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| OrangeMat - 2007-08-11 1:25 AM
Do you also not plan out what you're going to be talking about, aside from asana? Or is the dharma talk, yogic philosophy, physical to energetic connections, etc., not part of how you teach?
seperate
In an asana class I usually only talk about asana.
I won't teach philosophy in this context.
Jonathon
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| OrangeMat - 2007-08-11 2:03 AM
Welcome to the wonderful world of teaching at a gym! Yes, it's very disconcerting not knowing who's going to show up that day, let alone if they're even be able to do a halfway decent downward dog.
Hi OM,
You know that I really respect you and your approach to Yoga, though this is why I have a challenge with the concept of teaching Yoga in gyms.
I know that many people will disagree with me, though I think the one size fits all approach to teaching just doesn't work.
Jonathon
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| jonnie - 2007-08-11 2:19 AM In an asana class I usually only talk about asana. I won't teach philosophy in this context. Jonathon This is how I was taught to teach yoga. Otherwise, there is no difference between a yoga class and a fitness class. There is always some sort of connection to the spiritual. This may not be everyone's flavor of yoga, but it's what I've learned and what speaks to me. You know that I really respect you and your approach to Yoga, though this is why I have a challenge with the concept of teaching Yoga in gyms. Given a choice, of course I'd never choose to teach in a gym. But as a brand new teacher, I need to take any opportunity I get to go out there and teach, even in the less desirable settings. A studio won't hire me without experience, so this is where I'm getting my experience. Doing my time, so to speak. My teacher would gladly give me the opportunity to sub at her studio, but that would probably only be a once in a couple months opportunity, and I really don't think it would be wise to wait for only the "proper" circumstances to occur. And anyways, those classes are also walk-ins. Aside from 6-week beginner series that very few studios in my area offer (my teacher's studio does not), you almost never know who's going to be walking in that day.
I know that many people will disagree with me, though I think the one size fits all approach to teaching just doesn't work. I really don't see it as one size fits all. We're not practicing Ashtanga, so maybe in that frame of reference that's what's making it seem off for you, I don't know. The classes are labeled either level 1 or mixed level at my teacher's studio. In order to best serve my students at the gym, I teach somewhere in between those two, always anticipating that there will be more beginners than not. For the most part, that is the case. From my very first Anusara class earlier this year, I had found the style that worked for me (there have always been many Anusara elements in my teacher's classes, so that's where I was exposed to them first). It is very spiritual, yet at the same time, very concerned about alignment. It's a tantric viewpoint in that the body is an expression of heart (in very simplistic terms). Everyone's got a body and everyone's got a heart, so in that sense, yes, it is universal. |
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| jimg - 2007-08-10 1:18 PM I have a very large general framework of what I consider good sequencing and I kind of pick and choose items from the appitizer list, the soup list, the salad list, the entree list and of course desert, picking appropriate poses and style for the people who are present and adjusting as I go. jimg, you must've studied with my teacher.  What you describe is exactly how she operates, and how she is encouraging us to proceed. I guess I just don't trust my own cache of sequences just yet, which is why I feel compelled to script it all out (my lack of self-trust has been an issue all along, which I'm betting is Neel's point about how one needs to work out their own practice first before they can set out to teach others). I was just discussing last night this with a friend who did the training with me, and told her for next week's class, I was going to go in unscripted. What will be the theme? Going through life without a script, of course! Wish me luck! |
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Expert Yogi
Posts: 8442
    
| OM - I refer to my notes regularly as I teach and my teachers do this as well. We are encouraged to teach without notes, but it is a prop that many of us still need 
One thing that helps is having regular peer teaching sessions, which I am lucky to have since I am in an area with many other Iyengar teachers. At monthly teachers meetings or preparing for the next assessments, we teach each other and have senior teachers observe our teaching. We also take classes with each other as we can and give and get feedback. While this is very (VERY) intimidating at the start, it becomes easier and really builds confidence. Just getting together with one or two other teachers at your own level and going through a typical class is very interesting. I have learned so many different ways to approach teaching various poses and ways to sequence while doing this. In Iyengar we do have to understand why we are sequencing things ("because it flows well" would not be an acceptable explanation...) a certain way, so it helps to be in a situation where a peer can both experience the teaching they way I present it and also help confirm my ideas of why a certain sequence works or doesn't work. |
