#346: Time For Practice
As someone who likes to partake in yoga, I found it interesting to get to hear what the experience and process is like from the instructor's end. Corey’s blog reminds me of one of my teacher’s styles - she teaches the vinyasa flow slowly in steps, and then gives us a few minutes to practice on our own afterwards. During this time, there is no guidance or help or feedback given. She simply turns up the music and allows us to practice at our own pace. I appreciate the sense of freedom here to work independently and attentively, even though I often forget the order of which pose comes next in the sequence of the flow. Yet it still feels empowering, mistakes and all. And as Corey mentions, this practice time and being able to take the reins to teach myself is crucial in that it provides the opportunity for personal growth and new learnings.
- Amanda
Time For Practice
When I first started teaching yoga, I was very focused on what I was teaching: the sequence of poses, the theme of a certain style of movement, the proper order of events, and of course creating a perfect playlist. It felt very important to get these things right. And I imagined that students came to my class for my interpretation of all of these things.
It would sometimes take me hours to coordinate all of these aspects into a single class plan, which I would teach for a whole week. Teaching 8-10 classes per week meant that by the end, I “knew my lines” and could easily improvise and offer variations for poses to the class or individual students, as it seemed like they were ready. I got really good at teaching the what.
Then I started to get bored in my own classes. Guiding others into poses was routine. There must be something more. I got into figuring out the how. I learned more anatomy, and began using the names and terms in class to better articulate the inner experience I hoped to create in my students during practice. It kept me occupied for a while, and made me feel useful during class, and valuable as a “knowledgeable” teacher.
But after a while, having spent so much time with the what and the how, I found myself focusing on something entirely different — the why. When I lead a session now, I prioritize time for the students to practice. Rather than me focusing on my own teaching, I shifted my focus to the people in attendance. To hold space for them. To transport students into a practice mindset as quickly as is reasonably possible, because the point of practice time is to practice. (I think 99% of my own deep insights have occurred when I practice things, myself — earning them by putting in time and attention.)
It took me a long time to realize that sometimes the best way to teach someone is to allow them to teach themselves. Not do it for them, but to be a caring presence available for support. Because if I manipulate a student into a pose or movement they aren’t ready for, it may not make sense to them and waste their time, or even worse, they might get injured. Giving someone time to practice the pattern themselves, commanding their own body over and over, they peel back the layers of themselves, discovering the lessons they need to learn. And by doing so, they make them their own.
I believe I had to journey through the what and the how to access my why. When I’m the teacher, I’ve realized it’s my duty to create a space that invites the opportunity for practice, and through it, the chance for others to experience insight.