SOUND January Speaking, Practice Teaching, Communication, Music

WEEK ONE
Session 1: Non Violent Communication
Session 2: Hearing and Giving Feedback
Session 3. Speaking in Public
Session 4: Cueing Basics

WEEK TWO
Session 1: Tone
Session 2: Cadence and Pacing
Session 3: Navigating the Unexpected

WEEK THREE
Session 1: Effective Cueing
Session 2: Listening
Session 3: Intentionality

WEEK FOUR
Music to Enhance the Class Experience

 Intention

My intention over the next seven days is to consciously refine my awareness and align my voice with my ability to listen through
Non-violent Communication, Giving and Receiving Feedback, Public Speaking and Cueing.

practice

Practice daily. Use your daily practice this week to create sacred speech. Enjoy the Sacred Preparation SOUND. We are working with the fifth chakra Vishudda. The practice theme for this month is Attune. See the Virtual Class Studio or Live Class Recordings.

meditation

Practice daily for 3-11 minutes. Use your meditation this week to bridge your feelings with your thoughts. Hone your ability to listen and verbally express your needs, desires, and opinions truthfully and authentically.

COURSEWORK

one In your interaction this week, practice NVC. Note your observations.
two Practice each of the four Conscious Communication Practices.
three Watch Justin’s Ted Talk and then watch this Ted Talk: Ted’s Secret to Great Public Speaking
four Note the common words you hear in yoga; find authentic alternatives>

reading

articles pg. 180-183
books continue reading

Journal

one Write a list of feelings you feel regularly and a list of your needs.
two Note challenge and results from practicing Conscious Communication
three Contemplate the elements of public speaking
four Consider how you use language and shift form judgment to observation. Negative thoughts and words create dissonance. What would happen if you replaced critical voice with a connection with your breath? Remember you are always in your practice and sharing your practice with others.

extra: Take time to reflect, process and consider what elements to focus on when you present your classes.

geneva

How do the topics of this week apply to your practice and teaching?

SOUND - Week ONE: Session 1: Non-violent communication

Discussion

“Using speech as a spiritual practice is the act and art of bringing deeper awareness to our words so they connect us with ourselves and reflect what is truly alive in us.”

We start with the concept of Nonviolent Communication. Developed by Marshall Rosenburg, NVC is a way to compassionately see shared humanity in all of us by connecting with ourselves and others from the heart. 

There are essentially four parts to the Non-violent Communication method as outlined by Marshall Rosenberg and illustrated in the book What We Say Matters by Judith and Ike Lassater.

• Make an Observation
  To make an observation is to report on the facts. When we use judgements with others we get off track and begin arguing about what is true. The key point is to notice the difference between making an observation and making a judgment.

• Name this Feeling
  Feelings are emotions and connected to body sensations. Feelings are constantly changing and constantly arising. Feelings are “flares” from the unconscious that alert us to the state of our needs: met or unmet. Feelings arise separately from what other people say and do. Others might stimulate your feelings, but your feelings are yours and are unique to how you experience the world.

• Express a Need
  We all have needs to survive, and to thrive. We have a need for respect and for our autonomy to be recognized. We also have spiritual needs. Needs are life expressing itself and they are held by all. When you are in touch with your needs, you are in touch with life itself. Per NVC there are 9: affection, creation, freedom, identity, participation, protection, recreation, subsistence, and understanding. Recognize the difference between needs and strategies for getting needs met.

• Make a Request
  When you make a request, you are trying to get your needs met in that moment. Requests are made about the present and are doable. A request would be “Are you willing to clean up your dishes in the next 5 minutes?” A request would not be “Will you wash the dishes when you have time tomorrow?” The important distinction is between a request and a demand. To make a true request, we remain open to the outcome and open to allowing the other to say no. The syntax of NVC is designed to help you uncover your intentions.
  
  

When you have a clear intention for connection, the words become a strategy to accomplish this. When we are connected to our own needs and the needs of others, we can cooperate to meet the needs of everyone.

When I hear _____________________,  I feel __________________________, because  I need ___________________; would you be willing to ________________?

