Archive for the ‘Teacher Training’ Category
I’ve spent much of today compiling my final package to send in for full Forrest certification
It’s a complicated thing. Completing the Forrest Yoga Foundation Teacher Training means you get to be a 200 hr Registered Yoga Teacher with Yoga Alliance.
But you’re not a fully certified Forrest teacher yet. You’re an associate. Nothing wrong with that, [...]
A large part of this past weekend’s Forrest Yoga Mentorship program workshop was doing “seeing circles.”
A seeing circle is an element of the Forrest Yoga teacher training & a very interesting tool. Here’s how it goes.
- Take your group/class/trainees and warm up their eyes by putting them into a yoga pose (horse stance is popular cuz it [...]
This weekend’s Forrest Yoga Mentorship workshop with Heidi will focus on “seeing” or intuition.
When I went down to see her two weekends ago, I asked about how to practice my intuition… it’s something I’m quite interested in getting in touch with. Mostly because I seem to know fewer & fewer facts each day so I [...]
As referenced in the FYCET Day 5 post (http://autumnlotusyoga.omblogger.com/2010/01/28/fycet-day-5) Ana had us do a writing exercise focused on several key questions. Here’s my response (most of it) to the first question on what delights my spirit.
Playfulness
Deep breathing
Pretty clothes
Beloved Husband
Our kitties
Quiet time to myself
Healthy touch
People I’m comfortable with
Really good food
Feeling proud of myself
Moving forward
Feeling grounded, vibrant, supported
What does your list look like?
It delighted my spirit to take two full-on 90 minute hot classes today. Way wicked cool. Except, like, 95 degrees. Which was perfect since it’s freaky frigid in Boston right now. Was tired but extra bendy for the second class. The bath & rollin’ time seemed useful today as well so I’m gonna try it all again tomorrow. Next weekend is the second Mentorship session in New Haven & only two weeks till assisting (knock wood!)
I did make it to one early class today & about half an hour chill stuff in the evening at home — but it was sluggish & tired & a wee bit ill yoga fer shur! Took the rest of the day as quiet time/mini sick day at home which makes it a perfect recap opportunity.
So when last we left our redheaded heroine, she was facing the last day of the Forrest Yoga intensives/teacher training after a fall on ice, with two swollen hands & one banged & bruised knee, none of which could take weight. No chats, no dogs, no arm balances, no lunges, no 90 degree angle poses that leg… oh yeah, and the back is still happy only with cobra & baby bridges, so no fancy backbends. Bottom line, there were alot of poses I couldn’t do.
Things is — that level of tweakiness is hardly an uncommon thing, especially when someone is starting yoga. We modify, we adapt, we practice anyway if it can be done without pain (and if Ana is expecting you to show up — cuz if so, you.show.up. 
I did a lot of dolphins instead of vinyasas &/or Down Dogs. (For a shining moment this was a good thing as I witnessed my compatriots do a Turbo Dog that lasted, like, 19 years!) I did twists at the wall or on the floor instead of hand-based arm balances & did forearm balance where appropriate as a substitution also. I spotted/assisted my friend during center handstand series the entire time so she hopefully had fun with that. I backed off standing poses & did knee-off-the-floor lunges. I crawled around alot. 
What really amused me is that the final apex pose was one I could totally do, even though I couldn’t do all the others. Leg behind the head pose on the mat is a happy pose for me any day, but INCREDIBLY welcome that day!! Friends told me they cheered inwardly when we finally hit a pose I could do just fine.
The theme, btw, was connecting to Spirit. It was an emotionally tiring practice — I felt incredibly battered, jarred & banged up — but also a huge learning experience & a blessing. Connecting to Spirit can happen however injured we are & that’s a really important thing to learn & relearn in a visceral way, getting it into the cell tissue.
