Week Four

This weekend we saw the turning of the season with the spring equinox - a time of shifts, change, and the possibility for growth and new life. During this fourth week of yoga teacher training at the Tree we continued our asana analysis, we talked more about the Art of Teaching, we got into the decolonized history of yoga, and ended Wednesday with our discussion of the third yama -- non-stealing. 

SATURDAY

The heat was on for our fourth Saturday of YTT! After sharing in Opening Circle with each other, J led the class in a fiery 83 minute practice (according to one of the cohort’s fitness timer) which featured postures we would be discussing in the day’s lecture. This week’s asana analysis covered four postures: Virabhadrasana III (Warrior III), Balasana (Child’s pose), Anjaneyasana (Crescent pose), and Prasarita Padottanasana (Wide-Legged Forward Fold).

Pictured above, mosaic of the yoga asanas we studied this week from our 2021 YTT manual.

As we moved through our analysis of each posture, one student raised a question about how to use “easy” postures (e.g. Child’s Pose, a low to the floor resting posture) as opposed to a more difficult postures (e.g. Warrior Pose, an asymmetrical balancing pose) in our sequences. Jana and J questioned our perception of “easy” vs “difficult” by asking the class to list some possible challenges that may come up in Child’s pose. Child’s pose is a low to the floor resting posture meant to evoke surrender and prostration. In this pose, someone with tight shoulders may have difficulty extending their arms. Another individual with a lot of “meat in the front body” (as J put it) may not have sufficient space to expand the abdomen for breath in this compressed posture. And for some, the deep bend (or flexion) in the hips may be difficult to achieve due to tightness in the area. This discussion revealed the mindfulness we must bring to our classes as yoga teachers in order to accommodate all bodies and to make poses accessible to the best of our abilities.

SUNDAY

This Sunday’s svadhyaya fell into familiar rhythm with another student led practice. Today’s theme was “remember to play” -- an appropriate theme for the first day of spring.

After self-practice, Jana led the class in part three of our lecture exploring the Art of Teaching. This week’s focus? Sequencing! According to our trainers, the three keys to a well-planned sequence are intelligence, intentionality and mindfulness. This could look like creating sequences that balance movement in a way that does not promote injury. Additionally, incorporating a “peak pose” or clear theme can give the sequence focus and direction. Sequences must also be flexible enough to accommodate the needs of the students we will be leading in future classes. We followed the lecture with another teaching exercise to put into practice our newfound sequencing knowledge. This exercise offered another challenge and another opportunity to grow ourselves as teachers.  

For the final segment of our Sunday session, we received part two of J’s lecture on the Decolonization of History with this week’s focus on the history of Yoga... 

At its core, yoga is a philosophy that is meant to bring awareness and connection to the practitioner. Its roots reach all the way back to the ancient people of the Indus Valley civilization, the birthplace of the Hindu religion. Archaeological digs in this area have uncovered prehistoric terracotta figurines arranged in various yoga asanas. In this lecture, we followed the development of yoga philosophy beginning with ancient Vedic scripture (circa 1500 B.C.E. - the oldest texts of Hinduism which contain the oral traditions of the ancient Indus Valley people), the Upanishads (later additions to the Vedas), the Bhagavad Gita (an allegorical exploration of the yogic philosophy), and the yoga sutras of Patanjali (from 400 C.E.), to the practice of Tantra (a philosophy that focuses on exultation through the body) which gave way to the physical practice of yoga — called Hatha yoga. All present day physical yoga practices descend from Hatha yoga. These practices filtered down through British colonization of India, through westernization and appropriation in the United States during the early to mid 1900s. All of which brings us to our present-day yoga practice here at The Tree Yoga Coop in South Los Angeles — what a journey!

Pictured above, the first YTT cohort at The Tree — the culmination of thousands of years of yoga philosophy and practice.

It is sufficient to say that yoga has had a long and often fraught history through the millennia. Despite its somewhat sordid timeline today we as a community find ourselves with a tool that can be used to illuminate and empower individuals. It is a tool that can help us connect to ourselves, a power that is every human’s birthright. This is a matter of perspective, and in educating ourselves of the history of yoga we pay respect to those who came before us.

WEDNESDAY

Wednesday evening we dug even deeper with our discussion on the third yama, asteya or non-stealing. This yama not only refers to the theft of physical objects but to the misuse of other’s time or energy. It can also refer to stealing from ourselves, our future and potential. It questions our inclination to look outside ourselves for satisfaction. As Jana put it, this Yama calls us to look to ourselves and ask “What is for me?” This subject was a slow burn as we discussed in our breakout groups our experiences with non-stealing (or stealing, as many of us realized the ways in which we often might steal from ourselves.) The discussion was rich and deep, leaving the class with much to think about beyond our hour long conversation.

LET’S HEAR FROM THE CLASS!

What were you most surprised/excited to learn during this week’s training sessions?

"I would like to say that the most important exciting thing I have learned has been becoming present in the moment. I spend a lot of time in my head, worrying about the future and thinking about the things I could have done differently in the past. When we learned about stealing from ourselves, by selling our selves short and not really giving our dreams and goals a try, my life was changed. I realized I have to be present and grateful for each moment of my life, and to not do so is to steal from my true divine nature and evolutionary potential."

—Jac Marie, Spring 2021 YTT trainee