Feelings

Frustrated: impatient, annoyed, agitated
Sad: lonely, heavy, hurt, pained, broken-hearted
Scared: terrified, startled, nervous, full of dread
Overwhelmed: exhausted, helpless, listless, tired
Confused: embarrassed, suspicious, puzzled
Peaceful: calm, content, satisfied, quiet, still
Affectionate: warm, tender, appreciative, friendly, loving
Happy: glad, excited, joyful, delighted, confident
Playful: energetic, adventurous, mischievous
Interested: inspired, curious, fascinated

Needs

Well-being: sustenance, nourishment, safety, security, protection, health, wellness, movement, recreation, rest, balance, order, ease, flow, peace, harmony, touch, growth, learning, efficacy, wholeness, beauty

Connection: love, acceptance, to matter, be nurtured, intimacy, friendship, respect, consideration, equality, communication, community, belonging, to know, be known, cooperation, support, presence, awareness, understanding, clarity, honesty, trust, purpose, power, influence, inclusion, mutuality

Expression: celebration, play, to see, be seen, authenticity, congruence, autonomy, freedom, choice, meaning, creativity, contribution, inspiration, humor, passion, integrity, gratitude

SOUND - Week ONE: Session 1: Feedback - Giving + Receiving

Discussion
Hearing and giving feedback is really about conscious communication. The choices we make with our language, the ways in which we describe our experiences can greatly affect perspective and influence the meaning-making process. The way experiences are framed are as important or more important than the experiences themselves. Conscious, truthful, clear language leads to the ability to engage in a meaningful and authentic way. Becoming ever-increasingly aware of the words we use can lead to a greater sense of self-responsibility and accountability - leading to a way in which we can engage with others authentically and honestly with an open mind and heart. 

Conscious Communication Practices for Healthy and Nourishing ways to relate

1. “I” statements

2. Co-listening

3. Reflective listening

4. Empowering feedback

“I” statements

• “I” statements are a way to become aware of your experience. I statements enable you to own your feelings and to listen with emphathy. When you are clear about your own thoughts, feelings, and actions, you can express them more clearly. Without judgment, notice the (koshas) physical sensations, energy, thoughts and emotions, intuition, and interconnection - take time to explore.

•  “I” statements are empowering because you are speaking from personal experience.

• “I” statements are a way to avoid assumptions.

• ex: Rather than, “You’ll feel better after doing yoga.”, say “I feel better after doing yoga.” 

• ex: Rather than, “Everyone loves savasana, say “I love savasana.”

• Notice and feel the difference.

We vrs. I 

• Using “we” instead of “I” can place or project responsibility onto someone other than you.

• ex: “We should make dinner now.” vrs. “I feel hungry, I want to start making dinner now. Do you want to help me?”

Externalizing

• The use of “this” “you” “that” when what is really meant is “I” “my” “mine.” 

• This can lead to avoiding your own feelings.

• ex: “This is stupid” vrs. “I feel confused”

Questions 

• “I” statements can be disguised as questions

• ex: Why did you do that? Vrs. “I don’t like that.”

• ex: What took you so long? Vrs. I feel sad and worried that you weren’t home when I expected you to be home. 

Qualifiers

• Qualifiers: “I guess,” “sort of”, “maybe” water down the truth of your experience.

• ex: “I guess I’m just tired.” vrs. “I feel tired.” or “I kinda think I’m little bit angry.” vrs. “I feel angry.”

Nullifiers

• Nullifiers are ways to escape or avoid what is; nullifiers dull personal responsibility.

• Nullifiers are words like “I should” or “I have to”

• ex: ”I have to do this.” vrs. “I choose to do this.”

Co-listening
Co-listening is when one person (or a group of persons) listens while the other speaks. The listener gives their full attention to the speaker, and practices listening without judgment and without replying in any way. It's ok if the listener is aware of sensory information of internal commentary, but the listener notices where their attention is going and brings their attention back to the speaker. 

The speaker simply verbalizes what they are aware of, without planning or needing to censor what they say. The speaker notices what it is like to express themselves (their feelings, thoughts, and emotions) without being judged, analyzed, or fixed. The listener notices what it is like to listen, without commenting, affirming, analyzing or fixing.  When the speaker is done, the listener and speaker switch.

