by Kara-Leah Grant She's sometimes referred to as "the Madonna of Yoga" - at least, that's what Vanity Fair called Shiva Rea when she did a desert photo shoot for them in 2007. But magazines love catchy monikers and as someone who grew up idolising Madonna and has studied with Shiva... the two women are nothing alike. "I'm not sure what exactly what they were referring to, whether it was my boldness, but I'm not into being a yoga celebrity at all. At all! Humility for me is a really important … [Read more...]
Search Results for: astanga
Should I Tell Students it’s My First Class Teaching?
by Kelly Fisher, Urban Yoga Kelly is our resident yoga teacher mentor, answering questions from readers about how to teach and what to do when issues come up. You can email Kelly your question here. The Yoga Teacher’s Question: “Should I tell the students it is my first class teaching?” Kelly our Yoga Teacher Mentor Gives her Answer: “I get this question often and there are good reasons to tell them and good reasons not to tell them. My personal bias is for transparency and honesty. … [Read more...]
Are there Ethical Issues to Consider Before Teaching Family Members?
by Kelly Fisher, Urban Yoga Kelly is our resident yoga teacher mentor, answering questions from readers about how to teach and what to do when issues come up. You can email Kelly your question here. The Yoga Teacher’s Question: "I've got my RYT 200 and have been teaching once a week for about a year. I've got a family member who could benefit from some yoga. She is not able to attend classes because of physical limitations resulting from surgery and ongoing health conditions so I think … [Read more...]
Ashtanga: Why it’s so Important to Trust the Process
by Kara-Leah Grant, Musings from the Mat One of the great gifts of sharing my internal processes of life so honestly on-line is that I learn from myself. Often, a few years after I’ve written an article, I will re-read it and see the illusions that I was labouring under at the time. Yes, the article is usually about an insight into a difficulty, but there is always another layer or level of illusion. Through re-reading my own articles I’m able to watch myself wake up and become more … [Read more...]
Ashtanga: I Don’t Want to Break My Knees
by Kara-Leah Grant, Musings from the Mat My knees ache. They have been since about April of this year - about three months into a regular Mysore-style Ashtanga practice, two or three times a week. I also do a regular home practice of vinyasa, prana-led asana (slow and steady), meditation and pranayama. I've been able to do Half Lotus for some years now, including Standing Bound Half Lotus (without the forward fold). I have never had any prior knee issues or pain. Although my grandmother … [Read more...]
How do I Deal with Different Levels of Students in the Same Yoga Class?
by Kelly Fisher, Urban Yoga Kelly is our resident yoga teacher mentor, answering questions from readers about how to teach and what to do when issues come up. You can email Kelly your question here. The Yoga Teacher’s Question: “How do I deal with very different levels of students in the same class? As much as I would like to have all the students of similar levels in one class, it never seems to work out that way. Also, how do I deal with over-ambitious students jumping into asanas … [Read more...]
What do I do when a Student Complains about Wrist Pain and Wants to Leave Class?
by Kelly Fisher, Urban Yoga Kelly is our resident yoga teacher mentor, answering questions from readers about how to teach and what to do when issues come up. You can email Kelly your question here. The Yoga Teacher's Question: “There it was yesterday: my first and rather frustrating setback in my teaching experience. I have a student who suffers from a lot of wrist pain. She comes along to my 45 minute class that is short, sharp and energetic. Because I know she requires special … [Read more...]
How To Overcome Your Fears During Yoga Teacher Training
by Kelly Fisher, Urban Yoga Kelly works as a mentor for students wanting to move toward teacher training, currently training as teachers, or fresh out of training. In these articles, she shares some of the questions she's asked. You can ask her your questions by sending her an email. Question: I am in teacher training and I feel as if my teachers aren't giving the structure or guidance I was expecting to find my "voice". They kind of just throw us in it and then critique us … [Read more...]
Yoga Injuries and Pain During Yoga Class – What’s the Story?
by Kara-Leah Grant, Musings from the Mat Matthew Remski is currently researching asana-related injuries in an attempt to understand what we are actually doing with yoga, and how we can know the value or safety of the postures we practice. After taking the time to read his first article on the subject - What Are We Actually Doing in Asana - I found myself asking questions about my practice and the pain I sometimes experience in yoga. In particular, Matthew says: I would like to explore … [Read more...]
Drishti and The Relativity of Truth
by Melissa Billington How you’re looking is how you’re going to see it. And how you’ve seen it is how you think it should be. Unless you see it and change it. A story is not just a story. It’s your view to life itself. Your interpretation creates your world. This is a quote from my play, PocaHAUNTus—shapeshifting history into Herstory, that I’m in the middle of writing. Writing this play has been an enormous challenge because one of the main premises is the relativity of truth, as the … [Read more...]