Making Change...One Moment at a Time

One of my yoga teachers, Jennilee Toner always says something like, "go make change in the world," after every class she has taught me. It is a very powerful statement. Its kind of like the phrase, "Think Globally, Act Locally."

But before you can make a change in the world, you need to make changes with yourself. This is something I've been working on for awhile. The words,
"daily meditation," are often enough to make most run for the hills. I'm one of them. For years, I was meditating incorrectly. I thought savasana was how and when I was to meditate. Boy was I in for a shock when I arrived at my Yoga Teacher Training (YTT) at Frog Lotus Yoga when I found out I had to SIT for my meditation. There is no reason to sit in lotus pose, (padmasana) but it is important to sit upright with an elongated spine. Maybe try hero pose (verasana). Rodney Yee says this about the importance of the "setup" when it comes to meditation:

"But complete ease in your position is very important to achieve when just starting out with meditation, because it will encourage you to meditate more frequently.

Hero pose and crossed-legs pose both facilitate the movement of energy in the body. You get a lot of grounding just by doing them. There’s already a connection to the Earth that you don’t get in a chair. It sets up a neurological pattern in the legs in relation to the spine."

So why do so many not simply sit and meditate? Oh yeah...because it takes for ever...right? Well, during my YTT at Frog Lotus Yoga, 27-34 of us would come together at 6AM and meditate for 30 minutes...six days a week. That is a lot of change! Of course, we all cleared our schedules to make time for us to make that change. The good news is....you don't need 30-minutes a day, 6-days a week to make change. You can...in fact...Make Change...One Moment at a Time. Check out this video it tells you how:

ONE-MOMENT MEDITATION!

Take some time for YOU...so you can make time for others! Make change within you...so you can make change for others. Even if it is only One-Moment at a time. ---Go with ease.

Yoga and the Broadcaster

Today...I had an epiphany! I have four days left at my 200 hour Yoga Teacher Training at Frog Lotus Yoga...and the light bulb is now full-on! The lead instructor called me out on my sanskrit...and my use of extraneous words, and suggested I should teach a little less with my hands. She continued by saying, she knows I'm a broadcast journalist and I have a command of communicating. She's right! I am a broadcaster and do have a strong command of communicating. I started to think...maybe if I had a grading rubric, I would be able to step up my Shanti! Immediately, the rubric I use for grading new military broadcasters came to mind. There are nine graded areas and they sure do seem to lend themselves perfectly to teaching yoga.

1) Voice Quality: Depending on the class you're teaching you need to make sure your quality and tone support. Additionally, your voice quality must change throughout the class. In the beginning a calm and steady voice invites the students to be present. If teaching a vinyasa class, your cadence and directness must increase as the flow-tempo increases. At the end, in savasana, once again a calming, soft voice is required.

2) Vocal Energy: Your vocal energy must match the class you're teaching. Broadcasters rely on finding the "mood" of the story to determine their energy. In yoga...it is the type of class. For a slow-flow Hatha class, NO ONE IS WANTING A CHEERLEADER! However, after 45-minutes of a Vinyasa 3-4, a little pep just might be what the doctor ordered. (sorry won't unbold!)

3) Word Grouping: Are you leaving your students wondering what is happening next, or do you formulate (and actually speak) specific directions? Ever taken the class where you were left in a precarious position due to the instructor being lost in thought? That's word grouping.

4) Stress & Intonation: Let's face it...sanskrit can be a bitch! Body parts tend to blend. Was that drishti, or samasthiti?

5) Communication of Ideas: Was the class completely esoteric, or were there some easily to digest pieces of information that you can gain traction with? How many times did the instructor say, "UM?" Were there any "crutch" words and phrases? How many times can I "really enjoy the stretch?" What if I'm not enjoying the stretch? You know when you have a great instructor when he tells you what he wants you to do exactly. "Lengthen your side body as you inhale and reach through the fingertips."

6) Articulation: This is always fun...Try being a voice and diction coach, then attend a yoga school with folks from all over the country. I'm pretty certain many of these students don't know what an "r" sound is! One of my favorite instructors is a guy from Vermont. His articulation would put a cringe in my neck at my other job...but is very charming in this yoga setting.

7) Word Recognition/Comprehension: Broadcasters have proper nouns, yogis have sanskrit and anatomy. Mispronounce someones name...lose credibility forever. Invite a class to explore Adhra Mukha Savasana...and you'll get the "what-what" look. (Adho Mukha Svanasana- Down Dog)

8) Overall Performance: This is pretty easy to tell how well you did in yoga. If students hug you, or keep coming back with more friends...then you're money. If you're all alone, you might want to review the first seven graded areas.

9) Following Instructions: Did you in fact just teach an all-levels class? If you did, you provided modifications for the novice and the advanced yogi in the class. Check your ego, maybe even ask for some candid feedback from time to time.

I kind of wish I would have thought about this on Day 1, instead of Day 24!

Be The Observer Of Your Mind

When I finally picked a place to land and earn my 200 YTT (Yoga Teacher Training), I picked a place that had a good balance of asana practice (poses), anatomy, history, theory, meditation...and light on the chanting. There were several place some of my yoga friends suggested that were heavy on chanting and meditation...I wanted to avoid those places.

So far on my yoga journey, I've been more concerned with building strength and quieting the mind. (I have since learned that these are Koshas.) Of course having a stronger grasp of anatomy and some history/theory will make me a better yoga instructor...but come on! Really? Chanting and 30-minutes of meditation? Can't I slow my mind's activity with asana practice and the beloved Savasana?

When I arrived at Frog Lotus Yoga...I wanted to spend as much time as possible on the mat...working and as little time meditating and chanting. Until...I learned how to meditate. In the beginning, I had massive amounts of random thoughts coming and going...of which I remembered about half of them even after 2 hours of asana practice. My yoga instructor has been telling me to be an observer of my mind. Let the thoughts come and go, and still remain present as an observer.

Well today...I actually was able to be an observer of my mind. The past several days I have had very few thoughts during meditation; not sure if this is good or bad...or just is! Today, I had many intense thoughts. Thoughts and tasks of things I have to accomplish. MAJOR THINGS! So important at the time I really thought about stopping my meditation and writing them down. Instead, I resisted the urge, brought myself back with a mantra and focused on my breath. (prana...the life force of energy) Funny thing is...after my 2 hour asana practice...and even now hours later...I can't remember a thing that was so important in the early hours and early minutes of my meditation.

So...if you ever feel like trying on Mediation, remember to be an observer of your mind...don't be in your mind. Let thoughts come and go. Honor them, but let them go. Chances are, they are just random thoughts.