Intention

My intention over the next seven days is to consciously fine tune my awareness through
Observing, Assisting, considering the details of Teaching Online, and discovering my current yoga teacher Identity.

PRACTICE

Practice daily. Use your daily practice this week to create sacred seeing and a soft, gentle drishti towards yourself and others. Enjoy the Sacred Preparation LIGHT playlist. We are working with the sixth chakra Ajna. The practice theme for this month is Envision. See the Virtual Class Studio or Live Class Recordings to support your practice and learning.

MEDITATION

Practice Alternate Nostril Breathing daily for 3-11 minutes. Use your meditation this week to see from a different perspective to elevate your thinking.

COURSEWORK

one Schedule time to observe a class.
two Schedule time to assist a teacher.
three Practice teaching live on zoom. Share your class in Geneva and receive feedback.
four Answer the questions on pg. 205-206 of the manual.
+ Teach classes
+ Review the Essential Cueing details is the Core Asana Reference Guide

Reading

Continue to work on completing your reading throughout the remainder of this program.
Remember: you will be turning in a one page “book report” on each of the required books: Angelus, Eastern Body Western Mind, Paths to God, and MetaAnatomy

JOURNAL

this week
Write 3 Morning Pages followed by 2 minutes Listening to Silence each day.

ON GENEVA

Share your class!

SIGHT - Week FIVE: Session 1: Observing

Discussion
I think the most important aspect of observing in class is the way you see. To see another clearly is to clarify your own boundaries: what is yours and what belongs to another. To do this effectively, we need to work to remove our personal obstacles - our judgments, projections, and categorizations. 

We never want to diagnose a person based on what we observe. If a student comes to you with a specific question or a particular physical situation like “lower back pain” you can provide more therapeutic information if you have the skills and experience to do so. To gain the skill and experience to do so, it is important to do your own research and refer students to professionals in the medical or therapeutic fields. There are many universal patterns that you will begin to observe in time.

You are looking at bodies and blueprints, structure and support. Consider the blueprint of each pose and observe from the ground up, sharing information that will allow a student to adjust on their own. You are also looking at individual people and unless someone trusts you enough to share what is explicit (obvious, stated clearly), we are basing our observation on what is implicit (subtle, ambiguous), therefore it is important to not make assumptions. We want to empower our students to be their own best judge of self. They come to us, not always to be seen, but to be received, supported, nourished, and inspired. There is a level of intimacy because we are working with breath, bodies, movement and attention. We provide a mirror and we want that mirror to be polished. So be careful not to presume, instead, ask questions, become curious, and listen.

Observation in class is really about listening and about reading. Everything is text. We want to study and learn and bring clarity to our student’s process. 

Many people come to yoga not yet knowing what they are getting into. They want well-being, they want a good stretch, they want to move, they want to feel good, and they want to feel stress dissipate. Rarely do they come in looking for the self-awareness that yoga provides. A good yoga teacher provides feedback that will serve their students self-awareness in a positive way. Overtime, the layers that separate soften and a true vulnerability is revealed. This is a privilege and a protocol is helpful to ensure integrity.

Protocol for observation in yoga class:

Observing the student: this starts when they walk into the room

• Observe what is physical, energetic, emotional/psychological

• Feet to Hips (1st floor)

• Where and how are they making contact with the earth?

• Notice their walking pattern - the way they move their feet, how they swing their arms.

• How are they showing up?

• Hips to Shoulders (2nd floor)

• Notice their breathing pattern

• Observe posture and where tension is held

• Observe body language

• Shoulders to Crown of the Head (3rd floor)

• Watch facial expressions

• Notice gaze and vibrancy of attention

Building Trust

• Ensure physical and psychological safety and ease.

• Creating a connection by meeting them - learn their names, be interested in what they share. 

• Ease them into the experience and nurture relationships.

• Ask - be curious, communicate what you see without imposing.

• Work with what you know and remain fluid. 

• We don't analyze, theorize, diagnose anything about the body, we are sharing what is in this one moment with a student - there is a window and we are looking through it. 

• We want to ensure that students are acknowledged and cared for, not judged or fixed and we want the students to feel that.

Observing the student: during class

• Notice their ability to be still, struggle/ease, movement patterns/range of motion.

• Notice their breathing.

• Look at foundation, alignment, and direction.

• Are they pro-perceptive? Are they looking around or centering on themselves?

• Use the chakras as a map of observation.

• SEE the whole person - zoom out - open your aperture and notice patterns.

Observing the class

• Remain in the always-changing moment.

• Have an observational eye towards needs.

• Use factual information.

• Look to bring students towards balance and self-awareness.

• Is it appropriate for this moment?

• How can I invite .. ?

• Read the room / know your audience.

• Compassionately observe nervousness (if you snoop behind - this will likely make them nervous).
  

Being trauma informed 

• “Trauma informed yoga is people informed yoga.” 

