I met a group of women yesterday at a special high tea held at the Hay-Adams hotel in Washington, DC. We shared personal challenges and triumphs and what we were "on fire" about or not...During one of our breaks, a young woman told me that she had recently gone to a Bikram yoga class - a 90-minute session of 26 yoga poses repeated twice and done in a very hot room.
This was her first experience with yoga and she had attended with a friend. Astounded by the intensity of the session, at one point she decided she needed a break and made a move to leave the room. The yoga instructor stopped her and "told" her that she was not allowed to! What??? A few years ago I wrote a post about a work colleague who was not allowed to remain in a class and now this time someone told me that she wasn't allowed to leave the class just for a few moments!
Wow! My experience with yoga classes is admittedly limited and so I may be naive about how such classes are done - especially Bikram yoga since it involves 2 rounds of yoga poses. But, I just can't imagine taking a class for the first time and not being allowed to take a break if needed. The yoga instructor sounded like a drill sergeant or a coach on a varsity high school team. In those situations, yes you can't just take a break when you want.
In my humble opinion, however, a yoga class instructor should be an encouraging coach who guides you along - but doesn't force you into anything! "Forcing" someone to do or not do something in a class is so antithetical to the spirit of yoga - at least the way I learned it! And yoga instructors should ask and know how much experience new class participants have when they join a class.
No wonder injuries sustained in yoga classes are increasingly common! As I always say - learn yoga in slow, deliberate, baby steps and you won't overexert yourself, get sore, or risk injury. This is why I continue to practice in the safety, comfort, and convenience of my home and why I haven't been injured doing yoga.
Yours for listening to your body as you do yoga and taking breaks as needed,
Laura Venecia Rodriguez, the beginner's yoga at home coach (for regular, REAL people)
You already know my story about that humiliating teacher; while he did let me leave class, but he nonetheless pursued some agenda that cost me money and aggravation!
News about that teacher is that he's since moved on to different things; most of the time away from dealing with actual students (as opposed to teacher trainees - who've already proven to have drunk much of the studio "Kool Aid", as it were) ... lol. He's become a big shot in the yoga world. But the most important thing is that he has not changed; it's just he had the perspicacity to recognize this and chose to promulgate a mild style that straitjacketed his very nature. Adjustments and walking around intimidating students in class practically non-existent in that style, but you could show off and bloviate at the front of the class all you please.
[I wish ALL teachers who have that problem, would do that. Works for ME!]
Posted by: Tina | November 15, 2011 at 09:30 AM
I forgot to say, that's an excellent salabhasana ... I bet your dhanurasana is not too shabby (under-statement) ... judging by your blog, I bet your back thanks you every day ...
I know that your asanas are never photoshopped ...
Posted by: Tina | November 15, 2011 at 08:17 PM
Thanks, Tina for all your comments. And, you're right - I have no photoshopped pictures! I don't know how to use that software. I just took photos with my digital camera using a timer and a tripod. I did everything in the book myself except for about 3-4 photos that my daughter took because I didn't want to jump into the poses too fast because of the timer.
It sounds to me as if you could teach your own class! The RIGHT way!
Posted by: Laura Rodriguez | November 15, 2011 at 08:37 PM
Thank you for your kind and flattering words. Unfortunately for today's yoga world, my best physical culture talents lay elsewhere. Back when my feet had not been compromised by plantar fasciitis and heel spurs, I had thought about becoming a step aerobics instructor.
As I have passed the 4-1/2 year mark for regular yoga practice, I have branched out into 5 Rhythms ... the core endurance developed by vinyasa yoga make this possible, by helping with my balance and taking stress off my feet ...
Always having had a strong sense of rhythm and being light on my feet are my main attributes. You could only imagine what having bad feet used to do for years, to pursuing dance as a form of exercise and movement ... Money I save doing yoga mostly at home, goes to an occasional workshop—in 5 Rhythms.
Posted by: Tina | November 16, 2011 at 11:04 AM
Have you considered doing/teaching zumba classes? That's fun! I took a free one as part of a conference - loved it. But, my time to attend classes is next to nil.
Posted by: Laura Rodriguez | November 16, 2011 at 07:15 PM