August 21, 2013

NIYAMA: Santosha - From contentment, satisfaction is obtained

Santosha is the second NIYAMA ("Niyamas" are the second of the eight limbs of traditional yoga) and is translated as "contentment" or "to be happy with what is."

The practice of Santosha is a personal inquiry that is best accompanied with an open mind and a compassionate heart. When taking time to dive deep beneath the surface of our everyday lives, it is likely we discover wonderful things about ourselves, our choices, and our current circumstances. You might recognize that you have more patience than you thought, by the way you were able to walk away from a stressful situation at work earlier this week, rather than getting defensive and losing your cool.

On the other hand, we could also uncover some not-so-wonderful aspects of our lives. You might realize that although you had patience with your co-worker, you actually took your frustration out on your spouse once arriving home to see unwashed dishes in the sink (again...), and proceeded to lecture him or her for 20-minutes about keeping the kitchen clean.

*Take a deep breath in & out* You are not alone! And most importantly, this does not mean you are no longer wonderful! That is the beauty of the practice of Santosha -- it enables us to accept what is, and be content with a situation exactly the way it is. So, you lose your temper on occasion... who doesn't? This is not meant to suggest that you lose your temper more often, due to your new practice of contentment. What this post is meant to advise is for you to offer yourself permission to have slip-ups from time to time, and being okay with the way things go down, even if a tiny part of you wishes things were different. 

For some of us, the concept of Santosha might be a bit challenging. Some of us have lived with the idea that there are certain things that we "should" and "shouldn't" be doing, saying, or thinking, and if we do anything on the "shouldn't" list then that means we are bad, impure, or less than perfect. In essence, yoga suggests that we release previously held expectations of ourselves, to allow our True Self, our true nature, to guide us through life. As we begin to incorporate this openness, acceptance, and contentment in the ebb and flow of each day, there is a much higher feeling of satisfaction and accomplishment. The more we are able to accept and find satisfaction in our own life, the more likely we are to accept and be satisfied by the actions, words, and thoughts of those around us -- reducing the likelihood of arguments, tension, and judgement. 



YOUR MINDFULNESS PRACTICE:
I recommend first trying to practice Santosha in a situation that you are by yourself; for example, the next time you are sitting in traffic. Consciously choose to shift your reaction to the scenario, to one of contentment. Yes, traffic is irritating, can raise your blood pressure, anxiety, and maybe even make you late for an important appointment. But thinking of those negative aspects will not do a single thing to change your current situation. Rather than focusing on everything that the traffic is preventing from going "right," take a deep breath and try to find a positive twist on why, on this particular day, traffic is not that bad. Maybe sitting in traffic allows you to listen to a podcast you've been dying to finish, or hear your favorite song on the radio that you might have missed if you made it to work on time. Trust that there is a reason for things to happen the way they do, regardless of your preference. Choose to focus your energy in a way that will keep your day heading in a pleasant direction.

August 02, 2013

How Teaching Yoga is (not) a Serious Matter!



As a yoga teacher, there are many things that swirl around in my mind while teaching a class. These thoughts include remembering various modifications to offer, Sanskrit names of poses, contraindications, physical benefits, emotional benefits, alignment principles of each posture, where to offer props, suggestions to add more vigor or ease, the order of pose sequences, guided meditations, related mudras and chakras, etc. Those are all just SOME of the standard thoughts of most Hatha yoga teachers. However, there is one more thing for teachers to keep in mind that is the giant cherry on top, and will turn your class from a bowl of ice cream to a delicious ice cream sundae! 

Lightheartedness is the key to turning what could become a rigid and anxiety-fueled lesson into a peaceful, engaging experience. 

Just last night, I found myself in a situation that the anxiety-fueled version of me would have had a field day full of negative self-talk, loss of confidence, and overall disappointment in myself. I have taught more than 100 classes since graduating from my training program, and there has always been one part of class that has come very natural for me. If an entire rest of the class is full of mistakes, I always know I’ll be able to pull it all together during relaxation and closing -- up until last night. 

Here are the details of the situation:
Type of Class: Prenatal
# of Students: 6 (including a couple of brand new students)
Time of Day: Evening
Class Theme: 3rd Chakra, focusing on inner confidence and strength
Goof-Up: Forgetting mid-sentence my English translation of NAMASTE – “The Spirit in me honors the Spirit in you.” 

The funniest part of this goof-up is that this is the one single phrase that I have said in closing for nearly every single class I have ever taught.

After guiding students through a relaxing body scan in savasana and sharing the sound of OM, I then close our session by saying “The Spirit in me…. (pause)….” 5 more seconds go by, I take a deep breath… and I start giggling and say “I am having a complete mind blank right now…” and one of my regulars chimes in from the back of the room “HONORS the Spirit in you!” OMG, I LOVE HER -- SHE IS TOTALLY GETTING EXTRA FEEL GOOD ASSISTS NEXT CLASS!! And everyone laughed, including me, because honestly… what kind of yoga teacher forgets what Namaste means while teaching a lesson surrounded by its essence?? THIS GIRL! But I am still a great yoga teacher. The students were all very understanding, and actually offered me some comfort by saying that they think their pregnancy brains are rubbing off on me! Haha!

In the heat of the moment, I had a brief second or two of panic, embarrassment, and self-judgment. But then I remembered that this is all a human experience – no one is perfect and my students are compassionate, friendly people who would not judge me (at least not to my knowledge) for this slip-up. And instead of carrying the weight and shame of disappointment that my ego SOOO wanted to hold onto, I chose to embrace my humanness and laugh about it.

Luckily, my mentors often emphasized the importance of not taking yourself too seriously while teaching. This is the kind of mistake that could have rocked my entire confidence level in my ability to teach yoga. Instead, I choose to embrace my ability to remain true to who I am -- a nurturing, compassionate, easy-going yoga teacher who occasionally shines my light in awkward, unexpected ways. 

As for the women who came to my class last night for the first time, at least one signed up for the rest of the classes in the prenatal session immediately after class ended. And perhaps the other was so incredibly relaxed after my guided savasana body scan that she had to head straight home to her bed, instead of signing up for more classes ;)