Yoga Teaching and Learning​
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Hello Reader

Apologies for the lateness of this May newsletter. I've had a nasty gastro bug this week, and my article about 'joint care' for this month remains only half written! So instead I've included an article that you may not have seen - Are you good at yoga? which I first sent out in April 2024.

I need to rest and recover right now, so will have to postpone our yoga teacher get-together scheduled for this Saturday until the following week. So that will be Saturday 16th May 10-11am (or 11.30am for those who have time to stay on). If you're receiving this newsletter, you'll also receive an invitation with the Zoom link, the day before.

I have some applied anatomy and physiology workshops coming up in June and July, and some fascia masterclasses in the autumn, all online. I'll send you more information once I'm back to good health.

with love and best wishes,

​yogaandrolfing.co.uk​

Article:

Are you good at yoga?

“You’re a yoga teacher - you must be very good at yoga!”

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Has anyone ever said this to you? I have heard it many times! It’s an interesting comment that always makes me smile.
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The word ‘good’ is a subjective one, and rather vague. Though it does have its uses of course. We might for example say ‘good’ to a student who has just done something that we asked for. In that situation the meaning is clear and we’re indicating that the student has done what was intended and done it well and appropriately.

Words like ‘good’ are so non-specific and subjective that you can only really use them usefully with someone who is clear about what you mean. If you tell a yoga student that their pose is 'good' - meaning they are now breathing more freely in the pose - they may mistakenly interpret it as meaning their body is more closely aligned to the shape of a yoga pose they’ve seen online.
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Another aspect of using the word ‘good’ is that it suggests that there is also a ‘bad’! Because bad is considered as wrong, the idea of the possibility of getting it wrong can bring feelings of shame or inadequacy. So an unspecific use of the word ‘good’ in yoga classes can sometimes illicit fears of ‘not being good enough’ or the embarrassment of ‘getting it wrong’.

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It’s all about being very clear and communicating well in our teaching. And also being aware of what we are communicating unknowingly when we’re teaching. The word ‘good’ may be reinforcing misconceptions that students have about what a ‘good’ yoga pose entails.
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What is considered to be an advanced asana in some quarters is often about extreme ranges of joint movement or how far people can stretch. ‘Advanced' postures are sometimes considered to be the most extreme contortions. Often these are poses that can only be carried out by hypermobile bodies, and beginners assume that these yogis are 'good at yoga' and have achieved these physically strong poses from years of practice which is not always the case.

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I once had a student who had been practising yoga for many years, who decided that she wanted to get her foot behind their head. She had a pretty mobile body to start with, so wasn’t too far away from it. After months of daily practice, she finally achieved her aim, and showed me. I asked her what that felt like, and she shrugged, looking slightly underwhelmed. Though I praised her achievement, interestingly she didn’t keep up that practice afterwards.
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Part of the learning of yoga is the realisation that the shape of the asana is not the most important thing, and that striving for an end-point can be counter-productive. But maybe to begin with, the idea of attaining the ‘perfect pose’ gives some people the motivation to practice. Perhaps some need to go through that striving process towards that 'achievement' in order to learn that yoga practice is a process, that ideas of shape are not fixed, and that most goals have a temporary use.

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Some students realise right away that we are all different with different types of bodies. They realise that yoga is about the experience of the practice and that it's the knock-on effects that matter most. Others have to go on a long convoluted journey, sometimes with a few injuries along the way, to get to that realisation. (The book The Alchemist by Paolo Coelho comes to mind here – a short book, well worth a read if you haven’t read it before.)

I would add though that there is such a thing that I would call a ‘good shape’ in a yoga pose that is worth working to achieve. This would be a shape where everything is aligned, joints are not distorted, the structure and function of the individual body is honoured, there is a balance of sthira and sukha within the shape, there is effort but not strain, the body is grounded and supported, there is a sense of focus and ease, and the breath is flowing.

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Whenever I see this in action, usually after a student has been practising for some time, I find it one of the great joys of teaching yoga. And it’s just as likely to be an elderly person with limited ability in a gentle pose, as a younger person in a strong pose. To see someone achieve that shape is, to me, very good indeed!

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To have a strong and clear useful intention, such as to be aware, to be well orientated with gravity and space, to let the breath flow, to work within the limits of your body – a ‘good shape’ can be found. So in the end, we come back to communication and what we mean by the words we are using.

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Teaching mixed ability groups, and giving shared achievable aims, allows everyone to work together and at the same time do a ‘good’ yoga practice. This allows us to be mindful of our common humanity as we explore our bodies as individuals within a group. I would say that all those who strive to do that are 'good at yoga'. Would you agree?
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