Posted by terrepruitt on May 2, 2016
Recently I attended a yoga class just to observe. Sometimes just observing is difficult because the desire to get up and participate is often there. But I thought this class was beyond my level of doing. I like slow mindful classes. I am not a fan of the speed of a flow class. I also know this teacher to be a bit of a tough cookie. And I have come to the studio AFTER this class – in the past – and the participants are just dripping and wobbly legged, so I had never thought to participate before. So . . . I thought that observing would be a piece of cake. There would be no desire to jump to participate. Now, let me explain this “observing,” it is for me to become a better teacher. I am not there to judge or criticize the students nor the teacher. But I am there to gain knowledge. Observe how one sequences a class. To observe how assistance is given. To observe the yoga teacher’s pacing and volume. To learn by observing. I have three separate papers for three separate types of notes. I have POSES, for poses I want to either do myself or bring to my classes. I have Cues and Things I want to bring to my classes. And I have just notes that I will refer back to. While I was doing my best to listen and look without staring at the participants I got a little misty eyed. My breath caught in my throat and I thought, “Damn! Bodies are beautiful!”
You probably know I have a tendency to ramble on and on when all I really wanted to tell you is – if you want to learn yoga stop staring at the Yoga Journal, stop looking at models on websites – GO TO A CLASS TO OBSERVE!!!!! Look at REAL people DOING yoga. Look at REAL bodies doing yoga. Just watch, just observe, don’t judge. We do this in Nia all the time, we call it witnessing. We “witness” without judgment. So just go to a class and witness. Appreciate what you see. Notice the strength. Notice the weakness. Notice the flexibility. Notice the stiffness. Notice the intention. Notice the determination. Notice the frustration. Notice the effort. Notice the triumphs. Notice the concentration. Notice the distraction. Notice the trying. Notice it all!
I was struck by it all when I looked up and saw someone in a pose perfectly. I thought, “Dang. I will glance back over throughout the class because that is awesome and I want to see more of that.” Then I looked back a few poses later and I thought the person had moved spots because what I saw was misery. The person could barely get into the pose. And the next person was Yoga Journal perfect whereas they couldn’t do the previous pose. A few of the people I noticed in pose “perfection” in one pose were in the total opposite of perfection in other poses. The class was full of perfect poses and not perfect poses . . . all at different times by the same and by different people. And I wanted to jump up and join in!
This was not a beginner class, it was a class of real people doing yoga in real bodies. Some bodies whose arms are not long enough to hold the foot when the leg is extended. Some bodies whose hamstrings are too tight or too short to do a straight legged fold. Some bodies whose bones or bodies get in the way. Bodies that come to class and do real yoga.
The models in the magazine and on the websites more-than-likely were chosen to do that particular pose because they can. Their limbs are just the right length to do the poses. Could also be that the model only did that one pose or was put into that pose whereas in a yoga class there is a sequence and it could be that by the time you get half way through your muscles are tired and so the poses might not be picture perfect. Yoga is a practice not a photo.
So, while there are correct and more importantly SAFE ways to do the asana try not to get caught up in doing it “perfect” or doing it exactly like someone in a magazine. Do what you can and keep practicing. Remember to breath.
Namaste~
Posted in Yoga/PiYo/Pilates | Tagged: asana, Mindfulness, Nia, Nia class, Nia Teacher, observing, witnessing, Yoga class, yoga flow, Yoga Journal, Yoga Practice, yoga teacher | 2 Comments »
Posted by terrepruitt on November 9, 2013
In addition to teaching Nia classes for the city of San Jose, I was asked to teach a Gentle Yoga Class. I have taught three sessions and we have one more before the year is over. This last session before the holiday break is a short one, it is only four weeks. In the classes there is a large variety of fitness levels. Regardless of one’s level of fitness I believe it is very important for the emphasis to be on balance and flexibility. They also like to practice inner reflection which I believe enables a connection to the body. The connection is to allow for great stability and ease of movement. In order to meet the varieties of levels we do a cross between flowing through poses and holding them. I might have also mentioned before that we include getting up and down as part of our practice. With this next session we are going to do a progression of backbend poses. I have not yet decided on the progression of balance poses but I have the backbends progression planned. Since we only have four classes and there are five backbends I would like to progress through we will be doing two in the first class. As with my Nia classes, my yoga students are continually encouraged to do things in their own bodies way. Since yoga is a practice they can work into the poses. For the series of backbends they will be encouraged to stay at the level that is acceptable for their own body.
The first backbend we will do will be the standing backbend. Then, in the same class, we will progress to the Locust. The Locust has many modifications some of which can be done with just legs lift or the head and shoulders lifted.