• Create an inclusive, accessible space for everyone.

• Notice and be careful, ask permission.

• Trauma can make the quiet and stillness of yoga extremely uncomfortable which can trigger an emotional response; a response that could result in trying to figure out how to get out of their bodies. We want to work in a direction of navigating towards presence and moving through to healing. 

• Provide tools to self-regulate.

Specifically at the Y

• The Y is an inclusive space and will try to accommodate all students.

• Dementia - We have members who live with dementia and can become disoriented.

• Disability - We have members who have disabilities: limb-differences, stroke, CP, wheelchairs

• We have students who are deaf or with varying degree of hearing ability

• All ages, backgrounds, identities, religions, cultures, experience levels, etc.

• Students won’t always know what they are entering into and may not even know what class they are entering into.

• Be kind and welcoming: say hello, make introductions, orient to the room, ask about injuries or if there is anything specific they want from class.

Skills in observation develop overtime. Continue practicing trusting yourself and being adaptable.

SIGHT - Week FIVE: Session 2: Assisting

Discussion
Assisting a yoga class is an enlightening way to deepen your understanding of teaching a yoga class. Before we get into the details of assisting, take a moment to return to Fire Week 3 - Session 4: Safe Hands-On Assists (Manual, pg. 115) 

Each student has unique needs and may require different types of assists for different reasons. Allow your awareness to be open, without expectations that you should know how to assist them or that they should be able to adjust to what you tell them to do. Create an environment of relaxed awareness, allowing intuition to emerge spontaneously. 

• Assisting, specifically assisting a more experienced yoga teacher, enables you to observe students without the responsibility of teaching. You get to see students work with a variety of limitations from a different perspective that can make you a better teacher. You can provide them with appropriate safe assists: verbal, press point and hands-on without the same time constraints. 

• As an assistant you can experience the subtleties of pacing, tone, emphasis, and holding space in such a way that is enriching to your own teaching practice. When looking for a teacher to assist, it is important that the teacher’s style resonates with you and that you are a consistent student of that teacher - mainly so that you can understand your teacher’s style from both sides and get to know the students you will be serving. 

• Take time to look after some of the details of the class. Is the room tidy? Can you take care of set up: sound, music, equipment, etc.? Can you help new students orient and feel welcome? Can you gather information to pass on to the teacher?

• While assisting, set up at a distance from the teacher and move around the room so that students can receive the benefit of your presence and extra assistance. Maintain an awareness of what is happening around you and how your presence is being received. Be sure to get explicit consent and be gracious and kind when working with an individual student.

• With regards to sequencing, watch as the teacher leads the class and where the class may be headed. Can you anticipate the next pose? Can you see the thread or the theme? Do you understand why the teacher may give explanations at certain times? This awareness will not only help you learn, but it will help you to harmonize with the teacher and their class. 

• An advantage to assisting it is the vantage point - you get to really see the students. What experiences are they having and how can you support them without taking anything away? Notice your preferences and adjust every one, who wants adjustments, equitably. 

• You are there to learn so be mindful of the ways in which you are supporting the teacher you are assisting and the teacher’s students. The teacher has likely spent considerable time cultivating relationships and honing their craft. Refer students back to the teacher which complicated questions or problems. 

• Take a moment to express gratitude to the teacher and their students. 

A good assistant is so valuable to the overall experience of the class especially when a class is full. But as an assistant, you are there to develop your skills as a teacher so that you can receive education and then put that into your own authentic teaching practice. Through this practice, you may also come to understand that you have no desire to teach and assisting is a path you would like to pursue. 

SIGHT - Week FIVE: Session 3: Teaching online

Discussion
The Covid-19 Pandemic pushed people online like never before. Teaching online requires a few more technical tasks but it is a convenient way to teach and connect. Teaching online also opens up a world of possibilities when it comes to business. Here are the basics.

Planning
Script your content and set up your space ahead of time so that you can show up ready to go, just like an in-person experience. Plan on 3+ hours for set up, recording, editing and posting. The disadvantage is the set up, the advantage is that you have documentation of your work which can become very valuable in times when you cannot be present in person and in your personal growth as a teacher and as a person. 

Lighting setup
The best lighting is natural light. Set up so you front lit. Let natural light fill the room and supplement with a lighting kit or softbox for shadows and discoloration. Avoid backlight - having bright lights or a window behind you. You can work with curtains and a softbox to eliminate. 

Sound setup
Sound quality is more important than video quality. Eliminate background noise and have a dedicated microphone for your voice. 

Recording
Test your shot before committing your entire class to video. Teaching and then realizing you haven’t pressed “record” will not happen more than once or twice before you learn to make sure every time! Check out your lighting, audio and space - then hit record to test it all out so you can make changes before committing all of your time and resources. 

