We come to a yoga class or a Pilates class or any fitness class really, and expect for our bodies to feel better, for issues to be resolved and for the impossible to happen.  But the only problem is no one is teaching us "how" to do what we are doing.  When I first started yoga I knew "Mountain Pose", who didn't?  But I never "knew" how to actually practice it.  And if Mountain pose is the blueprint of other postures then what does that say about the rest of our practice?  To me that is scary, someone has horrible feet and that is stemming into their knees and hips and shoulders and on and on and here you are trying to teach them balance, alignment "what to do" in postures that require a good "healthy" body.  This is where your yoga (or any) practice can hurt you, and this is happening all over-right now. 

I remember my first Pilates training (and I would not have called that a training) and the lady was more concerned with drinking her Starbucks latte and her makeup than actually teaching us anything.  And when we were "taught" the exercises it was more a display of her "expertise" than actual teaching.  I look back and all I can remember is peoples' bodies flying every which way all over the room, people  huffing and puffing trying to "keep up" and this was a teaching to beginners. 

Now I by no means think that I know everything and am not saying that I do in any way, however when you have physical therapists, exercise therapists, trainers, PE teachers and other teachers coming to you with questions on how to do things and why this is happening, I have to think I am doing something right. 

So weather you are a teacher, trainer or therapists or just an avid yoga or fitness student, we need to start to take better care of our bodies and how they move.  Having love and kindness to share is great and I teach that way as well, but that is not enough.  We are "playing" with peoples sacred bodies and we need to be reminded of that.  What we are having people do could be causing their shoulder problem, their SI joint discomfort and because you teach yoga they think "no it can't be from that".  IT SURE CAN!  And it very well could be.  You will constantly hear out of my mouth when I am teaching, heart-felt creative cues, deep spirituality spoken and intentions set throughout class, but woven through that is safety, anatomy, what you should or shouldn't be doing if X-Y-Z.  I'm always sharing tips, ideas and suggestions for how to make your practice safe, effective and right for your body today. and mindfulness in movement 24/7!  This I believe our responsibility as "fitness" (and yes yoga falls under this umbrella-you are working with someones body aren't you?) professionals to know this stuff, so the question becomes how are people so easily able to go out and teach this type of preventative medicine with little to know knowledge; and yet a doctor needs minimum six to eight years of college to even begin to practice? 

Scary, I know teachers (and some very well known) that know very little about the physical body and how it moves and are teaching some very intense types of practices.  To me it just makes sense that if you are guiding someone's body then you should know about it. 

So what can we do?  First if you are a student, ask questions.  Ask if your teacher is certified if so-it better be in what they are teaching, are they familiar with the body, with your injuries or limitations and if not are they willing to find out more about them.  In class are they showing variations, what to do if X-Y-Z?  To stop if this and that happens?  And most important why are you are doing what you are doing.???????

If you are a teacher or someone who is going to be a teacher, look at the value the training puts on anatomy and the body on how it is applied to the practice you are choosing.  I know a training within 50 miles of me and this woman uses her students attending kirtan as "contact hours" and all her books are "optional" to read.  Really???  And talk with the teacher about their background and knowledge, talk with past students about what they think, in person if possible.  Finally, current teachers, if you have had a bad training experience you have to say something, otherwise how will it ever change.  And look for mentors that mirror your values and can teach  more about the bodies you are playing with on the mat or in the classroom. 

Good luck!

_My mat has been my place of refuge, my place of contemplation, my place of self discover and my mirror for the good, the bad and the ugly.  Time and time again I step into another time zone or something, only to find that everything I need, everything I am wondering about, lies on my yoga mat.  I look back at myself five even ten years ago and find that I am still the same person, even memories as a child I find are laced into who I am today.  But the only difference is how I see the world, how I see myself and how I chose to live life- is drastically different.  For some yoga is a savior for their physical bodies, to be saved from inflexibility, headaches, cramped feet, or to regain the body they have been long searching for.  But for me, my yoga practice has taught me how to actually be able to look at my body and befriend it.  To look at my life and no longer see myself as the victim but rather the person at the wheel.  I tear up thinking about what I have been through, only to come out bright eyed and ready to move on with no regrets (and I never thought I’d say that).  And the tears are only tears of joy and amazement that my mat brought that to me. 

Our yoga practice is a promise to ourselves that we want more and deserve more.  And I believe that what makes yoga so unique is that at the end of the day if you are not ready to step onto the mat than the change will not happen.  I have not only seen this in myself but students over the last, almost decade of teaching.  Yoga to me is the most real that someone can get with themselves (at least the yoga I practice), the lies will eventually rise to the surface, the false hopes will eventually go sour and the work will time and time again be put back in our court.  What I’m trying to say is that, life becomes a lot sweeter when we start to trust that the universe and our Creator have our best interest at heart.  That we might not know it all, and that no matter how “good, smart, elite, or savvy” we think we are, that must still be a humbleness to remind us that there is always something to learn.  Interestingly enough my journey was the opposite, I much of my life felt lesser, that I was the one always lacking, or missing the bar, so for me my mat became a constant reminder that I am great today just as I am and even during my stages of recovery, I began to stop seeing myself as “messing up” day after day but rather thanking life and God for the opportunity to be aware of what I need to learn and how it is that I can change. 

I post a Facebook quote of the day, usually something from my heart (yep, look for me and Copper Tree on there!) and I had posted a few days ago a quote stating: “You know you are ready for change when you come to realize that what you see in other people and don’t like is a mirror for what you need to see in yourself and begin to change”.  For me this was such an eye opener, this awareness not only helped me to grow and realize what I needed to change in myself, but to also realize what I didn’t and did what to take into my life.  Basically an awareness, and without awareness you will never grow, there will never be change and that box you feel stuck in, will still be that box and you will still be in it. 

Stepping out means taking a chance, it means trusting without immediate proof, sometimes going with our gut, trusting that you are being guided and that what you are doing is right.  Simply put, if you don’t like your life, like where you are or what you are doing.  Ask yourself…What am I doing to move beyond this?  What am I doing to make a change?  Are you tired in the morning, well than stop going to bed at 12am, sick of all the mess, well than go clean it up.  Who are we all waiting for?  What formula do I not know about that fixes all problems and people, all situations?  Because the only formula I know is the one where I start to take care of me, and work on me, and change me, because that is the only way I know of to get to where I want to be. 

If you pray and ask for guidance, well then once you get the guidance it’s your job to take it; if you meditate for peace, it’s your job to work to keep the peace.  If you ask for help and suggestions to regain your health, well then you have to follow through to see the results.  So how does this all tie back to a yoga practice?  On our mat we see ourselves as we truly are, raw and willing to do the work necessary to move forward or make change, and even if we are not ready at least now we are aware and it becomes our choice what to do with that awareness.