As I sit here with sore muscles and a stomach full of pasta, it’s hard for me to believe I’ve made it through three weeks of yoga-teacher training. My body sure believes it though.
Tuesday
The week’s lecture focused on the yamas and niyamas. I’ve been applying what we’ve learned in my life, especially satya, truthfulness, and ahimsa, non-violence. For instance, if I don’t want to do something that I was invited to do, I am trying to be honest about how I really feel and honoring myself by not forcing myself to do it. I’m trying to practice ahimsa by being aware of the negative thoughts I have about myself and reminding myself not to believe everything I think.
Saturday
Saturday began with Brad’s class. I was excited to debut my new yoga mat. I liked how he made a point to introduce himself to every student before class. That’s something I’d like to do.
The next four hours were spent learning the art of teaching. We must have gone over Sun Salutation A 100 times. But we all seem a lot more comfortable with it. For some reason I thought it would be a good idea to volunteer for overtime at work that night, so I dragged my sore body to work until 10 p.m. afterward. Not my best idea, and I was definitely not practicing ahimsa toward myself that day.
Sunday
Heather’s class was a “block party” in which we used a block for the entire class to keep us in alignment. It also helped in our core workouts, but I’ll definitely feel it tomorrow. Ouch! The final four hours of training were spent discussing the fundamental elements of a basic class. We each led a section of a basic flow class. I was tasked with leading the class to plank pose, locust (in three different variations), child’s pose, bridge (in three different variations), pigeon pose and baddha konasana, bound angle pose. This was difficult for me because we also had to suggest props and cues for alignment. I also wasn’t comfortable with these poses because we have yet to discuss them in detail in class. I think I did an OK job for one of my first times leading the class. I need to work on varying my tone and being more animated, but I think that will come with practice and confidence in knowing the material. Being in front of the room was intimidating; I could feel the sweat dripping down my forehead. Next time will be better — I hope!