Gear
You will need a camera, audio recording, and lighting equipment and a computer. With good lighting and clear audio, you can use the camera on your phone or your computer. You will want to set up your video so that I can capture the entire frame of the shot. I am tall, so I need to have my camera far away and this always proves to me challenging. The best option I have found is to set up in the longest and most open room I have - a corner makes a good option as video is a 2 dimensional medium.

What I do

• I set up my logitech camera, Blue SnowBall microphone, and ring light + extra lighting. I use Earpods when I am teaching live while demonstrating. If I have more time and do not need to teach live, I will record a voice over using GarageBand on my Mac as this produces the best audio. Having a dedicated mic is the next step, but my Earpods work fine. I have recorded my audio with a lav mic via a voice recorder app on my phone and then added the track to my video. 

• I clean up my space and remove extra things so the background remains clean but still has some of me in it. I record in my living room mostly as it has the most light and is the most pleasant. I will record in front of my fireplace when it’s cold and in my den when the rest of the family is close by. 

• I record via zoom, edit with iMovie, upload to youtube then embed it on SquareSpace website.

• The whole process can take up to 3 hours + prep depending on how long the videos are and how many I do in one day. Set up takes about 30 minutes and it also takes about 30 minutes for me to shower, get dressed then do my hair and makeup. So it is a process, but you have content. 

• Note that recording with music is tricky due to copyright if you plan on uploading to youtube. I link to a playlist to avoid this and no longer play music while recording.

• I have a nice DSLR camera but this is one extra step that I haven’t worked through the details. It produces the best visual experience. 

Zoom

1. Zoom is free for 2 people and up to 40 minutes for 2+ people.

2. Open zoom and pause recording (I have it set to record as a default).

3. Click the microphone icon at the bottom left to Select a Microphone, Select a Speaker, Test Speaker and Microphone, go to Audio Settings to make adjustments, especially for background sound. Unmute your microphone

4. Click the video icon at the bottom left to Select a Camera, go to Video Settings to make adjustments, touch up my appearance is a nice feature, but consider setting it in the middle. Natural lighting almost always produces an appearance that looks best and most like you.

5. You can also adjust Security, view/invite Participants, Chat, Share Screen, Resume/Stop Recording all along the bottom.

6. You can use the Share Screen option - Basic to show others your screen -  Advanced to share your Computer Audio - this is great when you are teaching a live class with music. However, if you are using youtube you will run into problems when you upload the recording due to copyright. You can use youtube music to avoid this problem. 

7. In Settings you will need to determine where the recording will be sent - Local or Cloud. I send my videos to my computer (Local) so that I can edit in iMovie and then upload it to YouTube to get into on my website. 

8. 2 minute how to set up for zoom  

SIGHT - Week FIVE: Session 4: Identity

Discussion
At this point in this Yoga Teacher Training program you have experienced several instances of self-discovery. From the ways in which you set your time to include personal practice and self-care, to psychological blocks and physical limitations, to the state of balance in your chakras. From your understanding of the history of yoga to the philosophical and moral ideas and obligations, to undertaking the more-than-physical aspects of the yoga practice. From your Ayurvedic constitution and how you take care of yourself and others, to your “why.” From your personal preferences, standards of ethics and integrity, to your unique combination of gifts, talents, and desires, to your purpose. You have practiced svadhyaya self-study consistently and with dedication for several months now. 

One of the most powerful life-affirming statements is I am.  Take time to do an honest assessment of your own strengths and weaknesses. And, take time to consider the creation of a community of support as a critical aspect to a life that supports your mission and purpose as a yoga teacher and human being. 

Do you know yourself?
Do you have a community of support?
What support do you need?

Who are you?
What kind of yoga teacher are you?
What is your purpose? 

What do you want to do?
At the end of day, what difference are you trying to make?
What is the purpose, cause, or belief that inspires you?
What is the bigger impact you are hoping to create in the world?

Further, consider who you want to serve.
Who is your Most Important Client?* 
What is their pain point?
What difference do you hope to make in the lives of your MICs?
What are their values and dreams?
*We will discuss MIC more in week 6 + 8.

ALL of these questions will give you insight into your identity. 

Once you have spent some time with these questions, begin to think about the unique set of characteristics that can be used to identify you as yourself and no one else. If you consistently act like the person you would like to be, you will develop that identity.

The articulation of this identity is what will attract (and repel) those who want to be in your circle.
The articulation of your identity will simplify how you brand, market and style yourself. In short, your identity is you. However you choose to express who you are.  

Be yourself because there is no one in the world that can do what you do. You are magnificently unique and have much to offer the world. 

SIGHT February
Observing, Assisting, Teaching Online, Identity
Friday 11:30am - 1:00pm
Date: 1.31.24
WEEK 5

Prep

Call Flow
11:30-11:45 am (15min) Openings 
11:45-12:15 pm (30 min) Talk Topics: Observing and assisting, Archetypes, Review effective cueing, Resonance, Integrating, This week is about: Observing, Assisting, Teaching online, If your mind starts spinning, Trust your intuition
12:15-12:45 pm (30min) Forum: 
12:45-1pm (15min) Questions and Closings

Selena’s Class
Video from Selena Garefino about finding your vision and I would at some point this month like you to take that practice and it will be in Geneva

Per usual there's going to be some tangential speaking so settle in, get yourself a cup of tea, get yourself nice and cozy.  If you want to say anything either raise your hand or just unmute.

