Day 5

SEQUENCE SEQUENCE SEQUENCE!

And so it begins! Today is the day that we began breaking down the sequence with Sam. He’s an incredible yogi. A Harvard grad who also has the highest certification of the Kripalu Center for Yoga and Health (the largest center for yoga in the nation); he’s the guy who will be breaking down the various poses of the very long, very detailed sequence that I’ve done hundreds and hundreds of times before, never thinking about the complexities of speaking to these poses.

Pre-teacher training, I never broke it down to the granular level that we were about to and I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t slightly overwhelmed.

What bone is stacked over what bone as we alleviate the pressure on which tendons by activating which muscles, protecting which joints? – We need to know the answer to this question for

 every.

single.

movement.

This deep dive into the mechanics of our bodies made me really start to appreciate my body and what a machine it is. Within my daily life, I don’t ever think about this stuff – movement just sort of happens. But in here, while learning to teach yoga, I do nothing but focus on this stuff which gives me a whole new appreciation for the autopilot that I've been on for my entire life.

Not only that, but a body changes. What feels good today might not feel good tomorrow – and vise-versa. That recognition is part of the whole yoga journey - you must be aware of your body. The biggest lesson Sam stressed was that every time you hit your mat, it’s a different experience and you need to remember to always work with the body that you have today.

We also focused on Adjustments and Communicating. You know, 'how-to-touch-somebody-without- being-a-creep' and 'how-to-speak-to-a-class-in-the-most-optimal-way.' But best of all, we learned about the concept of “Instant Forgiveness.”

If you jumble your words while guiding your students, your first reaction may be to apologize and take back whatever that mistake may be. This happens all the time in regular life. But in yoga life, when you’re leading the practice, you just can’t do that. It can distort the entire energy within your class and as their guide to savasana, you want to avoid chipping away at your own credibility. So instead of taking something you said back, forgive yourself instantly and move forward because they need you to move on more than they need to hear your apologies about something that already happened. 

This is life. 

Mistakes happen.

Accept them and charge forward.

What a great concept to remember outside of the walls of a yoga studio.

Namaste.