Yoga Teacher Training, Day 6, Module 1

Today was our last day of yoga teacher training for module one. It was a bittersweet day...six 12-hour days in a row, two-hour practices daily, and not getting enough sleep definitely take their toll. Our lives outside yoga and this training have come to a screeching halt, so from that perspective, it's nice to finally have gotten through it.

But...

We've had so much fun living, eating, and breathing yoga for six straight days! We've had a blast getting to know each other throughout this endeavor. And aside from the yoga, the opportunity to spend so many hours with Dolly—a humble, gifted, and enlightened soul if there ever was—was just such a blessing. If I could clone her, I would. She would likely never accept the label, but she is a guru in her own right. She is a very, very special person, and just so cool. For me, she will always be the yogini against which all others are measured.

Balances and Inversions
Before practicing today, we studied arm balances like Crow, and inversions like Tripod Headstand. Check out this video (Dolly Floats to Crow) of Dolly demonstrating how to go straight from Downward Facing Dog to Crow—she's so steady, so controlled, it's sick. If you don't do yoga, let me just tell you this: this is hard as hell to do! Don't believe me? Try to mimic it!

You can also view photos of our class working balances and inversions.

Our Practice Today
Oh boy...this is the practice we've been dreading since we got our assignments yesterday. Dolly split up a typical 90-minute Power Vinyasa sequence into 15-minute increments focusing on warm-up, Sun Salutations, standing postures, and floorwork (none of us could teach Savasana...damn!) Each person in the class had to sequence and teach their 15-minute segment. Cay and Lauren both have some experience teaching yoga or fitness classes, so I don't think they were are freaked as Marge and me who have zero experience whatsoever. If Greg was worried, he never let on.

A 15-minute sequence?! Crap! I was up til midnight last night working on sequencing Side Angle, Revolved Side Angle, Ardha Chandrasana/Half Moon, Standing Splits, Bird of Paradise, Eagle, and all the transitions required to move people from one asana to the next. And I still ran about two minutes short, but overall, it wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. Don't get me wrong...it was very difficult for me, and I forgot to cue breathing for the first bit of the sequence, but overall, I wasn't as nerved up as I thought I'd be. As I pointed out in the discussion after, I'm not sure I would have been able to feel nerves because my heart was already pounding, and I was already sweating bullets because I'd been participating in the practice up until I took over teaching my sequence. I honestly thought I was really going to flounder, but I managed to remember to cue the next posture by name, then give details if needed, and that helped a lot.

Despite little issues here and there, overall, I think our first practice teaching session was really very good. Physically, it was challenging and all the sequences adequately prepared us for the asanas to come. No one totally lost it it or full-on floundered. It felt awesome to see and experience our final product and to know that we all made so many strides in doing it. And when it was over, we were elated to go out for Thai food and call it a week!



Namaste!

PS: Please visit again soon. I may not blog here for the next couple of days—but I will be attending a Rolf Gates weekend workshop February 9-11, 2007, and will definitely be blogging about that. Of course, if the urge hits me I may be back before then.

Yoga Teacher Training, Day 5, Module 1

Today was such a surreal day, I almost don't know where to begin. Our class and practice focused on back bends, and Dolly warned us that sometimes back bends trigger emotional reactions. In our teaching manual, she wrote, "Moving into Back Bends requires that we expose our raw and vulnerable underbelly, the soft yin place that can leave us feeling threatened or insecure. Many deal with surges of emotion when doing powerful Back Bending, cleaning their temple of emotional debris."

I have to be honest—Dolly has told us multiple times that certain postures, like back bends and hip openers, often have deep emotional effects—but I found this really hard to believe. I'm a pretty well-adjusted person, strong of will and mind, so for me, it's ludicrous to think I might be affected emotionally (I mean deep, cathartic, gut-wrenching emotion) by doing yoga. Me, cry from doing yoga? Sounds impossible, actually.

So, we did our two-hour practice from 3:30pm to 5:30pm. Back bends galore. I loved it. I was feeling great actually being able to get my foot into the crook of my elbow and hand over the top in Dancer, even if only for a minute. It's a place I haven't been before. We took Savasana, wrapped up class, grabbed dinner, and reconvened for the last hour of class.

