First Time Out and I’ll Call it Good

Image from yinyoga.com - A great resource for yin

Unexpectedly, last week an acquaintance who lives in my area, and who I have practiced yin  yoga with on a number of occasions, asked me if I was interested in subbing her Sunday morning yin class.  My initial impulse was YES!  But, I calmed down a little and checked my schedule, confirmed that all was ok with insurance and certification issues, and then said YES!  Sunday snuck up on me pretty quickly, but with playlist help from my loving spouse, Derek, and class planning help from my  yoga teachers, I was ready to roll.  I wasn’t super nervous, but there were a few butterflies in the tummy Sunday morning.

I arrived at the class location about 25 minutes before it was due to begin and started scoping out the room, setting up music (momentary panic when I couldn’t get the  speakers to work turned out to be an issue with my iPhone case not letting the pin make full contact in the jack -whew!), making the props available to students, setting up my little area, and generally familiarizing myself with where things were in the room.

As students started to enter, I greeted them, suggested props to those who seemed uncertain, and invited anyone who wanted extra time in heart bench to go ahead into that shape at any point.  Before long, it was time to start the official portion of the class, and with an introduction of myself to the group of about 15-17 students, off we went.

I have to say, I’m glad it was a  yin class, because the time in poses was good for me to stay on point and be sure of where I was going next.  There was also less to remember about sequencing, and much less to do in terms of adjustments.  But, I got to chat a little about yin (trying to be sure to maintain periods of silence during each pose), offer modifications for people throughout, and watch the process unfold.  It was great!

I don’t know how much impact this will have on my final vinyasa teach, but I think it will at least make me feel more confident that I can do it if I stay calm and just share yoga with the students.  And, that’s what teaching is all about, right?

Namaste,

L