Your Best Yoga Manifesto: Props are Helpers not Hinderer's

Photo found here

When I decided that I wanted to start my own Yoga program, it wasn't just because I wanted to teach more. It was because I wanted to create a space and program that I could infuse with my own thoughts and values about practising Yoga. I feel like my manifesto for the Your Best Yoga program touches on each of the values that I hope to bring to the program and I want to spend some time "breaking down" each line of it for better understanding. Today we are at line 6 of the Manifesto - if you need to catch up here's part 1, part 2, part 3, and part 4! 

In my day (ie: non-Yoga)  job we talk about adapting the environment to be a good fit for a person – for example you don’t expect a person in a wheelchair to navigate stairs, you build a ramp. I’d like to think that Yoga props are the environmental adaptation that some people need in order to enjoy a safe and effective practice. When I first started practising yoga I was attending studios that didn’t use or feature Yoga props prominently, so when I was first introduced to props I admittedly was a bit hesitant to use them. I wasn’t sure how to use them or really what they were for. Since learning how props can help support the body and provide access to correct alignment for people I would definitely consider myself a prop enthusiast, however, there are some people who still hesitate to use props as they feel like they are used as a “crutch” instead of a helper. In my experience, this doesn’t have to be the case. 

When I am teaching a beginner class, if props are available, I will almost always show the pose using the prop. Why? Because props allow people to access poses in a safe and correct way that they may not be able to otherwise. I have seen many a collapsing Triangle pose, where the persons chest is facing the floor and they are trying to get their hand to the ground. By providing the block under their hand they are able to find the opening in the chest, keep the working in the legs and actually hold the shape of the pose for a few breaths. You aren’t losing out on anything or weakening your practice by using the prop, quite the opposite really. Correct alignment that allows you to open the body and access the breath is more important than “deeper” incorrect stretching, in my opinion. So I will always show the beginner Yogi how to use props, and hopefully the more they practice and the more open their body becomes, the less they may need the props – Virasana is a great example of this as people often start sitting on a high support when they’re quads are very tight and eventually they can sit on a small height or none at all as they lengthen their muscles. Alternatively, if the challenge in a pose is due to something like body proportion, they may always have to use a prop, which should certainly not be considered a hindrance or crutch. 

Tell me, are you team "Yoga Props" or do you prefer not to use them in your practice??

Your Best Yoga Manifesto: No two People will have the same Practice

... Or look the same in a pose.

I am back with another post breaking down the Your Best Yoga Manifesto (You can read about lines 1-4 here and here)! Keep reading to find out more about why I included line 5 and what it really means to me. Disclaimer: I am writing this post as my own informed opinion, point of view, based on my current knowledge  and education. I am not a doctor or someone who has studied biology, anatomy, or physiology extensively. 

If you don't look like the person in the picture  in the yoga book, you are not necessarily doing it wrong. If you don't look the same as your neighbour, friend, brother, or yoga teacher, when you move into a pose, you are not necessarily doing it wrong. There certainly is a "right" way to move into postures in terms of alignment and adjustments, but some people may enjoy and benefit from using certain Yoga props while others may not. One of you isn't wrong. There are a variety of reasons that two peoples postures - when done with correct alignment - would look different. For the purpose of this blog post I am going to focus on 3 of them: Flexibility in the muscular body, Skeletal Make-up and Body Proportions. 

1. Flexibility of the Muscles: This particular limitation is probably the most familiar and the most talked about in terms of a reason for someone shying away from yoga. The truth is we all enter our first Yoga class with varying degrees of flexibility and tightness in a variety of muscles. While I am sure, if you tried quite hard, you could find someone with the exact same tight muscles as you,  the reality is some of us have super tight hamstrings but open shoulders and some of us have locked up hips and a spine that can fold in-half backwards. Depending on the tightness you and your neighbouring practitioner are experiencing, you will look different in a Yoga pose. Take Downward Facing Dog for example - Someone with tight shoulders is often rounded through the shoulders, chest, and back, while someone with tight hamstrings can't get their heels to the ground or keep their knees straight. No one is doing anything wrong here, they're bodies will open the more they practice, they can use props to support their bodies, and over time they will likely start looking more similar in shape, but they still will not look exactly the same, because of the next two points.

2. Skeletal Make-up: Each of us are made up of femurs, tibia's, pelvis' etc. But each person's skeleton is not created equal. We are not walking around with carbon copy femur bones and knee caps, and because of this, we may not have the same abilities, simply because of the structure of our bones, and the way they are put together, which leads to my last point. (there is more information and discussion about this topic here if you are interested)

3. Body Proportions: Recently in my advanced teacher training, our instructor had us line up by height and stand with our arms by our sides. We then each had a turn to step out of the line and observe the students. It was incredibly interesting to look at two people who are relatively the same height and notice how differently their bodies are proportioned. So, lets think about Downward Facing Dog again. If you see the tutorial that I put up here, you may notice that I am generally proportionate in this pose. That is to say that my arms and upper body are the same length as my legs in this pose, so I look like an upside down "V". If someone has shorter arms they will not look like this and they won't experience this pose the same way I do as they likely feel a lot more weight in their hands in this pose. They certainly aren't doing anything wrong, but they may enjoy using props in their practice, such as blocks under their hands in Downward Dog, and their neighbour may not ever do this.  

