WEEK FIVE OF YAMA THERAPUTIC YOGA TEACHER TRAINING (YTT)

WEEK FIVE OF YAMA THERAPUTIC YOGA TEACHER TRAINING (YTT)

 

We start each YTT with asana. Afterwards, we discuss how we feel after yoga. I normally do not think about how I feel after yoga. I just enjoy it. 

 

It is interesting to think about the effects my yoga practice. As I think about it, I feel like my breath is flowing slower and more evenly after yoga. My mind is more still as well. I can think about my thoughts rather than fight to organize them. My feet and toes are more relaxed, but my ankle and tendon are sore. I have tendonitis that is irritated by yoga. 

 

We then talked about creating our own practice, the importance of setting up a place and time to practice, and the benefits of yoga. There are so many benefits gained from yoga: 1) increased energy; 2) increased trust; 3) increased flexibility; 4) increased physical strength; 5) increased focus; 6) relieved pain, and so forth.

 

For me, yoga is about leaving the present and going on a spiritual and physical journey. . . .

 

“Through my love for you, I want to express my love for the whole cosmos, the whole of humanity, and all beings. By living with you, I want to learn to love everyone and all species. If I succeed in loving you, I will be able to love everyone and all species on Earth... This is the real message of love.”

― Thích Nhất Hạnh, Teachings on Love

 

We then talked about Centering, the beginning of the class that sets the intention of the practice. Centering helps bring me to a state of calm and allows me to make the transition from being externally focused to being internally focused. Centering can generally take five to ten minutes. I find that if the centering is too long I lose focus and start to feel restless, just the opposite of how I want to feel in yoga. It makes me feel like I am being cheated from my yoga class. 

 

I love the physical part of yoga. I think it is also important to read your students and cater to what is appropriate for them.

 

We also talked about yoga "off the mat". Yoga off the mat is just as healing and powerful as yoga on the mat. Off the matt, I try to lead a life of kindness to myself and others. As I think about it, my favorite yoga teachers have a calming presence that make me want to be around them. People tell me that I have a calming presence and they call me Miss Positive!  I trust the Universe will provide me with what I need to be a good person.

 

“Radical Acceptance is the willingness to experience ourselves and our lives as it is.”

― Tara Brach, Radical Acceptance: Embracing Your Life With the Heart of a Buddha

 

“The intimacy that arises in listening and speaking truth is only possible if we can open to the vulnerability of our own hearts. Breathing in, contacting the life that is right here, is our first step. Once we have held ourselves with kindness, we can touch others in a vital and healing way.”

― Tara Brach, True Refuge: Finding Peace and Freedom in Your Own Awakened Heart

 

From a yoga perspective, I think about the Yamas and Nymas to guide me in practicing yoga off the mat.

 

THE YAMAS

My attitude and relationship to the world and how I stay in harmony with myself and others:

Ahimsa – non-violence

Satya – honesty

Asteya – non-stealing

Bramacharya – appropriate use of energy

Aparigarah – non grasping, not being greedy

 

THE NIYAMAS

How I take care of myself:

Saucha – purity, cleanliness of our bodies and minds inside and out

Santosha - contentment

Tapas – the fire in me, self discipline, eat well, practice chakra healing

Svadyaya - self study, self inquiry

Ishvara Pranidana – turning over to the divine, yielding to the power of the universe

 

We covered stress and the physical effects it has on our mind and body:

“How people treat you is their karma; how you react is yours.”

“When you judge another, you do not define them, you define yourself.”  

― Wayne W. Dyer

 

“When another person makes you suffer, it is because he suffers deeply within himself, and his suffering is spilling over. He does not need punishment; he needs help. That's the message he is sending.”