This month is all things 6th chakra. Tell me what you know about the 6th chakra. Last week when I asked you guys to think about some of the blocks that you have we're going to now try to integrate some of those today in this call.

Topics include observing, assisting, teaching online, identity, branding, marketing, personal style, social media, and business at the end of this month. Before that we'll also talk about study sessions, writing, reading, visioning, and imagination. So this is an expansive month. There's alot going on and it can be very easy to sort of spin out or feel overwhelmed. So please remember, take it one day at a time, take it one step at time. One little section of the manual, of the platform at a time and just keep yourself grounded all right.

Observing and Assisting
This month, February, I would really like for you to get in and assist a class. Get in there with the students, see from that perspective without the pressure of having to lead a class.  So what this looks like is two things:

1. Just observe. Be like a little plant in the corner. Ask permission of your teacher and see if you can get in there. Sit in a little corner and be a little plant and write notes and observe

2. Actually assist a class. You just need to get permission from your teacher and I'd really like for you to do that sometime this month. Assisting is laid out in your manual so I don't need to talk too much about that here but if you have questions about what that looks like or what to do please just ask okay. 

Archetypes
The archetypes are to help you think about your purpose, to think about who you are and who you want to be. I'm really curious to know which of those five archetypes you most closely resonate with. 

(Mention Carolyn Myss Archetypes)

The five archetypes: 

1. The mechanic: gets the job done, not a lot of nonsense, really solid teaching, really great experience with not a lot of extra. The mechanic is solid. You can count on the mechanic. You know that you're gonna have a great class every single time. 

2. The doctor: has a lot of biomechanical information - the names of the muscles and bones, perhaps they are a massage therapist or an Ayurvedic doctor or NP. The doctor has a lot of awareness and understanding about the body.  So if you're injured or something, this teacher can really take care of you, can help get you back into alignment, and can really do physical healing work while you are in their class.

3. The magical creature: takes you on a journey of self-discovery and brings in these otherworldly aspects, meditation, crystals, astrology, things like that. I think that most yoga teachers have a little bit of that kind of magic ;-). YTs often work in realms that are a bit beyond the mundane.

4. The therapist: gets you to the heart of who you are. 

Think about which of these archetypal categories you fit with - or find another one. (Caroline Myss) 

What is natural for you? You might not know exactly. I think sometimes it can be a little scary or whatever to really come into your fullness because you know you are still feeling it out and it's not until years down the road that you will really expand into who you're going to be.

When we use archetypes it becomes less personal so it's less about our character or any of that. It's more about the truth of who we are. Then we can go on and do our thing.

Your archetype potentially affects how you're going to cue, how you're going to theme, how you're going to organize your classes. 
It's good to kind of just have an idea, or an inkling about that. A magical creature is never going to be a mechanic.

Side note: yoga students and teachers are part of a community. You are entering this community of teachers where everybody has something really beautiful to share. When you know yourself well, you can get to know others and then you can see that, you know,  you are able to recommend other teachers for when, maybe you’re not as qualified or interested in. Like I don’t teach kids yoga or at night, or on Sundays. We're all going to continue to grow. You are going to continue to grow and you can continue to support each other. I'm going to continue to do what I can to support you. 

That's where you can find the gold of your offerings, deciding who you are and where you want to go, and having people in your life, a community of support to work through the details of making it manifest. To make your teaching dreams come true! 

Once you get into the teaching, there's a lot of support but you really are on your own.  You're the one leading the class, you're the one taking charge of the experience. So before you do that enjoy this learning experience.  Nothing is wasted on this path.  Learning and the potential for transformation is in every situation. This container is this big experiment and there's a lot of things that you cannot control but there are certain things that you can.

How you show up is one. How well you know yourself is another. All that you attend to, take care of, before you step on to the mat as a teacher is really going to serve you in the long run; and it will serve your students.

Review Effective Cueing & Resonance

Resonance
We are going to clarify cueing in a moment, but I would like to talk first about resonance. When you cue you want your body to hum the sequence. And the way you do this is by practicing your sequence so that it resonates in your body, so you know what it feels like, and because you have cultivated this sort of discipline with yourself and you know your postures, you will be able to articulate how it feels, without even saying a word. 

In order to teach with intelligence in the body, and that speaks to hearts and minds, you need to steep yourself until you can wordlessly translate something of meaning. This is where we start to move from the actual verbalization to the more intuitive realm.. We can intuitively communicate with students. 

