Observations/Assisting

Excepts on Assisting and Observation Requirments from Weekend Training Autumn 2009

Observation 1 – Rocket 1 with Donavan

It was a great class. Donavan is so awesome in his practice. He is calm and focused. He has beautiful poses. He did lot of verbal adjustments which I liked very much. 

The only problem for me was that his voice was so soft that I could barely hear him, especially because I’m still not familiar with Rocket routine, it would have been so difficult for me to follow if I was doing the actual practice with the class.

Also there was this intense lady in the corner doing her own thing. And that was extremely distracting. And her sounds added on to my difficulty hearing Donavan’s already soft voice.

I wouldn’t know what is the best “yoga” way to get rid of a student like that lady, but her presence really affected the energy of the class 

Observation 2 – Modified Primary with Annie

I loved Annie’s class. From the beginning, she was very warm and kind. She welcomed everyone and introduced herself.

She explained why we were doing certain poses in certain ways to the students and that really helped me a lot. There are tons of poses I do in Yoga without realizing why. I do it because I’m supposed to. But she made it easy for her students to understand and remember reasons and benefits. I loved her language, using metaphors like waterfall, silk thread, etc. The pace of the practice was also perfect, not too fast and not too slow.

Also I loved her teaching voice. She was soft, but not too soft, and very clear. She was also very patient with her students and took time to give physical adjustments. I also really appreciated her Savasana adjustments as well. It made me wish that I was in savasana with them.

Observation 3 – Rocket 2 with Larry

Larry’s class is always fun. It’s definitely different than the other 2 classes I have observed before since it is consisted of more experienced yogi.

Unlike other classes, Larry did not have to explain every pose to the students. He could simply name poses and students were able to follow. This gave Larry more time to look around and give adjustments and tell funny stories. It was really amazing watching a room full of strong students. Listening to the breathes and watching the pattern and feeling the flow was just beautiful.  

Observing a class like this and learning how to lead a class like this was definitely valuable for me. I realized how differently one should approach a class based on level of students you have. Since you do not want to bore your advanced students with explaining every move, you have to keep that momentum and add extra fun to it in order to give them an incentive to come back. Adding a couple for challenging poses with humor really changes the atmosphere and the experience of the practice. I felt very honored to be there to watch an incredibly moving practice.

Assisting 1 – Rocket 1 with Mary

It was my first time assisting. And I was nervous. In the beginning, I forgot to ask the student if she wanted adjustments. I knew I was supposed to but I got nervous and forgot. I felt bad.

Then I quietly asked other people and it got better. I realized how hard it is to let people’s bodies be adjusted. Sometimes, a student would want adjustment, but they are not relaxing that it was physically hard for me to change their bodies. Some people didn’t want to be touched and I completely understood. It took some energy to remind myself that it is nothing personal. When a person said no, I felt a little bit embarrassed. But I learned that this is how it really is and everyone’s different.

Overall, it was a great experience and I truly appreciated the opportunity. I think I’ll be less nervous for my next one.

Assisting 2 – Modified Primary with Marie

This was my first time adjusting a big class. It was actually quite challenging.First of all, most students were so great already that there weren’t much to adjust. Also there were 3 of us, so we already had more than enough hands to adjust.

And the students that needed adjusting were pretty much the same students that needed adjusting the whole time, so I felt bad going to them over and over again. I didn’t want to make them feel like they weren’t doing a great job by constantly changing them.

It was all the important to gauge the timing of adjusting, because you want to give the student a chance to get into the pose themselves first. But you don’t want to be there too late to adjust since Ashtanga Vinyasa is constantly moving, so it’s really easy to miss your chance. That happened to me several times during this adjusting.

One thing that I should really get over is touching sweaty men. I don’t mean to be a mean person by thinking that, but it just came naturally to me when I was giving adjustments. I had no problem with sweaty women, but when I was adjusting this sweaty man, I was getting really grossed out inside. I tried extremely hard to not show that side. As a kind yoga teacher, I should really do my best to change my perception of sweaty men.

Assisting 3 – Modified Primary with Mary

This was my third class adjusting and I felt more comfortable this time. I felt like I really getting the hang of it. But as always I got to learn new things.

Since Chris was injured form his car accident, it really gave me a great experience assisting an injured person. With Chris, I had to be ready and be there for him. I had to make sure that I was extra gentle and extra careful with his body. I had to give him soft adjustments and really listen to his needs. It made me become more mindful, caring, and understanding. It also felt great because it really me feel like I went through a special experience with the person that I was assisting. It was a great experience.

One thing is I am still struggling with breathing with students when I’m assisting. It is so easy to forget to breathe. Also staying with the same breathing pattern as the student you are adjusting is very difficult. I have to remember to be more mindful.