― Thích Nhất Hạnh

 

I will write a separate blog about my thoughts on stress. I feel we often choose whether or not to be stressed. Stay tuned…

EXPLORING THE KOSHAS

EXPLORING THE KOSHAS

We covered the Koshas back in week three of Yoga teacher Training (YTT). The Koshas are the physical and mental aspects of our personality and our being. Yoga helps us harness that energy. At that time, I was overwhelmed with so much information that I really did not internalize what they meant to me.  Now, I realize that if I create change in any one these dimensions, it invariably affects the other dimensions. Every day, I move within my Koshas without even having to think about it. I have learned that if I play and move in one level, it either helps me get unstuck or gets me stuck in another level, depending on my attitude.

 

Before studying this, I had never heard about koshas, so I thought it would be interesting to write about them. For me, these principles apply to things that I knew were in my body as I look back on it. I just did not have a handle on them and I did not know that there are yoga poses that reach the different koshas. I will explore that later.

 

Koshas are layers of energy that start with our physical body and move inward to our conscious and subconscious mind.

 

Anamayakosha is our physical body. "Ana" means "food", "maya" means "consists of", and "kosha" means "covering". The physical body is pretty obvious, but how we care for it is not always important to us.  I have learned to love and respect my body. I want it to be there for me for a long time.

 

Pranamayakosha is living energy inside my body like prana (our breath), vayus, nadis, chakras "Prana" means "life force". We take in prana as energy. The process of moving prana into waste is called apana it has to move down to get out. Vayus are the process of movement of energy. Suka is good space and dukha is bad space or waste. The koshas talk about our body and energy from the outside in. Although the chakras are inside our body, their energy is both outside our body as well as inside. Our energy radiates all around inside and outside of our body. Pranamayakosha is harnessing that energy inside us. I cannot talk about energy without mentioning Qigong. Qigong dives deep into the study of the energy inside and outside of our bodies. I love Lee Holden, a master qigong instructor. Qigong  describes our body energy in fascinating ways. The breath is a big part of pranamayakosha. I am going to write a blog about breath and some interesting things I have learned and observed.

 

This link will teach you more about qigong. www.healingqigong.org.

 

“Prana  is to a body what gas is to a car, electricity to a light bulb, and wind to a windmill.”                       
Amy Weintraub

Manomayakosha is a more subtle aspect of ourselves; it is our thinking being. "Mano" means "mind". Manomayakosha is how we react to situations or conditions to which we are exposed: do we get stressed or not, should I stay or should I flee, etc…. It is here I remember to practice radical acceptance. I think, on a certain level, we choose to be stressed or upset by what life throws at us.

Vijnyanamayakosha – is our wisdom body. Vijny involves our ability to discriminate. It is what enables us to witness harmful or hurtful things we do to ourselves and others and learn to change them. We discern what is good for us and what is not. We decide to accept or judge ourselves. I find that many people use this kosha in self-destructive ways rather than productive and kind ways. If you have not already discovered this, I love Tara Brach; if you think you need help being kinder to yourself, check her web page; Tarabrach.com. Also the ability to accept what is true and what is not true or the ability to recognize what is wise and what is not wise.

 

Anandamayakosha – is being in a state of bliss with Ananda meaning 

"pleasure".  This state is attained when all the other Koshas are at peace.

 

The kosha model helps us see the direction in which we are moving. We want to make all of these levels transparent. My thoughts are: eat well, take care of my body, stay in tune with my energy inside and keep those channels open. I tune into my emotional self and be kind to myself and others I feel the joy inside of me.

 

Stay tuned for my next YTT adventure.

YOGA 200 HOUR TEACHER TRAINING WEEK 5

The Yamas & Niyamas are yoga's ten ethical guidelines and they comprise the first two limbs of the eight limbs (paths) of yoga.

As yogies we focus on the Yamas & Niyamas, but really everyone could benefit from most of the principals without getting into too much yoga karma. They are similar to the 10 commandments or Buddhists Eight Precepts. The Yamas are guidelines on how we should live our life and treat others. I like to think that these paths represent my attitude and how I treat myself and others. I was doing this stuff way before I started my Yoga Teacher Training. I think that following these guidelines will make us better kinder people.

As yoga teachers we need to think about how we interact with our students. In our own lives we have to be true to our self.  The second Yama is Sayta (truthfulness).

