Over the past two days my yoga experiences have run the gamut from taking an intense 100-degree class with three rounds of sweaty flow to teaching a small class consisting of two friends during my weekly class at Metro to subbing a very mixed-level class at the Y. The three classes couldn’t have been more different but each reminded me why I love to teach and practice yoga. Sometimes I wish I could just live in a yoga bubble and teach, take and be surrounded by students and friends all the time. I feel really good when I’m teaching and practicing. I’m able to get lost in what I’m doing and let the walls down a little bit.
One of the things that I enjoy most about teaching is having the opportunity to help people feel better. In addition to taking them through a practice that allows for physical release, I also love to hands on assist to help my students get into poses that may not be available otherwise or to help them get deeper/feel it differently. Learning how to assist was a big part of the curriculum in my teacher training and I don’t think I have ever taught a class without assisting…until today. I wrote this in my “Answers From A Yoga Teacher” post but I don’t mind touching my students at all. I know some people are self-concious about it but it’s such an important part of the teaching experience for me and I think it adds so much to the quality of my classes/instruction.
I received an email from the group ex director at the Y asking if there was any way I could sub some classes this week. I typically stick to teaching my one BodyPump class per week and leave it at that but from time-to-time I will sub yoga if there is a need for coverage. Recently, a policy was put in place at my Y that yoga teachers can no longer provide assists. I was a little worried going into class today about how I would handle that. I do not practice with my classes when I teach. I like to be up and walking around the room and seeing them move. Watching them helps me connect and know how to coach/cue them as well as when to push harder and when to back off.
It was difficult not to assist today (and I admit that I couldn’t help but give a few very gentle assist like the grounding of hands in down dog) but I still didn’t practice with them and gave them all of my energy and attention. I received many, “Class was great, when are you teaching again?” compliments at the end of class so I’ll take that as a sign of a job well done.
Do you like hands on assists in yoga classes? If so, what poses are your favorite to get a little extra help?
On the food front, I’ve been eating some good stuff lately. (Always! :)) Here is a look at “What I Ate Tuesday.”
I discovered the deliciousness of adding a scoop of coconut oil on top of my oatmeal. The banana/pumpkin butter/peanut butter combo is already my favorite but this really kicked it up.
Grilled cheese is always a good lunch choice…especially when you add heirloom tomatoes and basil along with cheddar, goat gouda and sourdough bread.
Fage Cherry Pomegranate with Bear Naked Fruit & Nut Granola for a snack.
And finally, a salad with salmon for dinner. I say this over and over again but it is easy to throw together easy and healthy dinners if you are prepared. This took me 10 minutes start to finish . I seasoned the salmon with Dizzy Pig Raging River and TJs lemon pepper grinder and then placed it in the oven to broil while I prepped the salad. Spinach, cucumbers, tomato, toasted pecans, goat cheese, avocado and dried cranberries with honey balsamic vinaigrette. The fish cooked for about 8 minutes and turned out perfect. It was a relatively thin piece of wild Alaskan salmon. This was one of the best salads I’ve made in a while.
Off to workout! I’m doing wall balls for the first time in months. 100 of them. We all know how I feel about them so this should be fun! Oh 100 pullups and double unders too. Triple the fun!
