Namaskaram,

Are you underestimating your potential?

Today I spoke to a woman who wanted to ask me a few questions about my upcoming retreat. We ended up on the phone for a while discussing yoga and teaching.

She had mentioned she had a desire to teach privates but does not yet have any private clients. She stated that she doesn’t feel like she is ready to work one on one with someone and wants to first learn more things about teaching a private.

Listening to her I thought to myself, if she is a yoga teacher and already has been teaching for a few years and also is certified in Thai yoga massage, then what she is telling herself that is the only factor holding her back.

I shared with her my experience of when I first started with private clients. Before I moved to Florida I had only taught group classes. I ended up getting a few yoga privates through some friends who were personal trainers. They told their clients that on top of weight training, it would be very beneficial for them to stretch more and yoga would be a great asset to making them feel better.

At first I thought “Oh no, I have never done a private before.” But one Mantra I live by is “when a good opportunity comes to you…say YES.” You can always change your mind but you won’t know unless you give something a chance.

I then encouraged myself by changing my thoughts. If I can teach yoga to a group class and I am confident about yoga then I can teach one person.

The way I teach privates now is very different than I did three years ago but this is because I continued to discover, learn and test everything on my clients. As much as they were learning from me I was also learning from them. So my advice to Sue today was….if you get a private client, take it. The only way you will begin to feel comfortable teaching a private is by doing one and then another and trying different things out. If you are certified in teaching yoga and teach classes, you can teach a private.

I think a lot of the time our mind defeats our actions before we have even taken action. Usually it is not about training or knowledge, it is fear of not being good enough and stepping out of our comfort zone.

 Allow that little intuitive voice  to whisper only positive affirmations to yourself and be daring to step out of comfort and into challenge! This is not just the case for teaching yoga but about everything in life. Sometimes if we tap into our reservoir of courage, we can take huge leaps beyond where we imagined we could go.

Your Comments Were Terrific!

Thanks for all you input and feedback for those of you who commented on the pictures of Harlan being in a restorative pose. Lots of you had very logical ideas and gave this some serious thought.

Some of you focused on parts of the body that I was not concerned about working on. The reason I put him in that position was that I wanted to stretch his psoas, quadriceps and top of his foot.

Due to the fact I work one on one with Harlan everyday (because he is a yoga nut), I have gotten to know his body very well.

I was not trying to put him in a modified pose that resembled another pose.

I specifically only wanted to stretch and bring greater sensation to certain isolated areas of his body.

The reason I used two bolster was for extra support and to enable him to go deeper into that position. By having the bolster up against the wall, he was able to have something behind the top of his foot and get his heel closer to his buttocks.

Yes, I could have used a blanket under his knee but he needed more height off the floor. By elevating his knee higher he could stretch more forward and experience more sensation in his psoas. He was also able to get his shin closer to the wall than if there was no bolster.

At this stage I was not concerned about having Harlan lift his arms above his head or even try to take hold of his foot. Nor did I want him to adjust his tailbone down or lift his spine more upright. The intensity of him being in this position alone for his body was good the way it was.

Eventually I would change the pose and add in other alignment issues.  In this example of this position with Harlan, I am very familiar with what is tight in his body and where he needs to open and stretch more.

Doing what I did with him may not be appropriate for someone else. That is why there is not a one size fits all yoga approach when you are working one on one with someone. 

People gave great suggestions and feedback about what else I should have had him do or focus on but he is not at that point yet. That was one stage and them we go onto the next.

Celebrate all this is….

Peace on the journey,

Love Sara

Reflections on the Yoga Journal Conference

Everywhere I looked there were yogis and yoginis of all ages, sizes and shapes.  Everyone was warm and friendly and there was an amazing atmosphere in all of the classes.

I spent Friday in an Intensive with Dharma Mitra who is a true master.  They call him "the teacher's teacher."  He has a wonderful sense of humor and a deep sense of spirituality.  If you ever find he is doing a local training - take it.  And if you ever visit New York, be sure to drop by his studio.

If you've never studied with Dharma, when he says "Downward Dog" he doesn't mean just "Downward Dog."  People begin doing all kinds of funky inversions and handstands.  Well, other people.  I just stayed in "Downward Dog."

I took two classes with Yogini par-excellence Shiva Rea.  One was on Mandalas and the other one was on Hand stands.  As an honorary member of Shiva's tribe, her assistants Maria Garre, Coral Brown, and Lisa took super care of me.  Of course, Shiva kept her eagle eye on me to make sure I behaved and didn't stress my wrist.

One additional class I took worthy of mention was with Dr. Timothy McCall, the author of Yoga As Medicine.  The class was on treating Carpal Tunnel Syndrome with yoga.  He also focused on poses for people with carpal tunnel and wrist injuries.  McCall is an expert who spent a great deal of time with Iyengar in India.  If you find McCall giving a workshop near you - take it.

I hope all of y'all (as they say in the South) will join us on the free Conference Call next week.

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