Then in our next class we will move onto the Sphinx. I’ll probably include the Locust in the routine before moving on to the Sphinx, but the Sphinx will be the next in the progression. Then the next meeting we will move onto the Cobra. Excellent for strength, stability, and flexibility. The last class before the long holiday break will be the Upward Dog. Even though the idea will be for the students to progress through the backbends the modifications will be presented so each individual can progress only if they are ready.
Some students participate in yoga more than once a week so they are more likely to be able to participate in the progress whereas others will do so to a lesser extent – and modifications meet that need. This is a great way to work on flexibility. Everybody is moving in their own natural time through their yoga practice so I am excited to present this progression of backbends. I will include other flexibility poses and balances poses as in all the classes. I have been putting the emphasis on one or the other during a class which can still tie into the backbend progressions.
Of course, this is my plan prior to meeting with the class. It could be that after our first meeting I have to adjust my plan and that will be fine. I do like to see where the class is at and go from there, but it seems like our group has been pretty consistent. But I can easily adjust my plan for any new body.
I am very grateful and inspired by the students that come to class every week. It is very exciting to me to see their progress. Stay tuned for more on the poses that I have yet to post about.
Do you participate in a yoga class? How is it structured? Is it an on-going class or is it a series of classes?
Posted in Yoga/PiYo/Pilates | Tagged: backbends, balances poses, City of San Jose, cobra, flexibility poses, gentle yoga, holiday break, locust, Nia balance, Nia class, Nia participants, San Jose City Nia classes, San Jose City Yoga Classes, Sphinx, yoga balance, yoga classes, yoga flow, yoga poses | 2 Comments »
Posted by terrepruitt on September 12, 2009
I have only taken two yoga classes. One was this evening and throughout the entire class, while the teacher was instructing I kept thinking, “Oh that is so Nia. Oh this is so Nia. . . . . .Oh THAT is so Nia.” Even though earlier in the class I realized that maybe Nia was “so Yoga”.
Yoga was first. It has been around for thousands of years. For some it is rooted in religion, where as Nia has been around for 25 years and is rooted in the body. I just couldn’t help thinking that this yoga class was so like a Nia class, except much slower. Slower, in the sense that in this class the movement wass not to the music, but to the breath. There was no rhythmic quality to the movement, just the flow of your breath. Every once in awhile I would hear the music and to start sway to it and realize that I was supposed to be holding a pose so I would stop my body from moving but my spirit continued to boogey away.
This yoga class is about joy in yoga, allowing for another comparison, comparing to the first principle of the Nia White Belt which is the Joy of Movement. The Joy of movement is actually found as a sensation and not a feeling. In Nia it is something that is sensed in the body and not felts as an emotion.
The teacher started the class with the suggestion that you set an intention. I actually wiggled with happiness at this because in every Nia class we set a focus and an intent (in cycle one).
This yoga class made me realize why so many people that practice yoga also practice Nia because there are many things in common. In yoga there are poses that open areas of the body, in Nia we have movements and poses that open the body and get the joints juicy. Yoga has muscle strengtheners and ligaments and tendon lengtheners and so does Nia. But with yoga it is a pose and in Nia it is primarily movements linked together in a more cardio-dance fashion. In the cool down we do poses or stretches and sometimes there are yoga poses. It just amazed me how similar they were. With the request of awareness that the teacher was giving during the ending meditation, something that we request during the entire Nia workout, I was extremely delighted to realize that yoga and Nia aren’t competing practices, but companion practices. They are so similar that you can apply a lot of the principles to both. You can have a non-impact booty shaking cardio and strength workout (Nia) that you balance with the complete stretching and strength workout (yoga).
I truly was amazed at how Nia has taken so much of what is “yoga” and created a practice that can be such a great companion. With so many similarities it really allows for an expansion of exercise and workout possibilities for so many people who do yoga in San Jose and in the Bay Area.
Posted in Nia | Tagged: Bay Area Exercies, Bay Area Nia, Bay Area Workout, Bay Area Yoga, cardio, cardio dance, cardio yoga, dance class, dance exercise, Dance Workout, exercise class, Joy of Movement, juicy joints, movement class, Nia, Nia cardio, Nia Classes, Nia Practice, Nia principles, Nia Teacher, Nia White Belt, Nia-like, San Jose exercise, San Jose Nia, San Jose Workout, San Jose Yoga, workout class, Yoga, yoga classes, yoga flow, yoga instructor, yoga meditation, yoga poses, yoga pracitce, yoga religion, Yoga San Jose, yoga stretches, yoga teacher | 6 Comments »
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