Reflective Listening
When the speaker is finished speaking, the listener reflects what they heard the speaker say. The listener does this without interpreting or analyzing (aka judging). The speaker clarifies if they feel they were not heard or misunderstood. When the speaker is done, the listener and speaker switch.
ex: Speaker: It's difficult for me to do my practice first thing in the morning. I’m usually tired and disoriented early and when I wake up early I feel irritable. But, after I get going I feel relaxed.
Listener: What I hear your saying is that you don’t like to get up early to do your practice because you feel irritable. But you feel better by the end. Did I get that right? 

Empowering Feedback
Intentionally engaging with others is a way to learn. You can give and gain insight that is beyond what you can do alone. Skillfully giving and receiving feedback is empowering and can bring about deeper learning and growth. There are a few elements that are important to ensure what you are offering is received and integrated.

Intention
When you give feedback, keep in mind the intention to learn about your own needs and communicate them in a way that another can understand and ultimately integrate. Inherent in feedback is the intention to inform, not criticize. The person receiving feedback then has the choice to make an adjustment if they wish. The idea is that when you communicate with an intention of learning and cooperation, feedback is empowering, not judgmental. 

Speak From Personal Experience
Understand that each individual has an individual perspective and process. When you take responsibility for your experience, needs, and preferences, information lands gentler. Use “I” statements to express your thoughts, feelings, and actions and to help another learn about your experience. 

Use Observable Examples
Use observable examples that you can speak about directly. Reflect specific examples such as something another person did, said, or what your experience was during a specific moment. This helps you integrate your own experience and give the other concrete, useful information. 

When you  _______,  I experienced ____________,  I appreciated / needed ________.

ex: appreciation: When you taught surya namaskar a, your instructions were clear.
ex: improvement/consideration: When you taught shoulder alignment in dog pose, I felt unsure if I was doing the pose correctly. I would have liked for you to have spent more time so that it was clear.

SOUND - Week ONE: Session 3: Public Speaking

SOUND - Week ONE: Session 3: Speaking in Public

Discussion

Justin Treasure in his TedTalk How to Speak to People will Listen outlines the 7 deadly sins of speaking: gossip, judging, negativity, complaining, excuses, exaggeration, lying, dogmatism. He also outlines the 4 cornerstones of speaking: honesty, authenticity, integrity, love. Finally he shares tools. The tools are:

• Register - where are you speaking from, speak from the heart

• Timbre  - research shows a preference for a rich, smooth, warm voice - like hot chocolate

• Prosody - sign song quality, cadence, rhythm, timing. monotone - no prosody, questions at the end - lots of prosody. 

• Pace

• Silence 

• Pitch

• Volume

• Broadcasting

Because TedTalks are filled with such inspiration, we will turn there to consider common ingredients of great public speaking: directly quoted from Ted’s Secret to Great Public Speaking 

• Your number one task as a speaker is to transfer into your listeners' minds an extraordinary gift - a strange and beautiful object that we call an idea.

• An idea is a pattern of information that helps you understand and navigate the world.

• If communicated properly, ideas are capable of changing, forever, how someone thinks about the world, and shaping their actions both now and well into the future. Ideas are the most powerful force shaping human culture.

• Here are 4 guidelines:

• Pick one idea, and make it the through-line running through your entire talk, so that everything you say links back to it in some way.

• Give your listeners a reason to care.

• Build your idea, piece by piece, out of concepts that your audience already understands. You use the power of language to weave together concepts that already exist in your listeners' minds -- start where they are. The speakers often forget that many of the terms and concepts they live with are completely unfamiliar to their audiences. Metaphor can play a crucial role in showing how the pieces fit together.

• Make your idea worth sharing. Ask yourself the question: "Who does this idea benefit?" And I need you to be honest with the answer. If the idea only serves you, it's probably not worth sharing. The audience will see right through you. If you believe that the idea has the potential to brighten up someone else's day or change someone else's perspective for the better or inspire someone to do something differently, then you have the core ingredient to a truly great talk, one that can be a gift to them and to all of us.

SOUND - Week ONE: Session 4: Cueing

Discussion

• Paying attention to your own words is paramount when you’re teaching.
  

• Voice quality and language are two of your most influential tools as a yoga teacher. Learning how to speak in ways that will guide your students deep into their own experience is an art. 
  

• Start with clear, precise directions given progressively and logically. Build poses from the ground up, coordinate breath with movement, and offer benefits, precautions, and options.
  

