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About Elissa Jordan

Helping to balance out her 9-5 work day, Elissa is a yoga teacher (Healium, 276 Lambton Quay, Mondays 5.30pm, and various gyms), a wine enthusiast and a dark chocolate nut (no reference sourced). Hailing from the wilds of Northern Ontario, she now calls windy Welly home. Her column, Adventures in Teaching, is designed to open a dialogue for new teachers. Voicing questions and answers, doubts and insights, she aims for harmony between action and intention. You can ask her a specific question about teaching here.

How teaching yoga can trigger your issues

August 28, 2012 by 9 Comments
Drop the story

by regular columnist Elissa Jordan, Adventures in Teaching I’m feeling utterly dejected this morning. Getting out of bed - struggle. Getting to work - struggle. Talking to people - struggle. What’s got me so down? While teaching last night one of my students remarked about what a difference there was between the Wednesday and Monday night classes. Wednesday, my class, on the night was six people. Monday, another teacher’s class, was overflowing. No real judgement was made - good or … [Read more...]

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How to deliver consistent care as a covering yoga teacher

August 3, 2012 by 1 Comment
Managing a change of yoga teacher requires care

by regular columnist Elissa Jordan, Adventures in Teaching I was covering a class last week for a very popular Wellington based teacher. She had given me a set sequence to follow and wished me luck. Turns out I would need a small smattering of that luck. I sat myself behind the desk, ready to check clients in as they arrived. All was going well until a very flustered lady came rushing in. She stopped short: ‘Where’s Nicole*?’ I explained that she was away on holiday. Whose going to … [Read more...]

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How to grow a successful new yoga class

July 13, 2012 by Leave a Comment
A new yoga class needs tending

by regular columnist Elissa Jordan, Adventures in Teaching Lots of things have been happening in my yoga teaching world over the past few months. I’ve been quitting classes, starting classes, transitioning classes, having classes covered for me and covering for others. The quitting, starting and transitioning came about as I took stock of how I was spending my energy. I realised changes need to be made to ensure I was being of service to those I was meeting on the mat. Covering classes … [Read more...]

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Leave your assumptions at the door and open to your full potential

April 4, 2012 by 3 Comments
Brooklyn, Wellington

by regular columnist Elissa Jordan, Adventures in Teaching I live in Brooklyn, Wellington. If you’re not familiar with Wellington, Brooklyn is at the top of a hill. A very long, steep hill. To cycle from work to home is just over 3km. Brooklyn hill makes up about 1.5km of uphill climb. It’s a monster. Why am I telling you all this? Because when I first moved to Wellington I spent weeks telling myself I couldn’t cycle up that hill. Finally one day I decided to give it a go. I got … [Read more...]

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How to get the most out of any yoga teacher training – ask questions!

March 15, 2012 by 5 Comments
Having access to a skilled senior teacher can do wonders for your practice

by regular columnist Elissa Jordan, Adventures in Teaching I’ve had the same conversation a countless number of times since I started training to be a yoga teacher - a conversation about continuity in access to a skilled senior teacher. Traditionally yoga was taught over many years from a guru to a student. This student would often live in their guru’s home and what was given to them for a practice was never once questioned. Times have changed and in this busy world people don’t … [Read more...]

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Managing fear when teaching yoga

February 25, 2012 by 11 Comments
When dealing with doubt and fear, sometimes the best approach is to just lay back and breathe.

Elissa has been writing for The YLB for awhile now, and has decided to officially become one of our regular columnists. She'll be focusing on her adventures as a newbie teacher, plus researching and answering any questions readers might have about becoming, or being, a yoga teacher. by regular columnist Elissa Jordan, Adventures in Teaching Am I good enough? Can I do this? No matter who you are or what you’re trying to do, questions like these can creep up from time to time. And the more … [Read more...]

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