The afternoon teacher training had two distinct parts. In the first, we split into pairs & gave each other a private class. This started with a short Q&A on injuries & poses-of-interest, & ended with feedback on teaching. My incredibly talented partner worked on my back with me & it was awesome. Assists in every pose, especially focused on twists. In turn, I gave her a shoulder class, doing both range of motion & strength work, with peak poses a whole string of center forearm balances & handstands.
Here’s the kicker. My poor swollen, cut unhappy hands felt HUGELY better after assisting my amazing partner. It was really healing to have my hands on her, both for her & for me. Hands-on work should NEVER be underestimated.
And I think I’m not allowed to use all caps for emphasis again this post.
Second part of the final teacher training afternoon was a beautiful process of working through a series of important questions. I’ll give a selection of them now & share some of my answers tomorrow or the next day.
For your consideration, seriously:
1) What delights your spirit? (Or, if you can’t feel your spirit yet or right now, ask your heart.)
2) What can you do to delight your spirit TODAY? (Ok, I had to all cap that.
3) What brings healing to you?
4) What are you willing to commit to doing TONIGHT (same exemption to take care of yourself?
5) What can you do daily to get intimate with your Spirit or to entice it back, building a passionate relationship with Spirit?
Think about it.
Recapping Day 4… first, there is a reason these are called intensives. They really are intense! But there is also a reason it’s called a yoga ceremony — there is that quality of the sacred brought to every moment.
The theme for the am asana practice was feeling for what quality you want to bring into your cell tissue, what do you want to embody? I felt the concept of “joyful strength” just resonate right through me. That sweet spot combination of heart & warrior, play & power. The poses focused on a lot of standing series & twists. I know this was my most physically yummy day of practice, but can’t now remember a lot of the specifics! (Largely because of what went down later that night which made Day 5 a humdinger, but more on that in a paragraph.)
In the afternoon, the teaching session included a few assists, but mostly was spent in another small group teaching practice. For two hours we taught each other an intermediate level class while receiving interactive feedback from Ana or one of her more experienced assistants. It’s worth explaining what this feedback exercise is like, cuz it’s frequently damn fun. The purpose is to help people access ways to take their teaching to the next level, whatever that is for them. For example, someone had to teach entirely in song for a while, then go up & down their vocal register to help make the voice a more responsive tool rather than a flatline monotone. Someone else taught a large part of their section while doing a held squat against the wall, mostly to piss her off so she could access more authority. Others had to get off the mat & get their hands on people the whole time to help connect with students. It’s a really worthwhile process, I think, though it can get under the skin of teachers who are very invested in their own approach.
Ana gave us an additional sadhana (spiritual practice) that night as well — not just are we to stay out of self-mutilation & speak our truth, but also to speak about what’s precious to us. Not just the hard or nasty truths, but the sweet, valued treasured truths also.
During the course of my evening Sunday, after the teacher training, I managed to fall on some of the last bits of ice. Landed on my hands & right knee, which meant I went into the final day of FYCET unable to put pressure on that knee or EITHER OF MY HANDS because all three body parts were swollen & bruised & cut up.
Yeah. Will talk about how that went tomorrow, when I recap Day 5. Let’s just say my empathy for & creativity with modifications has gone up another notch!
HUMPDAY!!
Too overloaded today to write much. Intensive am class was twisting. Teacher training in afternoon focused on sequencing. Want to create chaos? Give 8-10 yoga teachers from different styles plus interested yogi students only 15 minute to develop a 90-minute backbending class as a team effort. OMG. It’s a total dogfight.
Two days left. Tomorrow I have Back Bay Yoga’s holiday party to attend after the FYCET so blog posting might be equally short or nonexistent. This is apparently why no good daily blogs exist for teacher training!! Too much to say, too little time or energy left. Will recap once all done.
Got homework & sleeping & maybe a quick shower to accomplish. Later, taters.
It’s hard to describe the levels of awesomeness in a Forrest intensive. Today was even awesomer than yesterday & likely tomorrow will be awesomer yet!