When I first started thinking about truthfulness I thought honesty is mandatory.  Or else you are a LYER!  Now I feel differently. When I was a child I used to tell on myself if I got caught misbehaving in class. I could not hold it in.  I am very honest. I do not make up stories or tell untruths. It is my nature to be truthful. It makes me feel sick at my stomach when I know someone is purposely not telling the truth. I think in these situations telling the truth is pretty basic we should be truthful.

Is withholding the truth ever ok? Sometimes it is and sometimes it is not. I think that sometimes I am to blunt and may say things that I do not need to say. I am going to change that now. I before I tell someone what I think I am going to try to stop and ask myself is it true or is this opinion. Then think about if they need to know or would benefit from knowing what I am thinking. Will they feel a positive or will they feel hurt? If it will not help them or is not kind then I will hold back. I think this is a time when to be sure I am not passive aggressive.

As a yoga teacher I am sure I will have the opportunity to practice Sayta and give kind gentle advice or hold back my opinion.

“Before you speak ask yourself: Is it kind, is it necessary, it is true, does it improve upon the silence?”  Shirdi Sai Baba

If you would like to read more about the 8 limbs of yoga. Please see this link from Yoga Journal.

http://www.yogajournal.com/basics/158

YAMA THERAPUTICS 200 HOUR YOGA TEACHER TRAINING WEEK 4

I loved this class! Currently, I am more drawn to the physical aspect than the spiritual aspect of my teacher training.  I am pretty centered spiritually. I have been learning about Radical Acceptance from Tara Brach (tarabrach.com) for several years. There is so much I need to learn about my physical body (Anamayakosha). I know that for me to feel confident to teach yoga, I will need to know as much as I can about the physical aspects of yoga.

In class, we learned about Compression, Tension, Proportion and Orientation. We also learned about the 8 major joints where compression is going to occur and how that affects our position and orientation in the Asanas.

We watched a video from Paul Grilley about the 8 major Joints. He sells a DVD called The Bare Bones of Yoga. You can purchase the video on line.

http://www.pranamaya.com/online-courses/the-bare-bones-of-yoga.html

This is a video clip from Paul about shoulder movement I found on Facebook.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ve_GUyEHdfI

I think this information is fascinating!

This is another link from the Anatomy Studies for Yoga Teachers. This article will familiarize you with the language of movement and orientation.

http://www.asfyt.com/the-language-of-movement/

It is important to know the difference between compression and Tension. I found that Paul Grilley explains it perfectly:

Some yoga postures stress the joints of the body to stimulate their strength and flexibility. There are two fundamentally different types of stress: tension and compression. Yogis need to know the difference between the two.

Tension is the familiar sensation of tissues being stretched. Compression is the sensation of tissues being pressed or pushed together. Both of these stresses are beneficial if done in moderation.  

When a yogi is stretching a joint, he is stretching a ligament, a tendon, or both. When a yogi is compressing a joint, he is compressing bones.

In his video, Paul discussed the 8 major joints of the body. He showed how our joints (the way our body is built) affect our movement. I found this fascinating. He showed that being “bendy” is not just about flexible muscles, that at some point movement will be limited by our joints.

The eight joints he talked about were Wrists, Elbow, Shoulder, Neck, Spine, Hips, Knees and Ankles.

In his video, he featured a lady who could put her head between her knees when she bent over in forward bend, but could not put her heels on the floor on down dog, because her ankles joints were limiting her. The video I attached illustrates how your shoulder joints affect poses like wheel.

In class, we talked about noticing what may be limiting someone from being in the classic alignment for a pose and whether or not to adjust them. We discussed how someone might be just fine without putting their heels flat on the floor in down dog. There are plenty of instances when it is best to let someone be where they are in their pose.

I considered this and then contemplated the energy you could use to adjust someone. I find that the adjustments I like the most involves pull energy as opposed to push energy. I like adjustments where the teacher uses his or her body to support you as they guide you into alignment. I certainly do not like it when a teacher simply wants to press into my joints.

