Seane Corn Reloaded
If Neo and Trinity were yogis, their slow-motion fight scenes would look much like what Seane Corn demonstrated in class yesterday.
The room was silent, save for the sound of Seane's breath. Full of fluidity and control, Seane was oblivious to the laws of gravity as her body seemed to float from pose to pose. The time it took for her to move from Uttanasana to Plank was beyond amazing.
The scores of yogis sitting in front of her were still in awe as she finished the flawless routine, then took a seat and a gulp of Starbucks. A unique blend of grace and irreverance, The Jersey girl's preamble to the demonstration involved a confession that she had just woken up 10 minutes prior to class, and 'does anyone have a hair thingie?'
Seane proceded to outine both the virtue and the dangers of vinyassa flow. She likes the style for the flexibility it lends to her practice and to her teaching. "There's no dogma, no teacher, and no leader—as long as I'm teaching breath, I can pretty much do anything I want," she said.
She's also drawn to vinyassa for the innate beauty of the breath. "Vinyassa practice with intention and breath can become a journey that opens your heart to the world around you," she said. "When you use your body to pray, the world changes."
However, the potential for injury is an issue in vinyassa flow, Seane said. Teachers have trouble sacrificing the pace of the class to correct students' incorrect poses. So correct alginment is the responsibility of each stduent. A tip for students to remember? Stability over flexibility is the key. "Don't exploit areas of flexibility," she advised, "and honor your lung capacity."
Photo Credit: Todd Semo
Comments
Thank you for your humourous observations! Thank you for sharing Seane Corn's insights and voice. What a light you have brought to us in an appropriately light-hearted way!
Posted by: Mikki Symonds | January 31, 2006 02:13 PM
Being a new student to yoga and in all my endeavours to read and find information on the internet... i found this among other articles on this blog very informative and interesting... and as is stated, the regard for safety and the issue of the sacrifice of the pace of the mass yoga class for newer yoga students especially vinyassa flow, to be of much concern to the teacher and the student. Although it may sound trivial a matter to most, I on the other hand, am very glad to be given some source of enlightenment on my path to sound yogic practice... Thank-you!
Posted by: Joe Scot | February 21, 2006 06:04 PM