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| Hello to all. I am new to the forum as well as new to teaching. I am hoping that some of a few of you experienced teachers could help me with my teaching edge. I go way to fast through postures. I try to slow down, and it seems like I am taking my time, but then I realize I just did 10 postures (both sides) in about 10 minutes. If anyone has any advice other then the obvious....(slow down) I would be so grateful. |
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| During my teacher training, the boss, Charles McInerney, pulled be aside and said I needed to shut up and let students relax into the poses. I remember that frequently when I find myself a) talking too much and b) speeding up.
It's difficult to do at first and I really had to struggle to let them try asanas with their breath. That seems to help me.
And welcome to the forums and especially welcome to a fellow Penn Stater (class of 1974). |
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| You can start by counting your breaths. (Use your fingers if that helps.) If you want the class to hold a pose for about 5 or 10 breaths or whatever. Count to yourself.
As you gain more experience, you will start paying attention to what your students are doing instead of thinking about your "teaching". You will then notice when your students have all gotten into the pose and reached an acceptable level of relaxation in that pose before moving on. That will be different for every class.
I am assuming that you are not teaching a Vinyasa class where you move from one pose to the next with a single breath. If you are, just make sure that the pace of the flow is relaxed and not rushed. Again, tie it to the breath.
You may also be rushing your class because you are nervous. If so, do some breathing, stretching and centering before class so that you are relaxed and focused. |
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| Thank you both for you comments. I have a class tomorrow morning and I am sure I will be taking this advise with me to the mat. Bruce...I probably do talk to much since I seem to find my self losing my breath. jimg....I am incredibly nervous, so you may have hit the nail on the head.
Again...thank you. |
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| i used silence quite a bit as a tool early on. andother good thing is to just watch a clock. do each pose for at least 1 minute and then move to the next.
also, PSU c/o 1999. |
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| No kidding ZB? I don't remember us every discussing that--let's meet at the Creamery |
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| Nena,
What is your personal practice like please?
Also, what ways are you preparing to teach?
With this information I can give you a bit more reply, unless of course you are satiated already.
gordon |
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| Gordon,
My personal practice has been less since I finished my training and have been preparing to teach. But usually I can flow form one posture to the next and hold to my edge without much thought. My body just tells me what it wants.
My teaching edge seems to be the talking. I have a really hard time just letting my students be in the posture. The silence seems to bother me. I am writing down lists of postures and using a notebook as a guide, but I seem to be too worried about what comes next and I am not being in the moment.
Thanks
Nena |
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| I should have been more specific. A bit careless of me.
I'm trying to connect your personal practice with your teaching. So rather than asking if you are practicing every day I was more interested in the style, duration, and sequencing of what you are doing.
I have not used the phrase "edge" in my teaching or practice for about a decade and so the term doesn't speak to me as it did in 2001. I'll presume you mean going as far as you possibly can without causing pain or injury. If that is off base please straighten me out. Using this definition however, begs the question of how it is applied to your "teaching edge".
If you were a student teacher I were mentoring I would suggest several things. The first would be to really slow down your personal practice. Spend more time in passive postures. Fully explore only 9 poses per session - and that includes Savasana which obviously is a necessity for containing and assimilating the practice that precedes it. Additionally, I'd recommend a calming diet, yin foods. Finally I'd ask you to consider how you can empower the student(s) either without words or in the fewest words possible. It is the cultivation of an economy of words.
That's how I would direct a teacher studying with me.
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| bruce:
yeah, the pumpkin this time of year is nice, but one can never pass up the peachy paterno.
irony, most people ain the frosh 15 because of the Creamery, but seriously, i ate it EVERY DAY after chemistry class and, seriously, i lost 17 lbs my first semester. i'd never been so active. |
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