This is essentially what Eric Shiftman says in his book, Moving Into Stillness, about Playing The Edge.

The main thing to understand is that there is no such thing as a "completed" or "ideal" posture. Each posture is an ever-evolving, constantly moving energy phenomenon that is different from day to day, moment to moment, and person to person. The process of sensitively flirting with your edges and achieving perfect energy flow is not merely the means to achieve the pose - it is the pose.

This is what the physical aspect of yoga is fundamentally all about. Your body is limited in movement not only through its genetic makeup, but through the conditionings that have accrued over the years. As you age, this becomes more and more apparent. Yoga is a way of exploring these limits. It's not a matter of "How can I attain this or that final posture?" It's a matter of gently pressing into the various edges you encounter within the template structure of each particular posture. And your edges and limits will change as a by-product of this exploration; you will change.

I will be back next week with more YTT!

Namaste!

Franny

YTT (Yoga Teacher Training) 200 HOUR WEEK THREE

During week three we covered what I call the principles of yoga. We learned about the Eight Limbs of Raga Yoga, other kinds of yoga (margas), koshas, and kelshas.

There was so much information! I was totally overwhelmed, but I did not feel panicked. It’s exciting! Not only are we learning yoga principals, concepts and beliefs, but all the Sanskrit words for them too! It’s like learning a whole new language. I knew that there would be terms for all the poses, but I did not think that ALL the principles of yoga would also have Sanskrit terms. Silly me!!! I am sure with time it will all fall into place.

Here a quote from one of my favorite Yoga Anatomy Experts:

Leslie Kaminoff “When we resist the change that's inevitable, we miss the change that's possible”

Leslie has tons of resources and a free weekly updates with lessons and tips. Find him on Face Book too!

http://www.yogaanatomy.org/

I wanted to remind you that the point of this blog is not to teach you all that I learn. You will have to take your own YTT 200 hour class to do that.  I will share my feelings about what I am learning and my thoughts on the concepts. You may agree or disagree with my interpretations. I would love to get your feedback.

Assignment:  How does Ahimsa relate to life and to my yoga practice?

Ahimsa (nonviolence) means avoiding violence to others and yourself and it is the first Yama in Raga Yoga.

I think most of us are not violent. With that there is the topic of vegetarianism and violence toward animals. I will not address that now. I thought about promoting kindness rather than not being violent.

I do not think that you need to be kind to yourself to be kind to others. Many people are kinder to others than they are to themselves. With that said, the more nonviolent and loving I am to myself and others the more it manifests in my life as a feeling of extreme contentment. I get energy from practicing acceptance and loving kindness. I found that this was true in the way I treated myself as much as the way I treated others.

It took me a long time not to judge my love for yoga allowing myself the time and money to dedicate to my practice.  During Asana practice I try not to judge myself. I say that because it is a struggle for me not to want to have more flexibility, better balance or more strength. I try to observe my practice without judgment of my progress. I also try not to compare and judge my progress to that of others. I find this VERY HARD to be honest! I have felt competitive energy in yoga class before. While on the mat I take care not to physically harm myself by trying something that I know I am not ready to do. I figure there is time for that and there are plenty of things I cannot do and plenty of things I may never be able to do. I do push myself in a kind way though. I love to see change and progress my asana.

When teaching students I see the importance to be kind and accepting and honor their practice. I also it is important to give options so that people do not hurt themselves, judge themselves or judge others. The concept is basic but should never be overlooked in designing a class.

I have a question for you about judgment:

I feel energy when I have a teacher that is nonjudgmental and kind. Have you felt this or sensed this in yoga class before? What was it like?

One of my favorite teachers is kind. When she helps a student I feel her concern and kindness. She greets them with compassion and is very kind in the way she suggest adjustments. Once when she asked someone if they wanted to take their socks off in the kindest nice way I just cracked up inside, but they did take off their socks.

I am excited to tell you about week 4. It is my favorite class so far.