Basically, we can only work with what we got! I am just fine with that for myself and with any students that I teach. We need to respect our limitations, and also respect our abilities, because at the end of the day, no matter what we look like, if we are practising yoga, our bodies are able to move and support us, and that is pretty great. 

If you want to sign up for the Your Best Yoga Beginner class Spring Session, there are only 4 spots left - Sign up before April 13th :) 

Your Best Yoga Manifesto: Meet People where They're at

When I decided that I wanted to start my own Yoga program, it wasn't just because I wanted to teach more. It was because I wanted to create a space and program that I could infuse with my own thoughts and values about practising Yoga. I feel like my manifesto for the Your Best Yoga program touches on each of the values that I hope to bring to the program and I want to spend some time "breaking down" each line of it for better understanding. Read more about the first and second line of the Manifesto here and here! You'll notice I have skipped the third line of the Manifesto - Just do your best - as I feel I have covered that in many a blog post already :) 

My professional background is in Social Services. I have worked closely with people from all walks of life for the past 8 years, forming relationships and building rapport with complete strangers, asking them to take my help. The number one, most important rule that I would share about working successfully with people is meeting them where they are at. So what does that look like? If where you are at is not being able to touch your toes, that is where I will meet you and we won't be starting classes with deep forward folds. If  where you are at is having a sore back, then that is where I will meet you, and I will provide you with cautionary notes and modifications to ensure you won't do more harm to your back as we move through the practice. I am not coming in to our meeting with expectations of my own, you are the one leading. I am not coming to teach a class based on my needs, I am coming to teach a class that meets the needs of the participants. So this line of the manifesto, is sort of like my pledge to you, future student. I will meet you where you are at, no matter where that is, and then we will move forward  together. 

Sign up today for the Your Best Yoga Beginner class (only 8 spots left!) or one of the Slow Flow Classes - All Classes start February 24th :) 

Your Best Yoga Manifesto: Commit to Showing up on your Mat, no matter what

When I decided that I wanted to start my own Yoga program, it wasn't just because I wanted to teach more. It was because I wanted to create a space and program that I could infuse with my own thoughts and values about practising Yoga. I feel like my manifesto for the Your Best Yoga program touches on each of the values that I hope to bring to the program and I want to spend some time "breaking down" each line of it for better understanding. Read more about the first line of the Manifesto here! 

We can always find an excuse not to do something. Sometimes that excuse is legitimate - you are injured so you can't come to a yoga class - and other times, the excuses are barriers to us being or doing our best. In Patanjali's Yoga Sutra's there is  a list of "9 obstacles" or "vikshepas" to the practice of Yoga, and they range from illness to doubt and laziness (but perhaps we should leave Patanjali for another day :) Look it up if this is your area of interest though!). The reason I wanted to include this second line of the Your Best Yoga Manifesto is because I feel that a lot of people encounter the obstacle of fear, which stops them from trying Yoga.

People fear they won't be able to do it. Fear what people will think of them. Fear what their body is or isn't capable of. Fear of the unknown. Fear of looking silly. Fear of failing. Fear of hurting themselves. Etc. Etc..... Now, I'm not saying not to feel that fear. I'm saying if you feel it, I want you to commit to showing up on the mat anyways. Commit to yourself. Commit to trying something new, that may just make you feel fantastic! Commit to trying your best - no matter what. Let me tell you a little story that may really drive my point home...

My mom has had two knee replacements and has never done Yoga before. When I told her I was going to be offering a Beginner class she said she wanted to sign up, but she wasn't sure if she would be able to do it because of her knee replacements, as she can't put pressure on her knees which makes it difficult to get up off the floor and limits some of the other poses in the practice. I told her that I would happily modify poses for her if she wanted to attend and would make sure she felt safe throughout the practice. I really wasn't sure if she would sign up, to be honest. But then, one morning I had an email that someone had registered for the beginner class - and it was my mom. I sent her a text to let her know I received her registration and she asked where she could go to purchase a mat. She was committed!! When I spoke to her next she told me that she was looking forward to the class because she felt that she could really benefit from the increased movement and flexibility and then she said: "well I'm going to try and if I can't do it, well then I will just lay there I guess, but I'm going to try!". THIS IS COMMITTING TO SHOWING UP ON YOUR MAT, NO MATTER WHAT!!! She was going to show up, do her best, even if that meant she could do very little. She was committing to bettering herself and doing her best. Unfortunately, my mom came across another real obstacle of an injury right before the session started, so she was not able to attend, but she will be there next session - and I couldn't be happier or more proud :) 

Hope to see you in the next Your Best Yoga beginner session or in one of the Go with the Flow classes, happening every Wednesday evening from 7:30-8:30 until February 10th. The next session will start up February 24th and the details will be coming out soon so keep checking back for registration and class info!

Your Best Yoga Manifesto

I'm coming to you mid-week to share something I have been thinking about for awhile now. I have created a Manifesto for Your Best Yoga - the Yoga program I created and run out of Winakwa Community Centre in Winnipeg, MB. I wanted this to represent the values that I built the Your Best Yoga program on. I will be doing separate blog posts throughout the next couple of months, breaking down each line of this Manifesto and what it all means to me.

So, what is a Manifesto anyways?? According to Wikipedia, a Manifesto is a published verbal declaration of the intentions, motives, or views of the issuer, be it an individual, group, political party or government. So, without further ado.... I present to you, the Your Best Yoga Manifesto!!!

Stay tuned for new and exciting things coming from Your Best Yoga in the New Year!! Hope to see you in one of the classes :)