[Beth]

My Karma teaching was at the Warner Center Platform on OSU Newark campus. I taught on Wednesday evenings after work from 5 – 6PM from April 11 – May 30. I marketed it over email as a Slow Flow class to my coworkers at OSU and to the colocated campus (Columbus Ohio Technical College) staff. There were many people who responded to the email but each session between 5 – 10 people actually attended. I had four people who attended every session, which allowed me to build on poses for them.

o I really enjoyed teaching at my workplace with my coworkers because it allowed me to get to know them on another level. I intentionally asked them when they’d like to have yoga and they overwhelmingly voted to have it in the evenings after work to help them relax and focus back on themselves. I built these classes to be a slow flow, almost yin at times, class showing beginners how to get into some of the most common poses. Learning names of the poses, and how they are cued helped them feel more comfortable going into a studio class. I also built in a different centering exercise with a focus on breathing each session. I particularly enjoy teaching three-part breath, seated, standing and laying down. I kept the music the same type, which was instrumental but with a little beat.
o I tried to accommodate without props the poses I was teaching, because I had a wide age range, and a few injuries or limitations to work with. I always held savasana for at least 10 minutes because this encouraged focus and relaxation. I tried a few short poems and meditations during savasana and sometimes I just spoke from my heart, as I intimately understand what the staff go through during a day at work. I tried to encourage and empower them to care for themselves, as we are in a helping profession.
o I received positive feedback along the way about my voice volume and cuing which helped me adjust to make things clearer for students. I added poses which focused on parts of the body that were requested, including hip and chest openers. In general, the individuals who attended my class struggled to get into poses, partially due to flexibility and balance. I tried to add in some standing balance asanas and began holding some of the poses slightly longer.

My final hour of Karma teaching was on June 23rd at Balancing Owl Yoga, for the open Saturday sessions. I had 9 people attend and Kelly Schultz was my stand-in mentor for this class, as my mentor was not able to make it.

o I felt more confident teaching this class, even though it was in the studio because I had already completed several hours of teaching. That said, I completely forgot to name poses as I was getting into them! I did however not say the word “modification” more than one time during this class, I was trying really hard to remove this from my vocabulary.
o I learned that I prefer to teach outside of the studio, because it felt more accessible for beginner students. I feel this could change over time, this could just be how I feel at the beginning of my teaching. I also like teaching slow flow or yin for the time being. I am finding that I have an interest in yoga for the spine or for back pain/alignment. This is because of my personal experience practicing yoga with scoliosis.

My overall goal was to continue teaching in some capacity as I work towards my end goal of writing and receiving a grant to teach to low-income women in parts of the community which are underserved by yoga classes. My Karma Yoga teaching helped me to secure a position teaching yoga at OSU Newark, so I am grateful for the opportunities this has opened for me!

[Beth]

I think I have learned a lot about my body as it relates to my mind since beginning YTT. I have had many aha moments, including after reading this book. I know that my migraines are directly related to the emotions I experience. I realize I also have horomones working against me during my moon cycle, but I can trigger migraines and make existing ones worse or last longer when I’m feeling: sad, angry, scared, or insecure.

I have a tendency to push down my insecurities, anger and sadness until I can’t hold it in anymore and then I burst at others. Sometimes, I fall apart by myself, but either way, I will cry and within four or six hours have a migraine. I am insecure in relationships because I have a tendency to seek out emotionally unavailble men like my father. This leaves me always anxious and feeling unloved. I also try to do everything on my own, the masculine side of me trying to make it look as though I never need anything from anyone. My feminine side is over developed in my sense of empathy for others without leaving enough for myself. I feel as though I have to make up for the fact that I do not have any children, by taking care of everyone else’s. I feel less of a woman around women who are married with children, and yet I like the choices I have made.

I become tight in neck, shoulders and upper back. Althought my right side is dominant, my scoliosis causes both sides to hurt. Typically my left shoulder blade area will hurt during a migraine but no amount of massage or heat or ice will help. I am scared to think that there is something I can do during a migraine to calm it down. My stomach is rarely affected unless I am far past my normal stress reaction, and this is typically because I will eat less and less, until my stomach is upset. The final sign that my body is past a point, that my stress has reached a peak, my legs ache. It is a telltale sign I’ve learned to read. This can also happen if I’m almost in a car accident, or someone has threatened me with violence. Within an hour, my thighs will ache and I know I have to calm down or stop moving.