Finding Our Voices
Dolly had asked all of us to read The Laws of Spirit: A Tale of Transformation, and write a one page essay about the law that most resonated with us. In that last hour of class, we read our responses, and when Marge read hers, I just welled up and the tears just continued to flow through almost all the other responses I heard. Cay's response referenced my blog and my first entry about teacher training, in which I wrote that Cay is an enigma to me, and somehow that word, enigma, was a catalyst for her and she very eloquently tied it back to the Law of Integrity (Living Our Truth), I believe it was. I was so stunned, first by the fact that my initial impression of Cay was accurate (according to her!); second, that someone could connect so deeply with something I wrote—and that it could move them in a positive direction; and finally, that someone would think and say the very kind things Cay wrote about me in her response. I loved hearing Cay's realization—I was happy and flattered, and again, feeling Cay's emotion as well as my own.

Then Amber read her response, and she's such a bright, gentle soul, with a purity that's so rare these days, that of course, I was deeply touched by her words as well. She's like a little bird that you just want to take under your wing and protect, not because she isn't strong on her own, but because she has this aura of innocence...I can't really put my finger on exactly what it is. But she just radiates light.

When Greg sat down to respond, his writer's block suddenly lifted after many years, he told us, and so he wrote a story that just captivated us all. He is a very talented writer—I really hope he keeps at it because the world needs words like his out there. As Greg read, I wept, not only because of the eloquence of his writing, but because he wove a story so deeply entrenched in his own emotion and grace that I almost felt like I was inside his heart as he read it. I think he's very close to finding his purpose, perfect and right.

Never Say Never
To close class, Dolly asked us to come into a circle and join hands. As we sat there, with hands linked and our eyes closed, Dolly asked us to breathe in the love and energy of the person on our left and send it through our hearts to the person on the right. We did this for a couple minutes, perhaps, and as I breathed in and out, imagining Greg's energy on my left flowing in through my heart to Lauren on my right, I hit a wave of emotion that was rising to a crescendo with every breath. I was on the verge of sobbing, weeping steadily, because the more I breathed in, the harder it became to breathe. It was almost like I was so full of everyone's energy that there was no more room for my own breath. I know this sounds out there, but if you know me, you know that I am a very grounded person. When I say that this was a real and profound experience, I am dead serious. I've never felt anything like it before in my life.

So...me, cry from doing yoga? Uh, yeah, absolutely. It took a couple hours, but the back bends turned on a faucet in me that is still dripping ever so slightly even as I write. I wept half the time I was driving home. It's crazy, so crazy, and I swear I sound like one of those "out there" people, but you know what? That's OK. I know what I felt, what I feel, and I'm OK with that. I feel good.

Yoga Teacher Training, Day 4, Module 1

Today we worked on Standing Postures...my favorite! As such, I volunteered to demo postures so Dolly could show us assists and modifications. It's funny—I was really dragging physically today. Despite being tired, I felt the need to volunteer as much as possible for a few reasons:

1. To face my dislike of certain postures (Revolved Triangle) and learn techniques for improvement.
2. To test the quality of my Standing Postures—I like many of them, because I really like twists, and my body seems to have a decent degree of twistiness (er, rotation!). By being the demo, I can hear first-hand from Dolly what I can improve and how I can deepen the posture.
3. To face my fear of being the center of attention at the front of a room of people. Demonstrating crazy physical postures is probably the third most frightening thing I could do in front of an audience...the first being singing (since I can't sing a lick—more about that in a minute), the second being speaking.

It was a fantastic experience, demonstrating for the class. The more I put myself in the spotlight that way, the more I'm able to get over myself. I'm a pretty serious person—I'm not the type to make screwy faces for the camera or do anything to intentionally make myself look stupid, even for a second. It's just not my nature. So this is kind of the next best way for me to divorce myself from my ego and my vanity for a bit, to put myself out there (and feel OK after too!).

