Christina and I were having one of our usual conversations about yoga on our way back from Breath and Body the other day. We were talking about the differences between the various styles of yoga we have some experience with ranging from "hot yoga" like Baptiste and Bikram to Ashtanga, Anusara, and Iyengar. We were talking about the various benefits and limitations of each in the public class setting and in terms of cultivating ongoing personal practice. It struck me as we were talking that a lot of the difference really have to do with the goals one has with respect to learning about and experiencing yoga. The ancient Greek philosophers spent a lot of time distinguishing between various forms of knowledge and some of those distinctions are helpful to keep in mind as we navigate the terrain of yoga in America.
Techne, technical or craft knowledge. Knowing how to do something. You simply learn how to do the pose or you might learn a sequence for back pain and follow the sequence. You will definitely get benefit simply from the doing, but the level of understanding really doesn't extend beyond the how to mechanics of the pose.
Episteme is often translated as knowledge, sometimes scientific knowledge, but the Greeks had a different view of science than we do so that translation can be misleading. On the most basic level, episteme involves the understanding of why things work the way they do. At the deepest level, in involves understanding the large theoretical concepts that inform a system of knowledge. So in Anusura, The Universal Principles get at episteme, but the instruction, "stick your butt out." might just be a technique to get you in the ballpark of inner spiral without full knowledge of inner spiral.
In Iyengar Yoga, episteme would involve understanding the effects that various poses have both on a theoretical and an experiential level and then being able to use that knowledge to develop a sequence for allergies or fatigue, where as "tighten your knees," "ribs back," "tail bone" in are all pretty firmly in the domain of techne.
Phronesis is often translated as practical intelligence. It is knowing what to do in a particular situation. So a teacher confronting a very mixed level class, will have to make a decision how to modify the class plan so that everyone can be involved in a meaningful way.
Sophia is wisdom. It is the result of long uninterrupted study of many many branches of knowledge. Sophia involves self-knowledge and knowledge of the cosmos as well. It is the state of being that arises through the ongoing practice of the contemplative life.
Thursday, July 9, 2009
How to do things with chairs
Come Learn How To Do Things with Chairs !!!
Have you ever wonder exactly what to do with those backless yoga chairs you see in yoga studios and on the web? Here’s your chance to find out. Each workshop will focus on a different aspect of how chairs can enhance your yoga practice.
Three Special Workshops with Anne Bowery, Certified Iyengar Yoga Instructor
Saturday July 18 Chair Backbends
Saturday August 22, Chair Twists and Forward Bends.
Saturday September 5 Standing Poses and Inversions.
The Workshops will be held from 3-5 at Clear Spring Studio.
$25.00 each workshop. Take two workshops for $45.00. Take all Three for $60.00.
Backless chairs are available for purchase $40.00 regular chairs, $55 for small chairs, $95.00 for tall chairs.
Call Anne Bowery at 512- 468 2808 or email her at AnneBowery@yahoo.com to register or to purchase yoga chairs.
Have you ever wonder exactly what to do with those backless yoga chairs you see in yoga studios and on the web? Here’s your chance to find out. Each workshop will focus on a different aspect of how chairs can enhance your yoga practice.
Three Special Workshops with Anne Bowery, Certified Iyengar Yoga Instructor
Saturday July 18 Chair Backbends
Saturday August 22, Chair Twists and Forward Bends.
Saturday September 5 Standing Poses and Inversions.
The Workshops will be held from 3-5 at Clear Spring Studio.
$25.00 each workshop. Take two workshops for $45.00. Take all Three for $60.00.
Backless chairs are available for purchase $40.00 regular chairs, $55 for small chairs, $95.00 for tall chairs.
Call Anne Bowery at 512- 468 2808 or email her at AnneBowery@yahoo.com to register or to purchase yoga chairs.
Tuesday, June 23, 2009
Enlighten Up!