On a normal day, at work, or around my family, I can feel it start in my neck. If my parents are arguing and I start to remember parts of childhood when they argued, I start to feel tightness and I breath shallow. I breath all in my chest, because I am sucking in my stomach and I don’t know why. I have trouble remembering embarrassing moments in my past with men without having a physical reaction. I can remember sad things and happy things without having a noticeable physical reaction. Mediation has helped tremendously. I am able to allow feelings to come and go without spending days, weeks, months, suppressing them. At the same time, I know I still do this, but it is happening less.

I find myself uncomfortable when I’m relaxed, once I’m aware that I am. I can relax on vacation, where it seems like I’m “supposed” to be relaxed. So let’s see, I think it is equally important for me to describe the way my body feels when I am relaxed because this is the opposite quality. When I’m relaxed, it is usually when I am on vacation in Michigan, at my famliy’s home laying on the beach in the sun. My body is warm (I like to be warm), my muscles are not tight, I am breathing deeply with my belly. I think about things I hope for and things I still want to do with my life, I think about how grateful I am for my family and the experiences I’ve had, good and bad. My mind thinks entirely different thoughts than it does during the rest of the year. I have fond memories or when I have a difficult memory, I do not react.

I try to find ways to feel this way when I’m not on the beach but at least I can observe when I’m feeling this way. I try to meditate to bring myself to this place.

[Beth]

Ayurveda is something I have been reading about and listening to podcasts about since February. I coudln’t wait until July to learn more about it! I really enjoyed the class on Sunday with Kathy, she really knows her stuff. I think the part that I learned the most about and surprised me was my aversion to routine but how important it is. I know that I need to sleep a certain number of hours and that I need to eat at certain times of the day, but I struggle with the idea that my most productive hours are 10-2.

I also learned that it was ok if I woke up in the middle of the night, because that 10PM – 2AM is the restorative part of my sleep. I was always worried that I wasn’t getting what I needed when I wake up after 2AM before my alarm goes off. I have made the adjustment of eating my largest meal of the day at lunch, and eating a lighter, smaller dinner. This has helped me sleep better. I have cut my coffee intake roughly in half, I drink less all the time. I have long since cut my alcohol intake to two times a month, and it’s not more than one or two drinks. Alcohol has all bad affects on my body.

I also have tried in the last week to be aware of what sort of mood I am in when I start to eat. I hadn’t really thought about the fact that this affects my digestion. I have been taking my lunch outside at work twice a week, or more when I can. I have been drinking room-temperature water for several months on my way to work in the morning, and it really does help. That used to be my coffee time but I delay coffee now until after I’ve had the water.

I’m interested to learn more about how to observe other people’s doshas in a class. I feel like I can see them when they are single dominant, but so many of us are a pretty even split between two. I also found it interesting to explore in the future with my students the concept of having a mental constitution and a physical one. I have already begun talking to my students from karma yoga at my job in Newark about the doshas, and there have been six or seven people who’ve taken the test. There is a lot of interest on this topic and I hope to continue learning.

[Beth]

I attended Colleen’s Curvy class on June 16th. I enjoyed taking a morning class as I do not often do this. The class was not huge, maybe 9 people and Colleen’s teaching style immediately made me feel calm and that I was with a very knowledgeable instructor. She is able to provide expertise without making anyone feel small. She brought straws and rubber bands which was instriguing. We focused on our feet as a body part theme and the class flowed smoothly. When we got to the straws and rubber bands, she had us stand against the wall and pick up the straw with our toes. Then she had us put the rubber bands around our toes and push our toes out against the bands. This allowed us to stretch our toes out and observe how each foot responded differently.

I know from YTT that Colleen can take the poses to levels beyond what she taught in class, but no one seemed to notice this. Her cuing is very specific and not too wordy, but she also infuses her personality into her word choices. Her music was interesting, as it varied without the level of movement. She played some very empowering song, the lyrics were only mildly distracting but I appreciated the message. I think underneath all the choices she offers, she encourages and made the women in the class feel stronger within themselves. Her treats at the end really go a long way to making each person feel special, she is unique!

[Beth]

1) My scores were 58 Pitta, 47 Vata and 43 Kapha. I understand this to mean that I am a Pitta but I have a strong balance of the other two doshas as well.

2) I do feel that Pitta characteristics both in personality and in my body resonate, but I also feel drawn to the descriptions mentally and physically of Vata. I am starting to realize that when I’m taking care of myself or rather, my life is more balanced, I express more Vata but Pitta is my fall-back and default operating system. It has also been my survival mode, I can rely on my Pitta attributes when times are tough.

