A long awaited post

ATA YOGA NUSHASANAM----and now the inquiry of yoga

Tonight I am teaching at the new studio! I think I will incorporate a lot of twists into my class. should be good to do after thanksgiving.

I feel much more confident teaching when I plan my class out ahead of time...I realized this the other week...when I had what I was going to do on a notecard to look back on.

My students tell me that my classes are difficult. I believe them...but this wasn't my intention...I wonder if they are!?

I love yoga---and I plan to do it a lot more now...I want to do it everyday during my break from school.. I will probably purchase a month pass and stick to it.

It's getting cold out now, which worries me because my mood depends on the weather---which is why I think hot yoga is probably a good idea right about now.

I will report on how my class went later on.

Till then,

NAMASTE

feeling it

Last night in yoga, the intructor had us laying on blocks and now my shoulders and low back are sore, sore!! It's a good feeling though...i love being able to feel the effects of a class afterward. I'm not teaching this week at the studio, which is a nice break for me, though I know I will get extra nervous before my next class because I will be slightly out of practice so to speak. I like the people who come to class. They are becomming more and more familiar to me each time I go (I haven't missed a class in two months). So, it's nice.

Tonight, I'm getting a free massage from one of my students (A great perk!) and I really need it now. Then tomorrow, I'm going to a hot 26 yoga class at Bodhi because the instructor of that class came to mine and I think it will be good rapport building if I go to his class and show that I'm interested in connecting/learning from them.

That's all for right now. I get the morning off on Tuesdays from my internship, which is so so so nice!! I made a big breakfast and was able to sit with housemates in the kitchen for longer than 5 minutes. Feels almost like the weekend.

Namaste.

Destress

I have been experiencing a lot of stress lately do to school...and also due to outside commitments. I love to teach yoga---but driving over to the studio in rush hour traffic after a full day of school is tough...so two nights ago I took a vinyasa class at Bodhi Yoga, which I highly recommend. The teacher told us that we are like an orange...each slice united but contained within its own barrier...I liked this image. I think I'll share it with my class tonight.

I'm teaching nude again today. I wasn't quite sure how I was being received as a teacher, but one of my students kindly wrote on the website that I was a very calming and professional instructor who had human qualities---unlike some of the more robotic yoga teachers that he has had in the past. It made me smile and gave me more confidence to teach. I always feel really great after class.

I'm hoping to do some new stuff with my class tonight...maybe eagle pose? I don't do a lot of balancing poses with them---but maybe I should challenge them?

Will write back to report how class went after!

Namaste...drink hot chocolate!

Class

My first class at the studio made me smile. I enjoy my students and feel even more involved with their community. I got invited by one student to attend a breath workshop in a couple of week, which I am excited about.

Also, I got another teaching job at a by donation studio where I can teach what I want. I will be teaching there on Friday afternoons. Looks like I got my work cut out for me, though teaching truly is my passion and yoga is a huge part of my life---I just can't forget that I'm in school too!

Will post more after tomorrow night's class...looking forward to it!

namaste

Massage/Yoga

Thursdays are great for me. Well, that is after I get out of work---

I head over to Ruta Maya, a coffee shop/bar and do some homework/listen to live music before yoga starts.

For the past two Thursdays, a guy has asked me to judge a band contest. I just watch bands perform and then rank their scores and he buys me beer in return.

Then, I go over to the studio and take class. Before class today, I treated myself to a massage, which was lovely and I felt super relaxed after it.

I thought, wouldn't combining yoga and massage be perfect? They are so closely related---body healing, stretching, body work, energy etc. I felt so energized and warm at the start of class today---I felt like I could have done anything!! Even forearm balance.

Anyway, class was wonderful. The teacher put us in a circle facing one another and then had us go around the room to introduce ourselves. It was nice to see a few new faces amongst the familiar crowd of regulars of which I am one.

We did quite a bit of hip openers and core strengthening poses and so, needless to say, I'm feeling sore already and tired.

I want to try incorporating MORE yoga in my life, as if there wasn't enough. I got an interesting offer to potentially teach at a donation only yoga studio, because the woman who owns it really wants a Kripalu instructor...I'm going to meet with her tomorrow afternoon, and I'm excited to see what she has to say.

Anyway, I start teaching nude yoga on Monday evening and I can already start to feel the nerves building inside me...I hope to ease them by the time my class roles around, although I'm sure that the students will be respectful and supportive and that I will have nothing to worry about.

Oh! I almost forgot. I taught yoga to middle schoolers today at my internship----it was only for a half hour and it felt so Rushed! Not sure if they got anything out of it....middle school is such a hard time...I'm remembering this now more than ever.

That's all for now. I'll have much, much more to say next week after my class and also after the weekend. My dear, dear friend is visiting from Boston and I plan to take her to one of my favorite yoga classes around town.

