Classes

Today was our fourth full day of classes. Daniel Aaron is the owner of the program and our primary teacher every day. In addition, he brings in experts in a variety of subjects other than yoga. So far this week we have had one session on Neuro Linguistic Programing (NLP), three sessions on Ayurveda, and two sessions on nutrition. These supplemental subjects are helpful in gaining a broader perspective in addition to just the logistics of teaching a yoga class.

NLP is interesting way of looking at how language is related to achieving specific goals. In regards to teaching yoga, it is relevant in establishing rapport, interpreting verbal and non-verbal responses, and helping students integrate changes into their lives. A basic example is to say something like "see if you can XYZ" rather than "this pose is challenging so it's okay if you can't do it." The second statement sets people up to have a difficult experience so it is important as a teacher to use language that will promote success.

Ayurveda looks at attributes (known as gunas) and classifies people into three types (doshas): Vata, Pitta and Kapha. Everyone has all three doshas present but in varying degrees. I am primarily Pitta with a lot of Vata and low Kapha. Some of the characteristics of Pitta are a sharp mind, highly organized, enjoys challenges, etc. When the doshas get out of balance, there are certain things you can do (foods to eat or avoid, climates that are helpful, etc.) to help bring yourself back in alignment.

Last night we met Simon Borg-Olivier who is an amazing yogi! He put on a performance for us that was incredible - I took a video but it's too big to upload over the slow internet connection. There are plenty to watch on You Tube if you are interested. He's a bit of a yoga celebrity and tomorrow morning we have a class with him so we are all filled with nervous excitement.

Also tomorrow we are having a full day of silence - we have been doing 3 hrs of silence each morning which is pretty easy so it will be interesting to see how everyone does with a full day. In addition to not talking, we are supposed to stay away from reading and writing - basically any distractions. To top it off, it's a day of juice fasting so instead of having regular meals, we will be drinking fresh juices all day. It's going to be quite the day! So it will be at least Saturday before I am back online...