the demo

The demo is an important part of teaching.  I have a lot of beginners in my classes and I can't just sit there and say "warrior two" and expect everyone to know what the fuck I'm talking about.  So, I lead my classes.  It just works for me.  I might lead one side and then skip the other side in favor of giving verbal adjustments (I'm not much of a toucher).

And, of course there is that fine line between demonstrating a pose (this is where we are headed) and showing off in a pose (this is tittibhasana motha fuckers! oh, and you should move so i don't kick you in the face).  Charlotte Bell has a great post on this at Hugger Mugger.

But, the asshat who made me get out of my pose to demo a pose that NO ONE in the class was even close to getting got me thinking about my own motivation when I demo those poses.  Is it for the sake of teaching or for the sake of ego?  Honestly, probably both.

A pose that I have all my students working toward (note: toward) is eka pada koundinyasana II.

Photo from Yoga Journal

This is a great pose to work up to bit bit.  Little bit by little bit and then holy fuck: you're there!  It might take a few years...but that is the part of yoga that I like to show my students.  It is possible.  

Obviously, this is a pose that I won't be able to get everyone into.  But there are stops along the way that are huge victories.  Maybe it is with the back knee down and just rocking that front foot.  Believe me, that feeling of accomplishment when the front foot lifts for the first time, even if it is barely off the floor, is HUGE.

So, what are my reasons to demo this pose? If no one is even close to the pose do I still demo it?

My reason for demoing this pose would be to show where we are headed.  This is a hard one to verbally explain, "so then we'll be balancing on the hands and the right leg will be headed toward me and the left leg will be headed to the back of the room!".  Does that even sink in?  WTF?  Maybe it is better to just show it.  

If no one is close?  Well, I've never told anyone to move so I don't kick them in the face...

Self study is a son of a bitch.

Yup.  I've demoed it when there is no way that anyone is getting there.  My intention behind it?  Probably to serve myself.  In what way?  I don't know.  I feel like a moron.

you might wanna move

As a teacher it is a rare treat to find myself actually taking a class.  

At a recent class I took, as the teacher had us in prasarita (wide legged forward fold), he walked to the position just in front of me, and gave the cues to move from prasarita into tripod headstand.

A of all, fine.

B of all, someday I will have the strength to lift up there.

C of all, you have to be fucking kidding me.  Not one person in this class can do that.  Is this supposed to be motivating or defeating?

Then, THEN, he plopped down into prasarita (in front of me) and said, "you might wanna move so i don't kick you in the face" as he used his dude upper body strength to float up into headstand.

Sure, SURE, I'll come out of my pose so you can demonstrate this.

Jerk.

art walk

Helena is a strange little town...you don't often see people around.  The little studio is right downtown, and while I see a few people walking by, it never is really busy.

There are two nights a year when downtown is actually busy:  Spring Art Walk and Fall Art Walk.

Helena is called Best Small Arts Town in America and I'm so happy to be a part of that for the Spring Art Walk on May 18th.  BDY will be hosting five photographers as they showcase their work.  There will be music!  There will be food!  So, if by chance you are in Helena, come check it out!

*in its previous life the little studio was an art gallery, so this is perfect!*

no, you do not look like a whale

I don't have mirrors in my studio for a reason.  I don't want you to see or care how you look in a pose.  I want you to feel the pose.  

A few weeks ago I went to dinner and a movie with the girls (Hunger Games, loved the books, loved the movie).  As we were sitting and chatting, one of the ladies, someone I've only met twice, leaned over and asked, "So, do you ever look at your students and think wow, you totally look like a whale in down dog?"

Crickets.

She then tried to encourage me to tell the truth, it's just us, you've had a glass of wine.

Crickets.

Truth be told, I was offended to the core.  This person I didn't even know was making an awfully harsh judgement on my character.  

Do I think my students look like whales in downward dog?  No fucking way.  If by chance a whale came into my class, I don't think it would look like a whale in downward dog.  I'd be too busy trying to find a way to get a whale into the pose rather than thinking either a) there's a WHALE in my class or b) this whale literally looks like a whale in downward dog.  

For me, downward dog is the pose where I can look out and see all the little body quirks.  Do I think so and so needs to lay off the cupcakes?  No.  I think so and so has something really weird going on with her shoulder, so I'll try all sorts of verbal cues to help her out, help her find some space in downward dog.  Then I'll make a mental note of the quirk I see in that shoulder and watch the rest of her totally not whale resembling practice and see what else is going on.  Then after class in my yoga teacher stalker style, I will write down everything about that student that I noticed.  And I'll take a couple of days to think of things for her to try.  And, then the next time I see her in class, I will have the whole class do what I planned out for her.  And then I'll take more notes.  

And, I'll never call a student out individually in front of the class.

And, I never ever think any of you look like whales in downward dog.

Because we are all struggling.  Because people come to my class to feel better.  To know that their friendly yoga teacher stalker is not judging their practice because it isn't her place to.

Yoga can be such a powerful tool in getting to know yourself and then accepting that being.  Apparently, I'm not the only one who feels that way.  Anna of Curvy Yoga just released an ebook called Curvy Voices.  It is a collection of essays on this very topic.  I am thrilled to be a part of this book.  And, I'm positive that the other contributors to this collection have never looked at a student and thought they looked like a whale in downward dog.

The book is free.  Download it now and curl up with it this weekend!

diy studio art

I am totally in love with the little studio, yet I often wish I had a few bucks to cozy it up.  I don't want much clutter, cause really the space is perfect how it is.  

