8 things I learnt from the New York City Yoga Journal conference

As an Aussie teaching yoga in suburban Mt Waverley, Melbourne for over 13 years, I have wondered for a while what it might be like to get to an international Yoga conference. This year I finally bit the bullet and travelled to New York City for the Yoga Journal conference. I attended full day immersion workshops on the Friday and the Monday, and 2 days of shorter sessions and events on the Saturday and Sunday.

What did I learn?

1.     Yoga meets you where you are.

Yes even at a conference where nearly everyone is a teacher, you are OK as you are. There is something for everyone, whatever your level of experience, understanding or practice.

2.     There is always more to learn.

I am humbled to have been in the presence of some wise and experienced teachers. Those that impressed me most were Sarah Powers, Seane Corn, Rodney Yee, Shiva Rea and Bo Forbes. They were passionate, knowledgeable and amazingly articulate. Of course I couldn’t get to everything on offer, there were usually at least 6 concurrent things going on.

3.     I already know plenty.

I spent time with some ‘famous’ yoga teachers. I understood the Sanskrit terms and old concepts that have been handed down from teacher to student over the years. I was fine with the level of anatomy. (I was less interested and familiar with any of the astrological stuff, which really only came in one of the sessions I was at). I realise that I have the essential teachings. And I’m starting to embody them in my life now too.

4.     A good understanding of anatomy is important.

But it is definitely not a one size fits all. As teachers we can not feel what another is feeling, but a look at their face will tell us plenty. Work with whichever bodies are in front of you and be prepared to adapt!

5.     There is more than one ‘right’ way.

Yes, there are lots of ‘right’ ways to practice asana and yoga. There’s also some ways that are less beneficial, (even though they may be popular).

6.     We crave more than active asana.

Whenever Shavasana was suggested, it went down a treat. Sometimes ‘antidote’ contemplations or focussing techniques can help liberate our confusion if ‘just being’ is too difficult. And it was good to see many teachers offering meditation.

7.     I’m grateful.

So yes, I actually already knew most of the above. It was reassuring to have many of my current practices and teaching methods affirmed within an international context. Highlighted for me is how grateful I am to have received my major teaching and influence from Swami Shantananda at the Australian College of Classical Yoga. Thank you Mataji from the bottom of my heart.  It was lovely to come home to Satsang with the classical yoga community. And thanks also to my wonderful yoga students that have taught me so much over the years!

8.     Don’t put up a picture of yourself on the cover of Yoga Journal on Facebook or everyone will believe it!

It seemed like a fun thing to do at the time … I am humbled that many people thought it was believable!

 

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How to do a home yoga practice

There no right way, but this is an introduction about what works for me.

Check in

Take a moment to check in, this can be standing, sitting or lying, or you can do a full shavasana*. Notice your thoughts, notice your breath, notice if you feel restricted in any areas of your body.

The beauty of home practice is that you can spend more time where you need it, for example if you have been doing lots of sitting you may decide to spend more time on backbends (such as sphinx, cobra, bridge, fish or even the shoulder clock*)

So use those first few moments to note any areas that could do with some attention. Continue to notice throughout your practice, and remember to spend a little more time where you feel resistance.

How long should my practice take?

You might just have 15 minutes or you might have a delicious 2 hours, or somewhere in between. Make sure you allow for some quiet time to finish.

What poses to do?

Depending on what your body needs, you most probably want to warm up your joints, taking them through circular movements like we do in class, and then warm up the body. This warm up might include cat pose before moving into Salutes to the Sun.

A balanced practice would include forward bending, back bending, twisting and some form of inversion (upside down pose). Then as time permits, drawing on what your body seems to want, perhaps adding balancing, side stretching, poses for hips (such as pigeon) and shoulders (such as cow face pose), poses for abdominals and so on.

For me, I like to feel like I’m getting a good strong physical practice so I usually like to include some salutes and then add in various standing poses once I feel sufficiently warmed up and eased out. These could be a selection of warrior 1, 2 and 3, triangle pose and variations, half moon pose, and so on. Then take it to the floor and explore sitting and lying poses.

As you will have noticed in class, if we do a strong movement in one direction, we bring the body back to a more neutral state afterwards by including counter poses, that is, by doing a more gentle movement in the opposite direction.

You may like to add an inversion or two. If you have done a standing forward bend you have already inverted at least partially, and lying with the legs up the wall might feel right here.

Meditate!

I like to close with sitting meditation, but lying is also fine. It is important to have a few minutes of quiet for your body and mind to absorb and assimilate the benefits of the practice. And this is the perfect time to develop a longer meditation practice, drop back from thinking and feel into your natural quiet inner state.

What about the time of day?

I would decrease the salutes at night as I find these too invigorating just before bed. A more relaxing practice with the emphasis on sitting and lying poses is better then.

It’s personal

See what works for you. See how you feel afterwards. Have a play. It is your personal practice. What is good for me is different to my husband who is a golfer and wants to stretch and balance tight back muscles. So it will be different for you too. Experiment. See what feels good. I would LOVE to see your feedback in the comments section below. Enjoy!

Note

This is for those of you who come to class, or who know how to do the poses and are willing to respond to your body’s needs. Remember pain is an indication that something is wrong, so ease back from pain. Stretching, on the other hand, has a sweetness to it.

* Shavasana CD: http://www.waverleyyoga.com.au/relaxation_cd.html

* Video of the Shoulder clock: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GJvZZX87HPE