Teaching Yoga: The Foundational Elements

Over the next couple of months my blogging will be focused on the topic of “Teaching Yoga” and is especially geared towards Yoga Teachers. However, any person interested in self-growth and/or a regular student of yoga should not hesitate to read further. Looking through the lens of a teacher (of any subject) can be illuminating and enlightening. Enjoy!

All of the topics to follow are excerpts and/or summaries from my forthcoming book: Teaching Yoga—A Definitive Guide.

The Foundational Elements of Yoga

What I have observed in teaching over the years is that there are so many angles to teaching yoga. There are so many styles, belief systems, philosophies, lineages, and “best” ways to align the shoulders, and breathe deep, and, and, well, you get the idea.

I see teachers who strongly adhere to the “one way” perspective and those that float from idea to idea absorbing as much information as possible. Neither is good nor bad. It is useful to go fully into one style or system of yoga to embody that path. It is the attachment to that “being the only way” that can create an obstruction to moving forward. Likewise, dabbling in many different styles and/or yogic ideas can also be beneficial affording you many choices and possibilities for teaching and practicing. However, sometimes the constant “seeker” is simply distracting him/herself from just being and learning from the teacher within.

I am always curious about what lies at the base of any organized and/or structured system or philosophy. I wonder, what are the key ingredients needed to educe the final product. I am most interested in the ‘product’ of healing. My definition of healing is, “the way we return to our essential state of wholeness”. This innate interest within myself is why I was drawn to Yoga and to all of the other body-mind modalities that I have studied.

Yoga to me is the end product obtained by doing all of the practices that we refer to as Yoga. Yoga is not asana, pranayama, meditation, chanting, etc. Yoga is the embodiment of our Essential Self. It is a state of being.

So, I have asked within my own practice and in teaching; what are the key elements that elicit Yoga? Yes, there are so many books filled with endless techniques to get me there. There are many teachers that “know” the way. And yet, what is beneath those practices, those teachings?

The Body seems to be one of these key ingredients, for it is here in the present moment. It may carry energy from long ago, but the physical manifestation of body is right here, right now and the vehicle in which we experience our Essential Self.

Ingredient #1: Body

The body cannot exist without the breath (at least not for very long) so it to must be a primary ingredient for this experience of Yoga to be had. Like the body, it is only here in the moment. Also, like the body, the breath may reveal the past and/or the projection onto the future, but it only expresses in the Now.

Ingredient #2: Breath

What else I have wondered can be in this moment as it is my belief that Enlightenment or Yoga can only be experienced in the present.

Mind. Another word that could be used here is Consciousness. There are many layers of the mind that can add or subtract us away from the moment. It definitely is primary to existence. Whether we are awake or asleep, consciousness is with us and impacts are state of being.

Ingredient #3: Consciousness or Mind

These first three ingredients: Body, Breath, and Mind do not = Yoga. Just like eggs, flour and sugar do not = cake. This is where you must actively choose to engage with yourself—to become aware.

Through yogic practices you start to develop body awareness, breath awareness and awareness of your mind. When you cultivate enough of each and mix them all together into alignment you achieve presence.

Being present precedes being enlightened, but it does not = Yoga.

A prolonged period of presence however does promote self-knowing. When you are in the present moment it is easier to be objective and to have clarity about the truth. When you are present your body, breath, and mind are aligned. As you become familiar with this state of being, you will realize more easily when you are not in the moment. You can begin to observe what it is that takes you away from the moment. All of this is information that can be useful on your path to enlightenment.

Being present gives you more choices about how you expend your energy, what you give your attention/energy to, and a place of orientation to navigate the world objectively.

You might choose to utilize your presence to go deeper into the experience of Yoga. Meditation can take you there. When this takes place your body, breath, and mind become expanded. Limitations are removed and there is a great sense of being at One with All That Is. The little body merges with the Big Body. The little breath unites with the Big Breath. And, the little mind becomes the Big Mind.

Then what?

My next post will dive deeper into these foundational elements of Yoga and how we address them in Teaching.

Stay tuned and please leave comments, thoughts, ideas that you have to share!

Thanks for reading.

Turning Upside Down--Handstands

Turning Upside Down--Handstands

Workshop this Saturday, July 11th, 1-3pm

At The Yoga Center of Minneapolis

Preregistration required.