I was really feeling the need to be out of my comfort zone today (could this be akin to self-flagellation?), because the very thing I blogged about yesterday came to fruition today. Dolly handed out cards with different chants on them for us to practice with as a group. The Shanti/Ashtangi chant was on there, and I volunteered to chant it Madonna style! AM I OUT OF MY MIND? Sing/chant with no accompaniment whatsoever? I hardly recognize myself. Madonna bloody made me do it, because I have always loved that song! Actually, my fellow classmate Greg also inspired me to do it—he told us about how he and his buds would do what they called "Kamikaze Karaoke," (see below) and that if you can make it through that, you can make it through anything. Those poor people had to listen to me, a miserable singer, chant the first stanza:

Vunde gurunam caranaravinde
Sandarsita svatma sukhavabodhe
Nihsreyase jangalikayamane
Sansara halahala moha santyai
Hala hala

They were kind enough to say it wasn't so bad, which was cool. Regardless, again, I just have to keep putting myself out there. The sooner I stop taking myself so seriously, the sooner my nervous reaction to public speaking will dissipate.

Our Practice Today
Since we studied Standing Postures, our practice focused on these postures. We did lots of Side Angles, Revolved Side Angles, binds, Birds of Paradise, Standing Splits, Crescent Lunges, Prayer Twists, and more. It was good fun! We also did a great exercise where you practice Standing Splits against a wall, using the wall as an assist to deepen the split—I'll definitely be trying that one at home to work on developing full splits. Savasana was Legs Up the Wall, yet another posture I've never experienced. It was a very physically demanding practice, as usual, but God, just so rewarding. I love being challenged like that.

An Ancient Greek Yogi
Sidenote here. While at the studio yesterday I picked up an old issue of Yoga Journal and flipped through. My eye caught a page about the Mediterranean Diet, so I scanned the article quickly. Turns out that around 600 BCE, there was a well-known ashram in Southern Europe that people flocked to, founded by none other than Pythagoras, yes, of the Pythagorean Theorem (I obviously did not inherit THAT gene from my people—I'm numbers-challenged). Anyway, it really tripped my trigger to know that the ancient Greeks, especially Pythagoras, who was so revered, were enlightened in so many ways beyond their well-known mathematical and philosophical contributions.

What in the Hell is Kamikaze Karaoke?
According to Greg, he and his friends would hit a karaoke bar, and the guys would pick a song for someone in the group to sing. So the singer had absolutely no idea what he'd be singing until he got on stage! The only rule was that the song choice had to provide the singer with some potential for success. How fun must that have been? I bet they had an absolute blast!

Yoga Teacher Training, Day 3, Module 1

I'm exhausted! Exhilarated, but tired. My knees are starting to feel the strain of sitting on the floor all day long. I'm not a pill-popper by nature, but just to make sure I'm ready for the next day's practice, I am taking an Aleve at night to minimize any inflammation. It would kill me if I had to sit out of our two-hour practices, so better to err on the side of caution. Enough bellyaching!

We continued watching the Anatomy for Yoga DVD, which, as Dolly said, should be required for all teachers. It's kind of scary to think that it's not, because it gives you critical information about the structure and movement of the body's key joints, and how greatly these movements vary from body to body.

Our Practice Today
After covering the Sun Salutations for Power Vinyasa in our manual, we rolled out our mats and got to work. Dolly had all of us cue breathing and movement for our classmates while moving through Sun Salutations A and B ourselves. Although I stumbled a bit through my instruction, mostly because I could hardly breathe, think, move, and talk at the same time, I still felt more comfortable teaching them since I've heard them and done them so many times in Dolly's classes. Although I imagine that a class that endlessly repeats Sun Salutations would be boring, the set pattern is kind of nice to fall back on. It's certainly easier that sequencing on the fly. But I'm pretty sure that with time, the creative sequencing I've experienced in the classes I've taken will be far more interesting to me as a teacher. I know as a student, I crave creativity, switching it up, and never knowing what we're going to do that day. That's what keeps me coming back for more.

