I sit with the teacher a little before class. She talks about the weather and birdwatching, we talk about mundane weekend plans and what we're having for lunch. We also talk about the non-sense of 200 hour YTT programmes, how little they equip anyone for the reality of teaching. We consider the difficulty of assessing... Continue Reading →
Playing favourites
I ran a workshop for my students recently to help them begin to establish their own home yoga practice. When helping them think about categorising the poses they knew so that they could define a simple sequence, I asked them to consider what their favourite pose was. Perhaps they could use that as the lynch-pin... Continue Reading →
Two year teaching anniversary
Facebook just alerted me to the fact that it's been two years now since I obtained my yoga teaching certificate. So I've been teaching that long! A 'time flies' moment if ever there was. How can I have learnt so much AND so little in this time? I remember one of the things that vexed... Continue Reading →
Out beyond the castle defences
We had dinner with neighbours just recently. They're only a door away but even so our interactions have been quite limited. An Englishman's home is his castle after all. A party at ours a couple of years ago is still the longest time we've ever spent together; it's just quick hellos in the street as... Continue Reading →
Not quite half a decade
Last month my local yoga studio sent me a sweet email acknowledging our anniversary! Apparently I've been going to class there for four years now. This is only a little less than the total length of time I've been practising. One of the teachers then messaged me with the breakdown of my 'stats' -- how... Continue Reading →
What gives?
A friend of mine asked me recently how my classes are going. I didn't know what to say -- they just are. I show up and do my best, my students show up and do their best. It's all good. I find (slightly contrary to expectations, so it must be true!!) that I really love... Continue Reading →
Shift it
I’ve had some amazing moments with my students this week. A bit of Sanskrit punning after class from one, some good questions from another who is usually very self-contained (with a good line in sceptical faces!), and the one is who usually very physically cautious and always takes the lighter options was asking about how... Continue Reading →
Defining practice
One of my yoga friends asked me recently if she could take me out for coffee: she had something she wanted to ask me. I assumed it would be a request for a favour of some kind. But no, it was advice she wanted. She started off the conversation a little shyly, then launched into... Continue Reading →
The secret formula
I saw one of my teachers recently whom I haven't seen in a while and perhaps only a few times since TT. We had a great chat after the class he gave. He asked whether I was teaching and because he's one of those quiet steady types with eyes that see right into you, I found... Continue Reading →