3) I am learning a lot about balance and removing certain things from my life. I am able to add to my life, but I have struggled to let go of people, and patterns of thinking. The life I want for myself requires me to be able to change both. I am hoping to learn more about how Ayurveda can put language to what I’m already starting to learn about myself and how I can use this to better understand how to live the life I want.

[Beth]

I have been learning a lot by observing other teachers. I really didn’t feel comfortable cuing in my own words during my first two or three karma classes. I still don’t stray from my mat as often as I would like to, which literally means I don’t go into savasana with my students anymore! As far as things I’ve learned that really stick out, I have learned that music can be powerful when used the right way. As a student music was so important at first and then I strayed away from it during my practice, but now as a teacher observing classes, I find that it can really be either. It can have an enhancing effect or it can detract, but I imagine this is only my personal experience. When I was teaching, I chose music that relaxed me, not sure how my students responded to it.

Cuing is best when it is done in someone’s own words and suits their existing personality. I have been the most impressed by instructors who own their voice and lead class as they are. I found my own voice to be not as “soothing” or not as empowering as I wanted it to be, but I worked really hard to sound like myself. I think it takes getting used to, my voice may very well be soothing and empowering to “my tribe”, but it sounded robotic, the same way Cindy said she was feeling at first. I think I am used to my teaching voice at work and my presentation voice from school, but my yoga voice is just new to me and sounds funny in my head. I don’t want to force myself to change it but rather to get more comfortable with it.

I think teaching to my strengths makes me more genuine, even if my “yoga teaching” strengths are few at this time. I think you have to build on what you have and try not to be hard on yourself. I have listened to instructors who sound amazing and seem so confident in arm balance postures and inversions, but I still feel too new to lead confidently in certain types of poses. I think it’s good to challenge yourself but not to over reach by being eager to be good at something that might not fit your teaching style just yet. I also am trying to accept that there may be some things I’m not going to be great at for awhile and that’s ok, it’s a work in-progress.

[Beth]

1. The fact that there is flexibility in time of class, and organizing of the parts of a class. I realize that seems obvious and we discussed it at the beginning of yoga teacher training, but it didn’t sink in until Emily was talking about how different a class looks for kids. I had gotten so set in my ways already in terms of how long each part of class should last, and which part happens when, and what poses are called, I had forgotten about altering whole pieces of the class for special populations. I am able to throw out a sequence when there isn’t enough time, or to adjust based on skill level, but I had truly not thought about how to reorganize a class. I had also forgotten that themes can be catered to special populations, you can change names of poses, and create centering that focuses on the population.

2. I hadn’t thought about the fact that in corporate yoga or in a business environment, particularly during a lunch session, will have a hard time being in the moment. This made complete sense once it was said by Lisa and Melanie, but I hadn’t thought about how to plan a class to work with that. They also pointed out that it is likely they will not be in yoga clothes and they may be in class with people from work that make them uncomfortable. All in all, corporate yoga seemed easy to me at first, but leading and planning a lunch session would be incredibly difficult for these reasons. I think corporate yoga looked to me more like an employee retreat or wellness activity, but business folks probably prefer to do it during their day.

3. I hadn’t thought about the difference between what I consider “senior” and “elderly” populations. When Karen and Diane were talking about building a class for this group, mobility was the key question. For the elderly, mobility is an issue and required the use of a chair. When planning for “seniors”, which would include someone my mom’s age (who I still think of as menopausal, but she’s definitely over that), you are helping build strength to help support weakening bone mass. It was assumed the senior population still has their mobility, but with either group I hadn’t thought about the way you could or would want to adjust the themes and cuing. I think a beginners hatha yoga for this population would look very different than for a studio class not listed for older adults. I also thought with this age group, mobility could vary as much as in any class and offering modifications would be an even larger priority to keep students safe.

4. I also had a moment during Meenal and Lori’s group presentation about women who are heading into or are in menopause. The types of poses should actually work to help the person’s body and mind connect. In all yoga classes this is the goal, but asanas do help different people at different stages in their lives. I started thinking of poses which would help low back pain, or help aid in the relief of cramping or indigestion. Lori reminded us that men fall into this category as well, whether or no our society recognizes it as a whole, I believe men experience physical and hormonal changes as they age. Why wouldn’t we take this into consideration when planning yoga for this age group/population?

