You know when you hear something for years, and you don’t quite know if it’s for real ? You hear it so many times, you start to wonder if it just might be true.
At some point, I heard that Mr. Iyengar said something along the lines of this: Yoga teachers learn so much from their students that we should pay them to come to class.
I’m not even sure if I heard it right — it was third-hand or second-hand. But nevermind that…it’s what I thought I heard anyway.
I have scoured my yoga books looking for evidence that he actually said this, but I haven’t found it. So for now I’m considering it an Iyengar Yoga urban legend – meant for yoga nerds like me.
After this past week of teaching the classes while Tedrah attended a yoga intensive, I didn’t need to know whether Mr. Iyengar said it or not.
Each of you showed me the power of yoga in the most potent ways I’ve seen in my (nearly) 20 years of practice and14 years of teaching.
We practiced some of the most strenuous poses – many of which I rarely teach. Poses like Warrior 1 & 2, Hero, Bow (as in bow-and-arrow), Upward Bow (even more intense than Bow) and a pose actually called Utkatasana (Intense Pose).
At times I have avoided teaching these. They wear me out. And poses named for battle-like behavior perplex my peace-loving self.
The first tenet of yoga is non-violence. How to reconcile a warrior pose with that?
It takes a lot of grit to practice this way and even more oomph to teach these poses. But as you have seen, practicing the warrior poses builds your strength of will — and can leave you feeling invigorated and satisfied.
You inspired me – demonstrating the Memphis grit and grind of our community spirit. You summoned the focus it takes to keep going when you’re tired. You shifted past some limiting thoughts, and came through.
Many of you accomplished new poses for the first time. I learned what is possible when you are encouraged to expect more from yourselves. And what happens when I let students know that I expect more.
All of these are the qualities of a great warrior.
Your work in class demonstrates the intelligence of your yoga practice on many levels: the physical, mental (how-to), wisdom (including knowing how much to do/not do), emotional and the potency of your will.
It is a joy to see your progress! Thank you for sharing this journey with me and our studio. I learn so much from you.
With love and gratitude,
