Sometimes the lights go off
What I Taught in Yoga This Week | 1.17.24
Hello beautiful humans,
I walked into the studio to teach this flow last night and the teacher before said: “We have a problem.”
Instant stomach drop.
It turns out the main lights in the yoga studio weren’t working. It was a funny moment because instantly I could feel my stress levels start to rise. I was looking at the setting sun, thinking about how truly dark it was going to get in just about 10 minutes, and how my 20+ students were arriving in 15. I was thinking only about the problems, my mind not yet ready to jump to solutions.
We encounter a lot of technical issues like this as yoga teachers, don’t we? The music isn’t working. The heater is acting up. There aren’t enough props per students. We can’t access the student sign-up page. The list goes on.
In a funny way, it’s almost like it’s part of our yoga teacher real-life training – to move through these hiccups with grace; to not let yourself get too ruffled. Really, it’s what we learn in yoga that helps us back to center in moments like this.
The lights weren’t a big deal in the end. The studio had some battery-operated candles and I found a standing lamp to pull into the space. After class multiple students told me that they actually liked the dim lighting! So maybe next week I’ll do it on purpose.
Funny how that happens.
Your plans won’t always go off without a hitch. This is as true when we’re teaching yoga as it is in real life. In yoga, that might look like forgetting a pose in your sequence, or mispronouncing a name. But it’s how you respond in those moments that makes the difference. Try not to let that stress response take over, take a deep breath, and then make a decision for how to move forward. Simple, but not always easy.
Our flow this week, my people, is a leg burner, but kind of in the best way. We’re thinking about quad and glute activation so we can get into those balancing poses and deep hip shapes (like skandasana) safely.
You can do this as an infinity flow (one side straight into the next), or take a vinyasa at the back of the mat and then repeat on the other side!
What I Taught in Yoga This Week | 1.17.24:
I love the dance at the start from “high crescent to crescent plane to upward pyramid to crescent plane back to high crescent.” That flow alone is a great one to add into any class sequence. Flow it slow once, then one breath to one movement….oooh so good!
I hope life treats you to only minor hiccups this week, and you treat them with plenty of deep breaths.
Sending love,
Izzy
Izzy Martens
author, yoga teacher, sequence enthusiast
www.yogahumans.com
BONUS!
This week paid subscribers will receive my intention and a poem that I shared in class this week! This message really speaks to the deep winter we’re experiencing and how we might draw meaning from that. The poem is one of my favorites, too.
I’m sharing these bonuses with my paid subscribers as a way to share my appreciation for supporting this newsletter. If you want to upgrade, then you can click the button below. Our weekly flows will continue to be available for all – I’m so happy to be able to share these offerings with you each week. Thanks for being here.
This week’s sequence in longhand:
three-legged dog
high crescent lunge
crescent plane
upward pyramid
crescent plane
high crescent lunge
airplane
one-legged mountain
hand to big toe a
hand to big toe b
hover leg and pulse (burner!)
warrior I
humble warrior
lift half-way
skandasana (back of mat)
skandasana (front of mat)
low lunge (back of mat)
easy twist
low lunge
three-legged dog*
***Your opposite leg is now up so you can move right into the flow on the other side! Or, take a vinyasa, then start the other side if you need a break.
Want more? Head to yogahumans.com