Per Judith H. Lasater:)
The class I teach is the kind of class I want to be in – I want to take my own class. It has occurred to me that I have taken at least 1,000 + yoga classes + countless workshops and counting… after all those hours, this is what I come away with:
“I’ve learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.”
– Maya Angelou
What do I want to get out of a yoga class? I want to FEEL lighter, clearer and balanced. I want to feel joyful and … okay, simply put, I want to feel GOOD.
In trying to reach that state of being, I get puzzled when I have to teach this “style” or that. I realize you need the expertise but… why typecast into a certain fixed role. I am, like you, multi-dimensional and multi-faceted. It is lovely to custom fit the practice to your body and mind for that day that moment… embracing the Buddhist teachings of non-attachment and impermanence. Don’t get caught up in how you USED to be a size 2 or how you USED to be able to do this or that. You may or may not again but that’s not it’s about and we are not interested in the past or the future – only this present moment matters.
I learned from and plan on learning forever from Gurus including the one within; but my own practice is yes a “ritual” that is BLENDED and DYNAMIC rather than singular and static. I do Restorative Yoga – I do Yin Yoga – I do Vinyasa Flow Yoga – I do Bikram Yoga – I do Hatha Yoga – I do a lot of yoga. So used to multi-tasking, my practice is multi-across the board although I have limitations in the physical aspects of power yoga – Yet I love the challenge to undertake what appears to be impossible – it’s kind of a good lesson – it’s all about the effort and the process, not necessarily the end-result. There sure are crazy poses I just cannot do (today) but that does not have to stop me from trying – As Matsy Ezraty would say – “let the fruits ripen:)” Don’t rush into it; getting into the pose, is the pose, that is YOUR full expression today. Restorative, Yin and Meditation practices all have allowed me to cultivate enormous amount of compassion and patience. I was once that student who would be frustrated and berating her body for not getting it just right or not even close; would be wiggling and fidgeting as I found staying still in a pose for a long time SO excruciatingly torturous. Now it’s a blissful experience to feel my body open and expand – to just let go – I can hear my breath – I can hear my pulse – I can hear even hear my heartbeat – really – you just have to turn up your internal ears a notch:) It’s just so soothing to hear and feel your body at its work… Then a flood of gratitude takes over. I am so lucky to have this body, this mind… this ritual, moment by moment to relish. Big Sighhh…
These days I like to teach restorative and yin yoga because it allows for us to slow-down the hyper pace, allows us to defog our windows and mirrors for a clearer view, allows us to regain ourselves through slow ahhhh oooosy self-reflection – oh my goodness. It’s a set-aside time for self-care and its in part a ritual and a routine. Then I do some form of cardios and weights – or a more flowy yoga for a balanced wholeness – That works for me .
Day or Evening; the time of the day; the moon cycle; the season, the weather that day – and our emotions – they all affect us living in this natural world. Powering through and ignoring that truth will burn you. I want to feel CALM and LUCID and REJUVENATED when I walk off the mat. I realize to pack a class, I should say my class will result in slimmer body (actually it does) and toned muscles (deep muscles yes, superficial muscles no), as yoga helps with weight loss and reversing the ungraceful effects of aging – that’s all true… But at present, I am more about finding the luminous light within – at least, that’s my intention. What is yours?