This results in your studying saying “how did you know this was exactly what I needed. You know because you've done it yourself. You know it serves you well, you're able to offer that to others. To teach with this intelligence - intuitive, emotional, spiritual intelligence. 

An aspect of the sixth chakra is intelligence.  Not only knowledge or common sense, or use of words - or language, or the skill of delivering that language in a cohesive and clear way. Emotional intelligence. You have a level of intelligence that's beyond what you can even imagine. Tap into your own areas of Intelligence. 

This speaks to hearts and minds.

Steep yourself in the experience of yoga, within the postures, within meditation, within mantra, within the use of mudras. This enables you to wordlessly translate something of meaning. Selena says, “don’t peddle meaning” meaning comes from the experience - the path is the practice, practice is the teacher. 

two cueing formulas .. 

Cueing (outlined in Week 1: Session 4 and Week 1: Session 1)

• the simple, clear cueing formula: BREATH - ACTION - BODY PART - DIRECTION/LOCATION

• the effective cueing formula: POSE 1 Transitional Cues - POSE 2 Super, Support, Exit, and Transitional Cues - POSE 3 

Effective Cueing Formula 

Pose 1: 

Transitional Cues: simple direction to move students from the end of one pose to the beginning of the next pose. 

ex: From wide angle forward fold to warrior 2: “Bring your hands to your hips. Inhale, come to stand. Turn your right toes out and bend your right knee. Extend your arms. Warrior 2.” 

Pose 2:

Super Cues (on breaths 1-4): 

● Moves student into pose simply and clearly with three to four cues 

● Cueing is active and precise 

● Teacher pauses to give time for physical connection 

ex: pyramid pose: “Extend your front leg from the hip to the ground, elongate your spine.” 

● If these cues continued for too long, your students would continue to listen to you, but their bodies would be challenged to relax. 

● Balance super cues with support cues. 

Support Cues: 

● Silence: is golden; offer the gift of silence to your students 

● Mental support: nuggets that feed your students just enough to keep them present 

● Breath: is like silence; inhale, exhale 

● Physical support: additional information to provide physical support 

● Personal experience: anecdote that is relative 

Exit Cues (On breath 5): a way of the completing the pose; how to move your student out of a pose 

● Generally cued with a final breath 

● Encourages student to challenge and/or deepen 

ex: seated forward fold: “Take one more breath, exhale fully. Inhale, come back up.”

Don't worry about timing with things it will all start to gel. It's all there for you in the manual. Also, keep studying the Core Asana Reference Guide for essential cues, etc.

Integrating
Last week I kicked up some dust with the questions I asked you .. so I would like to talk about ways to integrate these shadow aspects. 

I brought it up last month because I believe all of the stuff comes up when we start to speak, but this really is the work of the six chakra.  Being able to see yourself clearly, being able to see blindspots, being able to integrate the shadow aspects of self which we all have.  The idea is not to cut off these “un-light” parts of ourselves, the idea is to integrate it all.

This means working with core wounds, this means looking at your projections or triggers - work that really does need a therapist - a psychotherapist, or a really excellent qualified coach. I as a mentor, am not qualified to take you deep into your psyche and then pull you through and give you the gold and even if I were a therapist it would still be your work to do and that's the personal work right,  the ongoing never-ending personal work that is part of being human and in relationship with other human beings and with the world.

If you are watching this in the future, please share as well. We are all in this together. It’s not the best practice to have some people sharing intimate stuff and other people only observing. Get into some of this work and trust the container.

So, ostensibly mine are all around worthiness.  That is my core wound. Currently, I’m calling it “never-enoughness”  Previously (because I do the work, and I’ve changed) I described it by a simultaneous desire to be seen and to be invisible. That played out again and again in my life. I'm not going to get too far into it. I just want you to know I have my own wounds and I work through them every single day too. I'm not fully healed, fully actualized.  I’m a human being and I do not expect any of you to be that either. Humans are highly unpredictable and complicated. I hope that instead you would be authentic, be true to yourself. That you would have the courage to look at and work with what comes up in your life and integrate it. Pixie Lighthorse said (she was quoting someone I believe in the Transforming the Mother Wound course I’m taking)

“The world needs people who have fought for their lives, traumatized people basically, and lived to tell about it and how they did it.” She also said Navigating and acknowledging the nature of the wound is part of honoring it and that is part of healing it.

Work with what comes up in your life,  integrate - pull out the gold of those experiences because though my struggle is not the same as your struggle, I know the struggle. You know the struggle, your potential students know the struggle. It’s in this way that we can really be of a lot of service because people come to yoga with all sorts of things and they give them to you. 

It's humbling and it's hard to hold space for other people who are suffering. But you can do it when you have done it for yourself. Buddhism says the first law is suffering, but the second law is there is way out of suffering.

