Tuesday, February 22, 2011

"Ohm with me on the pink mat!"

Yoga Teacher Training Day Two and Three: ( Posture Clinics)


“Let your mind start a journey through  a strange new world.  Leave all thoughts of the world you knew before.  Let your soul take you where you long to be...close your eyes, let your spirit start to soar, and you'll live as you've never lived before.” -Erich Fromm

Saturday afternoon began with more introductions. On the weekends we focus on our specific form of yoga training which in my case is "Power" Yoga. The studios have been split up and we are now in a more intimate setting with a smaller group to concentrate on our posture clinics. We go around the room sharing when we started practicing yoga, what we are most excited about and what we are most nervous about. I explained that I really got into yoga through my step-mom at a young age going to random classes here and there. (even beachfront classes in Costa Rica) She introduced me to all styles of yoga. It wasn't until I moved to San Diego that I was introduced to Core Power through a friend that I began to be more consistent with my practice.  What do I fear? I am most nervous about the time commitment. I want to be completely present in my yoga teacher training which is going to take some serious determination and discipline. I am a full time graduate student, executive and now yogi.  Can my plate handle all these things giving each one the same attentiveness? That is the goal at hand and here we are at week 2. I attended my 5 mandated yoga classes, I did my homework for my thesis class and I submitted the necessary weekly reports for work today. Phew. 8 more weeks and counting.

The Saturday posture clinic included breaking down some of the "blueprint" postures which are the main postures other yoga poses root from. Learning to teach from the ground up, lines of energy and the accessible language available to us.

The Integration Series:

Child's Pose, Downward Facing Dog, RagDoll and Standing at Attention

The series that I always took for granted in my practice, never did I think that I would have a hard time repeating or teaching this series until we went over it in class. You forget the keywords that you take for granted when you are seasoned in your yoga practice like CLOSE YOUR EYES!! 

" knees draw wide to the outer edges of your mat, forehead to the floor..." these four poses have 3 transition ques, 3 refinement ques and some fluff.... It felt like I was teaching for 30 minutes and it was only 3. 

There is much to work on. I found that it helps me while I am driving in my car to go over the integration series in my car, my trainer (Core Power Yoga Instructor as well) recommend that I create distractions while I am "teaching". He said to turn the music on in the car while I speak the cues and go over the first part of the practice. I attempted this and it was very challenging. He also had me on the row machine going over the integration series. Multi-tasking will be key in this learning process and odd enough in my daily life as well.

I also had the opportunity to observe a yoga class. The instructor I went to was amazing. The ambiance was just right, the sequence was perfect and she even had great music, which if you know anything about me you know that I have a heart for soulful music. I only brought in the paper that had the response questions on it and I filled up both sides front to back in about size 6 font. There was so much I wanted to soak in from her practice! I will make sure to bring a notepad for my other observations. The whole time I was observing I was thinking two things..... I can't wait until I am teaching and how am I going to do this! 

I am very happy with my first week progress. I already feel more confident. I know that I have much to work on and many areas that need improvement but everyday is another fascinating challenge.

Wednesday Night: OM Work and Exploring Classical Yoga

Should be interesting.... I will keep you posted.

Namaste-

~Meg

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