The Blindfolds are Back!
After our teaching practice, Dolly had us all put on blindfolds and in silence, at our own pace, move through the Sun Salutations ourselves for 15 minutes. It was a great exercise! It almost felt like a dance, and knowing no one else could see you, and that you couldn't watch yourself in the mirror was very liberating. Moving through without sight—especially when jumping from Downward-Facing Dog to the front of your mat—forces you to trust yourself, to really feel the postures instead of thinking your way through them. I think with a class of regular, intermediate students, this would be a valuable exercise to help them better grasp the connection between breath and movement.

After rounding out the rest of our practice, we took Savasana, and Dolly again treated us with her extra-special touch...she totally makes it feel like the icing on the cake. After relaxing well into Corpse Pose, she placed a cold, damp washcloth infused with a little lavender and eucalyptus over our closed eyes. Like yesterday's cold stone on the third eye, it cools you down and seems to push you further into relaxation.

I awoke to Dolly chanting—I've never heard her chant before, so it was really a treat. I've heard what she was chanting on one of my yoga CDs, so even though I don't know the words, the chant was familiar and she was awesome at it. I really admire the courage it takes to chant, because I know I don't have it. The closest I think I might ever get is half-singing Madonna's Shanti/Ashtangi, which I loved long before I ever loved yoga, ironically. But the beautiful thing about being a yoga teacher is you get to decide what yogic conventions to incorporate and to what degree. Expressing yoga according to your authentic personality is largely what makes or breaks a teacher's success. It seems to me that there is still room for innovative and interesting teachers even though yoga is now everywhere. I absolutely adore Dolly and her classes enlighten and challenge me, and the conventions she employs are so authentic to her that I feel right at home being in her classes, even though I don't think my personality will manifest itself in the same way. But that is what I really love about yoga—it pushes me to my limits, asks me to explore new ideas, and forces me to reevaluate who I really am. Who needs a shrink when you've got yoga?!

PS: Got back from class and The Y Catalog was in my mailbox. It's pretty cool, and the range of products is good. Just something to check out.

Nighty night!

Yoga Teacher Training, Day 2, Module 1

Wow. Today was illuminating in so many ways!

We had a very challenging practice, continued studying floor poses, did a 20-minute practice teaching session, and watched a phenomenal DVD called Anatomy for Yoga. The DVD covered the eight major joints, and how skeletal compression (bone against bone) and tissue tension affect our yoga practice. I'm sure some of what was covered is fairly obvious to most people, but it totally redefined the meaning of "physical limitation" for me. I have a totally new perspective on my own practice as a result, and should I actually teach, it has forever altered the way I would I view a student's capabilities. An excellent, excellent DVD.

Playing Teacher
Man, it is HARD to try to sequence and teach for just 15 minutes—even if you've done the postures hundreds of times. I was paired up with Lauren, who already teaches to some degree, and she's just so good at it. Then you also have a teacher like Dolly who makes it seem effortless.

For me, it was like getting up to make a speech and forgetting the words. It's going to take me a lot of practice to get to the point where I could actually teach a class. I do plan to practice with my workout partner (as long as she'll let me) and my sister-in-law and others til I get comfortable enough to progress further. There is just so much to remember in sequencing and so many other elements to consider (time holding poses, breathing, assisting)—honestly, it is completely overwhelming for me now. I know I will eventually get it, but not without a hell of a lot of practice!

Our Practice Today
Mmm. It was heart-thumping, gut-busting, thigh-shaking good! Typically Dolly class, only longer (two hours), with the best Savasana ever! We did some serious hip opening, and I can't lie...I was on the edge and really struggling at several points. In my head I was begging for it to be over. And my balance was way off— c'est la vie, right? But Dolly is so kind, so good, you almost want to be able to do it just for her. She definitely brings out the very best in you.

Now lets get to Savasana. Yesterday, Dolly brought and played her "singing bowl"—a 16-inch, lead crystal bowl that not only gongs/chimes, but creates the most beautiful vibration I've ever heard. It was amazing, for sure, and an experience I've never had, but would love to incorporate into my teaching should I decide to go that far.