I have one piece of DIY art on the little ledge at the front of the studio.  I made it in illustrator, printed it out on nice paper at Office Depot and threw it into a white frame from Ben Franklin.

• printing: 49 cents
• frame: $5
• time: about 20 minutes messing around in illustrator

Here is the finished product.  Photo by Jessi Bennion.

Yesterday I whipped up another piece of DIY "art".  The inspiration came from this post which I, of course, found on Pinterest.

Source: apartmenttherapy.com via Barbara on Pinterest

I bought a canvas at Ben Franklin and a can of spray paint.  I then drew an OM symbol and cut it out as a stencil.  I glued that to the canvas and went to work with the spray paint. Voila! 

This little corner of the studio is quite dark, so I thought some art/light would be nice.  However, my canvas was too small for the massive string of white lights that I had.  Plus, there would have been a huge light "tail" and the outlet is right behind the super powerful and uncontrollable radiator...so I had to improvise.  

I looked for all sorts of options at Lowes.  There are some neat LED lights that serve as under cabinet lights that are really thin.  But, they still had the "tail".  I found some battery operated LED night lights.  I hung three of them to the wall and hung the canvas over them.  I can easily turn them on and off.  They don't provide a lot of light, but there is a nice glow.

I'm pleased with how it turned out.  I did make a big mistake though...my spray adhesive was out.  I was too lazy to walk two blocks to get some more, so I taped my stencil down with masking tape.  The overall effect is neat, it isn't stark white but a little smudgy looking.  However, the tape marks are stark white and glaringly obvious.  I always have big crafty ideas and rarely have the patience to pull them off!

This piece was a bit more of an investment and I bet I could have found something on Etsy or in a thrift shop for less.

• canvas: $32
• paint: $8
• lights: $8
• batteries: $10
• time: 10 minutes for the stencil, 5 minutes painting, 30 minutes looking for lights

sequencing

I got a really great question today about sequencing.  It wasn't a blatant question about sequencing, but more about the way certain practices make you feel.

Good sequencing is an art.  I love this article from Charlotte at Hugger Mugger.  In a well sequenced practice your body will be singing and there should be a certain "residue", something that remains from your practice that gives you a calm energy or that "yoga glow".  

Bad sequencing will have your nervous system doing spirals, scattered, unfocussed energy.

Teacher trainings talk about sequencing, pose and counterpose, how to build up to and down from a peak pose...but I really don't think good sequencing can be taught.  It is something you learn how to develop from hundreds and hundreds of your own practices and trial and error.  

I never, ever have students do a pose just because we haven't done it in a while.  I am never just throwing poses into a hat and drawing them out:  tada!  totally wasted nervous system!  

Every little movement we do, be it a shoulder roll or a floating of toes has a reason.  There is a reason for that small movement in the sequence.  It might help you open somewhere that needs to be open for the next pose.  It might be to let go of something that you don't even realize you are holding onto.  

I take copious notes of my yoga classes.  What we did that day.  Who is where.  Why a pose didn't work for someone or why a pose worked brilliantly for someone.  Yes, I am your friendly yoga teacher STALKER.  This is me doing my job.  I want you to feel great after a class.  I never want you to feel beat up, beat down, and discouraged.  I have been to those classes.  The bad sequencing.

There will always be a certain type of yoga that will appeal to you.  And, we're lucky there are so many variations so we can find that perfect fit and perfect teacher for us.  That isn't what I'm trying to explain here.  I'm trying to explain sequencing or a class that just makes you feel...tired, drained, wound up, spun out.

For example, remeber back in February when I took that aerial yoga class?  Cool class.  Fun concept.  Horrible, horrible sequencing.  Plus the floating in the air, the going upside down, working to headstand out of a swing with no real indication where we were headed...and savasana in the air.  Which (savasana in the air) some might find divine.  I felt like I was gonna throw up.  No grounding.  Seriously, ask Anna what I was like when I knocked on her door for lunch right after class:

hi anna omigod i just got back fromaerialyoga and itwassoooamazing i was hanging upsidedown and then we did headstandsandtonsofcoreworkandiwassweatingandmymatwassoslipperyandtherewasthisguywithabrokencollarbone (gulp for air) andireally needtoeatsomethingoriamjustgonnafloatawayandireallywonderificouldpossibleytalkanyfaster?

It was like taking 50 shots of espresso and then standing on my head and then being spun around blindfolded.  That is bad sequencing.

So, notice how you feel after your next class.  How is your nervous system?  How does your body feel? If you feel frazzled take note.  If you feel divine take note.  If you constantly feel frazzled after a class, talk to your teacher.  And, hey, maybe try a different class.  

yoga for survivors

I mentioned a big project awhile back.  I will be working with the St. Peter's Cancer Support Partnership and offering a Yoga For Survivors class free of charge.

This represents a huge step for me as a teacher.  I had gotten to a place where I was relatively comfortable in what and how I taught, and now, this class is a whole new ballgame and completely out of that comfort zone.  I essentially get to be a beginner again.

I've been overwhelmed by support from the hospital admistrator of the program and the ladies who just want some yoga!  And, I'm so grateful for the support of great teachers: Cora Wen, Anna Guest-Jelley, Kelly Baraby, and Kim Schleicher.  

It is my sincere hope that the program will expand beyond a once a week for two months offering to something permanent.

Classes start Tuesday, April 3rd at 4:00 PM!