Squeakign Along

You know what’s awesome? Being a yoga teacher. You know what’s even more awesome? Being a yoga teacher who teaches students so cool that they come to practice even when you don’t have a voice.

I just returned from a trip to Europe where among all the really cool things I saw and did, I also picked up a retched cold in Paris which has rendered me voiceless. All I can manage is a few rumbling squeaks between breathy sounds trying to form actual words. It’s really kind of funny, but less funny when you have a yoga class to teach. But selfishly or selflessly I could not keep myself from my studio for one more day, so I went to teach laryngitis be damned! And you know what, it was awesome! Students came happy to see me back in the studio and when my squeaky little voice came out not one asked how we were going to do class with a mute teacher.

The class itself was nothing special as far as the structure and the instructions, but what was really special was watching my students do their own yoga. Because I couldn’t talk through a sequence I gave them a few asanas with options for variations and kriyas and encouraged them to do what they felt worked most for their body. Then I shut up, I watched, walked around, made a few adjustments or suggestions and you know what it was…Awesome. I’ve been teaching full time in town for about a year, a few have been my students since the beginning, more started coming when I opened the new studio so I’ve been teaching and observing these students for a while now. It was such a fulfilling moment to see them own their own practice, to see the flow, the experimentation and the concentration.

People come to yoga for many different reason and when they start there is almost always some hesitation or self-consciousness about their bodies, or lack of yoga “skills.” It’s great to see those people make the decision to make yoga a part of their life and commit to it, to see the growth they achieve and the confidence they gain. Before I started my squeaky yoga class I said to my students “you know what to do.” And they do, and they did and I got to be the proud witness.