Sprezzatura is a beautiful-sounding word coined in the sixteenth century to define the ideals of courtly behaviour in Renaissance Italy. It originally meant “a certain nonchalance, so as to conceal all art and make whatever one does or says appear to be without effort and almost without any thought about it”.
I think my yoga teacher displays a degree of sprezzatura in his classes. They seem to unfold naturally, almost inevitably, without any of the seams showing. There must be seams, right? Sometimes it almost reduces me to despair at the thought that I might ever teach. I couldn’t do it like that.
But then he’s modest enough to tell me it wasn’t always like that for him either. So maybe all things are possible with time and dedication.
It sounds as if your teacher’s classes flow as a unique expression of who he is. Yours will do the same : )
LikeLiked by 1 person
Hmmm…. one day! 😉
It’s making me realise how much teaching is rooted in one’s own practice. I’d sort of thought of them as different activities, but now I understand them as facets of the same thing. Of course!
LikeLike
It certainly feels that way to me. When I started to share the practice with others, it really galvanized my commitment to go deeper into my own practice. Sharing insights that we have personally experienced is part of a natural flow…
LikeLiked by 1 person