Oh, Boy!
I had low expectations for my class yesterday. Last week, not one student showed up. It's been so slow this summer I had been considering taking a hiatus while I re-grouped and put my energy into a marketing campaign for the fall. But, I was sitting in the empty studio, thinking "Why am I even here? No one is coming . . ." a new student waltzed through the doors.
This was not the kind of student I've come to expect . . . It was a BOY student! That's right, the first boy ever to walk through those doors and into my class. His story: he just graduated from high school, and decided to do yoga this summer to complement his baseball training.
This brought a whole new element to the class. My classes usually focus on strength building and relaxing—which I hope will bring balance to my students' naturally bendy bodies. But this is a different body type, and a new and exciting challenge.
What might have been even more gratifying that watching my athlete-student sweat as he learned the art of Chaturanga Dandasana, was watching the student next to him—the first student I ever taught. When she came to my first class more than a year ago she really struggled with the pose. Even with her knees on the floor her back bowed and her arms shook. It was amazing watching her do the full pose with ease as a muscular baseball player struggled.
And just like that my faith in the teaching and learning processes—and in myself—was restored. I can't wait for next week!
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Comments
Girl, I know exactly what you mean. I am struggling through the summer months also. I did not have one student show up for TurboKick. I was so sad. Take a look at my blog as I write about that.
I love teaching the athletes Yoga. They struggle and they really need it the most for improved breathing, flexibility for injury prevention and overall performance. It amazes my how many students are not flexible.
Love your blog.
Posted by: Pkay | July 11, 2008 3:54 PM
I hope he keeps it up- it's amazing how strong the stereotype of "yoga is for women" is, especially among younger men. I remember being the only male student (out of 20) in my first yoga class- it was pretty intimidating, even though I'm middle aged and have long since gotten over any kind of embarrassment.
As a poster child for inflexibility, I can tell you that the benefits of yoga were not immediately obvious to me- I had to take it on faith that all of this work would eventually result in real objective improvements. Be sure to encourage this student and point out where he's making progress.
I like your blog a lot- it's clear that you're a dedicated teacher and that you are getting better at it as time goes on. Keep it up!
Posted by: Brian | July 12, 2008 5:27 AM
Here in Brazil we have many people who practice sports and come by to improve their results with Yôga classes.
Posted by: Yôga em Goiânia | July 16, 2008 11:37 PM
Very nice post. So well done. It must have been really great to see the progress made by your very first student so well delineated.
Posted by: Alan | July 17, 2008 8:13 PM
i have seen one site www.ecotours.in, which gives good information about yoga and yoga centers in Kerala, India. The site also giving information about ayruved also.
Posted by: raju john | July 19, 2008 10:54 AM
Read your blog....we are launching a site next week that might be helpful to you....www.twinyoga.com. We are offering inexpensive ad campaigns that will blow you away. I own a nation al ad agency and I love Yoga...so I wanted to be able to offer ads small studios could afford. Go to the site and sign up and we'll notify you when we launch.
namaste,
John
Posted by: john galbraith | August 29, 2008 9:05 PM
I can't tell you how many times I've had strong young men who are new to yoga enter into my advanced vinyasa classes (swearing they'll do just fine) to be shocked by the challenge the class presented as well as the strength and ability of the female practitioners. I enjoy these moments because I can see in their eyes the admiration and respect these men show towards the women. A few weeks ago, one 20-something guy in my class just stopped, stood up on his mat, and watched the ladies move through some challenging postures. I asked if he was okay and he remarked that he was just in awe.
Folks so often make judgments about what they believe yoga to be before experiencing it. It's nice sometimes to surprise and hopefully engage new and especially atypical students.
Posted by: Felicity Bell | October 1, 2008 10:43 PM