Garden. And My Big Teaching Week.

Ok, I'm going to be persistent: join the Lulu Bandha's Online Garden if, like me, you're a bit of a nerd about yoga! Or if you are new to the practice and have questions. There are also lots of new teachers joining and connecting with each other.

This was my biggest week of yoga teaching yet, with three classes. I am starting to feel limited if I bring in a written-out plan. My written plan is getting a BIT more skeletal, more general, to allow room for meeting who shows up and for just going with what feels most right in the moment. I still plan out a meticulous moment-by-moment game plan the night before but then inevitably say 'forget it,' when I get to class, to an extent anyway.

Tuesday Vinyasa Basics was an amazing challenge because there was quite a big group so a)it was hard to feel into a common energy level and b)my fear level was higher. I struggled with the nervousness about not being their usual beloved teacher. I am still practicing a lot as I teach, at least for these slightly faster-moving classes. I break away for small periods of time and try to push myself to stay away longer. I'm afraid of getting mixed up and not knowing what to say next. Ironically, though, I think actually watching the students more will help me know what to say. It's like letting go of my feet on one cliff and jumping and trusting that there will be another.

Thursday was a delight and a challenge in a completely different way. 2 students came, both on the same page, wanting to 'graduate' to a more challenging physical level after lots of Basics and Stiff White Guys classes. Neither wanted it to be too flowy, so I tried to meet that by holding things a little longer and tweaking and exploring, but I also heard a little voice saying not to obsess TOO much about trying to make them happy with the flowiness level. I just tried my best to offer what I felt would help put them in touch with That Yoga Feeling. We moved towards wheel pose, using Kira's hallelujah arms approach in the salutations. Then we did Bridge, then we played with Wheel a couple times. I showed pushing into it using the crease between the floor and the wall and tried to emphasize only going in if you're feeling relaxed about it. Success!

I'm starting to really look forward to the Yoga Crib! It's feeling real, and not very far away!