We all know that there are many forms of Yoga. Ashtanga, Iyengar, Hot, Vinyasa, Hatha, and so on….
Some of you may be aware that I am now over 50+ years of age. I started Yoga just 8 years ago and became a Teacher in November 2016.
My Yoga Teacher Trainer was the gorgeous Sunshine Ross who now teaches various Yoga forms and healing sessions here: Awake Space at Chateau de Montuquet – and yes, of course I am looking to go back again soon (having visited several times since to see Sunshine and her gorgeous family).
So what do I teach in my lessons?
First of all let me explain….
Yoga is very much a discipline whereby you get out of it what you put into it. You can focus, listen to your body, and feel your mind, body and spirit connect. OR you can just do the physical Asanas/postures if that is what you want to do. You don’t need to explore all your senses but you can.
As it is a discipline it takes time and dedication and ‘discipline’ for it to be carried out within the realms of your daily life.
I am the first to admit that I am not the thinnest, most flexible, bendy person in the world and some may say not the ‘stereotypical’ Yoga Teacher that is often portrayed on the front cover of magazines. My size ranges from a size 12-14 to a size 18. I can’t do the splits either…..
So does that make me any less of a Yoga Teacher? No – not at all.
Yoga is a multi-levelled discipline encompassing many things.
There are 8 ‘limbs’ of Yoga of which postures/Asanas is just one of them.
So what do I typically teach in a lesson?
At the moment the vast majority of my clients are private so they are taught either one to one, or with just 2 or so close friends (at their location).
The classes usually last an hour or so.
To start we do a Savasana – to try and relax the body and the mind and connect the two – get you used to listening to your body. Trying to relax your mind and rid yourself of your daily task lists that for some are completely endless and exhausting…..
Then we do an intention or dedication – to the energy that we create and send to the Universe.
Then we do a sun salutation or a variant thereof (depending on the ability of the client).
Then we do several postures that start at our root energy centre, moving through the body to the top energy centre (chakras). This is called Lady Niguma Yoga.
To finish we do another Savasana – noting the change in the feel of the body and again listening to our breath. A gentle reminder and time to give thanks and to reflect on the intention or dedication, and sometimes a visualisation too (depending on time/requirements).
Throughout we are reminded to listen to our bodies and to listen to our breath (hence why I don’t generally play music). Where possible you are encouraged to have your eyes shut so that you can really feel and relate to how your body is feeling, not just within the muscles but everywhere. Health and Safety are paramount so generally closing your eyes is not advised on one leg balances!
You are not asked to do anything that is not comfortable – you are your own gauge and there are explanations of all postures initially (such as a sat forward bend isn’t a focus on whether you can get your head to your knee – it’s a focus on gently stretching the spine and working with the body’s capability and breath to deepen that posture if comfortable).
Obviously health and safety is paramount to ensure that nobody hurts themselves. There are guidelines and I ensure that there is always an open path of communication regardless of whether you are in a class or not. I can be contacted by my clients at any time via various methods and I will always ensure to answer.
Whilst I am more than happy to adapt lessons and do more of a gentle flow for some (like a sun salutation followed by a longer sun salutation moving from posture to posture without anything in-between) the majority of my lessons go from one posture to another as smoothly as possible with explanations and descriptions between. Reminding clients to feel their body, stretch, focus on one particular part of the body and so on.
Obviously the good thing about teaching one to one lessons is that you can clearly see the progress – not just in the postures but the ease by which the client adapts and is able to connect the body and mind, see the clearer responses to the body, their own progress in strength and flexibility and so on, the majority sleep better, and feel calmer, etc.
It is a positive and healthy approach even if you complete it just once a week. However, for many I provide some simple postures/practices to help between classes.
My aim in my lessons is to help my clients:
Ground themselves
Connect their Body and Mind and Spirit
Improve their strength, flexibility and focus
Give them ‘time out’
Improve their posture
Improve their breathing
Provide them with a platform to practice mindfulness
Encourage them to remain calm
Release any tension
Encourage their ‘time out’ so that they don’t get engulfed in day to day things
Help relieve aching muscles
Stretch the body and provide physical stimulation to improve healing emotionally, mentally and physically
Encourage symmetry and breath during movement when out of the lesson
Encourage confidence and acceptance of their body and its ability
Here is a list of the benefits of yoga (and of course there are many other details available on various search engines):
Sometimes it just flows into using my other modalities too such as Emotional Freedom Technique, Reiki, etc.
Recently I have completed several lessons outside – this is FANTASTIC!
It provides you with much needed Vitamin D and helps you to connect to nature in its purest form.
Also with the ground being uneven it attributes to more focus – particularly in the one leg balances.
To ensure that clients don’t get bored I use several props such as belts and blocks – however, I also encourage people to accept their limitations and adapt postures. During the recent outside 'field' yoga we used tree stumps and fence posts to assist in some of the postures.
The reason I became a Yoga Teacher was to help children with special needs and their parents. Giving them ‘time out’ from a demanding and sometimes exceedingly challenging roles.
My vision hasn’t changed which is how I have adapted and changed to encompass what I do. I aim to help people who have differing needs whether that is mobility issues, concentration issues, or specific requirements such as trying to relieve physical discomfort (back ache for example).
I am currently studying Yoga for Special Needs, Prenatal Yoga and Yin Yoga; soon to be followed by Yoga for Trauma.
If any of these Yoga specialist areas interest you then please do contact me. They could be offered online as well as in person. I am based in 24560, South West France and happy for approximately 30kms. [Please note my website are 'guide prices' only].
Help you to help yourself; holding your hand on a journey that will lead you to a life of calm.
Namaste XXX
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