Assisting Alana

Yesterday I got to assist Alana's Restorative Workshop.  She is such a natural.  Her inclination is towards saying less, which is a huge skill.  Her ability to be quiet in the face of something new is totally inspiring.

Assisting is such a treat.  You are allowed to be fully present with each peep without any distraction of moving the class along, holding the space or keeping the rhythm.  In fact, when you assist, you realize how distracted you really can be when you are teaching.

Alana and I have talked a lot about this, especially in regards to our Help of Ojai class.  She noticed that when she taught her first class over there last week that she barely saw anyone.

There must be a medium ground that we are coming to.  I notice that since teaching at Help, I show up with a lot less to get done as a teacher.  This helps as it allows for more space to connect.  But the role of the modern yoga teacher seems to be so much the creation and holding of the container.  I imagine that as my being expands, the creation of the container will take less effort.