If you want to listen to a more professional version than my chanting, listen to Deva Premal: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OTFWfD7L5QA
Turns out that even during yoga practice, chanting really has a profound effect: it helps you breathe and relax into the pose, potentially even one that you have not managed to get into before. I definitely want to explore it further, although I guess you have to be careful when teaching some people who might be a little thrown off by these spiritual practices. It's important to remember though that the chanting practice does not necessarily signify praying but can mean anything anyone wants it to mean. Today our teacher simply asked us to meditate on something that seems to be difficult in our lives, something where we are seeing an obstacle that might need to be removed...
Other than chanting, I have also been finding that the fact that teachers tell you to soften is not just a common phrase but it really helps advance your practice. Exactly the point where you stop trying so hard is when things work out - not just in yoga I guess. I have been able to ease into some arm balances that I never even thought I could do just by trying and not expecting to succeed. Of course there are still plenty that I am not getting into but the beauty of yoga is that there is always more, I am starting to learn. Previously I thought that people are just done and have arrived at the full expression at some point but seeing some of the more advanced students in class, there seem to be more levels of depth for them to explore as well. I think the main thing is to be open for new things. I had a friend from Germany visit this week and she was open to attending her first yoga class ever with me and she loved it, was kind of surprised that it was much harder than she expected but she thinks she might take another class and continue to practice.
Yet, another key learning for me yesterday was that I cannot assume that I can transport what I take a class to mean/to be to everyone of the people that I am teaching. In the morning I went to a beautiful class where the teacher decided to give pretty clear instructions, building up to a certain pose which we then only very briefly touched upon- the lesson being that the preparation can be more important than the actual result and that we should be focusing on the path versus the end. I had almost something like a relevation and thought to myself that I had to use that concept in my practice teaching and I even asked the teacher if there was any reason you had to do the pose that you were building up to at all. He replied that you can do whatever you want and it might be a great effect not to do the pose at all - somewhat of a surprise element. But yes, when I was teaching the class I realized first of all that I was lacking the practice to teach some of the concepts, which were deviating from the traditional way, and secondly and most importantly that the whole build up was not something that the students were noticing. Instead there were some issues around different body parts aching and confusion around which variations I should offer. Still, it was a wonderful learning experience and taught me to probably try to stick to the basics for now, interspersed with some of the concepts that I like but probably not start by trying to teach something that might not be obvious to everyone. Yet, I am really enjoying the way I notice a lot more about the different classes I take and being able to appreciate the complexity more and more... It's a long path but I'm glad to still be on it... Anyway, off to more profound things like doing my laundry.
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