Standing on your hands may be something you did when you were a child. Young and carefree, turning upside down was an act of play. Now, older and wiser, standing on your hands is scary. You could fall over. Your arms could buckle right beneath you. And, even if you did make it upside down, would you even be open to that perspective? The world looks quite different with your feet reaching towards the sky!

I’ve been practicing handstand since about 4 years old. As a young gymnast standing on my hands was something that came easy to me. I did not think about how or if I would get upside down. I just did it. I remember having the coaches use me as their “demo” to show new tricks we would be practicing. I was fearless and had an innate trust that my body would do whatever it was that I asked of it.

Because of my early training, the practice of yoga asana was a natural fit for me. I found a thrill and joy in contorting my body into different shapes, attempting to balance once again on my hands, and reconnecting with my body in a more conscious, adult way.

Although handstand has come easy to me, it has also been one of my biggest teachers. This is because being in the pose—body, mind and breath aligned, is no simple task. I can flip myself upside down and possibly have the good fortune of balancing just right to stay inverted for a few delicious moments. But, I have discovered another way that is rightfully much more satisfying and I would love to teach it to you.

One gift of practicing yoga asana is that it helps us connect to our body. The mind begins to expand within and consciousness awakens in every cell. As we start living in our body we experience greater ease in aligning our intention with our actions. What we say, do, think, and feel match one another more easily. Yoga off the mat happens effortlessly as the alignment found through our asana practice slowly anchors itself as primary and becomes our main way of being in the world.

Handstand is one of those poses that will challenge your degree of body-mind connection. Like all balance postures if the mind wanders away from the task at hand you will find yourself easily swayed out of alignment and most likely out of the pose. Add the complexity of going upside down to the equation and you have yourself a challenging asana sure to inspire growth on many levels.

There are several approaches to handstand. The steps outlined below will be explored more in-depth during my workshop this weekend along with several others.

1. Learn how to stand upright, in alignment with your core engaged before attempting to go upside down.

Many of us have compromised postures. We avoid standing in our center and either pull forward (recognized by the ribcage thrusting forward) or slouch backward (recognized by a sunken heart). Standing in a neutral or centered way can feel strange and extreme (if you normally thrust your ribs forward, standing in neutral may feel like you are slouching). When you go upside down you will be accompanied by your habitual posture and remain out of alignment. You might attain what appears to be handstand but your core will not be engaged properly and there will be a feeling of disconnect throughout the body. You will not realize this is the case at the time, unless there is pain—which always indicates something is out of alignment. You will only come to realize you were out of alignment when you have achieved greater alignment. You then have a point of reference. The feeling that accompanies true alignment, in any pose, is wholeness. When your mind expands throughout the body and you feel a sense of connection to your whole self—that is alignment.

2. Open the shoulders

Standing on your hands requires deep flexion in the shoulder joint. If your current range of motion does not allow you to accomplish this you are not ready to go all the way upside down. Again, you may attain the final pose if attempted, but in a compromised way. The wrist, elbows, and shoulders will struggle to be aligned and thus the rest of the body will not have a solid base of support to rise up out of. Injury could result. Here are some pre-requisites to full handstand:

1. Ability to hold downdog for at least 10 breaths without a lot of effort through the shoulders

2. Ability to hold ½ handstand (downdog with heels against the wall, walk your feet up the wall until legs are parallel to the floor) for at least 10 breaths without a lot of effort in the shoulders

To achieve effortlessness in the shoulders while in downdog and ½ handstand the core must play an active role. However, if your shoulders are not open enough your foundation will lack adequate support and even the strongest core will not do the job—so work those shoulder openers!

3. Clarify your intention: align your mind with your actions for manifestation

Wherever you are in your handstand endeavor create clarity around the small steps leading you to your final goal. An example of this can be (think, feel, and do):

1. Align your hands shoulder-width apart and spread your fingers wide

2. Focus your eyes on a point between the hands

3. Bend your right knee and kick off your right foot

4. Touch your left foot to the wall

5. Etc, etc, etc.

Each step brings you closer to your end goal, but at the same time, each step is an accomplishment in and of itself. Yoga is the outcome of the practice we do. When your intention is aligned with your actions in this way you remain in the moment. The more constant we are in the present the more in touch we become with what is real. Rather than living in the past or future we come to just be. In being we experience the truth of who we are.

Happy Exploring!

I hope to see you this Saturday, July 11^th, 1-3pm

At The Yoga Center of Minneapolis

Pre-registration required.