|
|
| hello, I'm new to this forum & would normally start with an introduction & taking time to get to know everyone over the next few weeks or months before jumping in with a question; but something has come up very recently & I wanted to possibly find some insight to whether this has happened to anyone else here & techniques that can assist in overcoming it. (I do meditate daily).
I've been teaching yoga - I'm fairly new at it - for about a year & a half & have really been enjoying it. Right after the holidays I was sick for about 2 weeks with a cold. Afterwards, when I returned to teaching, I felt a bit rusty & just took it slow, attributing it to getting back into the swing of things again. However, it has now been almost 3 weeks & although I arrive at the studio feeling great, class prepared, as soon as people begin trickling in I find myself experiencing what I'll just call stage fright, forgetting "sides" and just generally not teaching a class that's as beneficial to the students as it could be.
I may not be explaining it well, but am trying to keep this somewhat brief  Not looking for therapy here, but perhaps just feedback on whether this is something that comes & goes as a normal part of teaching.
I'm really asking somewhat for myself, but also for the students I teach, as I want them to learn while enjoying the class as well. I heard one student after class today mentioning that the "energy level" in another class is so much higher. I like the students to have fun, but did spend some time today breaking down poses & concentrating more than usual to overcompensate for this nervousness going on. Also, maybe I should note that I'm substituting this class at my home studio for 6 weeks.
Mainly I'm just very surprised at the emergence of this & it has caught me off guard a bit.
Namaste,
Kim
|
|
| |
|
| I corrected your post situation Kim. As for your teaching situation, probably every teacher goes through similar at one time or another--often many times. I think it's GREAT that you are concerned about it. If you get so complacent as to not wonder how to improve, you'll turn into the kind of a teacher who's not concerned about her students. All we can do is prepare ourselves as best we can and teach similarly--you can never please all of the people all of the time no matter how hard you try so if you can honestly ask yourself if you're doing your best, then you are. Of course one can always continue their education and that's a benefit to all. Just the ebb and flow of life yogini--gotta experience the lows to relish the highs. |
|
| |
|
| Thank you for correcting that multiple posting.
Thanks, yes, not being complacent. This jogged my memory as to something I'd heard before I started teaching, that being concerned about the class can really be an indication of caring about the students. Thank you for the great reminder!
There's always tomorrow's class to start over with. I'm always on the track of reading, taking workshops, new classes with new & different teachers & expanding my knowledge; however maybe my brain has reached a saturation point *joke* & I need to back off from that a bit & integrate it for a while. Who knows.
Again, I do appreciate the response.
Namaste,
Kim
Edited by mettagrl 2009-01-30 8:20 PM
|
|
| |
|
| Hello Kim,
When we are 5% muddled going in to class the teaching will be 50% muddled. We must be "on our game" all the time as yoga teachers. In this field it is critical.
Knowing that you "meditate" daily doesn't give me much to work with. Most "old" meditation is based on the idea of clearing the mind of thought and/or stoking the vital force in the lower chakras. I hope we are, as a civilization, moving away from that toward a meditation construct that presumes a still mind, not one that results in it. Stilling the mind does not center it, though a still mind is prerequisite for meditation.
In addressing our Ego (asmita) we know two things. The first is that the teacher is only the tube, the conductor, the conduit through which yoga passes or flows to the student. Ergo we must have the ego out of the way so it is not the filter and gatekeeper tainting yoga with the Self.
Two, we know that the sincerity and depth of our connection to gratitude and humility is the counter to Ego. This is a profound truth as long as gratitude and humility are not pretense, cloaks, or a veneer we put on to look spiritual to others.
Just as students choose teachers so too do teachers choose students. We steer some students to other teachers and magnetize others to us. Both are temporary conditions. To believe otherwise is mistaking the impermanent for the permanent - part of the ignorance (avidya) Patanjali references in the first of the five kleshas. We must continually evaluate our teaching (that is healthy) but not do so from the taste buds of one or two students. The teacher never sacrifices their truth for the truth of the student.
Harmony, exploration, discovery, surrender..these things outweigh a heightened energy in class. A student who has a deeper connection to their practice in another class, that is the right class for THEM. If, on the other hand, they are merely using a sneaky word to describe having their "ass kicked" being "worked out" or having enough stimulation to be able to feel anything at all, then that is so clearly their issue and not the issue of the teacher.
If I were teaching you to teach I would encourage a sane process of introspection, the skillful art of self study (svadhyaya) which you have already begun AND a change in your pre-class preparations to include showering before teaching, not wearing black (thus not bringing outer world or heavy energy to class), centering the mental force to avoid being muddled or split-brained, and a shift in diet to include more yin foods and root vegetables.
Edited by purnayoga 2009-01-30 9:25 PM
|
|
| |
|
| thank you again for your detailed, insightful responses. They have been extremely helpful and things have evened out considerably. It will take me longer than a few days to completely absorb just these two replies, so I've printed them out & have carried them with me. It never ceases to amaze me how much we can learn from the experiences of others.
Edited by mettagrl 2009-02-10 10:07 AM
|
|
| |
|
| You are welcome.
We CAN learn many things from the experiences of others. Sometimes we learn what TO do and other times we learn what NOT to do.
Still, we must have our own experiences. That is, we must validate this thing or that thing for ourselves. So please do. :-)
Edited by purnayoga 2009-02-11 1:43 AM
|
|
| |
|
| Hi Kim.
The term is called MoJo! You lose your mojo, but it usually comes back. |
|
| |
sudden emergence of "butterflies" while teaching
