A third and last post of my thoughts on David Keil’s adjustment workshop…
Whether a workshop is great or just ok depends for sure on the quality of the presenter’s material and how they share it, but I think it also depends on the group of participants. The adjustment workshop in Savannah was especially good because everyone really wanted to learn.
All the time spent assisting others and being assisted got me thinking…we never really practice alone.
Even early in the morning, when I’m the only one in the studio or when I throw my mat down in a quiet spot somewhere, ostensibly to practice alone, my practice is really not "mine". It's really a cumulative product of everyone who has ever guided me, assisted me or just breathed alongside of me...along with my own "stuff" of course. When I think “I” have just done something new that I’ve never done before in my asana practice, I should really be thinking “we”. I might be doing the action, but the credit goes to everyone who was along on the ride.
If I think of it like this, it gives the ego’s hold on thoughts of "achievement" a good shake. This shifts my feelings to ones of gratitude and makes me smile. I realize that we never really practice in isolation. The community and lineage is always present.
Showing posts with label Savannah Yoga Center. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Savannah Yoga Center. Show all posts
Monday, November 1, 2010
Wednesday, October 27, 2010
More thoughts from David Keil's adjustment workshop...
David's workshops are very much hands-on and the adjustment workshop was no exception. Interestingly though, some of the thoughts that have been swirling around since the workshop actually came out of the first 45 minutes or so of general discussion about adjustments.
When you put the obvious physical stuff aside, the workshop group seemed to come to a conclusion that an effective adjustment (verbal, physical, or energetic) came down to student-teacher relationship. There needs to be both a willingness on the part of the teacher to communicate in a way that the student can understand and a willingness on the part of the student to listen for the adjustment to be effective.
It’s interesting to me that after all the fuss in recent years over whether to use physical adjustments (people usually love them or hate them) that it all really seems to come down to relationships…probably the most complicated, yet rewarding, part of life that we navigate. No wonder we have such strong feelings about adjustments!
As a teacher asking students (and I do think it is always asking, never demanding) to go somewhere physically vulnerable or uncomfortable is a big deal (supta kurmasana adjustment anyone!?!). …and then to see students willingly go where they’re asked is humbling. To hear David’s thoughts echo my own on the mutual surrender of ego in this process gave me lots more to ponder on.
When you put the obvious physical stuff aside, the workshop group seemed to come to a conclusion that an effective adjustment (verbal, physical, or energetic) came down to student-teacher relationship. There needs to be both a willingness on the part of the teacher to communicate in a way that the student can understand and a willingness on the part of the student to listen for the adjustment to be effective.
It’s interesting to me that after all the fuss in recent years over whether to use physical adjustments (people usually love them or hate them) that it all really seems to come down to relationships…probably the most complicated, yet rewarding, part of life that we navigate. No wonder we have such strong feelings about adjustments!
As a teacher asking students (and I do think it is always asking, never demanding) to go somewhere physically vulnerable or uncomfortable is a big deal (supta kurmasana adjustment anyone!?!). …and then to see students willingly go where they’re asked is humbling. To hear David’s thoughts echo my own on the mutual surrender of ego in this process gave me lots more to ponder on.
Monday, March 8, 2010
Day 1: Yoga vacation with David Keil
...so when I first started learning Ashtanga yoga, I lived in Miami and had the luxury of a local yoga studio with Mysore style classes and multiple excellent teachers...
...fast forward a few years and I have left the big city for a smallish college town that suits me far better, but have sadly left my yoga teachers behind.
For the past 4 years I have done home practice and spent a week practicing with my teacher twice a year. This week is my week of practice with David Keil (my teacher) and this time I'm in Savannah, GA. David gives me lots of "homework" during each practice week...enough that I'm just about ready for more in 6 months when I travel to practice with him again. I have no doubt this week will be no different. It's helpful in those long stretches of home practice to know that I will see a teacher in 6 months and that he will be expecting that I have practiced! It's motivation to keep the intensity of practice up when nobody's watching! :)
Practice thoughts for today:
You know how, when your car starts making some kind of funny noise and you finally take it into the shop, that inevitably it stops making any noises and runs great?! Well, for me, practicing with David is a bit like that. It seems like every time I'm starting a practice week with David, I'm coming into it having tweaked something. I've tweaked shoulders while biking, ankles and knees while running, etc. By the end of the first practice with David's adjustments, the tweaks are gone. Everything is running great.
A big thanks to the the great group at Savannah Yoga Center! They have a beautiful studio and a great group of students to practice with.
...fast forward a few years and I have left the big city for a smallish college town that suits me far better, but have sadly left my yoga teachers behind.
For the past 4 years I have done home practice and spent a week practicing with my teacher twice a year. This week is my week of practice with David Keil (my teacher) and this time I'm in Savannah, GA. David gives me lots of "homework" during each practice week...enough that I'm just about ready for more in 6 months when I travel to practice with him again. I have no doubt this week will be no different. It's helpful in those long stretches of home practice to know that I will see a teacher in 6 months and that he will be expecting that I have practiced! It's motivation to keep the intensity of practice up when nobody's watching! :)
Practice thoughts for today:
You know how, when your car starts making some kind of funny noise and you finally take it into the shop, that inevitably it stops making any noises and runs great?! Well, for me, practicing with David is a bit like that. It seems like every time I'm starting a practice week with David, I'm coming into it having tweaked something. I've tweaked shoulders while biking, ankles and knees while running, etc. By the end of the first practice with David's adjustments, the tweaks are gone. Everything is running great.
A big thanks to the the great group at Savannah Yoga Center! They have a beautiful studio and a great group of students to practice with.
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