Identity
In your content this week is the topic of identity. Part of knowing yourself is owning yourself, looking deeper, uncovering and knowing, and I love the this word because it just makes so much sense and it's kind of fun to say - foibles - our foibles, our proclivities, our strange things, our tendencies,  our motivation

moving into integrity,  and transparency. Transparency being this is me, this is who I am.  It doesn't mean we don't care right, it just means we are clear in ourselves as best that we can with the information that we have at this period, this moment in life.  You're becoming someone. 10 years from now you'll be a different person, potentially two weeks from now you'll be a slightly different person than you were. 

There is something uniquely powerful about vulnerability.  

Let me clarify that this is as I mentioned inner work. This process isn't to be shared in the yoga space when you're leading okay. Let me say that again. I want to clarify that this is inner work, personal work. This process isn't to be shared in your yoga teaching space. We don't want to use our teaching to deal or not deal with our own feelings and our own wounds and our own lack or anything like that. Or, to get our own needs met right. We do that work on the mat on our own time with whatever tools that we have. However what we want to do is bring the lessons of that inner work through those are really powerful messages because they come from your wisdom, wisdom being this alchemy of lived experience and applied knowledge. We all have these different levels or elements of experience and knowledge whether it's in the yoga space or out of the yoga space.

Worthiness, your value is inherent. You have value because you exist. You are worthy because you exist. 

As far as just like the practicalities like being valued for your work, being valued for your time, being paid for your time and work. You have to get your chops, pay your dues - volunteer, be paid $15 a class, and go through that process - whether it's free classes. I did free classes for six months just so I felt like I could have something to offer without the pressure of having to be paid. We will talk more when we get into the business. 

Indulgence 
This work can become indulgent if it’s not anchored within relationship. 

I know that's a heavy statement. Doing your personal work for yourself for no other reason is not what we're here to do. We are human beings and human beings are relationship oriented so if it's not anchored in community, if it's not anchored in the relationship of reality then it can be an endless downward spiral.

Boundaries
Being clear about what it is that you want to offer and then only saying yes to the things that are in alignment. It is a balance and it is a process. You don’t always know - you will need to move past the resistance for a minute and see. 

I'm not a coach you guys, I'm not a therapist but I am a soul friend anam cara someone you can trust and that you can count on to tell you what I think and I can be a sounding board. Sometimes we just need to say it out loud, have it come out of our own mouths before we really know. It's one thing to write it down and process and do all that stuff but it's another thing to actually just speak and be received.

You want to be able to stand in the light of it without shame. This is who I am. This is what I've lived through.  There's something just really powerful about owning who you are. 

Also not going around being an a about it - being able to hold both sides, all sides of yourself. 

I'm not saying don't be positive right. You can reframe, rewrite, flip the script. I mean the easiest way to do it is to take one thing and what is the opposite of that and ask is it true? Is there something I need to integrate and how can I find the balance.

This week … 

Observing and Assisting, Teaching online, Identity

I want you guys to take it one step at a time. The main thing over the course of the next month is to set up a time to schedule a time where you can either observe a class or assist a class or both.

So that you can get the perspective of class from the other side outside of being a student. 

it's really an interesting perspective without having to be the teacher - you get the same sort of vantage point that you as a teacher without the pressure of having to form words and lead a class and move people through an experience.  You get to see how a teacher organizes their words how those words land with the students. So getting a different perspective that's what this month is all about -  about expanding our line of sight, broadening our perspective, and seeing yourself, and this whole thing from a different view.

You're also going to spend a little bit of time teaching online. So again I'd like for you to organize time like with a special partner that you can run a zoom class with. So that you get to be in the seat of the teacher. The purpose of doing that is once again to give you a different perspective. It is also documentation so you can look back and use that information to refine your teaching and your classes.  It's an important

skill in this day and age to be able to work with technology even if you never ever ever ever teach online. You would be surprised what might happen - like a global pandemic. You never know. It’s a nice skill to have. Don't be afraid. Technology is just one aspect. I remember like thinking no freaking way would I ever do online stuff right never never I was like I want to be in person I want to be with the vibe of the room I work best with energetics it doesn't make sense the music I can't use it doesn't make any sense. But you know - pandemic. That happened, my son's diagnosis, my body changed, things are different now and I'm so grateful that I have this medium for which to communicate and to utilize. It's totally fine if you don't ever want to do it beyond this program. The invitation is for you to work with technology to try to learn one more new skill and apply it.  

Identity
Then we're talking about identity - who are you, what makes you unique. If somebody were to explain who you are, what details would they use to explain you. 

All of those things are gonna come into play in week 8, when we get into the business of yoga.

Business of yoga is part of our Yoga Alliance requirements so we're going to get into some of those details - branding, marketing, and identity has a lot to do with those things. If you have a clear identity it becomes much easier to market, to brand, and to clearly represent yourself to the people that want to hire you or want you to teach them yoga.

It's better to kind of think about it ahead of time than to be on the spot and be like I'd really like for you to teach me what are your qualifications? So we're gonna work on those things over the next month or so.

