Posts Tagged ‘yoga teacher’
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 February 29, 2016
This one sounds like a weird one. Well, I think it sounds weird, but then again, these are the rules of yoga and yoga was actually meant to be for those that were very serious about it. Those who were pretty much willing to give up everything and willing to follow the Eight Limbs of Yoga. But since it has been introduced and fed to the masses the ideas have been adjusted a bit. Often times Brahmacharya, the fourth yama is described as celibacy. I actually like continence better, with it meaning self-restraint or abstinence, especially in regard to sexual activity; temperance; moderation it allows a little leeway in there.
The text talks about how having sex actually releases your life force so it shouldn’t be done just carelessly. One shouldn’t just have sex to have sex . . . . so opposite the many teachings and attitudes of today. So many things are geared towards getting more and having more no matter what it is, just doing what feels good with no regard to consequences.
So perhaps in terms of sex we think of Brahmacharya as not having meaningless sex. Because many of use are not going to be on the path of celibacy. Since marriage and relationships are part of what make many of us happy. There are other ways to think about Brahmacharya. The Heart of Yoga says moderation in all things. In a lecture about they yamas, Connie Habash, our teacher, said she likes to say that Brahmacharya is a balance of ALL of our energy (not just sex). She even gave an example of wasting energy as go over things in your head over and over. Perhaps having a conversation that will never happen, or replaying a situation in your head over and over. Dwelling on things. Wasting the energy. These makes sense to me.
At this time I would like to point out, I am just sharing, it is not that I have mastered this. I actually kind of think of myself as the queen of going over and over things in my head. Ha, this is part of what makes things like yoga a practice. I need to continually remind myself to “let things go”. And move on.
Energy can be wasted on other things, too, just in the having and doing too much. This wastes energy. All of the needing to have keeps us so busy working that we don’t have time for relaxation. And there are so many other “doings”, we are always on the go, that we don’t have time for just being. There is so much energy being expending that it seems we just run ourselves down.
Always being on the go and not allowing for time to relax and play is not a balanced situation. Not having the balance does not lend to a healthy life. The idea, especially in regards to sex, is to not get so caught up in things that we lose our way. We lose sight of trying to better ourselves through things that might take time, such as eating well, exercise, relaxation, and meditation. All of these things take time and should be included in our lives to help us achieve balance and not have us wasting our energy.
Don’t you like the sound of balance and moderation better than celibacy? Also, do you feel that balance in one’s life IS a good thing?
Posted in Yoga/PiYo/Pilates | Tagged: balance life, Brahmacharya, celibacy, Connie Habash, moderation, not wasting energy, sexual restraint, yama, Yoga, Yoga Practice, yoga teacher | Leave a Comment »
Posted by terrepruitt on June 9, 2015
About a month ago I was in a yoga class and afterwards there were a few people who were telling the person that was a couple of mats away from me how great her poses were. They were going on about how beautiful she looked. I felt bad. I felt like an awful person for not even noticing how wonderful this fellow student was. She was so wonderful that a few people came over to tell her. Every class I have taken since then has me questioning that. I started thinking I should be looking around and paying attention to other people’s poses. I realized that I am really focused on myself when I am in a yoga class. Sometimes I open my eyes and I am surprised there are other people in the class. The last few classes I took I started looking around. I started noticing what other people were doing. I was thinking that I needed to be more attentive to the other students so I could pat them on the back when they did well. But then I realized that looking around and watching what other people are doing is what I do when I teach. When I take a class it is perfectly fine for me to let the students fade into the background. When I am in a yoga class I NEED to be focused on me.
When I am instructing a class I am demonstrating a pose. I am IN the pose, but I am not really DOING the pose. I am not focused on the pose, I am focused on looking at the class. I am focused on seeing if they are doing the pose. I am thinking about how to gently guide them into the proper alignment. I am thinking about what to say that will allow them to sense what they are doing. Everyone says they want to be instructed on how to do it right, but no one wants to be the sole recipient of all the instruction. So sometimes, general instructions is best. I am thinking about all of that while I am in the poses.
At times I will step out of a pose to walk around the class to see the students posture from different angles. I walk around to see if they are in alignment and to help someone with the pose. So I am not really doing yoga. I am not focusing on me, I am not focusing on my breath, I am not paying strict attention to sensation in the poses.
So when I am in a yoga class, I don’t look around. I soften my gaze so I don’t really see my fellow classmates. I allow myself to be the student and not look at others’ alignment.