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| tourist - 2007-08-11 10:37 AM Just getting together with one or two other teachers at your own level and going through a typical class is very interesting. This is exactly what I was doing for the first number of weeks of teaching: I'd get together with a friend and we'd teach each other, pretty much once a week. But her schedule changed for the summer and now I've been peerless (!). As much as I would like to not have to rely on the feedback of someone else to know where I stand in things, I suppose I do still need this. Just like you said regarding using notes: a valuable tool with the potential of being a crutch. OK, you said prop, not crutch, but still, you get what I mean. And yes, I do understand the principles of sequencing poses in an intelligent way (vinyasa krama, yes?) so that the body is kept within physical, as well as energetic, alignment. I took a class several weeks ago, from a fabulous teacher, but the last pose we did before settling into savasana was urdhva dhanurasana. I couldn't get still for the entire 10-15 minutes that followed, my nervous system was so revved up. So yeah, just because it "flows well" isn't the only criteria for me. |
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| Tourist,
Do you cook from recipes? I cook knowing the basic ingredients of something and improvise. We are all different. I think that the problem with the pre-packaged class is that it doesn't allow for the creativity and style of the individual teacher and doesn't allow the teacher to adapt each class to the individual students present. If you are teaching a series of classes to students with a particular skill level, I think that you need a plan of where to go from class to class.
Namaste,
Jim |
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| Jonnibhai: I used to do this for a while in the past. But, then I decided to do the following modification:
- In Yoga Exercise class, I teach mainly physical level yoga based exercises
- But, I have to introduce them to some meditation (some times)
- And, they have to do at least one chant in the class, regardless of whether the class is gym or in the capital building.
- And, I make sure I inform them that Yoga Exercise is NOT a complete Yoga Practice. In fact is less than 25 percent.
jonnie - 2007-08-11 2:19 AM
In an asana class I usually only talk about asana.
I won't teach philosophy in this context.
Jonathon
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| for my own part, i have two practices. one is where i simply practice for myself, as i have done since i was a child. this practice includes asana, pranayama, meditation, and contemplation (and sometimes chanting). this practice takes 1-2 hours a day (depending upon the amount of time that i have).
then, i have a 'teaching practice.' this teaching practice is where i focus on a sequence, or one or two postures, or a new chant or philosophical idea that i want to present--or what have you--and i do this for about 30 minutes a day for the purpose of preparing for my classes. what is unique and surprising is that it may be months before i 'pull out' what i experience and journal in these sessions and bring them into the classroom setting.
right now, as we only have one car and i'm driving my husband to and from work each day, i find that i loose about one hour a day for my practice. admittedly, my 'teaching practice' as suffered, because all thta i want to do while i'm on the mat is practice for myself.
i should also assert that at a certain point, teaching becomes intuitive. but what is helpful for this, i feel, is to do the same thing over-and-over. it's great to have a single sequence and really get to know it. you can develop it yourself or take on that already exists and just use it over and over and over.
i spent about 2 years with 2 sequences, and one that i've developed i've been using consistantly for about 4 years now (it's just a piece of the whole sequence)--and i'm good friends with this sequence and it's easy to shell game it, pull it out or put it in, put it in from different poses, etc.
and you really get to know how that sequence works. so instead of doing something different each week, perhaps just choose 1 or 2 sequences and alternate them for weeks on end. for example, friday will be class 1 and then saturday class 2. then, the next friday it will be class 2 and the next saturday it will be class 1. then, each class is getting a 'different sequence' each week, but ti's also the same sequence every other week, and you become good friends with thta sequence. |
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| zoe -- Thanks for the very practical how-to advice! I've been hesitant to present the same class week after week, because in my experience with fitness classes, people claim to get bored with the same-old, same-old. Though in my experience, I'm never bored with with it, so.... over-anticipating and over-compensating, that's been my blunder here, I think. I tend not to have the same people on Friday and Saturday, so I find that presenting basically the same class two days in a row hasn't been an issue. Oddly enough, the Saturday class always seems to be the less efforted one for me (maybe because I've had a chance to actually "practice" teaching it the day before?). This week and next I'm subbing a class on Thursday morning, so it'll be three days in a row that I teach. I wonder if my Friday class will be more easeful for me as a result, since it won't be the first one of the week. We'll see. Also, my Friday class is right after I've taught a rather high intensity fitness class, with only 5 minutes in between classes. Very hard to get myself centered in only that short time, which includes situating myself in a different room from the fitness class. On Saturday mornings, I get to the gym close to a half hour before the class time, and I'm the first one in the room that day, so I have time to sit a bit, maybe practice a couple poses myself. Lots of variables in the mix, I know. |
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| here's what i tell people when they tell me it's "getting repetitive and boring:"
You haven't learned the postures yet. Learn the postures, and we can change the sequence, add new ones, etc.