• Encourage refinements, awareness, and inquiry using imagery and affirmations to focus attention, provide support, and sustain poses.
  

• Cultivate within a deep connection to Source and to your own intuition. Let the quality of your voice and the use of language enhance the experience for your student(s) guiding them into a deeper relationship with themselves.
  

• Repetition and silence can be used to increase awareness in the posture and awareness of personal experience as students turn inward. Balance words with quiet/space.
  

• Inherent in yoga practice as in many holistic body/mind/spirit practices, is the potential for personal growth and transformation. The transformation can be gradual and progressive or it can be sudden and cathartic. 

“Gradual, progressive growth happens when we live a yogic lifestyle, strengthen our body, and develop healthy relationships. We progressively see ourselves healing and strengthening. This builds our self- esteem, which provides a stable base and opens us to even more integration. 

Cathartic growth occurs when change happens suddenly, brought on by a deep practice or simply by life handing us a challenge. In the cathartic growth experience, the sense of self partially dissolves and, if worked with appropriately, reforms more whole and complete.” - Kripalu School of Yoga 

NORMAL - CHALLENGE/CHANGE - RESISTANCE - CHAOS - FERTILE VOID - CHAOS - NEW NORMAL

Use of language

• All movement patterns are stored as images in the brain. To perform a movement, an instruction is translated into an image that creates it. The simple instruction “Lift your right arm” is translated into an image before the movement can be performed. 

• ex: “As you inhale, allow your breath to slowly lift your right arm over your head. See how relaxed you can be as you allow the breath to lift your arm.” 

• Imagery can deepen the experience beyond the mechanics and can include sensory experience - sound, touch, feeling, taste, or visual images.

• ex:  “Notice resistance or a desire to let go into a long, deep stretch. Allow your body to soften into the ground. Glide your hands toward your feet and notice.” 
  

Simple: Common principles create a foundation for understanding.

• Many postures have common principles among them that help simplify the complex human skeleton, muscular system, and nervous system. As a teacher, the more you can identify these principles, the easier it will be to remember the details of each posture. Look for the commonalities between postures to help you make space to focus on specifics.

• ex: Mountain, Warriors, Tree, and Bridge pose are all aligned with knee stacked over ankle. Triangle, Gate, and Half Moon are all lateral bends that require core engagement, side body length, and extension of the spine. 

Clear: Clear language is direct and easy to follow.

• Too many words can get in the way of clarity. Consider the extraneous and remove. 

Simple, clear cueing formula: breath + action + body part + direction/location.
ex: Inhale reach your arms overhead and bring your palms together.

Action words/verbs

Relaxation
Rest
Allow
Soften
Release
Relax
Surrender
Let go
Let go of the expectation

Action
Breath: inhale, exhale
Length: elongate, extend, reach, press toward
Strength: engage, support, stabilize, hug/draw in, ground, root
Position: stand, come to a seat, align, locate
Movement: circle, lift, lower, open, move, open

Awareness
Focus
Feel
Pause
Become aware
Notice
Observe
Sense
Take a moment

Tricks from Jason Crandell
In order to help make your instructional language alive and effective, consider the following ideas:

1. Provide landmarks: using obvious landmarks in the room and provide clarity. 

2. Learn your students' names so you can use them: personalizing instructions is a direct and relevant way to take care of your students and make your teaching more skillful and intimate. Direct instruction for one will often provide general instruction to all. Use a gentle tone so that no one feels singled out and follow up with affirmations to ensure they feel support not corrected. 

3. Pretend you are working with a translator; allow space between instructions: students are in fact, translating your words. If your directions are clear and provide space for the translation to occur your students won’t get lost. Provide time and space for students to digest what you are saying. 

4. Three is a magic number: aim to stick to 3 instructions per pose. “If these instructions are related to each other, richly descriptive, and relevant to the overall theme of the class, they will give your students plenty to work with while allowing them to have their own experience.” Allowing students to have their own experience is so important in the process of empowering them in their practice.

5. Use images and metaphors: Use language that appeals directly to what is being experienced. The best metaphors come from your own practice and heart. Your heartfelt words will convey the most meaning. You can practice by describing what you experience in your own practice - this will provide you with the most authentic and relatable metaphors and images for your students.

