My Karma class took place at several places.
-Dash for Down Syndrome – Thursday May 17th – 6:30-8:00 We did this event as a group, which was so much fun. We worked with the runners getting them warmed up before the raise. We each took turns doing a pose with the runners. We were able to practice our cuing as well as working with all ages of people. What I learned from this experience was working with all age groups. You had to be open to using your cues to make adjustment on how to get into the pose. We were also outside with many distractions, so you had to keep your focus on what you were doing so you were able to keep the students engaged in the pose.
-I taught a gentle and slow flow class at Tartan Fields Sunday evening and Monday afternoon.
The dates were May 5th & 6th. 60 minute classes
-On the 5th I had two students. I did a very gentle class. The students did a great job. It was a wonderful class. The ladies enjoy it and said it helped them relax for the evening.
-Monday the 6th I had 4 students and did a slow flow. Another great class. The students did a wonderful job, and a two of them were new to yoga. They commented on how it helped them wind down from the morning but allowed to get reenergized for the rest of the day. My Monday June 3rd class had only one student. It was kinda nice just having one student because I was able to focus my attention on helping her relax into the poses.
-June 4th class I didn’t have any students.
-June 11th class I had two students one being a male and a golfer. He commented on how the yoga was helping him with his golfing. This was the slow flow class.
-June 10th class I didn’t have any students
-June 11th I had one student
Teaching at a gym I learned that you have to come with props they did have blocks but not mats or blankets. The atmosphere was different then a yoga studio. Most of the students were coming from an exercise class and wanted to unwind from that. The environment was more intense then a quiet and calming setting as in a studio.
-June 13th at New Hope Church. 60 minute class! I had 9 students attend this class. I had some new to yoga and some with experience. I did a slow flow. I demonstrated the pose on my mat but would walk around to watch and cue the new students to help them come into the pose better. The experienced students moved their the poses at their own pace and incorporated their own style into the pose. What I learned from this experience was doing yoga in a church setting you need to make sure your music is church appropriate. We did the yoga in the main hall entrance of the church so it was a little distracting when people would come in for other activities, but that didn’t happen until the end. I just keep my focus on what we were doing so that my students would do the same. There were no mat or props most of the students did bring their own mats/blankets. I made adjustments to my poses to help assist those who may have needed props. The feedback was great from the students. They enjoyed the flow and how it made them feel, and the new students felt like they were able to keep doing their yoga practice.
-June 9th at Athleta – 45 minute class! I was suppose to do a child’s yoga class, but no one showed, so I did a class with the staff. There were 4. It was awesome! The staff enjoy having some time to relax before they opened the store. The manage said it helped them to calm themselves down from the business of getting the store ready to open that they were ready to go back with a calm mind. We even discussed doing this on a regular basis. I did a basic slow flow with some modifications because two of the staff members had never done yoga before. What I learned from this experience was to adjust my sequencing at the last minute. I didn’t have anything planned for an adult class, so I had to put together something at the last minute. I really like doing that and it turned out great.
-July 14th at Athleta – 45 minute class I did a child’s yoga class. I had three children with two adults. The ages were three years of age up to ten years of age. It was fun. We did a some breathing in the beginning, and then we drew cards with poses on them and each students talked about the pose then demonstrated the pose and then we all did the pose. After each round, we took a few minutes to discuss the pose and what they liked and didn’t like about the pose. We continued to draw cards until it was time for savasana. I was a little concerned about doing this considering their age but they liked it and stayed focused on their breathing during this process. What I learned from this process was I enjoyed teaching children and it was in a different setting then a yoga studio. We did it in the store.
-June 16th at Balancing Owl I have six people at this class and did a slow flow. What an awesome experience. Several of my students were very new to yoga. One of them this was his fourth class. I received positive feedback from this student. He enjoyed my music because it was the first time he had been to a class that played music with words. He actually enjoyed it. What I learned from this experience is things happen. My phone would not hook up to the studio’s blue tooth. After several attempts from my mentor we still couldn’t get it to work. When I put my student’s into savasana, I reached into my bag to pull out my speaker and hooked up my phone to it. I was able to do this with little disruption to the class. Being flexible when you are teaching is so important. You don’t want your students to see you panic because something didn’t go right. My student’s didn’t even know that I had gotten into my bag to get my speaker. Being in a yoga studio is very different from teaching in other places. The atmosphere is more calming/relaxing. The students come in and sit or lay on their mats and prepare for their practice. Some will just lay on their backs with their eye closed, while others may come into Easy Seated Position and focus on their breathing, and others will come in and do some stretching before beginning their practice. It was a great experience.
I have been doing a weekly series with my neighbor and her friends since the beginning of May. I did a slow flow. This was done in her home ranging from 1-6 people for 60 minutes on Wednesday at 3. These were church ladies and requested that I play church music, so that was a different experience for me, but one that I enjoyed. The experience was great. We practice in her basement. That atmosphere was different. It was a more relaxing environment. They sat on their mats and talked until I was ready to start class. Most of the people have not done yoga before, so I was able to take the time to break down the pose for them. I used this opportunity to use my cues to help them adjustments. I didn’t do any physical assists but would go them and demonstrate the pose or any adjustment they may have needed. We took the chance to discuss any questions they had and any suggestions they wanted to make. We are continuing this practice throughout the rest of the year.
Doing these Karma classes has been the best experience for me. I gave me chance to learn how to use my cues to help my students make any modifications they may have needed. I was able explore the different styles of yoga to see where my passion may be. I believe that gentle, kids and chair yoga is where my passion lay. I gave me the chance to develop my teacher’s voice. I was also able to experiment with walking around the room to teach instead of always being on my mat. I would demonstrate the pose, but then would take the opportunity to walk around and give verbal cues as well as watch how my students were doing. I am very grateful for the opportunity to have this experience to learn how to improve my teaching skills.