I have been thinking about this for about a month now. I was trying to figure out a post for today, when I came across “No Peeking!” and it reminded me of peeking around in a yoga class. When I look around and pay too much attention to others when I am a student, I sometimes lose sense of what I am doing. It could be that I see the person three over from me doing the pose “better than” me, so I try to go deeper (or higher . . . whatever the case may be) and then I am not listening to my body and what it needs at that moment. No Peeking was about competitive swimming and how when you look around to see where you are in the race you move your head, which changes your body position, which changes the outcome of the race. While yoga is not a race, when I look around whether the movement changes my pose or my thought process changes the pose, the outcome is adjusted.
Hmm. I am going to keep that in mind. And get back to my focus. If I don’t complement your beautiful poses when we are in a yoga class, don’t take offense. Now, Nia is entirely different. While dancing you are tuned into your body, but there is also a sense of sharing and sometimes even stealing. If you see someone doing something you want to try, have at it.
Are you completely focused in your yoga class? Do you get motivated by looking at others? Does looking at others distract you?
Posted in Yoga/PiYo/Pilates | Tagged: focus in class, Nia, Nia class, San Jose Group X, Yoga class, yoga teacher | 2 Comments »
Posted by terrepruitt on June 4, 2015
There are so many different types of yoga, it is out of my range to know them all or to even have HEARD of them all. There are “ancient” types of yoga and types that have been around for a very long time, then there are new ones. There are some that have popped up rather recently. I believe many ancient types of yoga have been morphed into different types of yoga. Then once you become aware of a type of yoga it can still be different from studio to studio and teacher to teacher. I recently became aware of a type of yoga I had never heard of. I read the description and I thought, “Ok, I’ll give it a try.” Because I have to teach throughout the week, I have to be attentive to my energy levels. I have no qualms about attending a class and, if it is more than I want to do at that time, not doing it at the level that is being instructed. So if it was more strenuous than I wanted I was planning on just doing it gently. But the description sounded like exactly what I wanted. So, I went to this class I had never heard of and I am not sure if the class was a little different because it was a holiday or what, but there was a lot of talking. It was Kriya Yoga.
Kriya Yoga – Low/Moderate
Kriya Yoga highlights the relationship between the breath and the mind.
Breath influences mind and vice versa. Breath control is self-control.
Techniques include preparing the body with stretching and bending
exercises, practicing meditation, and incorporating breath
The description of Kriya Yoga that I read on Wiki, had me thinking that it was the type of yoga where participants would be experiencing two of the eight limbs of yoga; asana and pranayama. But, the class focus or subject seemed more to throw us into experiencing about six of the limbs. It was memorial day, and I had stopped looking at Facebook before class because I wanted to go to yoga and have a relaxing time of breathing, stretching, and bending. I was avoiding all the war stories until after class, but I felt jolted by the homily. It was like yoga and church rolled into one.
When I got home I discovered there are some descriptions online that describe Kriya yoga as the “spiritual yoga”. That could explain why I felt as if I was in church.
The class is normally an hour, but this class was an hour and a half, so I don’t know if the extra time was used for talking or if the talking is part of the class. I have not been in regular attendance in classes where talking and thinking about deep subjects are involved. It was very interesting. It was not the type of yoga I had been hoping for, I think it was a bit different than the description. I am not sure I will have the opportunity to get back to it because of scheduling conflicts and the location. But we will see. As I said, I think the regular class might be different, but I don’t know. I wouldn’t mind going back to see. The next time I will be a bit more prepared and not have the idea in my head that I will just be able to relax and focus on the poses.
I am planning on trying more types of yoga!
Have you ever heard of Kriya yoga? What types of yoga have you heard of?
Posted in Yoga/PiYo/Pilates | Tagged: ancient yoga, asana, breath control, church, different types of yoga, Eight limbs of yoga, Facebook, Kriya yoga, modern yoga, Nia Technique, pranayama, preaching, sermon, Western yoga, Yoga class, yoga studio, yoga teacher | 4 Comments »
Posted by terrepruitt on November 14, 2013
Nia is a cardio dance exercise that I teach. It is more than that, but that is one way to describe it. One of the ways it is more than that, is, it is a practice. If you chose to treat it like a practice, as one might treat yoga as a practice, one would become aware of Nia’s 52 Moves. There are 52 moves that get choreographed into the Nia Routines. One of the moves is Traveling in Directions. This is a great move for many reasons.
One reason Traveling in Directions is great is because it is very easy. Another reason it is great is because it is very adaptable and can be used in almost every song and in every routine. The main way to travel in a direction is to simply walk. Using the Heel Lead technique just walk forward, then change the direction you are walking, then change the direction, etc. With the simplest of forms you look where you want to go before you move in that direction. So before your feet actually start going a different direction — LOOK. There is a little bit of thinking involved because we look before we go. Allow your arms to move freely. Step confidently in whichever direction you choose to look. Move your body as a whole.
