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!

Oh Yeah...Watch Me...I Can Do It Too!

This is me in Eka Pada Koundinyasana (variation) - One Legged Pose Dedicated to the Sage Koundinya. I've never seen this pose before my morning class with Jennilee Toner. Next thing I know...The Prentender's where playing full blast and I was in this pose. Some of you might think that this is such an achievement. Really it's not. My body allows me to do poses like this. However, it's not to kind to me in poses like Virabhadrasana III. Yesterday, I was up in Astavakrasana which looks like this:
This pose is actually a lot easier than it looks. So what is my point? Two fold: 1) Everybody and every body is different. So don't look with envious eyes. 2) Self Reflection.

Self Reflection is really what I want to talk about. Too often in life, people try to one up each other. We've all had "that" friend who tells a tale that is just a little bit better than yours. There really is no room for that in yoga. DUH! But it does happen. My 200 YTT instructor, Jennifer Yarroeaks of building positive time in a pose. Some of you might know this as muscle memory. She also talks about building negative time. Being in a pose with bad form...builds negative time.

SO..."just because you can...doesn't mean you should!" - Jennifer Yarro.

You can take this to so many different applications. The first I'd like to offer is on the mat. Really listen to your body. Some days you'll be able to achieve full expression of all the poses..other's not so much. Maybe not even at all. Refuse the urge to see what the person next to you is doing. (There is a good chance she/he is doing it wrong too.) Lastly, DO NOT BUILD UP THE NEGATIVE TIME. I constantly come out of pose about 10-seconds before the teacher brings the rest of the class down. That's OK! In fact, sometimes I'll even go into Balasana - Child's Pose. Today, one of the instructors called it the "wisdom pose." Because those who are really listening to their bodies are wise. (I guess I might be one of the wisest person you all know...lol)

Take this offering off the mat. What do you do...because you can? Waste energy, gas, time, effort? This is a personal, inward question. Surely, there are many answers. I'm actually thinking about taking a month off the internets...just e-mail.

For the record...no one has farted yet!

Son Of Asana!

So...my intention was to blog every day I was here at Frog Lotus Yoga, but as Amanda Crocker will attest...ding dang ya'll this is a tough course. (I started following Amanda's blog when she went through FLY about this time last year.) I have written down about 15 different blog ideas, but really have no free time to post them. I have no wi-fi in my room, and really only have about 20-30 minutes a day of free time to actually blog...and 15 of them are during lunch. Most of you know I go to bed early, because I wake up early. Truth be told...I'm actually sleeping in a bit here...all the way till 5AM.

I wanted to share with you...especially those who either A) Think I'm Crazy, B) Know I'm Crazy, or C) Interested In What It Is I Am Doing...what my day looks like:

5:00 AM - This is the time I wake up. I enjoy a small cup of coffee and toast with almond butter. I think the hardest part so far is sharing my morning routine with 20 other people. I'm not use to people being up and around at this time of day. OBTW...this is also when I begin my OATH OF SILENCE! As you can imagine, this is not an easy task. This silence continues until 9:15AM. I will do some light reading during this time.

6:30 AM - I arrive for my morning 30-minutes of meditation. Right now we are only at 20-minutes. I basically straddle a bolster as if it were a horse, tuck my feet under and sit motionless for 20-minutes focusing on my breath and or a mantra in an attempt to slow and quiet my mind.

7:00 AM - I begin a rigorous asana practice for 2 hours and 15 minutes. It starts of slow and gentle. Focusing on joint movement and breath. Slowly it builds up energy/heat toward a goal of preparing my body for some kind of deeper pose. There is always an opportunity for wall work, where many of us are working on headstand, handstand, and forearm balance. (The later I was not able to achieve until coming here.)

9:15-11:00 AM - This is the time I have to make fresh! (Shower) I sweat A LOT!!! I have been taking my yoga towel with me into the shower and washing it too. I have my breakfast which has included mini-wheats and almond milk, an egg or two, and some days fresh juice. One of the students brought a juicer. FYI...you must try this. 1-cucumber, 1-green apple, and a little bit of fresh ginger. I usually have about 15 free minutes here where I check my e-mail on my smartphone, and review my notes in preparation for my afternoon classes.

11:00AM - 1:00PM - This is when we check-in on the morning's asana practice. (yoga practice) We also learn about 5 new poses and the assists for each of them. We are learning the sanskrit for each pose. So not only am I learning more about yoga...but I'm also learning a new language. (All in 30 days.) We also take time to teach the poses to each other during this time.

1:00 - 2:00 PM - LUNCH! I have kept my restrictive diet since I've been here. I suppose I feel better. I've not taken my medication...and I don't feel any worse that's for sure. So for those of you playing at home...I'm basically a vegan right now who can't eat most of the good vegetables, and I'm eating eggs.

2:00 - 4:15 PM - This is the time I'm learning about yoga theory, history, philosophy, and anatomy.

4:15 - 6:30 PM - During this is time I can either observe a yoga class that takes place here at Frog Lotus Yoga, take a class, (next week I will be able to assist in the class) study/practice the poses I learned, or run errands.

6:30-7:30 PM - DINNER! There is an incredible chef here who has been making some amazing food. I think I might be gaining weight on veg ya'll!

7:30- 9:00 PM - More study time. Each night my homework includes practicing the poses I learned that day. A writing assignment based on some kind of yoga philosophy, and a reading assignment. I also have to work on the three poses I chose to work on. I came here to quiet my mind so that I could have clarity. The three poses I picked where not based on my inability to perform, but rather their ability to add focus and clarity. I picked Adho Mukha Vrksasana (headstand), Salamba Sirsasana (handstand), and Natarajasana (Lord of the dance)

So as you can see...I'm very busy. I have Sunday's off, and plan to write a few blogs then and launch them either all in one day, or at least have them on the ready so I can launch them easily. Namaste!