On Saturday your going to teach wave 1, 2, and 3 to savasana - as much as I would LOVE an hour long savasana - in the interest of time, just to the end of wav one before you would take the class into savasana.

Last thing I want to note before I get into a bit more of a talk is for your final. So looking to the final month your final project - the end spot of where we're going to be in this program.  

Final Project/Practicum - 45 min class

Pick a theme 

Write a script and then format into a Class Design (with asanaglyphs)

Your class must include anatomical cues and talking points.

Your class must demonstrate an aim, a transformation, a peak pose, and clear sankalpa that is stated in the beginning and is thread through the class.

Your class must demonstrate effective and essential cueing

You will present your class to the group.

You may add additional elements that resonate with you such as a playlist, or special reading - but these are not required. 

Please be prepared to turn in your Class Design. (You’ll get it back, but you might want to make a copy and keep the orginal.

Dont go rogue, stay within the Class Design Template framework. 

I'm going to be listening for your ability to deliver simple queuing formulas and the transitional, support, and super cues okay so make sure you have at least one of those in your class.\

Class Design Template - gives your a framework to plug and play.

Final Exam
You’ll have a whole week to complete the final exam and it's an open note exam. In the past it has taken some students several hours - so don’t leave it until 9pm on Friday. Its due Saturday Mar 22 at 9am 

SATURDAY MAR 22 AT 9AM

The final exam is set up so that you can follow along with your manual. 

Nerves
I didn't give the first year's group as much opportunity to teach as I'm giving you guys so they were a little nervous and some people felt like throwing up. Nerves are a big part of this. Work with them and know that this is a safe container for which you all can explore and learn. Please trust the container and then when you go out in front of the community let it be a fun time, let that be a day of celebration and joy. A celebration of all of the work that you have done.

Practice with the video from Selena Garefino - it's good to get different teachers' perspectives on things. One thing she said in the video was: if you try to deal with tomorrow's issues or problems with what you have today you're going to fall into worry.  So know that by the time you are teaching you're going to have the resources that you need to do so well. So don't worry about the future, focus on what's happening now, focus on your practice today, focus on how you're feeling, what you're thinking, how you're breathing now. okay don't worry about tomorrow. I know it's challenging to do especially if you have a mind that wants to focus on the future or a mind that wants to dwell in the past or like to have a lot of control over a situation. One of the essential pieces of being a yoga teacher and yoga student is our ability to stay present and to work within the present moment experience.  And to guide our students into a present moment experience. 

So she says very articulately - don't worry about it or if you try to think about tomorrow with what you have today you will fall into worry. So work with what you have today and know that tomorrow is going to take care of itself, okay. 

Another little element to this and this is me speaking to members of the group that are um like to do more than what is required okay my husband always does the bare minimum and he is one of the most content and happy human beings I've ever met I have a tendency to go overboard and give too much right so I'm working on that ..

Coco Chanel is a very famous French designer and one of her most famous things that she would give advice for when it comes to Fashion is that when you're getting dressed before you leave the house remove one accessory.  So simple is always better.

I'm giving you a layer upon layer upon layer upon layer to give an entire class of substance um eliminate at least one of those things okay if um music is that one extra accessory eliminate it. 

If your mind starts spinning out, take it down, simplify, one step at a time.

You want a line of sight that is in the present that also has room for possibility but also you have an eye on what is grounding and stabilizing. So what's going to keep you stable, what's going to keep your students stable and at the same time what is going to expand them into a new perspective, a new possibility.

There are many many many details that go into teaching a yoga class - a lot of people don't know that. You are all getting first hand understanding of that. Think about any project you've ever done whether it be a garden project, a house project, … how much work does it take to get from one place to the next a lot. It doesn't happen overnight, there is a process. This is a process that we have to go through to get to a different place you're transitioning from someone who is purely a student to someone who's both a student and a teacher  - you are seeing how much effort it takes to prepare and plan.  No matter how much you've done you still have to be open to what's occurring in the moment.  We have to be able to balance both sides. it's a skill that you can learned but it's a skill that is developed over time and through the arc of time.

The Process for Creating a Class
Think about cooking, think about cleaning your house, think about all the emails that you have to go through every single day. Same thing. If you start to think about everything all at once your mind spins out and you can't get anything done.  So one step at a time. Slow it down, stay present, focus on your breathing and you're going to be fine.

Think what is the theme of this class today - second chakra. 

What is the transformation I want to take people on - from chaotic to calm.

What is the hardest pose that I could possibly choose for my group - the peak pose.

Then you start to think about what are some of the gold nuggets I'd like to say. What area of the body do I need to focus on to get them to that place.

Then you start mapping it out. 