Namaste.

Mmmm

Loved yoga class tonight.
Restorative.
We did a lot of work on blocks...laying on them---adjusting them to different levels to increase or decrease the backbend.

It's nice to try doing yoga in this way. The teacher and I talked after class and I thanked her for providing such a nice, relaxing class---and she said, you know...a lot of people just want to go, go, go in yoga class---they are so used to flow..but sometimes it's just nice to sustain postures and a while...allowing a different experience to enter the room.

I did this with my co-op on Sunday (a more restorative yoga class) and they liked it. I had them on the floor the whole time....it was nice...a lot of twists and such.

I am so excited for my first class at the studio in one week exactly!

For this week...I've decided to focus on telling people how I feel---even if it seems like I should hold it back...honesty is key!

Namaste.

Love Teaching, dearly

I taught my first official yoga class, well part of it anyway....at the studio tonight.

I feel more confident teaching yoga than I do in any other aspect of my life...

If I could teach 5 classes everyday, I would. There is nothing more satisfying.

I felt the energy of everyone in the room tonight---and the respect that the students payed me was very powerful...it filled me with warmth.

I can't wait to start teaching there for real. Tonight, I subbed for the first 20 minutes because the teacher was running late.

When she walked in the room and saw that everyone was in child's pose, she was confused---but then saw that I was subbing and was ok with it...I admit, it did feel a bit awkward subbing for an established teacher when she didn't know it would be happening---o well, i stood my ground i guess.

Yoga is everything. It's the way I breathe, my confidence, how I walk, the way I approach school----it is a life force for me and I am thankful that it has such a big place in my life.

I'm aware of how much I talk about yoga among friends, and sometimes I'm sure it gets old, but I can't help it. It's huge for me...I can't ignore the power it has.

I bought a book entitled Yoga and Depression for a project I am doing in my field practice class in school. The prompt was to essentially do a book review of work dealing with creativity in social work. I chose yoga therapy, because that's what I want to do. I haven't started reading it yet, but hopefully I'll learn something important from it.

That's all for now.

Namaste

Community

Last night I went to nude yoga and the community feel there is wonderful.

It feels kind of like family.

I start teaching at the studio of October 19! Soooo very excited.

I'm also going to be engaging in a yoga creativity project for my field seminar course in school. I hope to use the information for my future social work practice where I will be incorporating yoga in treatment for clients.

Will report later with more yoga goodness!

Om Namo

End of class rituals

The end of class is what students will take away most. It is the moments right after Shevasana (Final relaxation) that make the class for me.


I have had teachers in the past who allow us to finish the practice on our own and somehow I feel shortchanged because we do not come back together after creating so much energy in the room during the practice.

At the studio where I currently teach, the class always ends with tea. The first time I experienced this tradition, I was so touched...a sweet little gesture to unify everyone once again. The tea was so delicious. It was a combination of chai that is steeped for 1o minutes in boiling water, soy creamer and sugar or sweetener (like Stevia Leaf). It tastes like a chai latte---rich, wonderful and slightly spicy. Perfect end to a class.


A gesture like giving tea to the class or ending with a poem or a yoga sutra or can make a huge difference!


I'm excited to carry on the tea giving tradition and hope to begin some of my own with my students.


Here's a recipe I found on superluminal.com
Masala Chai Indian Spiced Tea
Milky, sweet and intensely aromatic, this version of tea is served at chaikhanes throughout Central Asia.

Total time
30 minutes

8 cups water

2 sticks cinnamon

20 whole cloves

20 pods cardamom

8 1/2" slices ginger root, unpeeled
1 tsp. peppercorns

2 tsp. coriander seeds

8 tsp. loose black tea leaves or 8 tea bags

2 cups milk, Sugar or honey to taste

Combine fresh cold water and spices in a pot, bring to a boil, reduce the heat and simmer for 20 minutes. Add the milk and return to a simmer; then turn off the heat, add the tea and steep for 3 minutes. Strain through a cheesecloth-lined sieve and sweeten to taste. Makes 8 servings.

Enjoy!!
Namaste

My Yoga

Yoga is a major part of my life. It has been for about four years now, but only this past summer when I got my teacher's certification at Kripalu School of Yoga in Western MA did it become a habit---and a cherished one at that.

Currently, I'm a graduate student at the University of Texas at Austin's school of social work. (hook 'em horns) and I plan to one day use yoga as a form of therapy.

Throughout my time here in Austin and hopefully beyond that, I'll be blogging about my experiences teaching and learning yoga. I'll share some lessons I learn from fellow yoga instructors and do my best to articulate how yoga aids me in my everyday life.

If you are new to yoga, I encourage you to give it a try. Like everything in life, it is not for everyone and also, it takes some time to get used to...but it has been very key to my personal happiness and self-fulfillment and maybe it can be a key to yours!

Namaste