Today's Savasana was not extraordinary on the level of the singing bowl, but after a serious yoga practice, one final touch sealed the deal for me. Dolly placed a flat stone that had been refrigerated and sprayed with a little lavender on the third eye chakra. The cooling sensation and weight of the stone just put me right out. I actually started dreaming! It was just so wonderful. I can't put into words what it feels like to be in that state, but when you hit it, it just rocks.

Photos from Day 2
From left-to-right, first photo: Dolly, Greg, Marge. Second photo: Lauren and Amber. Third photo: Greg and Marge again, and me!

Yoga Teacher Training, Day 1, Module 1

Today was my first day of my first yoga teacher training module, and I think it's definitely money well-spent. The teaching manual Dolly put together is wonderful, and despite the long hours in class, the day flew by! I'm in unchartered territory, that's for sure. But I think this is going to be very, very good for me.

Who are my classmates?
They are Lauren, Cay, Marge, Amber, and Greg. Age range is, I'm guessing, mid-20s to early 50s. We're a total of six students, an absolutely perfect number because we can pair off or split the class straight down the middle. We also get lots of individual attention this way as well.

We're obviously all bonded by our love for yoga, but aside from that, I really like all the personalities very much. There is a wonderful vibe in the class, in large part because Dolly is so positive and nurturing, but also because there is no "judgment" vibe at all. It's a very special thing, and I am grateful that I feel safe enough to work through this process with this vibrant bunch of people:

• The person I admire most is Marge. She has three sons in their 20s, and she's giving it her all even though she just came to yoga in her 50s. That takes tremendous courage, and my hat is off to her for it. She's seems to be a very kind soul.
• Greg is the token guy in the class. Greg is also in my regular classes with Dolly, and he brings it every time he hits the mat. He is very focused. From our conversations today, it sounds like he finally feels like he's coming home with yoga, and that is awesome.
• Lauren is a fitness trainer who is also rounding out her Pilates certification as well as yoga. She's going to be a wonderful yoga teacher, I think. She's already got a lovely cadence and presence, and seems extremely approachable.
• Amber is a former ballerina who still teaches ballet. She has a face like an angel! Beautiful girl...who can do full splits! We were all envious. I'm thinking she's the baby of our group, and she seems very curious, very ready to turn a major corner in her life.
• Cay is still a bit of an enigma to me, though I sense she may be a Type A like me. She strikes me as everyone's go-to girl, perhaps a perfectionist, again like me? I could be wrong. But I'm thinking, whatever Cay sets her mind to, she accomplishes. I'm looking forward to getting to know her better.

Some Cool Stuff We Did
We did some wild and very effective exercises today!

In one exercise, we paired off, one acting as the student, one as the teacher. All the teachers were blindfolded and had to adjust/mold the student into a particular pose only by touch—we could not give any verbal direction. Talk about pressure...you're not only blindfolded, but feeling a stranger's body! But a damn good exercise and ice breaker.

In another exercise, we had to instruct our student verbally only, no touch, and could not give the name of the asana as a clue. Suddenly, I couldn't think of how to instruct the pose, despite having heard Dolly do it many times in class. You forget right and left, mix them up, or omit a key element and the student moves into the wrong position. Again, a brilliant exercise for understanding the importance of verbal and visual instruction.

Our last exercise involved blindfolds again. This time, the students were blindfolded and the teacher had to instruct them into an asana without giving the name of the asana. As the student, you're not only moving into a difficult balance pose like Ardha Chandrasana (Half Moon Pose), you're doing it blindfolded. I can hardly balance in this pose with all my senses available! As the teacher, again, without being able to show or tell the name of the posture, things become significantly more difficult. Funny—the blindfolds were actually an eye-opening experience.

Our Practice Today
Dolly folded us into one of her normal teaching slots, so our asana practice included other students as well. We did a two-hour deep stretch class, and stretch did we ever. This type of class is not usually my cup of tea, as I was telling my classmates, because I can almost never sit still. So holding poses, most of which really play your edge, is grueling—I'd rather do the fast-paced, hardcore, sweat-inducing classes anyday. But this was a good experience, and Dolly did point out that the flexibility we always seem to crave is acquired through deep stretches that are held and practiced daily. I'm going to be practicing splits in front of the TV from here on out!