I began the yoga class at the Library in September 2011. It is a volunteer effort; no charge to the students and no money to me, but that's what 'volunteer' is about -- an opportunity to give back, without expectation of monetary reward.
3-4 students attended the first class, people who regularly practice yoga. From there, it stayed about the same 3, 4, 5 people in the room every Monday for about 2 months. Eventually, the word got out, and the class began to grow. Yesterday (Monday), there were 21 people in class. That's been about the average for the past 4 months. Most are 'regulars', meaning they have made Monday yoga part of their current life's schedule.
I call it yogahour (stealing the name from another instructor), but a better name might be 'melting pot' yoga -- it brings together all manner of people -- new to yoga, experienced in yoga, different nationalities, different ages, some significant injuries/conditions, and varying ages (yesterday's class included two 12-year-olds, a few 65+ year olds and many inbetween).
About 10 minutes into class, a woman unknown to me entered the room. I was struck by how, when I offered her a pink mat, she refused it - opting for green, instead. Someday, I'll ask her why. As we continued, I could see she was experienced.
The class went on uneventfully. One of the pitfalls, I thought as I taught, was the risk of paying too much attention to the young people in the room. It's fun to teach focused 12-year-olds , but to pay too much attention to them is to rob the others of their experience. So, my challenge was to move in and through the room, verbally offering tips, hints and advice to everyone.
This is a one-hour class. We laugh a lot, and the structure is pretty much related to who or what condition arrives in class. That gives me the freedom to ask at the start of class if anyone has a request; something I don't normally do. Two requests -- down dog and revolved knee-down lunge twist; interesting. We began by warming up, threw in a couple down dogs, the revolved lunge, then moved to some standing poses, and finally Garudasana (eagle) pose. Lots of wall space in the room, so I had students stand with their backs about 12 inches from the wall. That way, when they sat down into the pose (eagle), they could press their seat into the wall and use it (or not) to help with their balance. It was fun and I loved the groans as I asked everyone to repeat the pose, both sides (it's always better the second time around, don't you know?).
Class ends. The late-arriving student introduced herself with the question "you teach Anusara yoga, don't you?" Why, yes, I replied. That led to a longer conversation. Seems she's been practicing yoga for much longer than me, even knew John Friend from the ashram days (pre-Anusara). And, she has continued to practice Anusara, studying with many people I know. For me, it was interesting to hear a non-teacher, long-time practicing Anusara student's perspective on the current Anusara situation. Basically, her stance: 'let it go; it happens everywhere; don't destroy the system'. I'm sure there's more, but for me that was good to hear. Supports my current thought process.
Today? Teaching at Living Yoga, 2pm (therapeutic/gentle), and again at 4:30pm (prenatal).
Hope you have a great Tuesday!
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