Devon, Jeff, Laura Forsythe and I went to see Enlighten Up ! on Sunday afternoon. It is a documentary made by a woman who has been practicing Asthanga yoga for about 8 years. She was interested in documenting how it is possible to find genuine transformation through yoga, particularly given how commericialized yoga is today. She really wanted to show that yoga will change anyone's life, so she finds a subject who has never done yoga and documents his experiences with it. She doesn't just document his experience. She guides his experience in many ways, by introducing him to a number of influential teachers ranging from Cyndy Lee, Normal Lee, Alan Finger, the Jivamukti people, Pattabi Jois, and BKS Iyengar. Not your average six month foray into yoga.
Anyway, the movie is well worth seeing mostly for the interviews with the above mentioned people. Pattabi Jois's advice, practice, practice practice. forget about the theory. BKS has some great remarks about how the conduit of yoga goes both ways, from the physical to the soul and the soul to the physical.
One thing that really struck me in the movie was that everyone agreed that asana dealt with the physical sheath, but the way in which that physical dimension gets characterized is so different. Some yogis from bhakti traditions they interviewed say it is not real yoga because it is only internal, it is for "health" but not enlightenment. BKS and Pattibi Jois both agree yoga is initially for health, but the physical practices lead to so much more. They are not merely physical in the way that the bhakti yogis were implying. More isn't possible if health isn't there, but the more is revealed through the practices and what they lead to.
On the other end of the spectrum, Baron Baptiste says, yoga is a great physical "work out." That's really struck me. The difference between doing yoga as a work out and doing yoga for health. Health is such a broader, more holistic concept.
More thoughts on the movie later.
Anyway, the movie is well worth seeing mostly for the interviews with the above mentioned people. Pattabi Jois's advice, practice, practice practice. forget about the theory. BKS has some great remarks about how the conduit of yoga goes both ways, from the physical to the soul and the soul to the physical.
One thing that really struck me in the movie was that everyone agreed that asana dealt with the physical sheath, but the way in which that physical dimension gets characterized is so different. Some yogis from bhakti traditions they interviewed say it is not real yoga because it is only internal, it is for "health" but not enlightenment. BKS and Pattibi Jois both agree yoga is initially for health, but the physical practices lead to so much more. They are not merely physical in the way that the bhakti yogis were implying. More isn't possible if health isn't there, but the more is revealed through the practices and what they lead to.
On the other end of the spectrum, Baron Baptiste says, yoga is a great physical "work out." That's really struck me. The difference between doing yoga as a work out and doing yoga for health. Health is such a broader, more holistic concept.
More thoughts on the movie later.
Socrates and Divine Discontent
A few weeks back, Christina mentioned that we should cultivate an attitude of "divine discontent" with respect to our desire to improve in yoga practice. There's always something to practice in yoga and it is pretty easy to get in a mindset where I beat myself up over what I can't do. Certain aspects of Indian thought lend themselves quite nicely to justifying this feeling. There's the varying ways in which the body is relegated to second class status with respect to the soul and the whole "not this, not this, not this" philosophy. One nice thing about Anusara is that it affirms the basic goodness of all things and certainly this worldview is a strong counter medicine to the tendency to say my practice isn't "good enough." At the same time, I do want to "improve." So the idea of divine discontent gets at how to affirm and improve, not to get stuck in complacency about goodness and how to strive to be better without denigrating what we are.
It struck me at the time that this is precisely what Socrates practiced. Socrates received word from the Delphic oracle that no one was wiser than he. Socrates thought this divine pronouncement was unlikely to be true as he felt he had very little knowledge, the knowledge he did have he characterized, as a shadow of a dream. So he sets out to figure out what the oracle meant. In fact, he describes his whole philosophy as a divinely sanctioned quest to move both himself and others beyond the complacency of current reality. What Socrates was particularly gifted at was keeping his discontent directed toward finding the truth. He didn't simply point out what was wrong, but used his various practices of argument, narrative, inquiry, dialogue to move people to an improved understanding of the good.
It struck me at the time that this is precisely what Socrates practiced. Socrates received word from the Delphic oracle that no one was wiser than he. Socrates thought this divine pronouncement was unlikely to be true as he felt he had very little knowledge, the knowledge he did have he characterized, as a shadow of a dream. So he sets out to figure out what the oracle meant. In fact, he describes his whole philosophy as a divinely sanctioned quest to move both himself and others beyond the complacency of current reality. What Socrates was particularly gifted at was keeping his discontent directed toward finding the truth. He didn't simply point out what was wrong, but used his various practices of argument, narrative, inquiry, dialogue to move people to an improved understanding of the good.
