26 March Ray Child March 26, 2012 How to Be a Good Student Hot Yoga accept your body, dallas hot yoga, good yoga student, mindfulness, yoga etiquette 1 Comment Dear Student, It is an honor and privilege to guide you through your practice each day you’re in my class. Teachers do not exist without students. It is through you that I am able to refine my craft. My hope is that every time you leave the studio you feel fulfilled, in a different mindset than you entered and empowered with more knowledge about yourself and your practice. I’m writing this letter as a guide to help you be the best student you can be so that you will get the most out of your time in the hot room. I know that, when I began practicing hot yoga, I wanted to be the “best” student (I’m competitive--I admit it) and, in my view, the “best” students were the ones who could do the entire class, full expression of every posture, without even drinking water, and (it seemed to me then) more. I now realize that none of those attributes got them better results or more benefits and that, by trying to emulate them, I wasn’t listening to my teacher or growing my practice. So how can you be a good student? Be open. A good student is open to learning, to trying things differently, to seeing a new perspective and to every teacher they encounter. You chose to walk into the studio and take class with a group, from a teacher, so I assume that you want to be part of a community, learning from a live teacher instead of at home, following a DVD, running your own program. My hope is that you are arrive like an empty vessel, ready to receive whatever this class today offers you. Being truly open means that you are also willing to un-learn what you think you know about yoga (how Tree pose looks, for example) and try it the way it is being taught to you here and now. Try not to get attached to a certain teacher or dismiss a new teacher because you’ve been practicing longer than they have been teaching. We want you to be committed to your practice, not an individual. Every teacher has something to teach you, if you let them. (This is one of the reasons Sunstone doesn’t publish its teaching roster.) Being open also means that you have released your preconceptions of what you can and cannot do physically and are ready to explore what your body can do today. I promise that I never want you to feel pain in a posture, so if I ask you to do something, please listen carefully to my words and then execute to the best of your ability. I will understand if you don’t look like your 20-year old neighbor. If you want to discuss my cues or your decisions, we can chat after class. Be courteous. A good student realizes they are part of a learning community and wants their fellow students to enjoy their experience as well. In any class, large or small, the group’s attitude can have a major impact on your experience. To that end, be aware that your actions (and frustrations) affect everyone. Arrive before the posted class time and stay in the hot room for the entire class. Entering class late or leaving before class is over is disruptive and disrespectful to others who like you, have taken time out of their busy day to attend. During class, focus on yourself in the mirror, be as still as possible between postures, concentrate on your breathing. Stay home if you are sick or if allergies affect you to the point that you would disturb other students (scattering tissues next to your mat is sharing germs, not sharing your love of yoga). Child's Pose and Savasana are always appropriate. If you're feeling dizzy, over-worked or a little emotional, just go into one of them. Be yourself. Being a good student has nothing to do with how you look while practicing or to what extent you can do every posture. It has to do with your attitude: how open you are to learning each time you enter class and how kind and grateful you are to those around you and ultimately yourself. As your practice develops, over time you will also become your own teacher, increasing your awareness and self-love, and learning to surrender to things outside of your control. It is our hope that the classes we offer at Sunstone provide an environment where you can connect with and cultivate your very best self. Happy Learning! Namaste, Your Teacher Related Articles Student to Student: Just Keep Coming Back to the Mat! Streams of sweat run off my nose as I move into a Balancing Stick yoga pose, my body looking vaguely like a capital “T” from the side. When I tip forward standing on one leg with my arms above me and the other leg tipping up behind, it’s as if I’m a tea kettle and I am pouring a cup of hot water off my nose. You see, I am exercising in a 98.6oF room with 60% humidity, and I can produce copious amounts of sweat. It is January and new faces crowd the room, ready with their New Year’s resolutions to get healthy, and it is clear that the newbies are struggling in the heat. How can I tell them that I was one of them some years ago, overweight, out-of-shape, and unable to make it through a class? Build Good Food Habits Eating fruits and vegetables is all about creating a habit and taste for it! The more fruits and vegetables you eat, the better you feel and ultimately you will like them. No reason to become a vegan cold turkey over-night, give your gut the opportunity to improve over time. Slow your roll, allowing for better enzymes and digestion over time. Barre vs. Ballet No, Barre is nothing like ballet. You’re welcome. I grew up taking ballet lessons. I truly enjoy the elegance and stability of ballet. When I first heard of barre classes, I thought, “perfect, I like ballet and have experience in that, so I’d probably be good at it”. Then I took a class and realized first hand, nope, not ballet at all. However, it did rock my world. Our Five Teaching Principles At Sunstone Yoga, our vision is to become one of the world’s most influential fitness associations who transforms the very idea of fitness from isolated physical activity into an integrated body, mind and life practice. Schedule Awesomeness With the Holiday season nearly upon us it is time for our annual New Year’s schedule updates! Consequently, it's also when we receive the most questions about how we chose to make those changes. (Trust us, it's not easy.) It's important to us to not only have the best quality classes and excellent customer service, but to also develop an awesome schedule that serves our students' needs. So, with a limited number of classes slots to schedule – and a wide range of class types to offer – how exactly do we determine what classes to put on the schedule, how many of each class, and when on the schedule they should appear? Why Hot Pilates? And More! I am very excited for Sunstone to be offering Hot Pilates (previously called Metal)! The postures Sunstone offers in our Pilates series are dynamic movements that complement the more static nature of most of our yoga postures. The dynamic movements of Pilates challenge the muscles, cardiovascular system, and mind in new and complementary ways. In our hot yoga classes we generally (not always) get in a posture and hold a static position. In contrast in Pilates, we generally stabilize our ‘Pilates Core’ (abdomen, back, inner thighs and buttocks) and making a controlled but dynamic movement. Comments are closed.