The Nia Technique book states: “Practicing Traveling in Directions keeps your body agile for moving through space in all directions, able to change direction with ease.”
When we use this move in our routines we have a lot of fun playing with it. The move really is as easy as stated, the fun comes when changing directions quickly. You can be the leader of your own movement or sometimes you are being directed by the teacher. This makes agility one of the Nia sensations we practice with this move. Moving one way then quickly stopping and going another way. Stopping, changing, starting. Varying the speed at times will allow for additional Nia sensations such as strength and stability to come into play.
When Traveling in Directions on your own you become aware of the direction you want to go, then you look, then you go. As I said, there are times when you might be listening to the direction of the teacher, which would still mean you would need to become aware of the direction you want to go, but when being told where to go your body’s reaction is quicker. There is a quick look then a move in that direction. Less thought is involved for you as the participant because someone else thought of the direction you were going to go.
Often when this move is done in a class, quick thinking, quick moving, and quick reacting are additional skills that receive attention because we are dancing with others on the floor so we might have to switch our trajectory quickly to avoid a dance floor collision.
Modifications of the traveling can be done by going backwards or sinking low or even rising high. So many ways to travel in directions. All of them are great opportunities to try out the Nia Sensations, the more you do, the more ways you move your body. If you want you can even skip. Skipping in different directions adds a new dimension to the move.
Sometimes this move is choreographed into the Nia routine with specifics and sometimes is allowed more of a Free Dance. However it is added to the Nia workout it is a wonderful way to dance.
How would you Traveling in Directions to your current favorite song?
Posted in 52 Moves (of Nia), Nia | Tagged: body agile, cardio dance exercise, dance class, dance floor, Free Dance, Heel lead, Nia, Nia choreography, Nia class, Nia participant, Nia routines, Nia sensations, Nia Teacher, Nia workout, Nia's 52 Moves, Practice, stability, strength, The Nia Technique book, Traveling in Directions, Yoga, yoga teacher | 2 Comments »
Posted by terrepruitt on October 3, 2009
A Nia workout includes elements from three disciplines from three different arts.
From the healing arts, we use moves and ideals from Yoga. As with all the movement forms incorporated into Nia, Nia does not claim to be practicing Yoga. It is understood that years of studying and practice can be involved in the practice of Yoga, and Nia respects that, that is why I say that we “use move and ideals”. Nia recognizes the benefits that can result from Yoga and with that does its best to utilize some of its amazing power. Nia calls Yoga “The Conscious Dance of Alignment”.* It helps with the proper alignment of the bones. It also assists in increasing flexibility for all fitness levels.
We use the aspects of Yoga to help find balance in the body. In Nia we can also call upon the focus that is evident in Yoga.
The White Belt Manual 3/2001 V3 states:
Witness the value this form provides to increasing and restoring the natural flow of energy throughout the entire body. Recognize the specific principles that help to clear and calm the mind, bring balance to the nervous system, improve breath and posturing, and strengthen specific body parts. Acknowledge the way Yoga unifies the body, mind, spirit, and emotional being, and how the internal, core body becomes soft and supple to provide real “energy” strength from the inside out.
So we might do some exercises of twists, bends, and poses in our workout, it is to help increase strength, flexibility, alignment and our conscious connection.
The breathing in Nia reminds me more of Pilates than to Yoga. We inhale through the nose and exhale through the mouth, often times sounding. I have not participated in a Yoga class that does chanting or is vocal so that is why I am reminded more of Pilates than Yoga.
Many of Nia’s teachers are also Yoga instructors or they attend Yoga classes. I sometimes attend a Yoga class in San Jose. The two forms of movement are a great compliment to each other.
***V3 of The Nia Technique – White Belt Manual by Debbie Rosas and Carlos Rosas
Posted in Movement Forms of Nia, Nia | Tagged: Carlos Rosas, Debbie Rosas, exercise class, movement class, Nia, Nia Classes, Nia Movement, Nia Practice, Nia San Jose, Nia Teacher, Nia Technique, Nia White Belt, Nia workout, Nia Yoga, Pilates, Pilates breathing, Pilates class, Pilates San Jose, San Jose Nia, San Jose Yoga, sounding, White Belt, White Belt Manual, workout class, Yoga, Yoga chanting, yoga classes, Yoga Exercies, Yoga exercises, yoga instructor, Yoga Nia, yoga poses, yoga pracitce, Yoga San Jose, yoga stretches, yoga teacher, Yoga workout | 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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