Class Six

Tonight I subbed for Winifred's Yoga for Recovery class. I was super nervous but measurably less so than the first 5 classes even though this was only my second more flowing, non-yin class. So that's a big improvement and makes teaching yoga seem a lot more appealing. I assume that the calmer and more connected I am, the better a class it will be...at least I will enjoy it more!

Observations:

I realized I had to rid myself of the ridiculous notion that I had to say profound things and just focus on getting the physical instructions out as clearly as possible. Those can be taken metaphorically often enough that maybe people will THINK I'm being profound.

It's 100% impossible to tell what people are thinking about you and your class.

It's surprisingly hard for me not to be cheesy at certain moments. I tried really hard to stay genuine but sometimes catch phrases want to pop out that don't really come from me and so I feel weird saying them. Again, tried to just focus on the physical instructions. And I'm fine with "element" instructions because those happen to have meaning for me. It really works for me to connect with feelings of earthiness or fluidity. So I brought those in a lot.

I feel better about certain parts of the sequence than others. There is so much freedom beginning at the 60 minute mark that I get scared there. I mean, the first 30 minutes are warm-up, easy enough. The second 30 minutes are a basic salutation or 2. And then? A peak pose followed by wind-down? Am I thinking about it too much?

There was one moment, while demoing and talking through a salutation, when I had the time to think, "Wow! I'm teaching yoga and it's kind of fun!"

Re: Demoing: I have to be super careful because people copy every little thing I do. If I start demoing a bridge, I'd better finish it instead of sitting up because visual learners will sit up too.

It's hard to be funny but I wish I could figure that out more often.

It does not help to think critically of your own yoga practice. In the middle of doing crescent lunge with the class, for some reason I thought, "Mine isn't good enough." But it passed.

On a related note, as a sub, I tried my best to let go of the feeling of "Sorry I'm not Winifred! I know she's so loving and plays nice music. Come back next week for that!"

It's so nice when friends are there.

It helps to wear a new lemon-colored tank top. And leggings are a refreshing change from heavy, thick yoga pants.

The group: 5 strong, energetic practitioners

The sequence:

Sit

Sukhasana forward fold both sides

Cat/cow rounds

Barrel Roll

Hip Circles

EZ Side Plank with cat/cow in between

Extended Child's

(Had planned to do Supta Padha Gustasana but group seemed so energetic I skipped it and went towards standing)

Squat and Cowboy Negotiation pose (just because I love saying that)

Tadasana feeling Ujjayi along back, front, and middle lines

3 Half Salutations

Lunge Salute with lunge and dog only

Tadasana with shoulder work with strap

Uttanasana with strap/interlaced fingers

Sun salutation:

Twisting lunge

Hammock

Low lunge with hamstring play

Crescent lunge

Vinyasa: Baby Cobra-Baby Penguin (Locust)-Big Cobra-Windshield Wiper-Rocket Cat

Sequence other side

Vinyasa: Sphinx-Seal-Child's

Pigeon Left Side

I totally copied this next brilliant move from Winifred's class on Tuesday, hope that's ok!

Transition from Pigeon to Ardha Matseyandrasana

Then I randomly added in Half Cow-Face since the legs were already nearly set up for it.

Shake legs out, rest in Starfish

Other Side

Starfish

Bridge

Savasana

Namaste