october 15

Preparing first class for Mairehau Teachers

I found out a research article which explores the effects of yoga in teachers outcomes for yoga and mindfulness for school teachers

Key ideas:
1. teachers want to learn practices that can use later on with children
2. time is an issue. i might be prepared for attrition along the term. Simple techniques that they can incorporate in daily life.

I ask myself: would this article be of interest for them? yes, but yoga is all about experience & practice. It´s good to bring the article tomorrow, but the key part is practice.

Another article about  (Are there any similarities?)
teacher yoga in prison

Who are they?
Teacher student relationship?
What to teach? How should I first introduce yoga practices?

Key ideas for beginners class

1. assess where the class are at in terms of general fitness, flexibility, degrees of tension and mental disturbance

2. always start a session in shavasana, remaining there for slightly longer than usual. Some people may not want to lie with their palms upwards, if this is the case, then rest the hands on the sides, or even crossed over the chest until some trust has been established. Work with body awareness and then breath awareness.

3. begin the asanas with lying postures, such as supine stretching in conjunction with the breath, supta pawan-muktasana (leg lock), which is good for digestive disorders as well as for the spine, and supta udarakarshanasana (sideways back stretch). This way the students will get the feel of the practices before sitting up and being so aware of the other people around them.

4.Many students are initially unused to sitting, so need to bring blankets, pillows, or jumpers for additional support beneath the buttocks.

5. Breath awareness is often quite a radical first step in itself so go gently with this. 

6. Antar mouna:be able to understand what is really going on inside themselves, in a non-judgemental way.