Lisa A. Workman M.A.
  • Home
  • Services
    • Yoga Therapy
    • Kinesiology
    • Educational Services >
      • AFLCA Cycle Designation Course
      • AFLCA Cycle Level 2 Workshop
    • Free Online Course
    • Speaking Opportunities
  • About
  • High Fives
  • Blogs
    • Cycle Drills & Skills Blog >
      • Cycle Drills & Skills Glossary
    • The Journey of an Aspiring Yoga Teacher Blog
    • The Why I Move Project
  • Media & Publications
    • Media >
      • As Seen on TV
      • Web
      • Print
    • Publications
  • FREE Online Course
  • Contact

The Journey of an Aspiring Yoga Teacher

Week 180: Secure?

1/28/2016

0 Comments

 
Wow!

180 weeks of yoga!

Picture
Did I ever think I would get to this place? Honestly, if you asked me way back in September 2012, I think I would have said a pretty confident ‘no’! Not that I thought I would be a certified yoga teacher by now but because I wasn’t confident that I would dedicate my energy to yoga for this long.

 Well, maybe not. Who am I fooling? I loved yoga then and I’ve really fallen in love with my yoga practice now!

It amazes me how much I’ve learned and that my head is starting to formulate “yoga class lesson plans”. I’m curious how to design a class and think I’ve got a good idea what one could look like. Stay tuned…that may show up on the blog in the near future!

As for this week, I FINALLY got to the class I’ve wanted to attend for a while…

Let me back up…

Almost two years ago, I was fortunate to be sitting at a yoga studio (with my baby Ben in tow) with two certified yoga teachers. Our practice was done and the three of us were the only participants that day. As we were rolling up our mats, I took the opportunity to quiz them about how to pick the best yoga teacher training course. I was ready to hear this studio and that studio but instead what I heard was “take a class with a potential teacher trainer instructor as this will help you decide if they are the right teacher to guide your yoga training”.

Poof - my mind was blown as I never thought of it that way.

Alas, I made it to a class this weekend to a potential teacher trainer instructor. I tried to keep my eagerness in check and not over think the class and this potential instructor. Little did I know, the class paralleled the current teacher training session at the studio and the room filled up with all keen, observant yoga teacher wannabes in-training. The class was packed!

As I started my practice, I let it unfold like any other. Secretly, I took small checks and balances of the instruction and information provided in class. That was hard because my head was trying to get into the “yoga brain” for practice. Nonetheless, I got an excellent hour class and was able to contemplate if this person might be the best first formal yoga teacher trainer instructor.

Drum roll, please…

Yes, he might just be the chosen one!

Other factors are definitely at play as to where I invest (and let me tell you, it is an investment!) in my teacher training. But I would have to agree with the advice provided, I must find an instructor that provides the first training I need (strategic, anyone?).

Am I secure in where my yoga teacherhood is heading? I think so. I’m formulating a plan…stay tuned.

After a great bonus practice, I still hit the mat at home this week with Adriene. Aptly named, I am Secure, the practice was lovely as always. I particularly like the transitions between table top position and downward facing dog. It was smooth, graceful and down right enjoyable. A variation that I haven’t done often.

Using the mantra of, I am Secure, it helped me solidify what I felt after my bonus practice. I am heading in the right direction with my yoga practice and plan for teacher training.

More yoga to come!
LW
0 Comments

Week 91: Is Barely Fifteen Minutes of Yoga Enough?

5/28/2014

0 Comments

 
Picture
When the miraculous thing happens - both boys are asleep, I start to REALLY prioritize what I do - what are the things I cannot do with them and *quick* GO!

Yoga, believe it or not is on that list.

Today's practice, now tell me if this is too much info, was done without a mat and without pants! Yep, I said it, without pants. Get into something comfy - well, no time to change into pants. Just get the jeans off!

I quickly searched YouTube on my iPad and found this lovely video. Fourteen minutes and some seconds later, that was the end of the practice. Baby boy could be heard (loudly) on the monitor.

Was the fifteen minutes enough?

Research probably says yes! But I was only able to find this article on the benefits of short and longer durations of yoga. 