YTT (Yoga Teacher Training) 200 HOUR WEEK TWO

In week two YTT class we covered the basic principles for any asana practice. We had the chance to teach each other basic poses. Our homework was to observe a group of people take notes on our observations, practice teaching basic poses, and take note our experiences.

This was my first experience in teaching with the intent to learn. I “teach” people all the time. I am usually full of information! My student had never practiced yoga before but I still I found it natural and comfortable to explain Tadasana and Sukhanasa to him. He followed my direction and was positioned properly. He said that his back hurt.  I did struggle making adjustments to make him more comfortable.  I will add that to the list of things to study.

Here are some quotes from our lessons that resonated with me:

Yoga is not about achieving the perfect posture; it is about being with the body and the posture however it is on any particular day.

When we are in an asana find a way to notice what muscles you are using and think about what is necessary and what is not necessary for that posture and encourage your body to release what is not necessary.

These quotes really remind me to think about what muscles I tighten that are not related to the pose I am  practicing. The first thing I think about releasing is my griping toes!  What about you? Sometimes a pose will be more difficult or more easy than it should and you don’t know why, use this as an opportunity to think about what muscles you are using that are not related to the posture.

We find a balance between firmness and softness, tension and relaxation, effort and ease, muscle and flexibility, which offers a delicious luxurious challenge. Patanjali says that the combination of Sthira and Sukham creates a state of equilibrium (satva) that is without agitation (rajas) or inertia (tamas). Depending on our personality type will determine which aspect of Sthira and Sukham we need to work on more. If we naturally find our self full of effort, strength and steadfastness we need to work on softening and experiencing the delight in our poses. If we are more lethargic we need to push ourselves harder. (Patanjali, From: Yoga Sutra Chapter 2, sutra 46)

I hope you enjoyed your glimpse into my YTT. I can’t wait to share more next week!

Yoga Teacher Training Week One

This blog is about MY journey though Yoga Teacher Training.

Please follow my blog. Share it if you like it. You can post comments or you can email me at frannytuttyoga@gmail.com.

I am enrolled in Yama Therapeutics 200 hour Yoga Teacher Program. If you would like to learn more about the program here is the link:

 http://yamatherapeutics.weebly.com/

I am going rewind and tell you how and why I choose this program and why I want to be a yoga teacher.

It will be interesting to see how my feelings change about what to teach and why teach as I go through training.

WHY TEACH YOGA RATHER THAN TAKE YOGA?

I have been practicing yoga for about 5 years. The more I practice and learn the more I LOVE yoga. I find that yoga allows me to leave my world and move into a place that nourishes and heals my body and mind and makes me physically strong and less stressed.

I started thinking about teaching yoga about a year ago. Yoga helped me get through some tough times. I have not been fit my whole life. About 5 years ago I made some pretty big changes in the way I take care of myself. I changed my attitude towards my life and how I wanted to live. I am often encouraging my friends and coworkers and even strangers  to find their path to being more fit and live a happier life. I encourage them to take better care of themselves by getting some kind of exercise. I encourage everyone to love themselves as much as others love them. I am pretty good at motivating folks and helping them feel good about themselves. I  want to help people find the benefits of yoga. I want to show the whole world (LOL) that yoga is not about being bendy and feeling relaxed!

Right not I am all over the place as to who, when, and where to teach. After all the whole world is out there waiting!

These are some of the groups of people and places I think I may want to teach:

Veterans
High School Kids
Athletes
Care Givers in Hospitals
Therapeutic Heeling Yoga for the disabled
Sunrise and Sunset Beach Yoga

