My good friend and Yogi, Angela Thomson-Brenchley shared with me her story of coming to yoga and her philosophy and understanding of what constitutes a yoga "lifestyle".
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Angela: I
"discovered" yoga very gradually. I taught fitnesses classes at a YMCA
in the Midwest. I developed an interest in learning and teaching
stretching. Really, this was the seed that began to call me toward yoga.
The YMCA offered a stretching workshop for teachers. I attended and
shortly thereafter began teaching a "Stretch and Relax" class at the Y
where I worked. It was a pretty conservative place. The local YMCA
association did not allow yoga, as it was considered non-Christian.
Somehow,
someway, I began to realize
that I was interested in more than stretching; I was interested in
yoga. I began a self-guided study and discovery of yoga. In
retrospect--after many years teaching and after completing multiple yoga
teacher training courses, I recognize this was (and continues to be)
the most important and effective step I took/am still taking in my
journey as a yoga teacher.
I
did not have a guru (never
have had, don't plan to--different topic!) Back then, I did not have a
yoga teacher, other than myself and the books I studied. One was Erich
Schiffmann's The Spirit and Practice of Moving into Stillness.
Along the way, I picked up books by B.K.S. Iyengar, as well. Although
Iyengar Yoga is not the path I follow as a teacher, I still refer to
those books often and am even currently studying Iyengar Yoga with a
certified Iyengar teacher. For me, being open-minded is yogic. I'll take
Ashtanga classes. I'll take Kundalini classes. I'll take Sivananda
classes. I'll take Yin classes. I'll take classes that thoughtfully mix
and mingle lineages. I don't believe in arguing about who/what is
right. I'm open to receive wisdom from many traditions. I use common
sense, critical thinking, and intuition as navigation for what I'll call
"conflicts among the
traditions."
The
next highlight of my journey began when I enrolled in yoga classes
offered at California State University, San Bernardino. I took classes
there from almost every instructor who offered them, eventually finding
myself drawn to take class exclusively with two particular teachers: Amy
Wheeler and Beth Lucas--both teachers in the Krishnamacharya lineage,
sometimes referred to as Viniyoga. Their classes changed my life. I
learned to really focus my asana practice on my breath. They also
encouraged slow, flowing asana movement, intelligently sequenced and
synchronized with the breath. Both Beth and Amy taught yoga classes in
such a way that empowered students to independently continue with a
sound yoga practice. As I took class with them and by observing their
teaching methods, I was learning how to teach yoga. I also had the
wonderful opportunity to train with Amy at CSUSB as a student in her
quarter-long professional preparation course for teaching yoga.
The
Krishnamacharya lineage
most influences my own teaching. I largely follow its "in" "out" asana
sequencing in which one flows in and out of almost every pose with its
appropriate breath (inhale or exhale) before holding the posture in a
static way. My preferred type of hatha yoga to teach is what I call
slow-flow vinyasa. I like to create my own vinyasa sequences. I almost
always vary Sun Salutations from their "lineage codified" forms. Often,
the practices I design for my students don't contain Sun Salutations at
all. Something important to me is to share with my students breath and
posture insights I've gained through my own practice. One simple example
of this is Warrior/Virabhadrasana III. I teach multiple ways to
approach getting into this pose--no one size-fits-all, no set "it must
be done this way always." My latest favorite? Coming into Warrior III
from Standing Forward Fold/Uttanasana.
Rather
than "yoga as a lifestyle," I prefer to think of yoga in terms of a
path toward wholeness, a life-help, a philosophy in which every
practitioner--everyone who practices/tries/attempts--gains from her/his
efforts and exposure to yoga. Anything that approaches thinking of yoga
as a bunch of doctrinal dos and don'ts that lead to negative judgment,
or even relative "evaluation" and hierarchies by other yogis doesn't
help. I practice yoga because it helps me feel well, plain and simple.
It's
kind of popular right now for people to discount asana. I won't do
that. It is so integral to many people's practice. Yoga/union of course
is not reliant on asana, but it is a time-tested tool that some of our
revered yogis continue late into life, even though we might see them as
having "mastered that stage in the journey."
With
my personal practice I have many struggles. I'm human! I scrimp on
meditation time. I follow my mind's fluctuations down its myriad paths. I
stick with the familiar, the loved and neglect the unknown and new. The
best thing for me to remember is that my breathwork/pranayama is deeply
therapeutic and to respect its power and give it its due devotion.
My
advice to new yoga teachers? Be open, stay open to others and to
yourself. Remember that each practice you lead is an opportunity to
give.
Feeling nervous? Remember it's not about you performing or coming off
well, but about the practice, about growing, about sharing, about moving
toward stillness (Erich Schiffmann), ease, and wholeness.
***
You can learn more about Angela Thomson-Brenchley's practice and schedule of classes at http://theyir.org/profiles/atb/.