In my mind, any amount of yoga is good yoga. The breathing and focus on oneself for even 15 minutes is like candy for the soul.

The refreshing shoulder rolls, cat-cows and the final pose of downward facing dog were worth it!
LW

0 Comments

Week 90: Yoga in Everyday Life

5/22/2014

0 Comments

 
Picture
Sprinkling yoga into my day to day life is just how things have to go. No formal classes or dedicated practice, just "hits" of yoga when it works. Here is a list of my current favourite yoga poses and where they fit into my day:

  • Deep squat when doing sidewalk chalk outside with my toddler




  • Cat-Cow when watching TV for 15 minutes after both kiddos have finally gone to bed (time to zone out but still move!)

  • Tree pose while brushing my teeth (the mirror provides helpful cues and my electronic toothbrush counts the time!)

  • Breathing! When the day to day crazy gets to be too much, I just focus on my breath

  • Pelvic floor/kegel work while driving...I haven't been able to master this one yet (too distracting!)

Yoga has to fit. And this is just how it works...for now,
LW

0 Comments

Week 36: Yesterday's Exploration Equals Today's Play

5/7/2013

0 Comments

 
Picture
We recently purchased a new computer and I had a chance to review some of my old files. I previously posted an old university essay I wrote in my academic yoga class but what I also found was a journal that I wrote for a class assignment.

Rewind 12 years and I was a third year university student taking yoga in my spring semester. If memory serves, I was to practice at home and write about what I did and how it went. In the next couple posts, I am going to following my student journal and complete the same poses I did back those many years ago.

This week I completed three poses at home, as I did for my journal. They include  cobra pose (Bhujangasana) which oddly I called snake pose, cat cow pose ( Marjaryasana to Bitilasana) and chopping wood pose (Kashtha Takshanasana). Below are my current day assessments of each pose and the quotes are my thoughts circa 2001 on each pose.

Cobra Pose

I remember I use to struggle with this pose whereby my lower back would feel "crunched" and some discomfort would occur. I started to "get better" at this pose when Judy would ask the group to only lift our upper torso and use no hand support. This was and is the best way for me prep my spine for cobra pose. By doing a couple baby cobras using my spinal muscles to extend my back, I find my full cobra to be much more supported and less painful!
"...I felt in control of my breathing because of the concentration on the inhaling when lifting the chest and the exhalation when lowering the chest. My lower back slowly was able to lift higher off the ground as I progressed through the movement. I play some relaxation music and it helped me to move in a fluid movement."

Read More
0 Comments

    Aspiring Yoga Teacher

    I've practiced yoga since I was a pre-teen and have always found it to keep me centered. I will be a teacher one day and this is my journey to discover teaching and practice.

    Archives

    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    June 2018
    April 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    September 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014
    December 2013
    November 2013
    October 2013
    September 2013
    August 2013
    July 2013
    June 2013
    May 2013
    April 2013
    March 2013
    February 2013
    January 2013
    December 2012
    November 2012
    October 2012
    September 2012

