I recently wrote my reflections on The Yin Module I attended recently, led by Angela Baker. I thought I would share my thoughts here for anyone who may be interested.
The training influenced my teaching significantly but my life and yoga practices in general. Often I think the two; yoga teaching and life approach are so deeply intertwined. I will try to separate my reflections on the two aspects, but I must state from the outset how the two; my yoga teaching and my personal yoga practice are deeply connected. By yoga practices I refer to; asana, pranayama, meditation, yama and niyama observation and ‘attention training’.
I begin my reflection on the Yin Module 2021 by the impact it has had on my teaching, simply because this is the most tangible. First of all, the course re-ignited my yoga teaching spark. Once I had completed the module I felt mentally and emotionally ready to lead classes again for the community in which I live, Carterton, Wairarapa. I have had a break from regular yoga teaching, for 2-3 years whilst I travelled and then took on more significant working hours (not yoga related) to support my family and pay the bills. The module for me reignited my yoga teaching mojo and gave me the inspiration and self belief I needed to set up my yoga business in the Wairarapa. The morning meditation, use of mantra and morning pages really did it for me. So to summarise my point, I completed the module and was able to begin running classes with confidence.
The weekly classes I now teach, “Yoga for relaxation” always include some inspiration from Angela’s teaching from the Yin module. I often use the ‘finger fans’ in my warm up and mindful movement part of the classes, equally the joint articulation technique involving toe circles and three flicks of the toes. I have even added my own flavour to this with a short guided self foot massage for students. A student recently commented to me how the toe flicking technique reminds her of the time she lived in China and Chinese practices. I have enjoyed the connection with others and opening of dialogue this warm up practice has created in my classes.
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