Sunday, June 21, 2009
Teaching this week
I had several different teaching experiences this week. Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday, I worked with the Summer Faculty Institute. I led the micro-teaching component of the Institute. I enjoyed that experience. I remember the first time I saw myself on tape 15 years ago. I was really struck by how much I used my hands to talk. It was like they were a giant blur above my face. Now I have the habit of holding something in my hand, like a paper clip or pen cap and playing with it while I talk. I read somewhere that people talk with their hands more when they are trying to articulate abstract concepts. Sort of like we use our hands, our organ of action, to pull the concept out of the sky. It was definitely true in this group, that the more abstract the concept, the more hand gestures there were.
Teaching yoga is different than philosophy in that way. It is an abstract discipline in so many ways, but the body is the vehicle for that transmission from the beginning, no need to talk with hands because every part of the body is already involved.
Friday, I attended the dissertation defense of my student, Lewis Pearson. Lewis wrote his dissertation on Plato's Republic, a daunting task. Lewis has been at work on the dissertation for many years and it was an exciting day seeing him bring the process to completion. So far, I've directed two dissertations. I have to say it is not my favorite aspect of teaching, at least so far. So much of the process is self-directed, self-motivating on the student side that the role of the teacher in that process is pretty minimal, it really is more directing or guiding than teaching. And there is not that immediate feedback/ energetic exchange you get in the classroom context. The process is rather subdued and takes place over a really long period of time. Nonetheless, despite the fact, that I don't really enjoy the process of directing, I have to say I did feel an enormous sense of accomplishment and pride watching Lewis defend his work. It was definitely "worth it" in the end. In a way, yoga teaching has both these elements to it. There is the immediate classroom exchange of energy and information, but really what the classroom experience should do is guide people in developing their own practice over a long period of time. Really, it is like guiding someone in the writing of their yoga dissertation and in the yoga context you see that practice developing just like the pages of a dissertation coming together.
Saturday, I taught my fourth class at Austin School of yoga. The class is super small so far. I had one person, then two, then three, then three again. But everyone is there because they are looking for Iyengar Yoga and are already quite established in that practice. For example, one student this Saturday, Ri, was visiting from Mexico and her teacher in Mexico is a student of Peggy's. It is really great teaching to a group who shows up wanting the particular discipline. So much of my yoga teaching in the past, both at yoga yoga and when I was teaching on my own in Waco involved getting people accustomed to the method. It is great just to teach the method.
I've also been leading this advanced practice on Friday and we've been working with the Patricia Walden sequences from the retreat I went to in April. I then teach part of that sequence on Saturday and I've found it really helpful looking at the same sequence through those different experiential lenses.
So anyway, come join in the fun in Iyengar Land. Friday afternoons and Saturday at noon.
Teaching yoga is different than philosophy in that way. It is an abstract discipline in so many ways, but the body is the vehicle for that transmission from the beginning, no need to talk with hands because every part of the body is already involved.
Friday, I attended the dissertation defense of my student, Lewis Pearson. Lewis wrote his dissertation on Plato's Republic, a daunting task. Lewis has been at work on the dissertation for many years and it was an exciting day seeing him bring the process to completion. So far, I've directed two dissertations. I have to say it is not my favorite aspect of teaching, at least so far. So much of the process is self-directed, self-motivating on the student side that the role of the teacher in that process is pretty minimal, it really is more directing or guiding than teaching. And there is not that immediate feedback/ energetic exchange you get in the classroom context. The process is rather subdued and takes place over a really long period of time. Nonetheless, despite the fact, that I don't really enjoy the process of directing, I have to say I did feel an enormous sense of accomplishment and pride watching Lewis defend his work. It was definitely "worth it" in the end. In a way, yoga teaching has both these elements to it. There is the immediate classroom exchange of energy and information, but really what the classroom experience should do is guide people in developing their own practice over a long period of time. Really, it is like guiding someone in the writing of their yoga dissertation and in the yoga context you see that practice developing just like the pages of a dissertation coming together.