NARROWING DOWN THE YTT PROGRAM THAT WAS RIGHT FOR ME

I had a great pool of resources in my friends. I asked for and received lots of advice from all of them. I have friends that teach yoga and own studios. I talked to my friends that had been through YTT and asked them what they liked and did not like about the program they took. I had Fantasies about taking YTT from  a famous yoga teacher such as Elena Brower or Tiffany Cruikshank. (I still do ha!) Then I thought about a destination YTT program on some island with a famous teacher. How lovely would that be? All of that aside I knew that a local program would be the most reasonable choice for me. I visited yoga studios and took classes from the teachers that would be my instructors. Each studio and teacher had their own style and what I call a vibe. Some made me feel warm and cozy and others kind of rattled me and made me feel uncomfortable. All of the programs I checked out had very popular YTT programs and a strong following. My mission was to be sure the program I chose was right for me.  Just because my friend loved a program did not mean I would. I also made it clear to my friends not to take my decision personally. I also checked into the logistics to travel to the studio from work and home, parking etc. All of those details can make a difference when you have to attend classes for almost a year.

I found about Yama Therapeutics thorough a good friend, mentor, birthday twin, and yoga teacher. I met one of the teachers from Yama at a community yoga class my friend was teaching. I felt like it was fate that I was at that class that night. I am not sure I would have found Yama otherwise. I went to Yama’s YTT orientation and felt comfortable with all the instructors, their format and class design. They actually have 4 teachers, each brings a unique perspective. I liked that the program is focused on Therapeutic Yoga and  not focused a specific  style of yoga. Our classes meet once a week in the evening rather than on weekends. I work full time I spend lots of my time outside on the weekends fishing, gardening, biking etc. The thought of giving up my weekends did not make me happy. Meeting once a week was perfect for me!

So my YTT training begins!

YTT WEEK ONE

Our first class started with Asana. I met the teachers at orientation so I had an idea what they were like.  I was ready on my mat excited, a little nervous and very interested to see and meet the people who would be my  classmates for the next 23 classes. I heard from my yoga teacher friends that during this experience I will be touched by the relationships I form and that I will make life long friendships.  During our first class I was looking around at our group of students. I know you are not supposed to “compare’ in yoga but it is hard not to. I know I need more practice and training in that area. In all honesty, I was observing not judging. We are all different and that makes things interesting. Anyway I during our yoga practice I noticed that no one in my class is super bendy, including me. I just found that interesting. Not every yogi and yogini is bendy.

We reviewed the history of yoga and everyone shared why they are in the YTT program and what yoga means to them. I found the stories to be touching!

We then got in groups of two's and tried to come up with a definition of yoga. Our mission was to agree on one definition for yoga. It was much harder than I thought it would be to define yoga and then to agree! We were limited on time and finally had to settle on the best definition we could agree on.  We all read our definitions out loud. I enjoyed and agreed with all of them. They were all unique and showed our love of yoga.

This is what my partner and I came up with:

Yoga: A mind body practice to unite with the divine in you and the divine in the universe that has no starting point or end and involves movement and breath to achieve balance and clarity.

What is your definition of yoga?

What is not Yoga?

I started asking my friends and teachers what they think makes a great yoga teacher.

 I will  keep posting weekly on this topic.

ADVICE FROM MY YOGIE FRIENDS… WHAT MAKES A GREAT YOGA TEACH

Be true to yourself.

Allow time for your students to feel the pose, do not rush. Once you students are in a pose allow them to be there and find their edge then allow them to stay or push further.

Remind your students (and teach tem how) to use their breath to facilitate movement.

Remember people have busy lives they want to come to a place where they can let go and enjoy their practice.

 Everyone may not be there to work hard.

 Have fun and do not be too serious.

 Smile!

 My favorite yoga teacher reminds that this is my journey and to listen to my body. She has a very calm, confident nature and watches me in a way that I do not realize she is ....anticipates where my hurdles may be and works to help improve me in my practice. She totally amazes me ...I had other instructors that I liked and some not so...I think because they made class their agenda and not in sharing the experiences

 Teach rather than lead.

 No Judgment!

They make you feel like you are the only one in the whole class...they take a special interest in you and help you see and work toward your own goal. Please share your comments on what you think makes a great yoga teacher.

 

Namaste,

Franny Tutt
frannytuttyoga@gmail.com
Frannytuttyoga on facebook