Okay- so more business-- Many people have asked me what my teaching schedule looks like at the beginning of the year. Starting in January I am going to be teaching only on Tuesday nights at YogaYoga and only for a few weeks. Then I hit the road for a whirlwind tour between January 15-March 6. I go to Vancouver to teach an Immersion Part 2 and weekend workshop, then come home and finish our Immersion Series here, then off to India for 2 1/2 weeks, then to Tucson for a week for Part Three of our Immersion there and then to Corpus Christi for a Workshop and Immersion weekend and then I am home a few days before the Advanced Intensive with John Friend and the 5-day training following that weekend. So, I will be on the schedule for Tuesdays yet hardly here.
The spring after that point is busy but not quite so busy and will include some great Teacher Training opportunities at YogaYoga and here in San Marcos with my friend Noah and I who are teaming up for a long weekend of fun. More on all of that later but I will be teaching Tuesdays at least after I get home from the travel extravaganza. I will be updating my website soon with these details so keep an eye out for that.
So it was fun seeing everyone back in class last night. I felt a little off and my energy is definitely not back but the classes were well attended and seemed to go well. One thing I want to go on record about since it came up again is that in general, I like the room to be slightly warm for practice. If this bothers you, I suggest that you wear fewer clothes to class. I am not kidding. I mean it. Really. I like the room somewhere between 78 and 80 degrees, especially at YogaYoga where we have only 1 hour and 15 minutes to really get into some advanced postures. A thin layer of sweat is going to be helpful to that end. Believe me, I am not comfortable in the room teaching with it that warm. I am sweating also.
And to continue on the personal note of this issue, just so we are all clear that I am owning it as "mine." I have been teaching yoga over ten years and fitness classes for over 20. There is no way to keep everyone in the room happy regarding temperature. The average yoga student is a woman between the age of 30 and 60 and so hormonally speaking, agreeing on a comfortable temperature is IMPOSSIBLE. Period. Fact.
Then there is the personal preference issue. Some prefer hotter. Some prefer colder. And each of those people is in the same class. Keep it cold for some, others will be uncomfortable and vice versa.
But the real issue is that it is my class. I would never ever in a million years go to my teacher's class and ask him to adjust the thermostat for my personal comfort. Never. I go to his class, I go to his world and it is that simple for me. If I am too cold, I put on a shirt. If I am too hot, I take it off. And I take that same studentship to any one's class that I go to. Period. (I may bitch silently in my head about it, but never in my out loud voice to him. Never.)
I have been teaching yoga and dealing with this particular issue a long time. I have tried to be good natured about it. I have tried to "let it go." I have tried to have a sense of humor about it. I have tried to not let it bother me when someone in my class walks over and adjusts the thermostat or makes a comment. I really want our classes together to be full of fun, enjoyment and a certain kind of ease. I really do. But I cannot get over this and I have decided to stop trying. Consider it a strange quirk of mine if you must. Consider it just the small price you pay to come to my class. Consider me controlling, bossy, and inflexible, if you must, but please, I am begging, stop commenting on the temperature of the room. Think about it- I have been teaching with it like this as long as I have been in Austin. Chances are that is not haphazard on my part. Chances are, I am aware that certain people would prefer it to be different. Chances are, I am not going to change.
And as a side note, if you go to John's Friend's class (Or any one's class for that matter) and ask him to adjust the thermostat, then please say you are someone else's student because I have trained you better than that!
Thus ends the rant. Now I am going next door to practice. Interestingly enough, I have had the heater on for an hour so that the temp would come up to 80. It should be there by now.
Have a most excellent day. I hope to see a bunch of you at Seventh Street Yoga tonight.
4 comments:
Check is in the mail for the Carlos shindig in December. Thanks for letting us know about next year...I can plan accordingly!
I have had similar problems in my classes as well. However, the issue is more having the mats in "order," not necessarily temperature of the room. I tell people that if they don't feel comfortable lining up their mats so I have a place to walk then they can take another class where I am not the teacher. I think it is important for people to understand that respecting their teacher and his or her wishes in class is good studentship!
I am coming to Carlos! Dunno if you had me down as part of the original 5. Anyway, I'll carry my checkbook around so I can pay you when I see you.
I get my schedule on the 24th- will let you know then if I am coming to CP.
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