My heart quality was 'courage' -- after all, it does take courage to wear big hoop earrings to teach a yoga class (for me, anyway). I used shoulder loop, once again, as the alignment principle to focus on; what better way to get rid of your cloak, than to get your shoulder blades firmly on your back - bringing your heart forward -- how dare a cloak cling to our nice, straight backs.
This is a level 1 class (which I just started in January). Attendance has been growing slowly, but steadily, and some are just getting the Anusara™ "lingo". I gave most of those attending yesterday their first foray into handstand.
What do we look for to assure students are ready to give handstand a try?
- Do they understand, and are they, melting their heart when on hands & knees in table?
- Can they hold AMS (down dog) with straight arms and stable, firmly planted hands?
- What's their confidence level? This is something you will find out as you take them towards the pose.
I decided to ask students to take mats to the wall and do "L" pose. On the second go-round, I had one student who was confident in doing this pose (so she was a good one to do a demo); as I held her hips, she took her feet away from the wall. From there, I just worked around the room -- my holding hips, students taking legs up. A couple declined (injury), but everyone else gave it a try. Everyone did "L", tho, which - I think - is a lot tougher than doing handstand with someone assisting you.
Fun class --
Then, I subbed the 10:45 Yoga Basics. Everyone was beyond Basics, so we worked on Ardha Chandrasana (new pose to many of them). I often introduce this pose at the wall -- letting people feel the full extension this pose offers, without worrying about falling. All enjoyed it, so - since I still had my earrings in - we took it back to the middle of the room and did the pose there. Success and fun.
Taking a class today -- it's time to be taught, not teach.
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