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On Yoga, Indian Proverbs, & African Violets
Posted by Carole Amend,
in
Teaching
27 January 2012
·
607 views
Body-Mind Process Inspiration NYT Articles On Teaching
I recently participated in a discussion on the board, New York Times Magazine Yoga Article, by Geniusall. The article is "How Yoga Can Wreck Your Body" by William J. Broad, and somewhere in there, I posted a link to a response entitled, "How Yoga Will NOT Wreck Your Body" by Mark Stephens.
As much as the article was "absolutely brilliant" marketing for a book that is about to be released (to quote Leslie Kaminoff…here is his wonderful video response), Kaminoff says that it also started a buzz about the conversation in the yoga community which has already been going on for a long while. It certainly has started one here on the PCDB as well! …and I am sure that, through the article and the subsequent buzz, the public is sure to hear and learn more about what movement practice is really all about!
This latest response (#108) by pilates07 to a comment by taowave, to me, is perfect. Of course, biomechanics is important, but it's only the start of what we need to be aware of as teachers. Injury during yoga or pilates or any other kind of movement practice, fitness endeavor, sports activity, daily life, etc, happens when we are not paying attention to our felt-sense.
My Mom, who loved African violets, brought this Indian proverb to my attention when I was in high school and it seems fitting to mention it: "All the flowers of all the tomorrows are in the seeds of today." I was not blessed with a green thumb, however, I can still relate it to body-mind process. Yoga, Pilates, and other movement practices are, ultimately, about education, self-care, and well-being, so....
Think of the body-mind felt-sense as the soil…classes, lessons, personal exploration, and practice as the seeds…a relationship with a friend or mentor on the path as water...knowledge from research, books, and other "outside" education as fertilizer...and our bodies, minds, and spirits will blossom in good time.
I take it as my primary job as a pilates and general movement teacher to help my clients to become more aware of the substance of their felt-sense and to deepen awareness on all levels of the body-mind. Yoga, pilates, and other physically-oriented body-mind balancing practices are systems, in other words, frameworks used to cultivate our process and relationship to ourselves. Whatever the system, we must not lose ourselves, but find ourselves in it. In fact, it's my experience, and so I'd like to suggest here, that movement practices (as opposed to activities) are more likely to reveal weaknesses and compensations in need of "correction" or balance than to create them.
We often say, "Movement Is Life"---and isn't that true? Does any person leave this world without physical injury, without one's mind having been unnerved, without one's heart having been broken, without one's spirit having been dampened at some point in the process?
The point is that "injury" (by use of that term, I mean to include all levels of discomfort) is part of the process of this thing we call "Life," and we have the opportunity to learn a little bit more about living and our *humanity* each time we get down on the floor with our mats… whether it be a sticky one for yoga or a 5/8"" or thicker one for pilates.
{What's that…? You've been using a sticky mat for pilates? No, no, no…hmmm…I feel another discussion coming….}
Thanks for reading. Have a great day and please share your comments below, if you have some time. I'd love to hear from you! : )
As much as the article was "absolutely brilliant" marketing for a book that is about to be released (to quote Leslie Kaminoff…here is his wonderful video response), Kaminoff says that it also started a buzz about the conversation in the yoga community which has already been going on for a long while. It certainly has started one here on the PCDB as well! …and I am sure that, through the article and the subsequent buzz, the public is sure to hear and learn more about what movement practice is really all about!
This latest response (#108) by pilates07 to a comment by taowave, to me, is perfect. Of course, biomechanics is important, but it's only the start of what we need to be aware of as teachers. Injury during yoga or pilates or any other kind of movement practice, fitness endeavor, sports activity, daily life, etc, happens when we are not paying attention to our felt-sense.
My Mom, who loved African violets, brought this Indian proverb to my attention when I was in high school and it seems fitting to mention it: "All the flowers of all the tomorrows are in the seeds of today." I was not blessed with a green thumb, however, I can still relate it to body-mind process. Yoga, Pilates, and other movement practices are, ultimately, about education, self-care, and well-being, so....
Think of the body-mind felt-sense as the soil…classes, lessons, personal exploration, and practice as the seeds…a relationship with a friend or mentor on the path as water...knowledge from research, books, and other "outside" education as fertilizer...and our bodies, minds, and spirits will blossom in good time.
I take it as my primary job as a pilates and general movement teacher to help my clients to become more aware of the substance of their felt-sense and to deepen awareness on all levels of the body-mind. Yoga, pilates, and other physically-oriented body-mind balancing practices are systems, in other words, frameworks used to cultivate our process and relationship to ourselves. Whatever the system, we must not lose ourselves, but find ourselves in it. In fact, it's my experience, and so I'd like to suggest here, that movement practices (as opposed to activities) are more likely to reveal weaknesses and compensations in need of "correction" or balance than to create them.
We often say, "Movement Is Life"---and isn't that true? Does any person leave this world without physical injury, without one's mind having been unnerved, without one's heart having been broken, without one's spirit having been dampened at some point in the process?
The point is that "injury" (by use of that term, I mean to include all levels of discomfort) is part of the process of this thing we call "Life," and we have the opportunity to learn a little bit more about living and our *humanity* each time we get down on the floor with our mats… whether it be a sticky one for yoga or a 5/8"" or thicker one for pilates.
{What's that…? You've been using a sticky mat for pilates? No, no, no…hmmm…I feel another discussion coming….}
Thanks for reading. Have a great day and please share your comments below, if you have some time. I'd love to hear from you! : )
The truth is the truth....