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Wow! 180 weeks of yoga!  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
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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  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:
Yoga has to fit. And this is just how it works...for now, LW  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." |
Aspiring Yoga TeacherI'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
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