Trinity Grad Update October 2011
Programming Ideas – Weaving Your Talents Together
As a yoga practitioner you have a great wealth of wisdom, experience and training in your ‘toolbox’ that makes you a skilful and unique teacher. A regular question that I get from graduates is ‘How do I bring my all my training like yoga teaching, core yoga, and thai yoga massage together?” Well, it will really depend on the class and/or clients that you work with. However, blending together your training and skills can create a really dynamic and transformative experience, and a great opportunity to not only bring great depth to your student’s practice, but for you to get creative as well.
In a recent private session my client said that her aims for the practice were to focus on her breathing, address the tension in her hips and legs, and develop better ‘core’ strength. So, that naturally brought together my practice of yoga, thai yoga massage, and core yoga. We started the practice with an extended breathwork session to focus on improving breathing patterns, followed by some Core Yoga to activate the core muscles, bandha, and breath, and then took that core activation and breathwork into some Vinyasa Flow practice including sun salutations, a few standing poses, seated poses, and restorative inversions. We finished the session with the side lying Thai Yoga Massage series to work on Sen Line 3 to move some of the tension and brittleness from her legs and hips and relax the nervous system. The session closed with the foot massage which put her into a deep state of relaxation.
This kind of private session design allows you to address the client, rather than the technique, and can include elements of guided meditation, guided asana, massage, breathwork, mantra, and any other techniques and training that you find useful for that client’s needs.
On another day with that particular private client I will use more standing postures to develop better strength and function in her legs so they don’t build up so much tension, use a guided relaxation like Yoga Nidra, or finish the session with a neck, head and face massage.
In a class environment, you might warm up with Core Yoga, or add it to the Strength and Preparatory sequencing later on in the practice. You might offer some massage to each student, or to a few students, at the start of class or in the restorative sequence of the practice. And, you might offer a reading, a guided relaxation or meditation while the students take rest in Savasana at the end of practice.
Sequencing is an art form, and combining all your training and practices together requires intelligence and intuition together and is a great way to bring all of your gifts, talents and skills into a class for a rich experience of Yoga.
How will you bring all your training and practice together in your next class or private session?