Saturday, I taught my fourth class at Austin School of yoga. The class is super small so far. I had one person, then two, then three, then three again. But everyone is there because they are looking for Iyengar Yoga and are already quite established in that practice. For example, one student this Saturday, Ri, was visiting from Mexico and her teacher in Mexico is a student of Peggy's. It is really great teaching to a group who shows up wanting the particular discipline. So much of my yoga teaching in the past, both at yoga yoga and when I was teaching on my own in Waco involved getting people accustomed to the method. It is great just to teach the method.
I've also been leading this advanced practice on Friday and we've been working with the Patricia Walden sequences from the retreat I went to in April. I then teach part of that sequence on Saturday and I've found it really helpful looking at the same sequence through those different experiential lenses.
So anyway, come join in the fun in Iyengar Land. Friday afternoons and Saturday at noon.
Wednesday, June 17, 2009
Micro Teaching
What is Micro Teaching you may ask? It is a process where someones teach a 10 minutes segment of a lecture or discussion, the facilitator records it, the group watches the recorded segment and then offers feedback to the teacher. It is an odd process in many ways. Everyone feels constrained by having only 10 minutes. Everyone feels weird about seeing themselves on film, and also it is odd to teach in front of other teachers. Even though teaching is a very public activity, there are so many ways in which we are very private about it. Teachers often feel very territorial, my classroom, my lecture, my students. Also, the university life doesn't typically encourage visiting other classrooms to see what others are doing. Partly every one is busy, but there really is a strong hesitancy about inviting someone in to see the nitty gritty of what you are doing in the classroom.
So today 8 Baylor Faculty had the opportunity to observe each other. Styles ranged from the truly Socratic, to small group facilitation, to straightforward lecture, both with PowerPoint and without. It was really gratifying to see how much good teaching is happening at Baylor even as we are research university now and also gratifying to see how many ways there are to be effective. There really is not one effective mode. Thank goodness.
Some things that are generally effective.
Good examples.
Clarity.
Humor.
Engaging students in the process of learning.
Organization.
Enthusiasm.
Conveying why what we are learning is important.
Asking questions ?
Modeling a mode of inquiry.
So today 8 Baylor Faculty had the opportunity to observe each other. Styles ranged from the truly Socratic, to small group facilitation, to straightforward lecture, both with PowerPoint and without. It was really gratifying to see how much good teaching is happening at Baylor even as we are research university now and also gratifying to see how many ways there are to be effective. There really is not one effective mode. Thank goodness.
Some things that are generally effective.
Good examples.
Clarity.
Humor.
Engaging students in the process of learning.
Organization.
Enthusiasm.
Conveying why what we are learning is important.
Asking questions ?
Modeling a mode of inquiry.
Tuesday, May 19, 2009
I'll be teaching again soon
I've been missing teaching yoga the past couple weeks, so I'm really looking forward to starting this new class at Austin School of Yoga. I'm also excited about teaching at an Iyengar Studio after my foray into teaching Iyengar yoga as one of the many styles offered at Yoga Yoga. Who knows, may be I'll even start singing the yoga song.
I'll be teaching a Mixed Level Iyengar class on Saturdays from 12-1:30 at Austin School of Yoga. It is the big yoga studio right by Alamo Draft House on South Lamar.
We'll be in the back small studio, lovely floor, great rope wall, tons of props. Come join in the fun.
Classes start Saturday May 30 12- 1:30
The studio drop in rate is $16.00.
There are also discounted passes that you can use with any instructor at Austin School of Yoga.
Mixed Level Yoga Classes with Anne at AYS Starting May 30
Hi Everyone,I'll be teaching a Mixed Level Iyengar class on Saturdays from 12-1:30 at Austin School of Yoga. It is the big yoga studio right by Alamo Draft House on South Lamar.
We'll be in the back small studio, lovely floor, great rope wall, tons of props. Come join in the fun.
Classes start Saturday May 30 12- 1:30
The studio drop in rate is $16.00.
There are also discounted passes that you can use with any instructor at Austin School of Yoga.
1.5 Hour Classes
- 4 classes in 2 months - $55
- 8 classes in 2 months - $100
- Semester pass (1x week) - $130
- Semester pass (2x week) - $235
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