Yep, we got the snow. It looks like it will be another “Snow Day” here. I’m staying in today, though. J and M are both home and both still sleeping. I got up, did my yoga practice and now I’m writing. M wants to work on her scrapbook today, so I’ll be reading the rest of my book in her room and hanging out. I got about 1/3 through my first book last night – amazing what we can do when we put our minds to things!
So this post is about the structure of my yoga class at OhioU. I was thinking this morning, I have so many amazing yoginis who read my blog. I bet they could help me with structuring another class. Yes, I’d like your help! I teach two classes at the local university. Both classes are the same and both are in their infancy. We have a lot of beginners in this rural area in which we live, so I structured the class as a beginner class with lots of philosophy thrown in. Quarters are ten weeks long and here is how it goes:
- Overview – a Historical Perspective of Yoga
- Styles of Yoga
- 8 Limbs of Yoga
- Body Awareness
- Ayurveda and Yoga
- Pranayama and Mudras
- Chakra Therapy
- Yoga and Mind-Body Health
- Stress Management
- Meditation, Imagery and Yoga Nidra
Sounds like a lot, huh? It is, BUT we only scratch the surface on most of the topics. For example, I have a 1 to 2 page reading assignment on each of these. We do a brief discussion (20 minutes) and then a practice (hour and a half). The majority of the class is physical, but I thought it was important to introduce these concepts early on so that they could see that yoga is rich in history/philosophy and so much more than what the media makes it out to be. Some weeks we spend more time on exploring the concepts, such as the Ayurveda and Yoga week. I have them take a Dosha Quiz, then they group together based on their dosha to identify commonalities, strengths, weaknesses. The class seems to really enjoy this. Other times we vary from the schedule, like we did last week, to do Partner Yoga.
So, this is where you come in. I would like your help and suggestions! Students can repeat my class up to 3 times. I’ve had some students express an interest in continuing beyond that. I need to structure the class differently, possibly expand selected topics and give it a new call number. I know my options are wide open. Yoga is so vast, so expansive, its hard to know where to begin sometimes. Here is my question: What type of a class would you like beyond this one? What would you like to explore further? These were my thoughts:
- Styles of Yoga class
- 8 Limbs of Yoga (focusing on one of the Yamas and Niyamas each week)
- Ayurveda/Dosha Class
- Chakra class – exploring much further
I would love to hear your suggestions! Whether you are a student (well we’re all students) or an experienced teacher, your suggestions are welcomed and needed! Thanks in advance!
Happy Tuesday!
I absolutely love that you are having discussions on all the fundamentals. That is something that I completely missed out on and so I started reading up about it in my spare time. I would definitely be interested in focusing on the 8 limbs and chakras if I were one of your students. (Darn it I wish I could come to your class!!)
Hey . . . thank you so much. I never got all of this when I first started either. I never want to OVERWHELM, but I think scratching the surface is okay, helping them to understand there is so much more to yoga than asana! I appreciate your flattery!
It looks like you are already going above and beyond – this class seems AMAZING, thorough, and enlightening. I’m impressed! The styles of yoga is something I would have suggested. Do you subscribe to the YogaJournal daily insight? They have been doing “spotlights” on different types of yoga, that could be a starting point for you. If you don’t get them let me know, and I’ll forward them to you.
Sure you could forward them to me. I used to subscribe to a lot of YJ stuff but it just got to be too much. However, all of it was useful! Thanks for the suggestion
I’m not much of a help. I just needed to let you know that Yogini is my new favorite word.
Monique,
)
You’re so funny and I’m just glad you come visit me. If you start doing yoga, I can call you YoginiSurferwife – or YoginiMonique (we can keep him out of it if ya want
Hi Heather!
I have found that a lot of people are unfamiliar with basic body mechanics and anatomy (sing with me: “the hip bone is connected to the… back bone…” lol) and having a better understanding of that can go a long way.
What about a class about muscles, posture and pain relief? Looking at key muscles and how they might be affecting your everyday life?
Also, I think energetic anatomy (nadis, chakras, vayus) is absolutely fascinating and can’t get enough of it… I love that the ancient yogis drew the nadis thousands of years ago and they look just like our modern understanding of the nervous system!
And I think Yamas and Niyamas are perfect ‘homework’ topics – starting to think about how yoga works off the mat.
Excellent ideas! Thank you soooo much!