LOST IN TRANSLATION:

 What the Hell are you saying?

I got some great advice from an experienced teacher (thanks, Micheline Berry!) before I started teaching yoga:  You have to be willing to make a fool of yourself because you will end up saying the most ridiculous things.  It’s so true!  Confusing left and right is an easy mistake to make.  I’d be retired if I had a dollar for every time I heard or said that one.  But when I say elbow and I mean foot, you’d think I was a stroke victim.   What’s up with that?  Luckily, I teach older adults who understand and forgive the brain lapses of these silly mistakes.

It can be quite comical when I say things that make no sense and watch the quizzical looks as students consider how to actually follow my crazy instructions.  I catch myself saying “your big feet” when I mean “big toe” as I pray I’m not looking at someone with big feet –oops!  Or “put the strap around the arch of your ankle…”  Good luck with that! 

Then there is the unforgettable time I made the self-deprecating comment on a day when I was tired and couldn’t get my words to sync up to my brain – or maybe I just couldn’t get my brain to sync up, period.  I said, “I’m sorry I’m retarded today.”  One of my student’s son is mentally challenged and was devastated by my insensitivity. It was a humbling moment for me that I won’t forget. I won’t make that mistake again! 

Another advantage of teaching older adults is that they will tell you straight up, “I have no idea what you are talking about,” or “That doesn’t make sense.”  They teach me to be clear.  I was startled the first time a senior literally yelled at me from the back of a crowded class, hands in fists on her waist for emphasis, “I don’t know WHY you say RELAX anything!  There is absolutely NOTHING relaxing about this!!”  I have no idea how I responded, but I got it loud and clear – literally.  If I’m teaching mindfulness through movement then I better mind what I say or suffer the heckling of straight-talking seniors.

So I know I’m going to keep saying ridiculous things and fumble over my words and that some days are better than others.  But I am grateful for the honest feedback that keeps ME honest so that I mostly do know and mean exactly what the hell I’m saying… in teaching and in life.

Namaste,

Leslie Kazadi

Does your Dog want to be a jockey? The Truth about Dogs

Does your Dog want to be a jockey?

The Truth about Dogs

Whether you call it puppy dog, push wall or half dog, the version of adho mukha svanasana where the hands press the wall instead of the floor is a common modification.  Theoretically, it takes the pressure out of wrists, shoulders and necks.  Again, theoretically, this makes the pose more accessible to beginners and other students who don’t have the strength or ROM, range of motion, in their upper body for a full-fledged downward facing dog.

In reality, however, this modification ends up creating compression in the shoulder joints in many older adults.  This happens despite appropriate alignment cues to ensure a long, neutral spine and modifying shoulder and wrist placement to accommodate limitations.

In general, older adults have some hearing loss, some attention deficit and thus some difficulty following cues without visual confirmation.  That means that in a group class, poses such as puppy dog can be frustrating and unsuccessful.  And that means that the risks can outweigh the rewards.

Chairs can be a great solution.  Students will be facing you.  When they can see you, they can hear you.  And they will feel calmer and have more access to feeling what is happening in their bodies.  Start from tadasana and press palms into the top of the chair back.  Step by step, walk the feet back and flex the hips and the shoulders.  Take it slowly and repeat cues for a long spine and shoulder external rotation so that students can pause and sense what is happening.  This will help both students and teacher to know when they have reached maximum benefit without any shoulder strain. AND instead, you can take the shoulders out of the equation by pressing hands into the seat of the chair in a modified ardha uttanasana, half forward fold. 

My favorite solution is a pose I made up that I call jockey pose.  No props are required and it’s a low-risk/high-rewards pose. From tadasana, take the feet as wide as the mat for an average adult. Flex the knees and hips like a chair pose.  Place the hands on the thighs just above the knees with a neutral spine, as if you were in a huddle.  For students with limited hip flexion, knee flexion or acute low-back issues, the huddle pose is enough.  Otherwise, continue with more hip flexion and neutral spine and press forearms onto thighs.  Press the palms together in Namaste and feel how this gathers and engages the core.  Drive the heels into the floor and the forearms (or hands from the huddle position) into the thighs. Sense how this takes the effort out of the legs to create a steady, "restful" position. 

Once the pose feels stable and steady, you can play! The spine “may” be parallel to the floor and the weight in the feet sinks back into the heels (as weight is always more in the heels when the knees are bent in standing poses).  Play with straightening the legs more without rounding the back and rocking more weight forward to fronts of feet as you lengthen the hamstrings.  And then bend the knees more and rock the weight back into the heels to shift the stretch to the glutes and low back.  

Jockey pose eliminates shoulder compression and has enough elements to engage students so they can truly experience “Sthira sukham asanam.”

Namaste,

 Leslie Kazadi