First Classes Successful!

Wow, what a surreal experience.  I taught two classes on Thursday to two separate PE 12 classes.  First off, I don't think I've interacted with a teenager since I was in high school.  Second, they are so much younger than I ever felt at that age!  Third, they were there because they had to be so it was a little different then working with students in the mysore room who WANT to learn yoga.

My first class was bumpy.  I had nothing prepared  - I didn't know what to prepare, any time I tried to write up a lesson plan I felt lost so I decided I would just teach what I practiced.  Easier said than done when you've got 20 awkward teens trying to understand what you're telling them to do.  It was so much easier walking my brothers through a class.  I got a little lost and while I definitely kept my cool, I was unsure of myself and I finished the class 10 minutes early because my mind drew a blank.  I discovered the students really liked the balancing poses, they had fun with them, they hated downward dog - so much grumbling and I must admit this intimidated me a little bit.  I felt a little deflated after the first class but I gathered myself and took myself for a coffee armed with my David Swenson practice book and my notebook and made a lesson plan.  I wrote down the asanas in groups of three so that I could easily repeat three asanas again if I needed to extend the time.

For the second class I felt much more confident.  I was prepared and ready.  I took control of the class and joked about the complaining that a few of them did.  I took my time getting them to poses.  I added in Tree (Vrksana) and Warrior 3, which is similar to Balancing Stick in the Bikram class.  I actually didn't have enough time to finish everything I planned to teach.  I think that next time I will choose less postures and do them a couple times.  I want to stay true to the Ashtanga system but I also feel as though kids, who are being essentially forced to try yoga, need a little different approach.  I also need to find my footing as a teacher :)

If I already noticed a huge difference between the first and second class, just imagine what is to come.

Doubts

What do you do when you know you want something really bad but you're scared that when you do it your whole life is going to change?

I really want to go to TT. I have a couple things standing in my way. 1) I have half the money - I need the other half. 2) My own self. My doubting self. My scared self.

But I know deep down inside I want it - real bad. Another problem - I am now unemployed - so the idea of me doing this seems further away.

The moment I took an Iyengar yoga class, I knew I wanted to teach yoga. It was like suddenly - oh, this is what I'm supposed to be doing. Then, a year later, I took my first Bikram class - with deep hesitation and doubt - I fell in love.

And now I want it so bad, I want to cry. (Don't worry - I cry at the drop of a hat - it's how I deal).

So first step - I need 5 grand. Step two - grab my balls and dive in.

New Teacher

I practiced this morning in Jane's class.  It was her fourth class teaching, after coming back from San Diego.

It was great!  She has a really soothing voice, but it's firm. She was really inspiring and I can't wait to take more of her classes.

Those Ah Ha Moments

I haven't really had an "ah ha" moment in my yoga in a while.  I am conscious of what I need to work on, what part of body needs an extra lift or stretch.  But those moments when you first start your practice and a teacher helps you figure out a part of a pose that you've never quite gotten.  Those moments are priceless and the time between them have become longer for me lately.

Luckily, I have had 3 classes this week where a relatively new student has had one or two "ah ha"s in class.  Listening to the voice of the instructor go extra calm and explain a pose specifically to them or walk over to the student and get down on the floor next to them and show them how to get into the posture.  This always leaves me lying in Savasana with a grin on my face and a special moment of peace.  Especially when you hear the student make a calm sigh or a whispered thank you.  And you can hear that the light bulb has switched on.  That suddenly their practice seems brighter, that they've moved a step forward and they can see now why this yoga is so absolutely amazing.

This is why I want to teach.  One day.  Yoga or maybe something else.  But something that I love just as much as the student that I would be teaching.  I want to feel that emotion that a teacher must feel when their student makes a breakthrough - no matter how small or how large.  I want to guide.  I want to inspire and BE INSPIRED.

This will come.  One day.  I guess, right now, I just feel privileged to be apart of my fellow yogis moments.  And am very happy to share my own.