Call Notes

Prep
What gifts and lessons will you teach? and how?
What will help you to fully trust yourself?

Call Flow 
11:30-11:45 am (15min) Openings: 3 breaths in through the nose out through the mouth, Overview of Level III
11:45-12:15 pm (30min) Talk Topics: Your Voice is Needed, Perfectionism and Fear, Journaling as Listening, Being a Leader
12:15-12:45 pm (30min) Forum
What gifts and lessons will I teach? How will I teach?
What stops you from fully trusting in yourself?
12:45-1pm (15min) Questions and Closings 

Overview of Level III
This month SOUND

• Non-violent Communication. NVC is a method of communication for connection and it highlights the importance of connecting to our own needs.

• Conscious communication through hearing and giving feedback and by practicing using:

• I statements, Co-listening, Reflective listening, giving Empowering feedback, and framing experience, being self-responsible, and authentic engagement.

• I would like for you to watch/listen to the TedTalks I noted before so that you develop public speaking skills and a deeper understanding of the power and responsibility you hold as a speaker - in community and with the public. (Dudes in the sauna bitching .. contrast with aloha spirit I experienced on our trip) 

• You’ll receive an overview of what to concentrate on while cueing and a simple cueing formula. 

• We’ll also talk about intentionality and you began to cultivate clarity and again authenticity through heart-centered communication. I believe that this - the heart, is the place of true power. 

• You’ll consider the power of the tone and frequency of your voice and the importance of listening by listening for your natural cadence, voice and personality and that of others, in this group.

• We’ll build on the simple cueing formula by diving back into the basic structure of a class design (the bell curve) and we consider the importance of taking pacing cues, by being aware of your students. And this of course applies to many areas of your life within relationships.

• This Saturday we take some time to prepare for and strategize as to how to manage distractions and expectations

• We’ll talk about music as a way to enhance the experience of flow and the overall yoga class experience; and we talk again about “flow state.”
  

Next month SIGHT

• You’ll fine tune your yoga teacher awareness through observation and gain a different perspective by assisting.

• You’ll receive basics for teaching online. The camera will be on you while you teach. 

• You’ll spend time getting to know yourself even more with the process of developing and understanding your yoga teacher and personal identity. 

  If you remember way back in Level I you explored your personal practice, self-care, your why state of balance of your chakras, psychological blocks and physical limitations, history of yoga, philosophical ideas and obligations, standards of ethics and integrity, ayurvedic constitutions, more than-physical aspects of yoga via the 8 limbs, personal preferences, your unique combinations of gifts, talents, desires and purpose - all of this is self study, all of this is svadhyaya. This means to “place inside yourself”. 
  
  So next month

• through the concepts of branding, marketing and personal style you understand that you can’t please everyone and you can’t serve everyone. You’ll get to know your “brand.” This is inline with the practice of svadhyaya (which also means the study of scripture, spiritual text, learning from teachers, etc.) By knowing yourself you can more deeply connect with your students at a heart level. This will inspire you and grow your confidence. 

• You’ll be asked to consider the basics of marketing as a way to answer - who do you want to serve? And I would like to encourage you to not think … “I want to serve everybody!” Niche down and integrate this into a marketing plan - even only if it is done as an exercise. 

• You’ll be asked to think about your style and intentionally about what you wear. 

• We’ll talk a little about social media and why and how to use it. I would love for you to post about your experience in YTT as a way to let others know what you are working towards. Or you don’t feel comfortable talking about yourself, support others. 
  

Final month SPACE

• I’ll ask you to consider study sessions as a way to inspire your on-going learning on your path of integrating knowledge and transforming knowledge into wisdom. 

• You’ll be asked to open your creative vision through thoughtful reflection - which you’ve had opportunity to do this whole time

• You’ll expand your visioning through drawing/sketching as a way of shifting perspective. You’ll be asked to engage your imagination to access intuition.

• Finally we’ll cover business basics to prepare you to consider this as a serious path for profit whether that be financial or karmic.
  

  Throughout all of this you’ll continue to learn through your own study - details about core asana including essential cues, intuitive benefits, precautions and contraindications, options, hands-on assists, etc., and most importantly through practice teaching.
  

  I know you have something of deep value to offer and I am excited! Are you excited!!!?

