Stiff White Guys, Saturday 10:45

11 Peeps or so.

Way mixed group.  Combo of regulars and unusual beginners.  J brought her brother T who is deaf and she "sign-languaged" him through the whole class.  Totally cool.  I loved watching her do that and it compelled me to try to communicate more clearly physically.  I am not sure that worked, but maybe it could be learned.

4 Peeps were lying on bolsters at beginning of class, so we went with that.

Opening

Heart Opener on Bolster.

Breath Attention.

Easy Cross Legged Sacrum Work

Easy Forward Fold

Easy Side Bend

Switch Legs and Repeat Other Side

Cat/Cow

Plank

Dog

Uttanasana

Roll up to Standing

Tadasana

Ujayyi Breathing

1/4 Salutes

2 Rounds Easy Lunge Salutes

(Because J was signing everything to her brother, i left out the technical details and we focused more on breath and movement).

Warrior 2 Dance

PP

Tadasana

2 Rounds with long hold in Warrior 2 in second round

Balance Play

little Tree

Tree

Uttanasana

Squat

Transition to Backs

Windshield Wiper

Bridge x 2

Hand to Big Toe Pose with Strap

Easy Spinal Twist

Savasana

Stiff White Guys, Sunday, 10:00am

21 Peeps. Crowded. Two women from yesterday brought their husbands and everybody else came too. I arrived feeling like my heart was breaking. Ever since coming back from being home I have been in a vulnerable heightened state which is delightful and overwhelming.

When it's this crowded and there are a lot of people I do not know, I usually start supine. To ground the peeps and get a handle on who has shown up.

Opening
Knees to Chest
One knee to Chest, drawing knee in and away with breath
Eye of the Needle (Reverse Pigeon)
Release and rest and notice the effects.

Repeat Other Side.

Supine Hand to Big Toe Pose Sequence both sides, with rest in between.
(This provided some comedy cuz I did not have enough straps. So I had to give one woman a pair of lulu thongs to use.)

Knees to Chest and Roll up to Sitting.

Introduction of Twist Theme
Seated Cross Legged Slow Deliberate Twist with tailbone awareness and attention to the spine.
Both Sides

Strength Work
Transition onto all fours.
Cat/Dog
Childs
Half Dog
Rounded Back
Plank
Dog
Childs
Vajrasana for demo
All Fours
Plank
Dog
Uttanasana
(I am noticing that it seems easier for people to walk their hands to their feet than the opposite)

Chest and Shoulder Opener Sequence
Extended Tadasana
Cactus Arm Action
Strap Modification of Hands Clasped Behind Back Forward Fold

Bow n Arrow Arms
(Referencing the earlier twisting work and cactus arms)
Eagle Arm Wrap and Spine Round
(Both Sides)

Hands clasped Behind Back Forward Fold

Sun Salutations
Attention to Breath
1/4 Suns
1/2 Suns

Balance Work
Balance Play
Uttanasana
Little Tree (both sides)
Uttanasna and Squat
Big Tree (both sides)

Uttanasna
Squat
to Sitting

Backbending
Roll onto Back
Windshield Wiper Pose
Bridge Pose 2x

Unwinding
Knees to Chest
Abdominals
Spinal Twist

Savasana

Saturday, March 31, Stiff White Guys 10:45am

12 Peeps
Regulars

This class is usually packed with injuries and new people, so I was able to take advantage of the intimate familiar group and offer a few new ideas. One of the students had been bitten by a DOg, so we agreed to do downdog. This surprisingly led us to work on headstand preparation.

Starting on the backs
1) Hip Rotation Awareness.
2) Eye of the Needle to Half Happy Baby. Repeat other side.
3) Supta Padangustasana with Straps.

Roll to Sitting

4) Squat
5) Utanasana
6) Tadasana

7) Side Waist Stretch with Fingers interlaced and Palms Facing Up
8) Forward Fold with Fingers interlaced behind back
9) Half Chair to Utkatasana
10) Tadasana

Repeat with emphasis on working the underside of the stretch.

11) Breath Awareness with Tailbone movement
12) 1/4 Suns
13) Half Suns

14) Splat at Wall
15) Half Wall Dog
16) Wall Lunge
17) Splat
18) Half Wall Lunge with Leg Lift
19) Utanasana

20) Down Dog with Hands at wall (2x) (Childs Pose in between)
21) Down Dog without wall
22) Sphinx

23) Seated Shoulder Awareness Exercise
Lift right elbow to be in line with right shoulder, creating a 90 degree angle. Roll shoulder back and down. Use left hand to press into right forearm and press right forearm into left elbow creating awareness of the strength under the shoulder blade. Repeat other side. Finish by holding both arms in front of you and working like you are trying to squeeze the elbows together but resist and don't.

24) Dolphin
25) Sirsasana (headstand) Preparation

26) Sirsasana Preparation with 3 blocks at the Wall
Played with lifting legs. Some people went up!

27) Childs Pose
28) Bridge Pose 2x
29) Spinal Twist
30) Savasana
31) Sit an OM

Sharing Sequences

The sequences that actually get taught in class are almost always the result of who shows up. This includes me and my latest curiosities within my life and practice as well as all the practitioners. It is a familiar story among teachers to arrive at class with an idea of what you might do, only to be greeted with a set of circumstances that require the ability to spontaneously pull something totally new and unique together. But spontaneity takes practice and the willingness to not know what is going to happen.

When I first started teaching, I was lucky enough to be teaching Bikram in a Christina McCleod's Yoga Source in Palo Alto. I was able to practice leading people through the bends and twists without the additional burden of creating the sequence. Slowly, however, I began to tweak the postures and offer my own take. I started to notice injuries and have ideas about how to modify the shapes. I was also starting to be exposed to other forms of yoga and I eventually took the leap and started my own vinyasa classes.

At the time, I had a full time job and was teaching on the side. But I would spend hours at my "real job" preparing for my yoga classes, writing out sequences and talking them through in my head. When I got to the class, I had my sequences down. And of course, they would get tweaked a little, but not much. I relied on my ability to flow the group though the postures at a pace that would leave almost no time for questions. While ultimately limiting for me, this way of teaching allowed me to develop sequences that I still sometimes pull out. Like favorite recipes, it is super helpful to have reliable combinations to fall back on.

It was not until I moved to Ojai and began teaching full time that I started to really notice the actual needs of the community coming to class. My ability to weave and spin a creative vinyasa sequence became less interesting as exploring the possibility of actually teaching someone how to feel Yoga.

I started a class called 'Stiff White Guys Yoga' that drew a group that required that I create and learn an entirely new approach. I now allow my teaching to be awkward and exploring. Sometimes the sequence is clumsy. Sometimes brilliant and inspired. I seem to work in 3 week arcs. Meaning, I will hone in on idea, a technique, or theme and explore it across my classes in different directions.

In starting this particular blog, it is my intention to practice sharing these sequences. To share the creative process that is not always "successful", but always keeps the teaching fresh and new.

xo
k