I
t’s sometimes said that yoga is all about relationships. I’m
sure this is true in some deep philosophical way that I don’t
understand yet (always learning!), but I can see that it’s true
even on a mundane, everyday level. I know I forged some
strong relationships through teacher training, I have teachers
who I hope will travel with me a long way through my practice, and
I enjoy seeing my own students each week, some of them coming
regularly enough that we become increasingly familiar with one
another. Yes, yoga relationships can run deep, I think.
And now I’ve been teaching long enough that I also have some
‘former students’ who still keep in touch. One of them comes back
to class regularly – just not to practice yoga! Instead she’s pursuing
her interest in figure drawing and exploring how to depict the human
body in motion. She sits at the back of class and sketches the
students as they move through their poses. It’s amazing to me how
her simple lines capture the essence of a posture: the stability and
strength of warrior 2, expansiveness in triangle, or the introspective
stillness of seated forward folds.
As we chat after class we compare our different ways of seeing
anatomy or perceiving the quality of flow in each pose. She talksOur yoga relationships can re-draw how we view our practice, sometimes literally.
By Victoria Jackson
om lite
about the spaces around the body as much as the shapes of muscles
or the position of limbs. As an onlooker rather than a participant,
she now has a different perspective on the class. She comments how
beautiful the students look as they flow together, each individual
expressing themselves through their bodily movements.
But she complains to me that I keep the students on the move
so much that she must work very quickly – just a few lines are all
that’s possible – or hope to catch them second time around as
they take the postures on the opposite side. And she can’t believe it
when we come to the closing postures of class; she checks the clock
wondering if I’ve altered the structure of the sequence or if my timing
is completely out!
So we agreed to meet outside class when we will have more
time. She can tell me what she needs and I can hold the postures
longer to aid her study and her drawing skills. I’m very excited...and
a little nervous. I’m not sure I’m ready to turn from yoga teacher to
yoga model!Victoria Jackson lives and teaches in Oxford. She is registered with
Yoga Alliance Professionals as a vinyasa yoga teacher