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Jessica made me think about it, then I started writing -

10/2/2012

2 Comments

 
There are excellent teachers.
There are excellent students.

There are teachers who are improving through their study, their practice and their correct expression of asana practice.
There are students who are improving through their study, their practice and their correct application of asana practice.

There are a lot of passionate, caring, yet seriously under-talented and misdirected  teachers out there putting students at risk. Sad, but true. Trying doesn’t a teacher make. And, a certificate is not knowledge.

There are some really shitty teachers who simply shouldn’t be teaching asana practice or any level of awareness. Ouch, but true.

There are a lot of passionate, caring, yet seriously under-listening, over-egoing and misdirected students out there putting themselves at risk. We see them, some seek them because that’s where the ‘advanced level poses’ are expected – expected, I repeat.

There are a lot of pleasant, good-hearted people, students and teachers, who have encountered yoga in their physical body, but are applying mentalities like ‘no pain, no gain’, ‘penance’, ‘reward or punishment’, ‘escape’… asana practice is being you, with you – not any of those things.

There are some really egoistic competitive people abusing themselves through asana practice who shouldn’t be. Life is inherently dangerous and as robust as we are created, we are frail when abused; e.g. Madonna stumbling around  - call it the heels, but 5+ hours of Astanga a day for over a decade would more likely be called ‘destabilized joints and diminished integrity in the connective tissues.’

And, please knock it off with the haterism crap - when you love someone or thing, you're willing to say it true... would you  blame a mother for sreaming 'no!" if her child was about to touch a hot stove? I'm sad  that someone who was so expressive and involved in physical expression had to take it to the Spinal Tap 11 and  just screw the pooch (special Sanskrit term). I love her, but she pretty much epitomizes ego…

Teachers – be students and do your own work so your teaching isn’t to stroke your ego or to perfect someone else’s form, but rather to share the teachings of awareness and presence via asana practice.

Students – be students, listen, ask questions, probe, learn, ask why, but again, most of all, listen. That’s your part of the deal. Do no harm, pay attention, not  on how to ‘get into a pose’ –  but on how to get out of that mind.

GIve thanks and praise!
2 Comments
Mel Herrman
13/2/2012 07:28:37 am

Right on. Your eloquence in the spoken and written word is truly a gift, and an inspiration each time I step on the mat as a student and a teacher. Thank you for sharing and for listening and for you. You inspire me every damn day, somehow, some way.

Reply
Jessica
15/2/2012 04:57:54 am

I'm honored that i inspired you to write, Chris. Asana practice is like learning how to cook. Following a recipe verbatim just might lead to an intuitive process where ingredients are no longer separable from the essence of the dish itself. Joy might even take over in the kitchen- if you're really paying attention through all the trial and bad-tasting errors along the way.

What this post does for me is serve as a reminder. Of being a yoga practitioner, i am: 1) Lucky as f*ck to participate at all, 2) Grateful for the income that enabled me to practice in a class setting, 3) Incredulous that i met more than a few fellow juggernauts who are unabashedly seeking to empower and improve themselves, and 4) Still uncertain that yoga, much less asana, provides the optimal path to knowing one's self. Of the last point of view, it reflects an unwavering, albeit scary, sense that i have that there are no answers to many of the questions i seek. Therefore, i don't expect my teachers (incl. family, colleagues, neighbors) to have the answers, either.

I go in peace. Thanks for opening up to comments, Chris. ♥

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