Each of us, as yoga teachers, has a memorable student; one who is struggling but still makes it to class, no matter what.

One of mine was Jean, a woman my age, who arrived in my Gentle Yoga class while I owned the studio in Salt Lake.  She was fit and feisty, a retired French teacher, who had never done yoga but had recently noticed her balance lacking and wanted to 'fix' it.  So we worked, and worked and worked. But, nothing worked.

For the many months after she arrived in my class, she went to physicians searching for a reason her balance was leaving her.  Finally, almost one year into our relationship, an answer:  PSP (progressive supranuclear palsy).  A disease in the Parkinson's family, but with a more definitive end result -- most patients will pass within 5 years of diagnosis.  The disease affects balance, ability to swallow, vision; a real nasty 'bugger'.

However, Jean came to class the week after learning of the diagnosis almost relieved -- as if to say, 'finally, I know what is going on with me'.  We continued.  She always had a spot reserved by the post, and she always arrived early to help me get props out and to chat. When I would ask her how she was, her usual answer was "practically perfect".

As the disease progressed, Jean stopped driving and friends or husband brought her to class; many days I or one of the other students drove her home.  Students rallied to her support in class as well -- helping her up when she fell and offering her words of praise and encouragement. Her pat response upon falling -- "I'm okay".

When the disease reached a point at which she was falling quite often, I asked her if I could share her diagnosis with the rest of the class. Why? It only seemed fair to the others in class to understand why she was falling and what to do when it happened.  She agreed, with one caveat -- 'don't tell them about the dying part'.  So, that day, I told the class that Jean had finally found out that she had a condition that would rob her of her balance; if she fell, we would pick her up and continue.

So, we continued. Modifications in our poses happened. A cane became part of her accessories. A wild and colorful one, much like I imagined she had been before PSP.

Last year, in March, about 3+ years since I first met Jean, I moved away from Salt Lake. One of my going away gifts from her was a picture frame, with the words "Gentle, my ass" written on one side; "I'm okay" on the other. I placed it on our bookshelves, eye level, and have passed it (and looked at it) every day we have lived in this house.

Jean passed earlier this month. Interesting that she had been on my mind over the past 2 weeks, I'd even been talking about her in my 'new' Gentle Yoga classes here in California.  Such a brave friend.  I miss her.

I hope you all had a wonderful Easter weekend, and that you have a great day and week!

"What wisdom can you find that is greater than kindness"  

Wednesday, April 4, 2012

REPEAT

I may have written about this, but - if I did - it was at least 3 years ago.  Hopefully, you've forgotten and/or will forgive me.

My reading lately has included Doug Keller's "Yoga as Therapy" books, and some that he has recommended by other authors about the role of fascia in our movement (or lack of movement).  Needless to say, I am learning lots - if not tons - of new stuff; my level of awareness and my ability to work with students has increased exponentially.

My point in writing all this is to say that my vocabulary has increased, as well.  I can throw anatomy words around with the best of them now.  So, what's the problem?

My students hear my new-found knowledge -- of course, using the big words and they don't understand.  What?  Lately, as I've worked with people on hip movement, I've used the word 'psoas' a lot.  Come to find out, few students know what the 'psoas' is and/or where it is located.  How do I know this?  They've been asking.

Step back to 3 years ago, when a student in a previous class asked me what her 'abs' were.

Why write about this?  To caution myself to never assume my students know where a body part is (I've even taken to telling them why I explain things carefully - the 'abs' story.)  I would rather they hear it 3, 4, 5 times, than not know what or where a particular body part is and its function.  It's part of the yoga - you know that awareness part.

And - one other thing:  Classes have been HUGE this week by my standards (I almost hate to write that, it may jinx the rest of the week).  22 at the Library, 7 (read it, SEVEN) in the Therapeutic/Gentle class, and 4 (yes, FOUR) in prenatal.

Today is Wednesday, no classes to teach; going to take care of a sore throat.

Hope you have a great day!

p.s.  Psoas = one of our hip flexors, a big one that helps us to walk and run. A multiple segmented muscle, one end of the psoas connects to the spine; the other, to the upper, inner thigh. It lies at the center of our bodies, connecting "top to bottom, inside to outside, core to periphery, breathing to walking" (quoting Doug Keller here).  Love this.