Autumn Lotus Yoga

—>Adjustments are about helping the student move and stretch in a way that they couldn’t do or get into on their own.  The practice is about the student and you’re there to serve them in their practice.

—> Adjusting is kind of like triage: first adjust what is or could be potentially dangerous to the student (like a knee being twisted in a potentially physically damaging way).  Then go to the foundation and then to adjusting the finer points (what he referred to as the “aesthetics,” making it look nicer).  He said to use the same principle for deciding which students to address first.  He used the example of being a forest ranger who looks out from a tower “looking for the smoke;” for the students who are most likely to be in danger.

—> With regards to alignment: because each student is different on any given day there is no one perfect alignment.  He used the example of someone who has a structural difference that will not let them get into the usual alignment–like someone who has bowed arms or legs and cannot have them completely straight.  This leads into something he talked about that I think is very important: assessing the student from multiple angles and addressing the root cause of a mis-alignment before making an adjustment, rather than simply going straight to the “symptom.”  He put himself in a downward facing dog that was all sorts of messed up, but the most prominent one being that his back was rounded.  He asked someone to come up and adjust him and the first thing that person did was try to stretch his back straight…which he wouldn’t let her do, lol.  A couple other people tried the same approach and the other tried asking him to straighten his back, to no avail   The reason was because the problem wasn’t with his back, he had tight hamstrings and the only way he could straighten his legs was to round his back.  So the more correct adjustment would have been to first bend his knees! 

–> Remember to consider the 6 directions (of energy?): up & down, forward and backward, and side-to-side.  He said something else after that, probably close to trying to consider what they are in each pose (if they’re there) and trying to make them equal…but I could be wrong.  I just remember the directions

–>Since physically adjusting someone (rather than just verbal) creates a strong muscle memory (because your attention immediately goes to the place where someone is adjusting you), adjust in a way that creates a good memory:
        —–>> the adjustment should be one that will eventually let them self-adjust, kind of
                  like the student is actually doing the movement and the teacher is just guiding
                  them.  He used the example of his palms popping up while he was in
                  downward facing dog (his palms kind of looked like an upside-down “v”).  The
                  better adjustment was to touch under his palms and say “press down here;”
                  rather than pushing them down from above.  This way, the student is the one
                  who is actually doing the adjustment, so he/she will remember it better next
                  time.  It also seems like, sometimes, the best adjustments are ones that 
                  combine verbal and physical adjustment…like it might create a more resilient
                  memory.
       ——>> Don’t over-adjust by giving students too many things to work on at once.  Not
                  only is it information overload, but it can make them feel like they’re not doing
                  anything right (not so fun).  Keep it simple.  I think by being only giving them
                  one or two things to focus on adjusting it kind of gives them mile-markers, like,
                 “Alright!  I got that one down!”  So it kind of feels like you just keep improving.
       ——>> With regards to the right kind of touch: Don’t go in with a forceful “falcon-grip”
                  (yeah, nice visual, lol).  Cup the hands and use your palms and the pads of
                  your fingers, rather than the tips (i.e, the falcon-grip). 
       ——>> Remember that adjustments are also a way of acknowledging the student’s
                  presence–hello, I do see you, I know you’re here   But don’t forget to be
                  professional with the adjustment–no “petting,” (his words, not mine, lol).  Get
                  in there, make the adjustment and then move on.

–>Watch for verbal and non-verbal cues to know when it is time to ease up on the adjusting, including: groaning/moaning, not breathing, resistance, scrunching of the face, actually saying “ow!” or “stop.”  He said that it might actually be good to ask “do you want an adjustment?” or maybe, I think, to let people know at the beginning of class that it’s ok to say, “no I don’t want an adjustment.”

After that, we all took turns partnering up and taking turns playing the role of teacher and student.  We took turns first simply watching and assessing our students during sun salutation A and then when they went through a second time, going in and making an adjustment.  I didn’t mind playing the student because (1) after 20+ years of school, that’s what I’m good at (2) I know that I don’t know a lot, so it doesn’t bother me as much to get corrected, and (3) I’m not a fan of being put on the spot or being in the spotlight anyways.  But when I had to play the teacher, it brought back a lot of not-so-pleasant memories and feelings of inferiority from when I had to teach in order to get my black belt in karate.  Teaching then, and doing the assessing and adjusting today, felt like saying, “I know more than you and I know what’s best for you,” when I really have no clue what I’m doing. 

I was feeling really uncomfortable and not looking forward to having to practice more adjusting, but then I ended up with a partner who was very nice and seemed very easygoing and ok with me not knowing that much.  He ended up being my partner for the rest of the class.  It was much more enjoyable and fun once we were just learning different adjustments and then practicing them on each other; it felt like mutual teaching and learning.  I would ask Rob if it felt like my hands were in the right place, if he was feeling the adjustment, and if it was ok to go further or to just stay there.  When I had to assess and say, this looks wrong, I was less comfortable.  Like it was better when I was just saying, “this is just what I know, let me show it to you and see if that works for you too;” rather than this is “right or wrong.”  When it felt like there was mutual learning and teaching, it felt more like sharing than teaching.

That last bit and all the knowledge David has made the class so enjoyable!  David is really funny.  I love how he’s not afraid to make himself look a little ridiculous in order to get a point across.  He had a good combination of talking and listening to what other people had to contribute and the questions that they had.  It didn’t feel like he was putting himself up on a pedestal because he knew so much, which can happen with people who know a lot.”