AND, HOW'D IT GO?

I obviously have used this title before -- the typing popped into the box even before I was done. Oh, well . . . onward.

It went well. I did as yesterday's post mentioned -- the day was spent doing some house stuff, working on my computer, re-reading my plan. About 1:30, I got on my mat and talked (no, whispered) my way through the planned sequence. Then got ready, hopped in the car with Sundari, drove into town to pick up the 'loaner' tripod, then to the studio. Spent a few minutes setting up the camera, figuring out where it would best capture the room and students (thank you, Sundari, for helping with the camera); briefly reviewed my notes; then people began to arrive.

Eleven people attended this free basic 90-minute class. Of those eleven, five (yes, 5) were Anusara® instructors -- 3 Inspired™ and 2 Certified®. Fortunately, that was not something I thought about until AFTER the class was over and it was mentioned to me.

What can I say about the class, itself? It went very well. I feel much better about last night's teaching than the previous video. What comment comes to mind about the class? The sequence I designed had only ONE chaturanga dandasana (cd). Some might say that's unheard of. I rarely attend a class where there is only ONE cd (I also rarely teach one, unless it's a Gentle Yoga class). But, that's what I planned and that's what we did. Despite the lack of multiple cd's, it still went well -- no one complained openly, and perhaps a few were relieved -- especially those who had put in a long, stressful day at work.

Early in the class I noticed that everyone was doing decent uttanasanas (standing forward fold), but not everyone was maximizing their potential in the pose -- in other words, there were a few lazy hands/arms in the pose. As someone who has always been challenged by many poses, including uttanasana, my fire is stoked when I see the talented wasting their talent. I paused the class, explained that I was watching great uttanasanas (remember, look for the good first), but in several instances I saw room for enhancement. Then, I did an unplanned demo (silent). Hands active and placed outside the feet, elbows bent to the side. Came up, explained that every pose is important, every pose demands and deserves our complete attention. Now, would they do it for me and give me "the best uttanasana of their lives". It worked!

After that, we were off to the races. That demo broke the ice, people were involved, I was no longer nervous. Things flowed. It's a keeper. In fact, I kept the flier the studio had graciously had made up for the class. If this is the video that takes me to Certification, I'm putting that flier on the back of my framed Certificate, as a reminder of when/where/who helped me.

Today? Preparing to return to So. Cal. tomorrow. Hope you have a great Friday!