By:
Virginia Iversen, M.Ed
One of
the most important aspects of sharing the transformational power of Yoga with
your students is to truly honor your own truth. This truth could be either
physical or emotional in nature. For instance, if you are teaching a Yoga class
with a slight back injury, and you are forthright with your students about your
current physical limitations, they will be more easily able to identify with
you when they come up against their own physical challenges during class.
As you
compassionately and courageously work with your own limitations during a Yoga
class, your students will learn how to honor their own bodies. If needed, they
will also learn how to modify the postures and/or the sequence of asanas and
pranayama exercises, in order to truly support their unfolding well-being
through the course of a regular Yoga practice. Of course, it takes courage to
be very candid about one’s own physical or emotional limitations during a Yoga
class, especially if you are the teacher!
It is
completely understandable if you feel tempted to simply gloss over any pain or
discomfort you feel, so that you can impress your students with your level of
physical aptitude and dexterity when you are performing any number of
challenging Yoga postures. However, the deeper level of learning comes from
setting an honest example for your students, by allowing yourself to
appropriately share your own struggles with your personal Yoga practice during
class. When you do share your own personal life experiences, including your
challenges during your own Yoga practice, your students will be emboldened by
your perseverance and level of accomplishment.
If you
are training to become a certified Yoga instructor, or you are currently
certified and teaching classes on a regular basis, without a doubt you have
persevered through any number of obstacles, in order to hone your skills as a
teacher and to continue to deepen in your own practice. For instance, it may
have taken you months or even years to learn how to link the postures together
with your breath in one long, dance-like vinyasa. Or you may have found it to
be particularly difficult to balance in Handstand in the middle of the room for
more than a few seconds at a time.
By
sharing the challenges you have encountered during your own personal Yoga journey with your students, they will be inspired by your level of dedication
to the practice and by your determination to honor and work with your own body,
until you developed the necessary strength, balance and flexibility to perform
many asanas safely and effectively. The underlying respect, compassion and
fortitude that you exemplify in your own practice will teach your students how
to honor their own transformational process during their time on the mat, as
they practice Yoga in an honest, compassionate and nonviolent way.
Compassion,
or nonviolence, is one of the primary injunctions of the practice, according to
Patanjali’s Yoga Sutras. In these short, timeless aphorisms, Patanjali
systematically explains how to follow a Yogic path, while engaging in a
balanced practice of postures, breathing exercises and meditation techniques.
Ultimately, by following the precepts and recommendations found in the Yoga
Sutras, a practitioner ideally reaches a state of enlightened perfection.
Although a state of enlightenment may remain elusive for many of us, honoring
our own truth is a critical first step to achieving a basic level of peace and
well-being.
By
modeling truthfulness during your Yoga classes, you will be setting a very real
and practical example for your students. As they learn to compassionately honor
and work with their fluctuating physical and emotional needs during a class,
they will truly begin to learn the power of seeing, speaking and moving in a
truthful fashion. By sharing your own journey with your students, you will set
a shining example of the transformative power of candor and nonviolence. You
will also set an example for your students of the power of courage and the
benefits committing to a regular Yoga practice.
Virginia Iversen, M.Ed, has been practicing and studying the art of Yoga for over twenty years. She lives in Woodstock, New York, where she works as a writer and an academic support specialist. She is currently accepting Yoga and health-related writing orders and may be contacted at: enchantress108@gmail.com.
© Copyright 2015 – Virginia Iversen / Aura Wellness Center – Publications Division
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2 comments:
When teachers share their own personal life experiences, including their challenges during their own Yoga practice, then their students will be emboldened by their perseverance and level of accomplishment. Thanks for posting this informative article.
By modeling truthfulness during our Yoga classes, we can setting a very real and practical example for our students. Thanks for sharing this helpful guideline.
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