TWO TO TANGO

This morning's class at the Tango Tea Room brought to light something I've been trying to watch over closely since my very first class. Injuries. More importantly, injured parts of the body that scream for attention.

As a student I have run into other fellow students working with pain, guided by pain, or otherwise ignoring their pain. None of these tactics ever seemed right to me. Especially considering that the majority of the time I studied Yoga (before teacher's training) I was in constant pain; whether it be my ankles, foot, neck, or more often my lower back. So for years, in watching more-seasoned students struggle through asanas or pranayama because of their near debilitating pain, I simply thought that's the way it was to be. That my pain was a cause of my own actions and someday, through shear determination and a consistant yoga practice I would magically wake up one day and be physically healed. My body would be happy and so shall I.

As great as the classes were, pain just wasn't talked about much. It was something largely ignored by my past instructors, only talked about when a student approached them privately after class. As if pain itself was the problem and should not be acknowledge for fear of exacerbating the situation. Unlike the truth of it all, which I've come to find is that all people are in pain at some point: physically, emotionally, mentally and yes, spiritually. The physical side of the spectrum is usually where we put our focus, though, when in class.

So with today, I started the class with my usual nod to a bit of Jnana Yoga by discussing some theories of yoga that applied to our day's practice, then reminding everyone to take care, listen to their bodies, and when in doubt or pain, come out of the pose and/or go to Child's Pose - Balasana.

About an hour into the practice a friend of mine who was seated in the back row came out of the pose we were working through and started rubbing her wrist. After guiding the rest of the class back down to Dandasana I looked over to see if she was O.K. She said she was fine, just that the particular pose we were in was not working with her wrist and so she sat back down. I decided to take that moment to basically make an example of her. She didn't seem to mind and the timing was perfect. I used her great judgement and style to reitterate my point about bringing the "yoga mindset" into our yoga practice; being aware of our bodies and listening to them. "Remeber this isn't feel the burn it's more like find the enlightenment."

After that I noticed one more student in the front row do the same thing: slowly lower down out of her Downward Facing Dog and relax into Balasana. I have to say, I was very happy to see that. This second student was someone just getting back into yoga after a few years of hiatus. I noticed she had been struggling already a few times earlier in the class and whether she needed a restorative pose then or not, I can not say, but I was happy to see both students use good judgement, listen to what their bodies were saying and rather than jerk out of their positions, lower slowly to their mats and relieve the stress.

As an instructor with a full class I know that I can not give each and every student the full attention they need. I know (as much as I don't like it) that some things will go unnoticed on my part. The best I can do is give a great lesson in yoga each and every time. The rest I must leave up to the wonderful yogis that come to participate. It is in that thought right there why I insist on reminding several times throughout our 90 minute class to "listen to your bodies", "don't strain yourselves", and "if it hurts, stop."