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Why Silence Matters in Yoga Class
From January to March, I taught the “wall stand” in every class, every week. As my students stood, I navigated the room, giving group instructions and individualized corrections. I was constantly moving, constantly speaking. In contrast, when doing my daily wall stand, I was alone at home—often in pre-dawn darkness,…
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Lifetime Physiotherapy
At my dentist’s office, I was sitting in an exam chair before my appointment. Nearby, I heard her talking to another patient, who sounded male and youngish. I vaguely made out the conversation. “So, when can I use my front teeth,” he asked, “to bite into something like an apple?”…
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Car Wrecks and Other Goodbyes
In January, my sister was driving on California State Route 17 and got rear-ended. In case you don’t know Highway 17, between Santa Cruz and San Jose, it’s a gorgeous scenic route, but with narrow lanes, sharp bends, blind curves, heavy traffic, and seasonal threats of rain and fire. Whenever…
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Yoga Books: A Confession about What I Read (and Don’t Read)
“Could you recommend a yoga book?” a new student, Margot, recently asked. She wanted a basic book to refresh her memory on poses and their names. I immediately recommended my very first yoga book, Yoga: The Iyengar Way, by Silva, Mira, and Shyam Mehta. As a beginner, I liked the…
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Improve Your Posture: The Wall Stand
Last November, I visited my parents in Hilo, my hometown. One day, I got my mom and dad to try a one-minute “wall stand.” I’d given my dad a mini yoga sequence years ago—to help his golf game, I said. But I wanted to add something new and efficient, the…
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Constant Vigilance
For six years now, I’ve gone on daily walks with Stella, a Giant Schnauzer / Labrador Retriever. We’re out for an hour or two and it never fails: At some point, a phrase from Harry Potter springs to mind: Constant vigilance. CONSTANT VIGILANCE! I’m always glancing around, scanning our surroundings…
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Note-Taking During Yoga Class
One day, I noticed my student Nicole jotting handwritten notes during class. She hadn’t previously done so. I steered her back to the pose, without directly addressing her note-taking. Later, she revealed that she has trouble with attention. She thought that taking notes might enhance her learning and retention. Interestingly,…
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What Students Really Think about Demos
Part 3 of a three-part series I have my own take on demos. But what about others? I was especially curious about students’ preferences—namely, those who aren’t teachers. So, I surveyed 20 or 25 of my own students. They vary in age, gender, and experience. I included those who are…
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Teaching Style: Further Thoughts on Demos and Pace
Part 2 of a three-part series Some argue that the demo method turns off younger students because it’s slower paced. Occasionally I hear “directives” from Iyengar yoga associations that teaching should be more dynamic—more jumping around and tricky poses—to attract young people. On one hand, this idea makes sense. Twentysomethings…
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The Demo Method
Part 1 of a three-part series Ever taken an Iyengar yoga class? If yes, you’re probably watched a yoga “demo,” short for demonstration. Teacher performs pose, step-by-step, with verbal instructions. Students watch and then try the pose themselves. What’s your opinion of the demo method of teaching? Last year, I…
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Why Learn Yoga Pose Names?
“The Sanskrit words all sound alike,” I once heard a yoga student say. “I’m just not motivated to learn pose names.” She was otherwise a keen student. Although she took up yoga later in life, she’d done other types of movement work and had strong body awareness and self discipline.…
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Trouble Getting Started? Make It Doable
In May, walking past a Little Free Library in Kitsilano, a book title caught my eye: 3 Minutes to a Pain-Free Life. That very day, I was finalizing a blog post on chronic pain. What a coincidence. The book was “like new” and I couldn’t resist taking it. Written by…
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Nagging Aches and Pains: An Introduction
When I first tried yoga two decades ago, I was coming off a back injury. Well, not an injury per se. Just inexplicable, transient discomfort in my lower back. At work, sitting at my computer, I’d feel restless and just plain achy. My employer was very accommodating about ergonomics. My…
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10-Minute Tree Pose: Adventures in Long Holds
The first one-legged balance pose that I learned was Vrksasana (Tree pose). It was doable, although somewhat unpredictable and nerve-wracking. There’s no mistaking if you’re standing—or not. Over the years, I made friends with Tree pose, so aptly named. I now practice and teach it regularly. During the pandemic, Vrksasana…
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A Few Thoughts on Resolutions
Around the new year, I sometimes set new resolutions. Or, at least, I think about the past year. I can’t resist the symbolism of the new year as a threshold. Toward what? A better year, a better self? I’ll keep the particulars of my 2022 resolutions to myself. But three…
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The Social Side of Yoga Classes
This fall, one of my students, “Sophie,” noticed me silently marking my attendance sheet. “Would you take roll aloud?” she asked. “I want to learn people’s names.” After a momentary pause, I agreed. Later, I decided that standard roll call isn’t ideal for learning names: Unless students are sitting in…
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Asana and “Direct Experience”
Part 3 of a three-part series I have a love-hate relationship with writing. It was excruciating to write this blog post. I procrastinated. I started and stopped. I killed time watching the Olympics. I deleted hard-won paragraphs that ultimately didn’t fit. I took breaks to watch Ted Lasso. I might…
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Are You a “Practitioner”?
Part 2 of a three-part series My ears perked up when Abhijata recounted her yoga beginnings during Q&A one day. In 2000, when she was 16 or 17, Abhi moved to Pune to attend college. Curious about yoga, she began taking classes with her aunt, Geeta, and uncle, Prashant. In…
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Abhijata and the Future of Iyengar Yoga
Part 1 of a three-part series In May, I attended a six-day virtual intensive with Abhijata, granddaughter of BKS Iyengar. I had seen her teach twice before and I had the same reaction: I can learn something from this person. In her latter 30s, Abhi is the current standard-bearer of…
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Why Are You Doing What You Do?
For several years, “Sam” regularly attended my yoga classes with his wife. One day, she arrived alone and said, somewhat apologetically, “He needs it, for sure, but he just didn’t see enough change.” Sam was lean and fit at middle age. He enjoyed running and had tight hamstrings, a troublesome…
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Unfinished Projects
In the early 2000s, I dabbled in Zen meditation at Berkeley Zen Center. Twice a week, after work, I’d drive from my apartment to the center for zazen, sitting meditation. I went alone and knew no one there. It was a silent ritual. Walk through garden. Remove shoes at door.…
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Silver Linings of the Shutdown
As we approach the one-year mark of the Covid pandemic, let’s stop and take stock. Depending on where you live and who you are, the “Covid experience” can be like night and day. Some have lost loved ones, their livelihood, their health. Others are chugging along, more or less as…
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Moving On
Before I started law school, I knew a lawyer who decided to move to the East Coast. Scott was a senior associate at a firm in California. Moving would require another bar exam, a new job, upheaval for his family. Scott was a sports fan and quoted legendary coaches. Regarding…
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Back to Back Yoga Classes
Wendy attends three of my Zoom yoga classes weekly. Currently the classes are spaced apart, with a rest day in between. Next year, I’m rearranging my class schedule—and she’ll end up taking two classes on consecutive days: Tuesday evening and Wednesday morning. “I might have to sleep in my yoga…
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Yoga Spy 