5. Throughout the conversations about different populations, one of the things that popped into my mind was how yoga can be adapted to help each population. I think being in yoga teacher training and being in so many classes and different studios, I had lost perspective for students who fall outside what we find in a traditional “yoga studio class”. I also began to think about how to make yoga accessible in different environments, in a school, in a business, in a gym, or outside. I started to think about those who have special needs, how a class might look for varying age groups. I think this session really brought back my creativity when planning a yoga class and made it seem less intimidating to teach to special populations.

[Beth]

I have completed my Karma Yoga classes, but realized a hadn’t really used themes the way I’d like to in the future. I had a common theme of relaxation and de-stressing from the work day, as my Karma classes were right after work. I used an app on my iPad and I tried Tummee.com also to help plan sequences. I designed level 1 gentle classes, that included a few short flows. I did this based on my audience, which varied but also because they shared ahead of time their anxiety about yoga and I wanted to provide a class that gave them an introduction. I began each class with a breathing exercise to help center us before beginning movement. I wanted to introduce a new breathing technique each time because the overarching theme of the karma classes was how to bring relaxation and attention to the moment during the work day.

One class I taught included chair yoga because I know everyone is sitting all day and may need to practice some yoga postures while in their chairs. It was fun to teach this and I have caught some people doing this at their desks afterwards! I did not build my classes with a particular apex pose, instead I tried to only be up and down once or twice, so the classes were half seated, half standing. I found transitions more challenging than I expected but started to use my own versions of sun salutations to achieve this. I used very soft, instrumental yoga music on Spotify and found that to work about 80% of the time.

Thinking back on my teaching experience so far, I liked savasana the best, even as a teacher, because I found myself talking gently to the group, depending on the energy of the people in the room. I felt I was able to focus on this right before final pose. At times people requested hip openers or let me know about a tender area of their body, which really helped me plan or adjust. I over-planned each class by about four or five poses, and marked them as “ones to cut” if time did not allow. I still felt like I had to look down at my plan too much, so I should have practiced more at home with each sequence. On the other hand, I think it just takes time to get comfortable planning your own classes. I did stay on my mat the entire time, something I thought I would stop doing. I am hoping to get off my mat for my Karma Yoga Saturday class at BOY.

[Beth]

I have learned that for my own personal preference as a teacher, I like some of the same things I prefer as a student. The lighting must be very soft and not directly overhead if possible. I was able to use some natural lighting as well in my space at OSU Newark. I also prefer to have the temperature be cooler, but I think that is situational. It has been very warm this month and although I like practiciing with a window open for some fresh air, it is really hard to practice in humiditiy. I was grateful for my class I had access to air conditioning. Being in a space without the windows open also allowed for my voice to travel more easily and to be able to control the volume of the muic. The space I used was a challenge only because each class, I had to arrive 30 minutes early to clear the room of tables and chairs. I also had to stay after to put everyting back, but I insisted on keeping this space instead of using the gym because it was more private and could be made to feel more like a studio.

I prefer when I practice to have music in a studio but when I first started teaching, it was very distracting. I have just completed my karma yoga classes, and I realized that the longer I taught the more comfortable I became with playing music. I found that my students really enjoyed the music as well. One of the biggest takeaways, was to spend time in savasana, more than you think you should. My students really responded well to this, but I suppose it really depends on the vibes of the group. I was always teaching after work, and to students who serve others all day, so they were ready mentally to relax, refresh an revive. This guided my room setup and how to set a calming mood for an eveing course.

[Beth]

I really enjoyed teaching yoga in a public place and attracting attention to the calming practice. I think amidst the chaos of a 5k race event, it was a nice contrast to have yoga happening. I thought of different poses that would help a runner, particularly legs, to prepare for this event. Mostly the preparation was in my head, because this was not a traditional environment for yoga, whether practicing or teaching. I do not mind people watching me do something, I am not shy in front of groups, but with yoga there is a sense of fear that I won’t do the pose the way I meant to, or I will somehow forget something important. I realize in my Karma Yoga teaching, this is happening less and less, I am not as nervous. When I prepare mentally now, I am confident and forgiving of what I know inevitably I will forget or do in a way I would have preferred not to. I pre-forgive myself, because I know I am going to do something. Instead of worrying about what it will be, I do so in advance. This makes me more relaxed and helps to bring back, or unblock the passion and excitement I have about teaching and sharing yoga.

