I’ve been a Yoga instructor for over 20 years, and I can say with some certainty that the number one question I get asked from students in their first Yoga class is, “Am I doing this right?”
AM I DOING THIS RIGHT?
To the novice practitioner, Yoga is a pretty odd activity. Unlike most other fitness classes, Yoga classes usually start with some sort of singing, or breathing technique, or story outlining a specific moral or ethical finding. Then, students are guided through some calisthenics. After the students are warmed up, rather than continue with more physical exercises, they are asked to stay still for several breaths while making a sculptural shape. Next, another sculptural shape to stay in for several breaths, followed by another, and another, folding the body over in various ways, sometimes stretching, sometimes balancing, sometimes trying to develop leg or arm strength. After some time, all the students lie down seemingly to take a nap, and then the class ends with more singing or encouraging words by the teacher.
The Unnata community has always been at the forefront of innovation – Yoga postures with a hammock, Aerial Yoga classes with two people per hammock, Aerial Yoga classes with a focus on meditative benefits in addition to physical health benefits. Well, now we’ve started an entirely new way to take Yoga classes.
Have you ever thought about the influence that dance has on the chakras; the centers that rule our energetic body, and the impact this can have on our life experience? Well, I have! Ever since I started swing dancing a few years ago.
¿Alguna vez habéis reflexionado sobre la influencia del baile sobre los chakras, centro s que rigen nuestro cuerpo energético, y la repercusión que esto puede tener en la experiencia vital? Pues yo, que desde hace unos años me dio por bailar swing, sí.
We all know the image of a brain: with the overall shape of a kidney bean, it too is squishy, without sharp edges, a bit more solid than how we think of clouds to be; but like clouds, the brain is also full of liquid and electricity. As children, the way we draw the two is really quite similar. The brain is our own personal grey matter. It is our own cloud.
Do you know the feeling, when you give a class, and suddenly a unique word pops out of your mouth without you ever planning or intending to use it? It could be a metaphor, an image, or even just a surprising verb that sneaks into the sentence from the back door of your consciousness?
Unnata teachers have strong beliefs in what responsibilities we have to our students. As teachers of aerial yoga, we have unique responsibilities that yoga teachers who teach without a hammock do not need to follow, and unique responsibilities to yoga tradition that many aerial yoga teachers are not concerned with.
Can you remember your first yoga class ever? And how maybe it wasn’t at all like you thought it would be? I remember having a preconception that yoga would be easy and peaceful, and I was surprised that my first class was quite challenging both physically and mentally. My beginner’s mind didn’t care that the practice was different than I expected, and a world of possibilities opened up as I realized that there was a whole world I knew nothing about but wanted very much to learn. This was the start of my passion for yoga and even now, years later as my practice continues, it’s always a spark of beginner’s mind that keeps me engaged and wanting to learn more.