Your voice is needed. 
You have a lifetime of experience.

Perfectionism and Fear
In the Artist’s Way Julia Cameron talks about perfectionism as "getting it right”, … “fixing it before I go any further” … “high standards”. She says that perfectionism has nothing to do with getting it right, or fixing things, or high standards. Perfectionism is a refusal to let yourself move ahead. It's a loop - an obsessive, closed system that causes you to get stuck in the details … instead of creating freely and allowing errors to reveal themselves later as insights."

What is the minimum you can do? Let that be your non-negotiable.
Take the abstract and make it relatable in your class, through your sequences.
And remember, something wants you to do this. Don’t forget that!

Journaling/Writing/Listening
Journaling is a way to refine your voice.

The first few sentences/paragraphs could be really dark, but then you work through that, you dip under the surface, you dive deeper and uncover, bringing up the gems and jewels of doing this work. 

Look for the struggle. Look at the language you are using about yourself, listen to your voice. Look at your pain points. You can transform pain into peace. What did you need to take yourself through that process? That is the transformation that you can then teach on. You are going to translate inner clarity into words. These transformations become talking points, sequences.

Intention is direction to the Universe. You ask .. Universe, what do I need to teach? And you dictate what you hear. 

Eventually you just come to class and you know. You have built a relationship with yourself and your practice so that you can receive those higher consciousness ideas and share that. 

Another note: language the energy that you see. So if you see tension in your students, what words, what language, could you use?

Level II was all about Being a Leader (in your own life)
When you start to inspire and generate energy there is a certain frequency that you hold and that you are committed to. Be absolutely in love with what you do in order to encourage and inspire people. 

A side note in regards to striving .. it's’ no fun to keep doing the same thing over and over and get no were - that is a rut. However, it's lots of fun to do things over and over and each time you notice a little bit of a change in the direction that you want to go - that is super fun. 

Forum So let’s get into the Forum:
What gifts and lessons will you teach? and how? What will help you to fully trust yourself?

Our body is the conduit that expands our reach, amplifies our voice, and gives us the strength to follow our passions. 

Church of the Wild by Victoria Loorz pg. 97-100 Quote
Conversation
“Authentic conversation requires what writer Ursula K LeGuin calls "a continuous intersubjectivity that goes both ways all the time." Conversation is not just a way to pass information back and forth like a computer. Actual living communication is about forming a relationship where listening and responding is not just the medium of connection; it is connection.

You can tell when you've just engaged in true conversation. You feel seen and heard. You feel removed from routine events, renewed, refreshed, full of life, and open to possibilities. Con means "with," and vertere means "turn about.” So the word conversation means "to change together”: to turn and face each other with a sense of ongoing mutual growth, which is essentially the meaning of transformation. There is an intimacy involved and a risk. (Selena, my teacher says, intimacy is not safe). You are never the same after a real conversation. You turn and turn again and surrender what you used to think, and you end up creating something new with someone who is different from you. And you both end up just a little bit transformed. 

A real dialogue is not possible when you treat the other as an object. Subjectivity (the quality of existing in someone's mind rather than the external world.) is essential for conversations - with cottonwood trees and deer and rivers. 

(Thoughts?)

Animals
Anna Breytenbach, a professional and highly skilled animal communicator from South Africa, works with large sanctuaries harboring animals rescued from poachers, circuses, and other human abuses. She observes that wild animals can pick up human arrogance and will not engage with you if your posture is one of superiority. She demonstrates that if you approach them with reverence and respect - with a contemplative, quiet mind, and an open heart - they will often willingly engage with you.

Mehrabian Rule
Albert Mehrabian studied this in the 1960s and came up with what is now known as the Mehrabian Rule: 7-38-55 percent. 7% of communication is verbal; 38% is tone of voice; 55% is body language.  

David Bohm
Quantum physicist David Bohm (He studied quantum mechanics: the science dealing with the behavior of matter and light on the atomic and subatomic scale. It attempts to describe and account for the properties of molecules and atoms and their constituents—electrons, protons, neutrons, and other more esoteric particles such as quarks and gluons.) He identified the specific moment when an encounter with another turns into actual, relational conversation. 