Your warm-up 

Then you work through your wave one wave two wave three take people into savasana and then close your class. One step at a time. 

good note from Carrie here  “I encourage you to find the first theme that pops in your head and run with it scope creep is the thing … It is just like when the project or whatever you're trying to think about explodes into something five times bigger than it really needs to be so I find myself like what do I want to theme my Monday night around and I'll pick a theme and I'll start going with it and then I will read an article from a morning newsletter I'll be like oh that would be great and then I'll read something in my book and be like oh that would be fantastic and the next thing I know I have 16 things running through my head and I can't focus on the thing I picked to begin with so that is my words of advice is to pick what resonates and just let everything else. I keep a running list. These are things I'd like to do because yeah scope creep is a thing.”

I'm asking you to expand your vision. I'm asking you to have big purpose and things like that. Bring it down to the practicality and the step x step process, so it doesn't become so much bigger and your one theme doesn't turn into 45 themes or worse a class full of yoga cliches and jargon.

I'm asking you guys to keep a journal, essential notes, morning pages and it's in those things where you're gonna pull your themes. 

You're gonna do whatever you're going to do right and if you are like I'm not doing it that way there's nothing I can do to stop you. I can encourage you and give you guidelines and support you and do all those things but ultimately you have to grow at your own pace in your own time.

I'm here to hold that space for you right um I'm not here to hold your hand I'm here to hold the space for you for your learning process. Just like as a parent it's not always easy to watch my children suffer / and you guys, you're not my children - you're a full adult human being, all beautiful all magnificent all full of rich experience intelligent minds open hearts, an idea towards service, you want to share what you love with other people. Everything about that makes you a good yoga teacher because of your desire to be of service to share what you're learning, to share what you love. and have the guts to do it.  So keep encouraging yourself okay and when you need extra encouragement I'm right here. 

I'd like to pause and pause for questions, concerns, comments, ideas, anything that you want to share with the group.

Organizing your own mind
Two things really is one trust your own Infinite Wisdom there's a part of you that said this is for me this program is something I want this pathway is something I want. Also, just your own infinite wisdom - there's a part of you that knows what to do, this is your intuition. This still small voice.  You can cultivate that trust muscle with Infinite Wisdom - your own Infinite Wisdom. Trust that. especially when the mind starts spinning out and you start to doubt.
The second thing is to return to your breath, return again and again and again, breathe in and out through your nose, calm your nervous system, get yourself grounded and then decide. 

Then trust that the decision that you made is the right decision and whatever lessons that you need to learn will be revealed. You don't need to keep reinventing the wheel. over and over and over again. This is why I am so clear about you using the design format. So that you can take all of these things that are going to come towards you, the books that you read, the ideas that you have, the podcasts you listen to, and have a place for it.

I think that's a really important part of inspiration - dealing with our brain, organizing your brain. Sometimes you just have to step back. Let it all land and trust. It's so hard to do especially for those of us that want to be in control of every detail, one because it makes us feel safe, relaxed and happy and two because maybe we don't know a different way right.  

It takes an incredible amount of fortitude to go into the unknown you know it's it's not easy to do what we're doing here to do the personal work to do the look at our shadow to look at our blocks to look at our emotions and how they affect the way we think right none of this is easy work but we have each other. There's thousands upon thousands upon thousands of people who've been through yoga teacher training that have taught yoga classes that have survived you're gonna survive this is the first step on a journey. 

Some taught immediately and some take a couple years. You're going to survive this is the first step on the journey.

I think the challenges there are so many directions you can go. There's infinite possibilities, infinite creativity, it's vast and expansive. This is why it's called “spaceship” rwe're going into this expansive state and in that expansive state.  the mind is like ..  I remember being a little kid looking out in the sky just feeling so tiny and yet at the same time like so much possibility so it can be very disorienting so make sure you have your feet on the ground metaphorically physically, continuously return to your breath. 

I want to keep encouraging you to share what you know. I think that everybody's voice in this program has something valuable to offer and I don't want you to shy away from sharing anything that will be helpful to you but also might be helpful to the group because this is a collaborative effort. Lecture is the least effective manner of teaching. I want this to be interactive. I want to get you engaged and sometimes  I don't necessarily have the skills. I end up talking too much and I want to make sure that you guys have the space to share because everybody in this group has something really valuable to offer. For those of you that are a little shy with your voice I encourage you to speak up.

It's the experiential that will get in there. Get your hands dirty, play with it, make mistakes, mess up. That’s how we  truly learn within the safe container that we've created. Find it within yourself to be your own teacher.

I just want to say again and again how grateful I am that you are all here. Every single one of you in this group is extremely special to me. I will never forget everything that you say, everything you do I take it to heart I'm paying attention I care about you.

I think the hardest part maybe is bringing some of the challenges to the group trusting the group, you know getting in that uncomfortable state - you know crying in front of other people.

There's something so cathartic about being seen in a struggle nobody wants to be seen in a struggle but sometimes the most beautiful things can happen when we're willing to be vulnerable and share struggle as well as all the positive light-filled things. So I want to continuously encourage you to expand.