A student!

Last week no one showed up to my first scheduled Gentle Yoga class. I was a bit disappointed, but actually I was mostly fine with it. Having no students gave me a chance to bring in the props I have gathered and find a place to store them in the back room of Pearls of Wisdom, where I’m giving the class. I was also able to figure how to set up my classroom to best use the space, and then do the practice – a dry run or dress rehearsal, if you will. It’s all good.

Yesterday, though, I actually had a student! She was enthused and ready to do yoga. However, it wasn’t the student I was expecting. I was expecting to have a woman who has had wrist surgery and can’t put much pressure on her wrist, including getting up from sitting on the floor. So I had planned a session entirely of poses in a chair and standing poses. The student who did come is experiencing plantar fasciitis and has no trouble getting on the floor. So I had to switch gears in the middle of my planned set of poses and try to address her foot issues.

What a great learning experience for me. We did some foot stretches and I taught her a couple of good massage techniques to use. I also did some good leg stretches with her: seated wide angle forward bend, cobblers pose and garland pose. I missed some good poses for plantar fasciitis, though, like Warrior I and staff pose. So much for thinking on my feet! I’ll have to add those to the workout if she returns.

For my first time out teaching I felt awkward; my instruction patter didn’t flow and having to switch gears through me off. But I don’t think I did all that badly, either. Remembering how nervous and awkward I was the first time I taught pranayama, I think I did okay. :-)