Yesterday marked my first experience of a student walking out of my yoga class. In this case, the student was a newbie and admitted that she was a cardio fiend. Sure enough, after we'd centered, moved through some cat/cows, twisted, and rose to the first downward facing dog, she got up and left.
At least she said goodbye.
Since January, I'd been wondering whether I'd made the "wrong" decision by declining to pick up a weekend class that regularly had 20 or more students and instead picking up a new morning class. Attendance at the morning class dwindled from a high of 7 students in January to currently 1 or 2. Even my regulars were no longer, well, regular. Sure it could be the summer coming upon us, a time of transition in D.C. But what if it was me?
"Teaching will ruin your practice," my teacher trainer's words echoed.
It was true. Aside from a weekly Iyengar class, I was only sporadically attending any other yoga classes. And because teaching yoga is, as another teacher once told me, sharing your practice, it was possible that my teaching has become uninspired.
And so a local studio's upcoming "21-Day Yoga Challenge" inspired me. Their rules: take 21 classes in 21 days and win prizes. If you skip a day, you can double up on another. Just get 21 classes in between June 1 and June 21.
Why stop at 21, other than June 21 being the summer solstice? Heck, go for the whole month. And so my 30 Days of Yoga was born.
Right now, buckling down to continue building a running base just isn't happening for me. Waking up to spin out a few miles is just not resonating with me right now, and today, I a 3.5 mile lunchtime run with a stranger felt way harder than it "should" have. By the way, why does no one listen when you tell them you're a slow runner??
From June 1 through June 30, I will attend a yoga class every day. Why June? Well, it's shorter than July or August. And I have no travel plans.
The Aspiration: 1 day, 1 yoga class, from June 1 through June 30
The Rules:
- In a pinch, teaching a non-restorative yoga class may count as taking a class
- In even more of a reluctant pinch, if I take two classes in a day (but not teach one and take another), each of those classes can count toward the grand total of 30. But I really don't want this to happen.
- Taking a restorative class also counts as taking a class. Same with prenatal yoga, even though I'm not pregnant. It's for research!
- Pilates, yogalates, anti-gravity yoga, and barre yoga do not count. I have to draw the line somewhere. This is it.
I'm hoping this reignites my yoga teaching and my running!
ॐ
