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OPEN MIND OPEN BODY Teaching Reflections |
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What
Do We Ask of Our Students? Years
ago, I had a yoga teacher who told me I needed to stop dancing, because it
was keeping my muscles tight (particularly, muscles of the lower hips and
spine), and thus interfering with my spiritual development. At the time,
dancing was the one thing in my life that provided the greatest genuine
joy. Dancing made me courageous, compassionate, and ready to engage with
life. This yoga teacher told me about another of her students, a
professional ballet dancer, who had quit dancing to focus on the spiritual
challenge of fully “releasing her tailbone”. If she could do it, I should
do it. You
can imagine which I gave up – and I don’t miss her class at all. What
expectations do we have about our students’ commitment to yoga? What
expectations do we have about our students’ loyalty to us, and our
preferred approach to yoga? I’ve
heard of teachers setting all kinds of rules: If you’re not ready to
(fill in the blank), you’re not ready to practice yoga with me. The
rules vary – with one teacher, it’s giving up smoking, with another
teacher, it’s being a vegetarian, with another teacher, it’s giving up
an “unapproved” yoga practice with another teacher. One teacher I know
requires that students practice barefoot or not at all – any refusal to
take off shoes and socks is seen as a psychological barrier to true
spiritual practice. For a while, my own rule was being on time: show up on
time, or don’t practice. I’ve let that go now, and welcome students
whenever they show up. What
would have become of our own practice if our first yoga teacher had
demanded total commitment from us? Some of us may have thrived, but many
of us would have fled. As teachers, we must invite students to practice as
they are. It is the practice that transforms us – our attitudes, our
habits, our vices, our understanding. If we can expect students to
transform themselves before they enter our class, what are we teaching
yoga for, anyway? Students need the opportunity to learn the practice. It
is not our job to regulate their behavior outside our class, even if we
are interested in it. If they find value in other practices, whether it's
another form of yoga or an activity like my dancing, then we can encourage
their exploration. If they engage it activities that we find incompatible
with a yogic lifestyle, we can discuss it without judgment, or let it go. We
are teachers, not judges. If a student asks to learn, we meet them exactly
where they are, and welcome them. Return to Teaching Reflections
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