But that doesn't mean yoga teaching, learning, and growing have stopped! Maybe you're the same: when you have the time to do your yoga practice or write a blog post...well, I mean, which do you choose? And these past few years have been interesting for everyone. As the saying goes, life happened!
Nevertheless, here's what's going on lately.
Because of my various yoga students’
schedules, I usually take a couple of months off every summer from teaching classes until our September return. I use this time for ongoing instructor training to stay current with aspects of practice and my CEUs. I also assess what I observed in our previous classes and plan ahead for what might benefit them.
When I design classes, the goal is to ensure they're informed and educational, but also based on the energy participants bring into the room, so a little organic and malleable, too. I always have a "plan" when starting class, as I'm usually trying to help students achieve certain directives in their practices. But their energy, requests, and interests play into every session, too. So I want to be—dare I say it?—flexible to their needs and not be so rigid in my structure that I can't adapt.
So, I take different courses, study, and try to expand on how we might move forward. Then, I practice everything myself. (Visual proof above.)
This summer had more personal upheaval than usual, so my lessons and home practice are more difficult. A humbling experience, to be sure. But it’s still vital to approach the mat every time with a beginner’s mind and see what can be discovered, remember how to balance achievement with release, and simply enjoy breath and movement, without imprinting a particular outcome.
My primary takeaway from all the lessons so far is just to show up in this space. It’s a terrific beginning to everything else.
Speaking of starting, I vow to once again post more information regularly on this site you may find helpful. It's a great space to collectively answer questions, explore concepts, share different ideas, and play with other fun yoga-esque things. I hope that, if you're interested, you'll peek back over the last few years' of posts and carve out a little time to read more of what's ahead. If you're ever curious about something, let me know and I'll delve into it more. And as always, thank you for sharing your space with me.