The best thing about going to a yoga class is practicing with people. The energy of the room can help boost your energy and keep you engaged. Working with a teacher will inspire sequences and poses to try at home.
You may be lucky enough to have a teacher give you specific corrections or point you toward more challenging poses. You may be in a state of yogic bliss and totally at peace with the universe when your teacher says something wacky that makes you almost fall over.
These are the top 8 phrases I think teachers should retire.
The space between your anus and genitalia. “the space between your genitalia and anus.”The second most popular one was “Allow your genitals to bloom.” Perineums are well-known to anyone who practices yoga.
If they are not familiar with yoga or are brand new, then you will only give them an image that they will picture on themselves and others. They will eventually learn what a “perineum” is.
Though I understand the idea of ”reaching into your taint,” I am not certain what was meant. Maybe awareness, softening, or lifting would be more specific. It makes me feel like my vagina or ass should be breathing. This is what nightmares are made of.
” Relax.”
It is not relaxing to be told to rest. In fact, I would feel more relaxed if a marching group stood on my chest and played When The Saints Go Marching.
Yoga isn’t about getting into the poses.
Yes and no. You can’t call yoga sitting on your couch. Yoga is attempting postures. Achieving a particular pose can be a great motivator for goal-oriented people.
There is no perfect pose. Instead, there are always things to improve, develop, and push further. Master Iyengar is still refining elements even when they’re folded fans.
“ow, a few breaths more on the left…mumble to correct someone for 86 breaths.”For someone like me who has OCD, symmetry can be crucial to maintaining mental health. If I do something one way, I must do the same thing on the other.
It drives me crazy when, on the left, a teacher corrects someone as I am holding a super difficult pose. They literally work with the person for 100 breaths before telling me to get out of the position.
Keep your spine straight and curve it through.
Some teachers make statements that are blatantly in contradiction.
Imagine your neck curving as you look at a cloud of kittens licking dandelions and holding a basket full of pussywillows.
After 8 minutes of detailed description, I still have no idea what I was supposed to imagine.
“lengthen your fibularis and find room in your rectus.
Knowing the anatomy of muscles is very helpful when learning to release and engage certain muscle groups. Teachers can sometimes be a bit too technical and forget that not everyone has a pre-med degree.
Just be in the moment with your body.
If I’m not supposed to be paying attention, shouldn’t I have heard you say that?! If I didn’t, how would I know that I did listen to it !!!??””””You can stop using these phrases now, I think. What other funny or interesting phrases would you like to add?
