Category Archives: Yoga

Right? Teaching Affirmation and Participatory Learning

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Image by Conor Lawless

Many many years ago, when I first started teaching college courses, I developed a verbal tic. Having been involved in public speaking from middle school on, I very rarely would “um.” So, that wasn’t a problem for me.

However, I was uncertain about my ability to teach effectively. I also really wanted the students to participate in the class, but I feared the loss of control that occurs when there is a fully free-flowing discussion. These things together caused me to ask students, at the end of a sentence or explanation, “ok?” I really meant it, too. I meant, “Is this ok? Do you understand this? Are we on the same page here?” But, it quickly escalated to the point that I was saying it at the end of EVERY sentence and it was more of a verbal pause than anything else. It was a problem.

Eventually, I noticed myself saying “ok” repeatedly (I think it happened as I was grading student speeches and noting their verbal pauses), and I knew I had to get it under control. So, I started making it quieter, with some serious effort, until I was saying it primarily under my breath, and then concentrated on just shutting my mouth at the end of sentences. I am pretty sure I still said “ok?” in my head. That meant that I had to come up with other ways to engage students, and over time, I did.

Fast forward to recent years, when I started to teach yoga. Teaching yin, I don’t think it was an issue, because I had plenty of time to slowly work through what I was saying. But, after a while of teaching vinyasa classes, as a sub and then regularly, I realized that I had fallen into the same old habit, except with “right?” Again, it is because I mean it. I am asking the students to join me in this understanding of yoga philosophy or yoga benefits or asana practice ideas. So, I want to know… “Is this right, as far as you are concerned? Are you with me? Is this cool?” I really do want to know. Really.

But, there isn’t particularly a way/time for them to assent, even if they wanted to. They are busy, very busy, contorting their bodies to follow my instructions, keeping their focus on their breath, figuring out whether I really mean right when I say left. They don’t have time to provide me with affirmation or reduce my uncertainty, even if they wanted to. And, unlike in a communication classroom, I can’t replace that with a different dialogue like “Do you have any questions about X?,” because they are BUSY.

So, I’m working on it. I’m working on letting go of the need for them to affirm me in that way. I’m watching their bodies and faces to see if they are tracking what I’m saying rather than asking. I’m trying to focus on telling them what I believe and what I’ve seen and what I have read about yoga philosophy and theory and anatomy and physiology and letting them, in their own minds, decide whether it’s ok with them or I’m full of stuff and nonsense.

It’s a complicated dance and it is humbling to get a(nother) reminder that, even at 47 years of age, my need for approval remains strong. That urge to have others tell you that you are doing it right is intense!

Right?

The Joy of Growing

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This month, in yoga classes at Yogawood, we have been focusing on the theme of tat tvam asi. This basically means “Thou art that.” But, the “that” is the divine or holy or universal – it’s the THAT.

It’s not, for me, about a particular religion or religious orientation, but about the idea that, regardless of what we believe about creation, the bigger force was that created the universe is in us. That may be a god/gods or God whose holy vision is enacted through creations such as us. It may be the energy/matter of the big bang. Matter cannot be created or destroyed, energy arises from matter, thus we are all part of the matter that was “here” in the beginning.

Alternately, or simultaneously, we can think about this as the unlimited potential in us all. Whatever characteristic we wish we could have, it exists in us in some way. Want to be kind? You are. Want to be flexible? You are. Want to be an athlete? You are. Often, we just have to get out of our own way to realize that potential, or direct it appropriately (nope, we can’t all be President of the U.S. but we can all lead in important ways). We know this when we look at an infant and see all he/she can be. We just forget it in our own lives as we grow up and begin to feel like our “selves” have been determined.

Gardening is a wonderful beautiful amazing cool example of potentiality in all being. There is a plot of bare dirt and you throw a little seed in it that is no bigger than a fingernail. And then, time passes and amazing things happen. All the potential of the seed flowers, literally.
What started out as a germ of an idea of food becomes a part of a meal that sustains your being and becomes a part of you.

It’s inspiring to see how so much can happen from such a small bit of visible being. How many seeds of potential are there in all of us that just need a little tending to grow? What part of you should you give some light and care to germinate?

Tat tvam asi!

And a bonus recipe round:

Quinoa with Black Beans

1 cup quinoa
2 cups vegetable broth
1/2 tsp cumin
1 can black beans (or 1.5 cups cooked beans)
1 can diced tomatoes (or 2 tomatoes deseeded and diced)
1 jalapeno diced
1/2 onion diced
1/2 red pepper diced
2 T olive oil
Salt to taste

Rinse quinoa and add to vegetable broth. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer 15 minutes. While that is cooking, add olive oil to a pan and sauté onions and peppers. When soft, add tomato, cumin, salt, and black beans and simmer until quinoa is done. Combine. Serve with fresh cilantro and vegan or regular sour cream.

Paring Away to Grow Stronger

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Photo by Olga Nohra

Tonight, I thinned my radish plants, again. I didn’t enjoy it.

I don’t like thinning plants. It feels like waste to me. It feels like  plant homicide. In a word: boo.

But, it’s necessary. My radish plants are not even very big yet, but already I could see the difference between the plants that were further apart and those that were clumped together. The plants that had more room had stronger looking, thicker stems, and they were a little taller. The plants that were very crowded had extremely thin stems, and when I pulled them, they had barely rooted at all.

It’s that way for us, too. We have to be willing to pare away some things if we want to be strong and healthy. Sometimes it’s bad habits or unhealthy patterns we need to thin away. Other times, it’s memories of hurt, anger, or shame that are holding us back, but that we haven’t quite let go of yet. Maybe it’s people or relationships that are not beneficial to us or to the others involved. It could even be things in our lives that we don’t need (physical things, like too many doodads to dust).

People have a hard time letting go of their suffering. Out of a fear of the unknown, they prefer suffering that is familiar.
~ Thich Nhat Hanh

We all do this. It’s nothing to be ashamed of (because, really, that would just become another radish plant in your already crowded patch), but it’s something to know and to be willing to examine in our lives, so that we can take steps to thin away what isn’t serving us.