I think fear and anxiety so often rob us of things we enjoy. My nervousness faded quickly at the race when the young boys and girls came over to practice with us. Even though they were falling over, laughing and bumping into each other, it was still a lot of fun. I think we forget that yoga can be fun, or funny and when shared in a large group is empowering. I think others in the crowd enjoyed watching us practice even if they weren’t ready to share in it. I think yoga sends a positive energy into a crowd and I was happy to be out doing it with my peers. I think that was one of the best parts of the day, was encouraging each other, as teacher’s to get our nerves out and go in front of the group to lead a pose. Watching Lisa come out and get everyone moving was really wonderful! I was really proud of all of us, and I realized how much I enjoy having yoga in common with others.

[Beth]

Meditation, to me, is the practice of becoming mindful. I learned one type of meditation, although there are many, and I don’t believe there is one type for everyone. I learned to use breathing to help bring myself into a state of awareness, even if only for a moment. Meditation can happen anywhere, it doesn’t have to be with others or alone, it can be driving, washing dishes or in a quiet space. I prefer to meditate in a quiet space, although sometimes with soft music, and to close my eyes. This allows me, for now, to shut out some of the distractions around me and helps me to begin to quiet my brain. I was taught to find an image that works for me, to help see my thoughts without judgement and then pass them along. Some people use a “TV screen”, or sitting on the edge of a river. For me, the one that seems to work best is imagining a river flowing toward a waterfall. I can hear the edge of the fall but can’t quite see it. I am sitting by the river, watching the water flowing toward the falls, and I hold in my hand a picture, like a snapshot representing the thought I am having. Sometimes I have to hold the picture for a few seconds before I can lay it in the river and watch it flow down towards the falls. This represents letting go for me, and helps me to observe my thoughts as they arise. I do not hold on to any of the photos, because the concept is to let go of the thoughts.

After some time, I stop having a photo in my hands and can just enjoy the river and the sound of the falls. Very quickly I am holding another picture, often the same pictures keep coming up. I believe for me, meditation is about realizing what is on my mind, what is really troubling me and then being able to stop holding judgement on myself. I am able to rest in my mind and begin to try to create patience with my mind, not fight against it. I become aware of sounds and smells, and my body and then rarely, I will feel a sense of oneness and peace. Most of the time, I am laying photos in the river and even though I don’t always feel oneness, I feel calmer and more at peace with who I am, the decisions I’ve made, and forgive myself. This may be early in the stages of awareness but it has really had an impact on how I think and feel. I find meditation in the morning, evenings and lunchtime help me to slow down. I can get very busy very fast and thrive on complicated situations, but this isn’t what I was made to do. I need to slow down and enjoy moments, as they are happening. I find I am much less hard on myself when I feel the moments.

I do not believe meditation is sitting on a fancy rug or pillow and sitting so still and quiet until I am uncomfortable. I believe sitting for long periods allows you to become aware of your bodily discomfort and begin to understand pain differently. However, the idea of meditating for “instagram”, (love Colleen’s term) isn’t my idea of meditation. I find the breath can help me come to awareness while driving or doing other tasks that are stressful, and I believe this is a type of meditation as well. Any kind of meditating to prove to others you are “meditating” may not achieve the sense of peace or oneness others may be seeking.

[Beth]

I have learned or rather internalized the idea that “pain is in your mind”. My migraines and the associated stress have plagued me for years. I moved back to Ohio, to my home, last May, one year ago, after having been gone for 10 years. I honestly realized in this teacher training that being away has been one of the causes of my fear, stress and anxiety. Not having the family support and being distant from my home and my family have caused me to develop severe migraines. Since I have returned, slowly but surely, they have dissipated. They haven’t gone entirely, but they’re leaving me slowly. When we talked about “pain” being manifested by our thoughts I wanted so much to understand that, to believe it and make it real in my life. I wanted to be rid of my pain through my own understanding. At first, I thought it was teacher training that was relieving my headaches. But when I realized that one of my many goals was to become a yoga instructor, I also realized I was living another goal, I was home. I had never understood that deep down, underneath my pain was a desire to be home, with my family again. So much of my pain was coming from that desire and now having achieved that goal, my soul is more settled. I feel more like myself than I have in years and the pain, which has been so prevalent in my life this last decade, is fading. I feel in control of the pain more than I did before and I didn’t believe that possible.

I am not sure I could have pinpointed what it was that was helping my pain until I began yoga teacher training, the tribe of women around me. I felt at home and that’s what was missing all this time. I am so grateful to have realized this and it is deepening my practice. I can focus more intensely and for longer periods of time because a part of me that was so aimless is still now. Of course, I’m not free of stress and anxiety, but the deep, misunderstood source of pain has been identified and can be conquered. This was my great realization and I thank you for bringing this to my attention. I am not afraid of the pain, I want to understand it.

