category "Tips for Teachers"
posted by Charlotte on February 13, 2012 |
The Teacher-Student Relationship: When to Call the Teacher Out Twenty-five years ago, in my first year of teaching yoga, I attended a workshop on using yoga to heal back issues. The workshop was a week long and was team taught by what was then a who’s who of senior yoga teachers. I had previously worked with only one of the teachers on the roster, so I was excited to experience
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posted by Charlotte on February 13, 2012 |
Why Are Boundaries Important in the Teacher-Student Relationship? As I’ve read the recent upheaval about a famous teacher’s alleged sexual misdeeds, I am troubled. Like most people participating in this conversation I do not know if the allegations are true. I don’t intend to discuss the issue’s veracity here, although I do trust that the blog that broke the story, YogaDork, verified the information to the best of their ability
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posted by Charlotte on February 1, 2012 |
Walking Your Talk: Teaching Non-Competitive Yoga One of the things I really loved about yoga practice from the get-go was the fact that it is not meant to be competitive. My early teachers were all quick to emphasize that comparing yourself to your neighbors is not helpful. As a decidedly Type B introvert, I found this to be a relief. We Type B introverts do not always fare well in
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posted by Charlotte on January 25, 2012 |
Teachers say it all the time, but what does “Listen to your body” mean? About 20 years ago I attended a workshop with a well-known yoga teacher. We were working up to Urdva Dhanurasana (Upward Bow), stretching our quads and preparing our shoulders for at least 30 minutes before we started practicing the most rudimentary backbends. By the time we finished Setu Bandha Sarvangasana (Bridge Pose) I was feeling warmed
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posted by Charlotte on January 3, 2012 |
Sequencing Yoga Poses In 1989 I went to India for a three-week intensive with B.K.S. Iyengar and his daughter, Geeta. Mr. Iyengar had just turned 70, and Geeta was officially handling the majority of teaching duties. However until the last week of the intensive, B.K.S. appeared every day and taught much of every class. During the last week, he traveled out of town to teach a class for one day,
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posted by Charlotte on December 28, 2011 |
The Ups and Downs of Full-Time Yoga Teaching In 1997, after leaving a job as media director for a private school, I decided to see if I could make it as a full-time Yoga teacher. I’d been teaching since 1986, always opting for the security of supplemental part-time work to ensure my basic living expenses were handled. Back in 1997, there was only one Yoga studio in Salt Lake City.
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posted by Charlotte on December 19, 2011 |
What is an Advanced Yogi? Last week I led some yoga students through a rather lengthy series of leg-stretching asanas based on Supta Padanghustasana (Supine Big Toe Pose). I traditionally end the series with a one-legged version of Yoganidrasana (ankles behind the head). Of course, most people in my classes feel pretty flexible if their foot ends up within a few inches of their faces—and honestly, that’s really quite flexible
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posted by Charlotte on November 30, 2011 |
The Gift of Silent Time in Yoga Occasionally I’m invited to team teach a class that will benefit a local charity. I always accept these invitations, as I feel that this is a great way to use my skills to benefit my community. I also enjoy the opportunity to observe different teaching styles of the other teachers who donate their time. I admit to being an old-school teacher. I grew
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posted by Charlotte on November 9, 2011 |
A few years ago I was invited to guest teach Yoga Nidra to a group of teacher trainees at a local studio. As is my habit, I arrived 15 minutes before the scheduled class time. When I arrived, the studio’s weekly free introductory class was still in progress and would end just before my class was to start—or so I thought. In actuality the teacher continued the class for another
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posted by Charlotte on October 31, 2011 |
Some years ago, I took a weekend vacation to the Southern Utah desert. I planned to leave right after my Thursday morning Yoga class, which meant I would miss my Thursday evening class. Several weeks before my mini-vacation, I called a teaching colleague who agreed to substitute teach the class. After my vacation I arrived home to the usual slew of messages on my voice mail. All were standard fare
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