I’m glad you’re sticking with it and tried another class. Seems like the studio is a good fit generally, that’s not always easy to find. When I see how far I’ve come in the last 3 years (not just in terms of physical performance and being in touch with my body, although that’s a big part), it really amazes me.
I am going to be certified as an instructor next weekend… Now that I’ve been through my first training, I am no longer so surprised at how different/inconsistent teachers are. It seems to be a very inexact science, and most of what you get from it and are able to give to your students comes from your own personality, experiences etc. I guess I should have known because I’ve had teachers with hundreds and hundreds of hours of qualifications and 30 years experiences that I couldn’t stand, and others with minimal ‘education’ who were fantastic.
FWIW I have found that so far I find teaching and adjusting raw beginners and people with various health concerns/limitations to be more rewarding, and interesting, than admiring the talents and grace of people with natural aptitude. I suppose part of it is that I felt like the ‘worst student’ and got very frustrated by my physical limitations, for a while, so I have empathy. But also I really did decide to do this because I wanted to *help *people (and have no patience for real school). Becoming graceful at performing the poses is so secondary to awesome things like relieving back pain, or getting in touch with your body for the first time in 20 years, or getting emotional benefits from classes.
Anyway I will be interested to hear how things continue to develop for you, monstro!
That’s interesting, rhubarbarin. I bet you’ll make a good instructor.
Re teaching. What you said makes me think of the time my AP English teacher said she liked teaching slower students more than smarter ones, because the slower ones actually listened to her and she was able to actually impart knowledge on them, without simply facilitating. I imagine the same thing is true for yoga.
A new class cycle has begun and my Monday class is smaller, which makes it less intimidating. It also means the teacher is more aware of me and calls me out more often now when I need to make adjustments. It’s funny, but the hardest pose for me at that late hour is the corpse pose. Because that’s when my mind goes out of control without stimulation, and my hands and feet began to do their let’s-clench-up-like-a-crazy-person thing. And that’s the easiest, most rewarding pose! The teacher noticed me struggling and told me I could just turn into the fetal position when it got too hard. When she said this, I sang in my head, “HUMBLING! HUMBLING! BEING HUMBLED BUILDS CHARACTER!”
Good news, though. People have remarked about my improved posture. Now that is something that makes me feel good.
Nothing really to add but encouragement to stick with it. I have been doing Bikram for 5 years now and while it is a struggle within each class, now that I have a reasonable ramp of time, I pleased that I have seen marked improvement my body, my mind/body connection, and my ability to manage my stress. I can’t imagine yoga not being in my life anymore; just a non-starter.
I still don’t like corpse pose. Either I’m overstimulated after class, with racing mind, itchy toes, and irresistible urge to fidget (I usually walk or bike to class, and often take the scenic route home afterward to work out my energy), or I’m tired and spend the entire 15 minutes dozing off, having weird mini-dreams and then startling back awake. No fun either way.
Most people do seem to love it. We all have our own challenges…
Another observation - I was just discussing this the other day with a friend who is a professional singer: yoga has improved my singing. Because it puts breathing first - for all of your struggles with posing, endurance, etc. the answer is always “go back to your breathing” - I have gotten, um, better at breathing. More disciplined at putting it first and regulating it as the starting point to controlling my body. As a result, I am more aware of how my breathing interacts with my sound-shaping system (vocal cords, nose, etc.). I can coordinate how they interact more effectively - I can turn vibrato on and off more consciously and move fluidly from low notes to high notes.
A byproduct that makes perfect sense now that I am experiencing it but kinda out of left field when I first started to feel it happening.
TBH, you’re just going to have to modify the positions to work with your balance. Your balance issues are not going to go away, even if you were to stick with yoga for 10 more years.
I really think a couple one-on-one lessons would be worth the money, just so you learn the best way to modify key poses for yourself. It might mean you lean against a bar or the wall with the lower half of your body while standing, or keeping a chair in front of you to hang onto with one hand all the time. It’s frustrating, but you’re not neurotypical.
Heh. We started posting here at the same time and started practicing Bikram at the same time too! I agree that it never stops being a struggle but that you will see improvement, slow and steady.
Like Alice said earlier in the thread, the only bad students are the disrespectful ones. People are and should be paying more attention to themselves than they are to you. They are struggling too just on different things.
Meant to also say that I totally agree with the suggestion to take one private lesson if possible. It can be like twenty classes stuffed into one. You can spend most of your time focusing on your “worst” postures.
Just so you know you’re not alone, I also took yoga classes for about 6 months and I did not see any improvement in balance, posture, focus, flexibility, etc. I was told that it was more of a meditative class, too, but for whatever reason that class made me sweat like crazy! Everyone else seemed perfectly fine while I had to continually mop up the little sweat puddles that were forming around me. I eventually dropped the class because I was getting so self-conscious and not seeing any improvement…
That said, as long as you’re enjoying yourself and looking forward to the class, it shouldn’t matter. Keep it up!
It seems to be a very inexact science, and most of what you get from it and are able to give to your students comes from your own personality, experiences etc. I guess I should have known because I’ve had teachers with hundreds and hundreds of hours of qualifications and 30 years experiences that I couldn’t stand, and others with minimal ‘education’ who were fantastic.
Either I’m overstimulated after class, with racing mind, itchy toes, and irresistible urge to fidget (I usually walk or bike to class, and often take the scenic route home afterward to work out my energy), or I’m tired and spend the entire 15 minutes dozing off, having weird mini-dreams and then startling back awake. No fun either way.