SOME DAYS

are harder than others to come up with ideas to write about in this blog. But, having made a commitment to myself, I'll start and just see where it goes -- hopefully, less of a diatribe than yesterday.

Just finished reading the "YogaNerd" blog. Good stuff -- a crick in her neck led her to (finally - her words) look at the whole picture and notice that her right side body was collapsing. So, the sequences are about lengthening, especially the QL and the psoas. Her crick (unresolved with neck and shoulder work) went away after this lengthening work. (http://www.yoganerd.blogspot.com/)

When we look at a student, it is important to remember Zhenja's experience -- that, for example, the sore shoulder may be related to something not actually in the shoulder. I had a young man come in to renew an ad, and - after we finished that business - he asked me a question about his shoulder. So, remove the suit coat, have him stand normally as I walked around him getting a good view of the TOTAL; ask some questions about activity, work, etc. In looking at him, I noticed his right shoulder was lower than his left. He didn't believe me, so we went to the mirrors (people criticize a yoga studio with mirrors - but they do come in handy at times). He could see the drop - proof positive.

Our tendency at this point is to instruct shoulder loop, and maybe not think about the affect the right side body is having on that shoulder's tendency to drop.

So, we did a bit of shoulder loop work -- especially, since his posture was starting to go 'south'. Then we talked about the side body, and even the legs - how keeping his feet parallel will seat the hips and allow for greater support of the side body lengthening as he stands. He is in great shape, but his work creates an environment where it's easy to slouch. Lucky for him, posture is an important factor in his mind -- so, I think he's still remembering our work.

If we've done a therapy training, we are so full of good and helpful knowledge that we sometimes try to fix the issue without studying the entire person and asking some questions first. One thing you will notice about John (or whoever you are studying with) in these trainings, is that once he hears a student's story of injury or pain, he asks more questions and he observes. Then, and only then, will he start to make suggestions/changes/adjustments.

It's that whole SSA stuff:

1. S - SENSITIVITY -- look at the student, ask questions, approach them with a caring, inquisitive, helpful attitude.
2. S - STABILIZE -- once we determine what might be causing the discomfort, we stabilize that part of the body with a firm, yet compassionate, hand.
3. A - ADJUST -- only after we have used our sensitivity to determine the probable cause of a student's discomfort, stabilized the portion of the body we suspect is the issue, THEN we do the adjustment.

If you rush in and adjust first, you should spell it backwards, and - as John says - you may become this instead of the teacher that makes the student's life more comfortable.

Enjoy your weekend -- I've got a housesitter for the critters, so we are going to San Diego for Easter with Jack (pictured above) and his brother, Brady.