A mixed bag of yoga school fun on a Saturday afternoon.
We chatted about our yoga mentoring hours…observing, practising or assisting with a teacher in the studio. Some have started. Others are waiting a little bit because there is so much going on that it’s overwhelming to do it all at once. And for our karma yoga work (i.e. free classes that we offer to the community for people that may not have the opportunity to do it otherwise), most haven’t started at all. Dianne let us know that we could do any or all of this work at our own pace. It’s really up to us to complete the mentoring and karma hours before we can quality for membership with the Yoga Alliance and be recognized as Registered Yoga Teachers. And then again, that’s if we even choose to be registered at all. Not everyone comes to yoga school to be a teacher.
The discussion turned to the business and ethics of yoga. We’re all householders and have to make a living. Dianne pointed out that that teaching yoga was not going to be a money-making proposition. Not unless you’re some kind of rock star yogi or yogini. It was pretty clear that if we wanted to teach yoga, we should be doing it because we want to share the teachings and serve others. And that, if we become teachers, we should honour the role and not abuse the respect that our students may offer to us. Yeah, it’s crazy to think but there are some who teach without practicing the philosophy or ethics that are the foundation of yoga.
The asana practice for the day was led by Kelly. She took us through the Ashtanga Primary Series. This school of yoga was created by Sri K. Pattabhi Jois in Mysore, India. It’s a physical, meditative practice that’s centred on the breath. Two hours barely got us through and we even skipped some parts. The flowing vinyasa style that is so familiar to us in the West developed from the Ashtanga practice. Just another opportunity to experience what’s out there. It’s not unusual to gravitate towards one particular kind of yoga. I’m glad that our yoga school has exposed us to several different styles because it helped to broaden my knowledge base.
My brain was full of thoughts from our discussions. My body was tired from the physical practice. It’d been a full afternoon and the last time we’d meet on a Saturday. Tomorrow would be all about Ayurveda, the sister science of yoga.