Today’s theme was finding pleasure in the practice & the asana focus was backbends. It was sweaty fab — and for me, a good backbending class. (Though the afternoon was even better, more on that in a second.) For the quote, which I promised, first thing that stuck in my mind was “a life spent purely in thinking is a dry meal” as Ana worked to help us feel more & cogitate less.
The other things that adhered were today’s sadhanas (spiritual homework). Try these on for size, even for a few hours.
1) Speak the truth with grace. All the time. Down to the littlest remark. When someone asks you how you are, answer truthfully even if that means saying “Ask me something else, I don’t want to go into it right now.”
2) Stay out of self-mutilation. This includes the critical inner dialogue, how we eat, how we move, how we treat ourselves moment to moment.
The sadhanas came at the end of the teacher training session. The session started with partnerwork to focus on healing an injured or shutdown area. I was blissfully partnered with a student who is a bodyworker & we both have low back stuff. So I got the most fabulous tractioning of my back in a held bridge pose. Heaven.
Next we practiced teaching & adjusting one other person. Then the group split into three & did a beginner’s class, teaching & assisting each other. I was very pleased with my piece — somehow the magic of the experience helped me find my feet & my breath & tap into inner power so I taught as I truly wish to teach.
Good day. More tomorrow.
It was a great day. Phew, I’m tired! My apologies for not providing any great Ana lines today — I think my brain is a wee bit broken.
Class started at 6 am, which means my friend & I were hauling a$$ - up at 4 am & on the first train at 5:18, terrified we would be late! The room was PACKED. Completely full. Ana did the calling in of the directions, then we sang and meditated. There was a new song today — first time in years I’ve heard one! — and then we meditated for a few minutes. Not really sure how many; it felt short, but my sense of time gets totally f-ed up on days like this.
Asana practice was two hours (standard for these kind of intensives) and started with wrist stretches, then a long pranayama set followed by a long warm up set of seated forward & side bends. Then ABS! This included call & response… after we were VERY disappointing in our enthusiasm , Ana had everyone do the call & response first as Minnie Mouse & then as Barry White & then throwing it all at ‘em. Super fun. Bridge, dolphin followed, then Agni Sara in horse stance with hand passes. Next — wall work for folks new to it, and spotting forearm balance & handstands in the center for everyone else. Yummy long standing series with lots of hip & hammie work, culminating in splits, then we were done!! It went so fast!!
Had a decadent 3 hr break, then teacher training. This started with an intro circle where we told injuries/major issues. Then we were right into hands-on assists & teaching. First we taught each other the Forrest Basic Moves (I need to update my postings to include a few more!). Then, practiced assists on some straightforward poses like Cross-legged Spinal Twist, Cobra, Bridge & Warrior Two. Finally, we taught each other a small piece of a class. And the day was done!! It went so fast!!
Time tonight just to eat, do laundry & homework & SLEEEEEEP. More tomorrow — will try focus & get a juicy Ana quote, but no promises.
Little tip: before going into a yoga intensive, take care of everything you can at home so you feel comfortable, supported & ready to go.
After morning class at sweaty studio (yay!), I’m getting laundry, dishes, housework done. Tomorrow is set for grocery shopping & anything else I can think to do to prepare. Because once I go into the training on Thursday, that all stops. Really, I end up just wiped by the end of a day of workshop/teacher training & beyond this blog, everything else not directly related to the training can wait 5 days.
I’m also trying to review my workbook from the last time I did the Forrest Yoga Continuing Ed Teacher Training. Amusingly, this is actually how I got introduced to Forrest yoga. A few years ago, I did this same workshop while finishing up my teacher training in a whole ‘nother yoga style. Back then, I was commuting to Edinburgh from Germany to study yoga, emailing with my then-boyfriend (now Beloved Husband!) & trying to figure out what to do next with my life.
A lot has changed since then. I expect the training itself has changed as well — but at least now I will have clean clothes to wear while embarking on stage next!!