I'm pretty open minded. I don't necessarily believe that there is ONE right way to conduct a yoga class. That said, there are two very distinct ways that one should not. One of which I experienced yesterday. And have consequently dropped both classes.
The WRONG ways to teach yoga:
1) Yesterday's class was entitled "Yoga with Meditation". Ok...I'd prefer it to focus on the physical nature, but I'm not completely opposed to some of the new-age spirituality. The class, though? 5 minutes of poses, and 55 minutes of "meditation". The meditation involved the elderly woman lecturing us on how we needed to drink water and how wonderful silence was. As she talked. Without stopping to breath. For 55 minutes. Furthermore, she enlightened us with such gems as, "Some people think meditation's complicated, but it's really just acknowledging that you're part of the universe"...mmm...little over-simplified perhaps? Or, when asked how to prevent your foot from falling asleep when sitting on it for so long, the instructor told the student that it was her body telling her she was tired and needed to nap. Finally, during the 5 minutes of exclusively sun-salutations, the instructor never managed to once go straight from up- to down-dog. Just saying.
2) Denise Austin. No one wants to hear her peppy little cheerleader voice when they're trying to get deep into a pose. The only person who likes her videos is a male friend who offered to take them off my hands. And I'm not sure he's a yogi.
No comments:
Post a Comment