Week #3 (and in case you're wondering, there are a couple of weeks to go)

My life is yoga right now - and it's so great, I got sick of it this week. No, seriously, I continue to feel overwhelmed by it but I think in a good way - of course I also asked myself if I really wanted to do this now, that I know a little better what all of this entails but after having taught my first class this week (ok, granted it was not really a class but rather my friend who was kind enough to be the first guinea pig for me), I do think it's a great journey and it's just the best feeling to actually help someone relax and feel good.  

New York apartments are probably the worst place to start teaching yoga  - we spent about one hour trying to make enough space and ended up sharing one mat since there was only space for one in my friend's studio... So one thing I need to figure out is, where can you actually teach? There are some people at work also interested but there would be no way they allow me to do anything before I'm certified and have a liability insurance. And that's probably a good idea too.

I have also been exploring yoga at home - had never even crossed my mind before but after learning all these poses - practice is key, only when you really know what a pose should feel like, can you convey it to students properly. However, I probably don't push myself as much at home as I would push myself in class - maybe that's a good thing and I should practice more at home. The other neat thing about it is that you can listen to your own music.

Something really stuck with me this week: one of our teachers said, the only frame of reference that you start off with as a teacher is your own practice - this is why you'll want to evolve it as much as possible, not in the sense of being able to go deeper into the pose (am learning more and more that that is not the point) but rather in the sense of being able to relate to what others might be feeling and to also convey the spiritual part of class. That's another thing I learned this week - I am starting to dislike classes that are like a gym work out without any deeper sense of purpose and I am really enjoying those classes that send a message that sticks with you throughout class if not even outside class. For instance the teacher yesterday kept talking about the concept of breaking through - breaking through winter in order to get to spring - she related it to hard work to break through but unfortunately it is still so cold, don't get the sense that we broke through yesterday - might need to take the class again next week... No, but I am serious, sharing an anecdote or at least some kind of a message at the beginning of class adds to the sense of feeling comfortable and enjoying the experience. Another thing that lightens the mood are incents, music or even dimming the lights or lighting candles.  The one thing I realized is that I don't think I could teach advanced classes - there are many more experienced teachers for that. Quite the contrary, I would like to teach yoga to people who are not using it and who might even be very inflexible either due to long sitting or even to different sports activities - I think that should give me a fairly large potential client base ;-)

Anyway, am falling asleep, so overwhelmed with yoga this week - need to take a rest.