and then i point out that, traditionally speaking, it can take a lifetime to actually learn a few postures.
so, people stop harassing me about it.
and, they tend to like to see the improvement over time. it's important to point that out, if the sequence is the same.
as for centering between classes, simply take the first few moments of that next class to center the whole group. i can usually be centered in three breaths, but i know it can take others longer. i have one day a week where classes are right after each other, with a walk across to a new room that is a particular mess and i have to clean before the next class can start. it can be tough, but if you can find a way to center yourself quickly (either through the end of the next class, by walking to the next room, or within a few breaths in the new room), then that process will be easier. |
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Expert Yogi
Posts: 8442
| jim - no, I do not cook from recipes  That is a very good question! I realize that what I have posted here sounds like I do very scripted and notes-dependent classes, where in fact, that is far from the truth of what actually happens. I don't want that impression to be left here. OM is pretty new to teaching, so I have been answering with that in mind.
I do have an outline for classes, I do write it down and almost always have the plan with me. But because of the way we teach in Iyengar classes, it is always possible to change gears and adapt to what is happening in a particular class. I taught in Intro class last term that had 3 teens and 3 older ladies in it - it was fun since they each were a group of "girlfriends" and I had two little bunches of gals who would sit and giggle with each other before class. There was just a 50 year gap in their ages! Anyway, one of the older ladies had 2 hip replacements and 2 "bad" knees and one of the teens also had strange knee problems. So the typical first class full of strong standing poses had to be tossed right from day one. Or I will teach Vira II and find everyone lunging forward toward the front knee, so we have to stop and do the various mods that help get that alignment. (And they all have to listen to my joke about wanting them all to wear nose rings with plumb lines attached to keep nose over navel  ) Or everyone will be really into the standing poses so we go all out and add a few more. Or, particularly in my home studio, the whole class will come in and beg for restorative and that 's what we'll do. So it does change and flow as well as being aware of all the various needs in the class - I will be directing one woman in pregnancy poses, some else with back pain awareness and keeping a close eye on everyone to see what their energy levels are etc. One big benefit of teaching in a studio where students register for a term is that we have a pretty good idea of who will be there each week. Of course, if I tailor a class for one student with a problem, it is guaranteed they won't show up that week! 
Re: music and improvisation. It seems to me that most schools of music expect students to get a good grounding in basics before they begin to improvise, right? |
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| tourist - 2007-08-12 11:50 AM
Re: music and improvisation. It seems to me that most schools of music expect students to get a good grounding in basics before they begin to improvise, right?
Absolutely, the same as with Yoga. You have to have some kind of raw material and sequencing first, otherwise you have nothing to improvise on. I think that the difference between a scripted class and a class that follows an outline (either written or internal) is fundamental. The script is static and follows what you or someone else worked out in the past and the outline/improvisation is active, alive and much more in tune with what the students are doing in the present moment. In the scripted class it is more the teacher's class and the other is more the student's class. |
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| jimg - 2007-08-12 2:26 PM I think that the difference between a scripted class and a class that follows an outline (either written or internal) is fundamental. The script is static and follows what you or someone else worked out in the past and the outline/improvisation is active, alive and much more in tune with what the students are doing in the present moment. In the scripted class it is more the teacher's class and the other is more the student's class. Hmm, then maybe what I've been trying to follow is what you call an outline, and not a script after all. Yes, I have the stick figures drawn out, but I use it more as a reference so I don't forget what I wanted to do next. Ideally I'd prefer not to have any paper at all, and have it all stored in my head (and my body) all the time, for any time that I'd need it. Sure, if you'd give me a moment to think about it, I could come up with a sequence to open the shoulders, open the hips, whatever. But the point is to have all those sequences readily available at all times, yes? Well, maybe with a couple more months' practice it'll be effortless. Impatience, I know, it's plaguing me.  |
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| I don't really do anything special to prepare for Bakasana.
