Teaching Tips & Training Quips

Say Yes to Brightness,
To Certainty, To Health
Say no to dullness,
To doubt, to filth.

Say Yes to Careful,
To Enthusiasm, to Aim
Say no to Careless,
To Backsliding, to Lame.

Say yes to activity,
To Attention, To humility.
Say no to Heedless,
Inertia, Instability.

How to say NO
To such 9 Disturbances?
Create a “no” prop
To play interference.

A block will work wonders
To impede interruptions.
Place between your hands
To help with deductions.

Press your hands in
To fire your inner shoulders.
Breathe your arms up
And become a beholder.

Keep pressing in
To activate what’s dull.
Reach the block up high
As well as your skull.

Hold a block in one hand
Lift up your opposite knee
Tilt to block side
Finding freedom is key.

Place the “no” block
Right between your thighs.
I know it is awkward
May your enthusiasm rise!

Press your thighs back
Keep your shins fixed.
Fold Forward, touch the floor
Breathe steady while betwixt.

Step back into Downward Dog,
Bend your knees a lot.
Press your block up and back
Notice your train of thought!

Shift forward into plank
Lower down flat like a pancake.
Keep shins pressing down
Lift thighs up with a mandate.

Stretch your belly and heart forward,
Hips back toward your toes
Open your shoulders
Like a polyphonic prose.

Press back to Down Dog
Come down to table.
Remove your block
Keep hands and shins stable.

Prepare to find freedom
With boundaries no less.
In this grounded pose
We call “No Table Yes”.

As you stretch right leg back
Exhale Yes to Higher Aim.
As you bring knee to forehead
Inhale No to Lame.

Your spine arches and curves
As you continue 5 times
Try it fast, Try it slow
Switch sides
Cause it’s prime.

Sit is easy pose
Tune into your frame.
Each inhale in
Think Yes to high aim.

Each exhale out
Think No to Lame
May this help you
Up your game.

“Whatever follows I AM will find you.” This sentiment can be expressed in so many ways. “Like attracts like,” “Energy follows thought.” However we choose to express it, the belief that our thoughts influence how we feel, act and interact in the world is undeniable. This idea is a rich theme and one I’ve explored deeply in Grounded classes. The following activity can serve as an introduction, a culminating project, or an ongoing art activity throughout a class series. These beautifully telling photos are from a special 3 hour Grounded gathering with some of my long time students and a few brand new ones.  

It seems obvious that teaching yoga requires flexibility, right? You have to be physically able to do most poses to teach them and to have credibility as a teacher. You need to have flexibility in your lesson plans to be able to teach to the level of the students in your class. And, in my experience teaching children’s yoga, you need an additional level of flexibility. You need to help the parents feel comfortable.
I teach in several different locations, and most parents are thrilled to send their children to yoga. However, living in the South on a very conservative side of town, I run into parents who are concerned about the practice of yoga. On several occasions I have had to answer the common question, “is yoga a religion?” No joke, I have even been told that I practice yoga; therefore, I am going straight to Hell. Years ago, I had a lengthy phone discussion with DeAnna Smothers, co-founder of Yaweh Yoga, a….

I want to share some experiences and some trial and errors to encourage teachers to continue with their mission, even when it seems like you’ve hit the wall, or run out of ideas, or question if you are making a difference. 

Yes, we all hit the wall.  If we didn’t, we wouldn’t know what’s on the other side. The climb over can be tough, but anything that’s easy is just that, easy.  Teaching children is a challenge.  Teachers need to be able to tap into their own light, with conviction, to put forth their best effort, class after class, year after year.  All teachers understand that, right?  But, what if you are teaching pre-school children? What if you are introducing them to something brand new and want them to love it so they will continue?  What if you were teaching them yoga?