    Categories

    All
    Agni Sara
    Apana
    Ashwini Mudra
    Bhagavad Gita
    Bikram
    Bird Dog Pose
    Bird Of Paradise
    Boat Pose
    Bound Angle Pose
    Bow Pose
    Breathing
    Bridge
    Camel
    Cat Cow Pose
    Cat-cow Pose
    Centering
    Certification
    Chair Pose
    Chakra
    Chanting
    Child`s Pose
    Chopping Wood Pose
    Cobra Pose
    Communication
    Corpse Pose
    Cow Face Pose
    Crane Pose
    Dancers Pose
    Deep Squat Pose
    Downward Facing Dog
    Downward-facing Dog
    Dvd
    Eagle Pose
    Easy Pose
    Education
    Eight Limbs Of Yoga
    Extended Puppy Pose
    Extended Side Angle Pose
    Fish Pose
    Flow
    Forward Bend
    Four Limbed Staff Pose
    Garland Pose
    Gratitude
    Gunas
    Half Forward Bend
    Half Moon Pose
    Hand To Toe Pose
    Happy Baby Pose
    Headstand
    Hero Pose
    Hot Yoga
    Humble Warrior
    Jack Knife Pose
    King Pigeon Pose
    Kleshas
    Knees To Chest Pose
    Legs Up The Wall
    Lineage
    Lion Pose
    Lizard Pose
    Locust Pose
    Lotus Pose
    Moon Salutations
    Moon Sequence
    Mountain Pose
    Mudra
    Mula Bandha
    Music
    Namaste
    Nauli
    Niyamas
    Patanjali
    Pigeon Pose
    Plank
    Postnatal
    Prana
    Pranayama
    Prenatal
    Props
    Rajas
    Reclining Twist
    Research
    Restorative
    Reverse Tabletop
    Reverse Warrior
    Revolved Chair Pose
    Revolved Head To Knee Pose
    Revolved Standing Wide Leg Forward Bend
    Sage Pose
    Samskara
    Santosha
    Sattva
    Shooting Arrow
    Shoulder Stands
    Side Bends
    Staff Pose
    Stick Pose
    Sunbird Pose
    Sun Salutations
    Table Top
    Tamas
    Teaching
    Therapeutic
    Threading The Needle
    Tiger Pose
    Toe Squat
    Tortise Pose
    Tree Pose
    Triangle Pose
    Uddiyana Bandha
    Upward Facing Dog
    Warrior I
    Warrior II
    Warrior Ii
    Warrior Iii
    Wide Stance Forward Bend
    Yang
    Yin
    Yoga Anatomy
    Yoga Journal

    RSS Feed

  Lisa Workman, MA, BPE, CSEP-CEP, ​AFLCA Instructor, RYT-200 Yoga Alliance, 500-hour Yoga Association of Alberta
​  Edmonton, Alberta
​|   Medical fitness consulting   |   Clinical exercise physiology   |   Yoga therapy   |
Photos used under Creative Commons from akunamatata, Antífama, Jinx!, PhotosByDarko, PineappleAndCoconut, jikatu, lululemon athletica, jikatu, Idhren, davewrightphotography, tracitodd, tokyosucks, amyjirsa_yogini, USAG-Humphreys, jetheriot, National Institutes of Health (NIH), distelfliege, abolotnov, wornlimtv, Courtney Dirks, allyaubry, davewrightphotography, janfredrikf, Real Cowboys Drive Cadillacs, quinn.anya, TinyTall, tillwe, Breville USA, F L I R S T - Palk Clap, lululemon athletica, quinn.anya, Inspiyr, fabola, Janitors, gabi_menashe, pbkwee, symphony of love, distelfliege, Teecycle Tim, Nicolas*, Iwan Gabovitch, mahmoud99725, KassandraBayResort, mark_donoher, jfirmenich, Yordanos Gebretatios, Robert Bejil Photography, a little tune, amyjirsa_yogini, crsan, m.gifford, amyjirsa_yogini, M.ADA, byzantiumbooks, Gamma Man, Ben Blash, RelaxingMusic, lambatofa, mikecogh, ideowl, Meredith Bell, IntangibleArts, SOMBILON ART, MEDIA and PHOTOGRAPHY, Anna Majkowska, cabancreative, Incase., alonis, torbakhopper, tiffany assman, Monkey Mash Button, Doug Waldron, J Rindrr, whgrad, Rebecca L. Daily, LoJoLu Photography, katerha, pulihora, Robert S. Donovan
  • Home
  • Services
    • Yoga Therapy
    • Kinesiology
    • Educational Services >
      • AFLCA Cycle Designation Course
      • AFLCA Cycle Level 2 Workshop
    • Free Online Course
    • Speaking Opportunities
  • About
  • High Fives
  • Blogs
    • Cycle Drills & Skills Blog >
      • Cycle Drills & Skills Glossary
    • The Journey of an Aspiring Yoga Teacher Blog
    • The Why I Move Project
  • Media & Publications
    • Media >
      • As Seen on TV
      • Web
      • Print
    • Publications
  • FREE Online Course
  • Contact