If we have done chaturangas and/or child's pose.
Sometimes I will add Malasana variations (squats) before we lift into crow.
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| I often go from standing and balancing poses to Malasana (squats), then Bakasana (crane or crow), then back strengthening poses on the mat starting with Bhujangasana (cobra). Try going from Bakasana to Chaturanga Dandasana, then lower to Bhujangasana. I usually offer this as an option if I have a more athletic group in class. |
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| sounds great.
Yes we jump into Bakasana from downdog (I have two students that can do this) and jump back to chaturanga from crow too (many students).
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| TampaEric - 2007-08-13 1:25 PM
sounds great.
Yes we jump into Bakasana from downdog (I have two students that can do this) and jump back to chaturanga from crow too (many students).
You must be working with a totally different demographic. Hardly any of my students can even do chaturanga properly. |
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| Guys and athletic women usually enjoy these kind of sequences. I teach Bakasana where you lift one foot off the ground, then go to the big toe only of the other foot and then balance. Everyone can do the pose with both feet on the ground and most people can do it with one foot on the ground. Most people can also do it with just one big toe on the ground. As they build their upper body and wrist strength, the balancing is pretty easy. It also has a lot to do with confidence, which they build step by step. I also teach it with bent arms and knees resting on the triceps. (Pushing out with the elbows and pushing in with the knees.) As the student progresses, I encourage them to straighten their arms with their knees in their armpits. The 77 year old man in my class can do it fine and his 78 year old wife and a 72 year old woman are comfortable with the big toe version. You may want to teach your students how to roll if they lose their balance or their strength gives out. You don't want anyone to do a face plant! |
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| I pretty much teach it the way you describe.
If I see someone that can't lift at least one leg, I recommend that they turn their hands in slightly.
This provides a wider base to balance on. |
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| i find that bakasana/kakasana is a great posture to teach chaturanga actually. i find that people "get" chaturanga better once they feel the lightness and confidence form getting kakasana.
it takes time to learn the postures, and it really does depend upon the demographic as to who will "get it" and in how much time.
for example, my PM classes at the Y are very adept. the level 1 class learns the basics of sun salutations--including how to do chaturanga consistantly and properly--in about 4 of the 10 week session. my level 2 class knows chaturanga and does it well, which means we can move onto other arm balances that use that posture as a base, such as ardha koundinyasana.
but my AM classes at the Y are not as capable. in 10 weeks, they barely learn sun salutations. most take level 1 classes for 2 or 3 sessions before moving on to level 2, and often they still aren't consistant with chaturanga. my level 2 class has some members who have been working with me for 3 years and still don't even modify chaturanga properly.
so, i've taken that posture out of the AM curriculum. level 1 focuses on therapeutics (standing, sitting, lunging, squatting, and twisting), while level 2 is a yoga class that is low on vinyasa and doesn't have sun salutations at all.
i do not work from plans at all, or outlines or sketches of what i'm going to do. but i've been doing this a long while, in a number of venues, with a variety of clients--from the very athletic to the severely injured. so, you get comfortable with coming up with things as they arise, trying things that you haven't tried before simply because you're confronted with the opportunity. it's quite experimental.
but, it takes a while to get there. i'd say it took me about 4-5 years from when i first started teaching to get to the point where i feel very confident in my sequences and coming up with something on the fly because one of my evening level 2 clients brings her post-shoulder-operation best friend to class.
you just get used to doing it. about 6-7 years ago, this would have completely fried my brain. i would have followed my sketch or plan, added a few things in, and just left that client to his/her own devices (do only what feels right, modify everything, and don't be afraid to stop doing something if it doens't feel good).
so, be patient. 
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class prep vs. own practice
