Saturday, February 26, 2011
Tuesday, February 1, 2011
My confusing but humbling hand mudras
(note: The following post will be distinguishing what Jnana mudra and Chin mudra and their significance)
I'm nearing the end of my 6-month yoga teacher training. Before I can blog about my confounding knowledge of hand mudras, I need to unload my guilty conscience and apologize for not posting a lot onto this blog during my training. Although my intention sat tall, it sat too far away.
I am at a point now where the ball is rolling, I have my foundation of learning. It is now up to me to continue to learn, absorb, and translate. To embody this information, observe the changes within myself, and finally the most difficult; to transport this raw information, all of these experiences to others that wish to listen and learn.
I have decided that I love teaching, it's still new, it is still hard, and I am still figuring it all out for myself. I don't want to stop teaching, but I need to recognize when I don't know how to convey this new knowledge before I realize I am teaching it and don't know what I am even saying anymore!
Part of my final testing and experience is teaching a 6 week yoga series to the same people. This morning was day 4. The first week I started to ask my students to place their hands in Jnana mudra (pronounced as "Gian") and quickly realized I didn't know how to tell people why they needed to do this. So I went back to my class and I asked. I got a good answer which reiterated everything we had been learning, but of course I was still unable to get this into my own words.
I resigned to just ask people to place hands down or palms facing up gently resting on the knees depending on the effect desired (palms down = grounding, knowledge, jnana palms up = consciousness, receptiveness, openness to learn, chin)
I figured once I got the hang of this I would feel comfortable enough to ask people to place their fingers into this mudra or seal and I still would be able to convey their meanings. Today, I once more fumbled. I fumbled so badly I actually I had to say "I'm not sure where I am going with this, I think I need to start over" It was horrifying and embarrassing.
Fortunately my fiance is in the class and gave me some very honest but very good feedback. He told me that it was unfortunate that I got flustered and lost in my explanation but after that my voice became so controlled he thought I was reading everything word for word, so much so that (and I noticed this) he kept opening his eyes to peek at me to see if I was in fact doing this. He did say though that my voice returned to its natural tones once I started teaching the Asana. Probably because I was teaching something I am much more familiar with.
I can't say this was my best class taught, but it thus far has been one of the most humbling classes I have taught. so much so I've decided to go to my drawing board (this blog), and tell you about it and then explain what they are. I will do this in a way that I can understand and teach it. I do not ever want to enter a class and tell them that I don't know what I was trying to say ever again, and especially not at the very start of a class I am teaching!
I should have realized this since I am the type of learner that needs to physically be involved in the learning of it. It is completely one thing to practice and embody this mudra experiencing its benefits and listening to its explanations and and a complete other from me spelling out and translating this experience for myself. Until I do this I might as well say that I am just "winging it"! This is not a good teaching strategy for me!
I have always agreed to "teach what you know". Quite honestly, I thought I "knew" this. But this experience has taught me that I actually need to confidently know it well enough that I can translate it into my own words so that others too can have the experience to learn it. So from this point forward if I have not picked something apart with words, whether written or spoken, then I should not be presenting it to a group.
I vow to honestly Teach What I Know!
I would like to thank my students for being my teachers as well.
Hari Om Tat Sat
I'm nearing the end of my 6-month yoga teacher training. Before I can blog about my confounding knowledge of hand mudras, I need to unload my guilty conscience and apologize for not posting a lot onto this blog during my training. Although my intention sat tall, it sat too far away.
I am at a point now where the ball is rolling, I have my foundation of learning. It is now up to me to continue to learn, absorb, and translate. To embody this information, observe the changes within myself, and finally the most difficult; to transport this raw information, all of these experiences to others that wish to listen and learn.
I have decided that I love teaching, it's still new, it is still hard, and I am still figuring it all out for myself. I don't want to stop teaching, but I need to recognize when I don't know how to convey this new knowledge before I realize I am teaching it and don't know what I am even saying anymore!
Part of my final testing and experience is teaching a 6 week yoga series to the same people. This morning was day 4. The first week I started to ask my students to place their hands in Jnana mudra (pronounced as "Gian") and quickly realized I didn't know how to tell people why they needed to do this. So I went back to my class and I asked. I got a good answer which reiterated everything we had been learning, but of course I was still unable to get this into my own words.
I resigned to just ask people to place hands down or palms facing up gently resting on the knees depending on the effect desired (palms down = grounding, knowledge, jnana palms up = consciousness, receptiveness, openness to learn, chin)
I figured once I got the hang of this I would feel comfortable enough to ask people to place their fingers into this mudra or seal and I still would be able to convey their meanings. Today, I once more fumbled. I fumbled so badly I actually I had to say "I'm not sure where I am going with this, I think I need to start over" It was horrifying and embarrassing.
Fortunately my fiance is in the class and gave me some very honest but very good feedback. He told me that it was unfortunate that I got flustered and lost in my explanation but after that my voice became so controlled he thought I was reading everything word for word, so much so that (and I noticed this) he kept opening his eyes to peek at me to see if I was in fact doing this. He did say though that my voice returned to its natural tones once I started teaching the Asana. Probably because I was teaching something I am much more familiar with.
I can't say this was my best class taught, but it thus far has been one of the most humbling classes I have taught. so much so I've decided to go to my drawing board (this blog), and tell you about it and then explain what they are. I will do this in a way that I can understand and teach it. I do not ever want to enter a class and tell them that I don't know what I was trying to say ever again, and especially not at the very start of a class I am teaching!
I should have realized this since I am the type of learner that needs to physically be involved in the learning of it. It is completely one thing to practice and embody this mudra experiencing its benefits and listening to its explanations and and a complete other from me spelling out and translating this experience for myself. Until I do this I might as well say that I am just "winging it"! This is not a good teaching strategy for me!
I have always agreed to "teach what you know". Quite honestly, I thought I "knew" this. But this experience has taught me that I actually need to confidently know it well enough that I can translate it into my own words so that others too can have the experience to learn it. So from this point forward if I have not picked something apart with words, whether written or spoken, then I should not be presenting it to a group.
I vow to honestly Teach What I Know!
I would like to thank my students for being my teachers as well.
Hari Om Tat Sat
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