[Beth]

I believe I learned to breath or how powerful breath was to my practice during a meditation course in Michigan two years ago. Yoga for me before this was all about cueing the breath. There was a lot of emphasis on breathing but I didn’t understand how it helped me mentally. Two years ago, I was suffering under a terrible boss, having trouble with a boyfriend who was self-destructive and unstable, and I needed stress relief. I took a meditation course as part of my community college staff benefits. It was held on campus and I came into it with a desire to understand myself and to finally learn self-care properly. I believe it was because I was ready to learn that I absorbed everything she was teaching. We did a great deal of breath work prior to meditation and it was then I realized that separate of movement, my breath was healing and calming. She cued us in several different breathing techniques and sent us home weekly with readings about breath. I began to practice it driving in traffic, at work, at home and I started meditating regularly. When I practiced yoga at home, sometimes I wouldn’t move at all but only breathe, other times I would hold poses longer and feel my breath. During flow classes I began to understand how breath and movement worked together and didn’t have trouble keeping the breath going, I didn’t have to be reminded.

Since then, I’ve attended several trainings on breath work, including a weekend long session from Art of Living on kriya breathing. This is a pranayama that lasts for an hour and there is a home practice that lasts 40 minutes. It is based on the circadian rhythms of our bodies. I highly recommend this course to anyone interested in deepening their breath practice and preparation for meditation!

[Beth]

I think arm balances are important for most classes, except perhaps a restorative class. I know they build strength in the body which is why in my classes I would like to teach these poses. On the other hand, it is necessary to include in every class. I am starting to think the only things that should be included in every class is a centering, breath work, movement and savasana. Outside of those components I am not sure any exact pose or series of poses is required for any class, I think there are so many options.

As for inversions, I believe in the immune support and mental well-being that stems from these poses. To force the blood to flow in another directon, to keep the heart above the head, is good for the body. I think in my classes, I would like to include at least one basic inversion, even if it is only forward fold. I think full inversions can be adapted to fit many people so that all are able to receive the benefits of inversion. I really appreciated Colleen’s skill but also her willingness to adapt and show how to get into the poses to get the same benefits. She also emphasized that these are particularly dangerous but “instagram” poses and many people associate yoga with shoulder stand or head stand. I am not sure I feel comfortable teaching poses I do not use in my regular practice, however I see her point about being able to cue correctly, even if it isn’t a pose I do at home.

I think arm balances and inversions are the types of poses which people can push themselves and this could be a teachable moment to offer a different perspective for students about their own practice. I think learning what feels good in your body and helping your students become comfortable is a huge lesson. If we, as instructors, aren’t able to get into a shoulder stand but can cue it and are comfortable helping our students achieve this pose, it doesn’t have to be something we get into ourselves. I am not against teaching any pose, but I am most available physically and mentally with those poses which I practice regularly.

[Beth]

Anatomy has always been fascinating to me and I took classes in high school and college when I had planned on becoming a doctor at one point. I think as I’ve grown older, my own body is what interests me. Anatomy helps me understand the benefits of yoga to someone with spinal dysfunction and hopefully will allow me to help others understand how their bodies work. I will probably spend more time on my own researching the anatomy of poses in yoga and to build classes with a focus on muscle groups that are particularly troublesome for a large number of people. I find the shoulder and back muscles to be a problem area for women, as well as the lower back and hips. I look at yoga as a way to release tension and stress held in the muscles, as opposed to a work-out. I think strengthening the muscles which tend to overcompensate for posture irregularities or other pain, is really important to helping improve someone’s quality of life. Yoga can help a person explore how their stress is carried out in their bodies.

I think it was really helpful to see each other’s bodies from a yoga instructor / anatomical perspective. I think it helped to teach us how to observe others and make mental notes about poses or other things for individual students. I intend to show my OSU Newark Karma Yoga students, how to use a foam roller and massage ball for hard to reach muscles, as this is something I use frequently. There is a way to release a muscle that is triggering pain elsewhere in the body, and I want to help others understand pain pathways and referred pain. I think it is essential to know what is going on in the body as it relates to yoga, to be a careful instructor and keep students safe. That said, the level to which you teach from anatomy or learn more on your own, will depend on the interest level of the instructor. I think the most important thing is to help students learn how to feel in their own bodies and this is the best way to keep them safe.

[Author]

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