Bohm discovered through years of studying the dynamics of dialogue, that authentic conversation begins the moment you realize you are misunderstood! We often assume other people understand exactly what we are trying to say, but they never do. They can't. They are not you. This misunderstanding is actually essential to true conversation. It is the moment when you really start listening and allowing your own perspective to shift in response to the other. The back-and-forth, misunderstanding, clarifying, including what the other has said, and then adding to it - all this continues until a totally new understanding emerges for you both. 

Rather than disconnecting when we feel we aren't immediately understood, we can learn to see this moment of misunderstanding as the invitation into the experience of the other, which is a defining action of love. And something amazing happens: you both evolve. This happens only if you can each freely listen to each other. Deeply. 

"Listening is not a reaction, it is a connection. Listening to a conversation or a story, we don't so much respond as join in - we become part of the action," writes Le Guin. You are authentically interested in the other's different point of view, not proving your own as right. An authentic conversation asks you to be fully present, appreciate another's uniqueness, and discover what you have in common. You drop your old ideas for new ones that emerge through the iterative, back-and-forth interaction, a sacred reciprocity. You create meaning together, but that's not even the whole point. Conversation is the vehicle, the artery of connection, whether with a friend or a field of clover. Somewhere in the conversation, the content is almost not important anymore. The exchange itself creates and deepens relationship.”

(Thoughts?)

Conscious Communication for Connection Clinic

10:15-11:15am Opening: Pranayama and Check-in (2 minute shares)

11:15-11:45am NVC

• Main thing: connection - something both parties want/need

• (When I hear, see) ______________________________

• I feel __________________________ because I need __________________ 

• Would you be willing to ____________ (specific and doable)

11:45am-12:15pm Conscious Communication

• I statements - speaking for oneself

• Co-listening - allowing the other person their time to speak freely while you listen and are aware of your own experience 

• Reflective listening - reflecting back what you heard the person say

• Practice empowering feedback:  intention, speaking from personal experience, observable examples (observations)
  

12:15-12:45pm Exercise: Navigating the unexpected

• Students who come in after class starts or leave before class ends.

• Students who talk a lot before class starts.

• Students who talk during class.

• Students who adjust the light, heat, fans, sound or other students.

• Students who have a strong odor.

• Students who practice without a shirt.

• Students who need a lot of attention.

• Students who may want to date you or who are attracted to you.

• Students who don’t know what they are walking into. 

• Students with children. 

• Students intent on doing their own thing.

• Students who are intoxicated/high.

• Loud noises or sustained noises outside the studio/class space. 

• Farts

• Students who are unsafe.

• Students who sustain an injury or calamity.

• Students who cry, giggle, socialize, fall asleep or use a phone. 

• Answering questions

12:45-1pm Questions & Closing

 Introspect

Introspect is designed to bring about an introspective state for the purpose of listening to the ways in which we speak to and about ourselves, the ways we may experience shame, and tools to bring about a spirit of non-violence in the ways we communicate. In short, we will dismantle our self-limiting beliefs to move from anxiety to action and from rigidity to release.

Introspect is two sessions in two weeks + daily practice, exercises, and a pdf designed to inspire you and guide your personal practice. This highly interactive experience will give you space to explore and inspire freedom. Go deeply inward to unearth and connect with your truest self, and have the courage to bring forth your brightest light.

Notes:

THE WOLF YOU FEED
One evening an old Cherokee told his grandson about a battle that goes on inside people.
He said, "My son, the battle is between two "wolves" inside us all.
One is Evil. It is anger, envy, jealousy, sorrow, regret, greed, arrogance, self-pity, guilt, resentment, inferiority, lies, false pride, superiority, and ego. The other is good. It is joy, peace, love, hope, serenity, humility, kindness, benevolence, empathy, generosity, truth, compassion and faith."The grandson thought about it for a minute and then asked his grandfather: "Which wolf wins?"
The old Cherokee simply replied, "The one you feed."

SA TA NA MA aka Kirtan Kriya Meditation instructions
Each repetition takes 3-4 seconds. While chanting the elbows are straight and each fingertip touches the tip of the thumb with firm pressure. On SA touch the index finger to the thumb. On TA touch the middle finger to the thumb. On NA touch the ring finger to the thumb. On MA touch the little finger to the thumb. This begin again at the index finger. This kriya brings total mental balance to the pysche.