June 30, 2023
Safe Spaces
Elizabeth Brass
Certified Senior Iyengar Yoga Teacher & Yoga Therapist (IAYT)
It's the small progressions in ourselves that often go unseen.
By not recognizing our own progress, it's easy to become frustrated.
The positive changes in our posture, in our energy, in our outlook over time are impossible to measure.
Because we can't measure the transformations that occur in us from our yoga practice, they go under valued.
This week the issue of safety came up in yoga class and it got me thinking about yoga spaces virtual and in-person.
In Iyengar yoga, we strive to practice in a way that is safe and suitable for each person, regardless of their age, background, or ability. The use of yoga props and variations of classic asanas “democratizes” practice, making it accessible to everyone.
This aspect of Iyengar yoga is beautiful and drew me in when I first began yoga in 1987 and it still inspires my practice and teaching today. That I or anyone can show up to yoga class, no matter our physical or mental state, and there are practices that can balance and nourish us is remarkable.
But there is something else that needs to be addressed about yoga and safety and that is embedded into the way practice is taught. Too often, Iyengar yoga's emphasis on balance, commonly referred to as alignment, gives the impression that people are getting it, that they're wrong or right in their practice.
Wrong is when we're hurting or harming ourselves (himsa), as ahimsa (non-violence) is the first yama in the 8 limbs of yoga. Yama is the first limb and ahimsa is the first yama so this tells us how fundamental this aspect of yoga is – it's 1 of 1!!
Ahimsa in how we treat ourselves and each other in yoga practice, creating a safe space. Sadhana Circle Online is such a space. Learn more here. Our monthly workshops follow themes of interest to the group, be they therapeutic or practically focused, with quick questions in class and longer questions discussed after class in the monthly Q & A. Between monthly meetings, I'm available through email and in the private Facebook group (you don't need to be on Facebook to be in Sadhana Circle).
I also send an email every Monday just to Sadhana Circle members to stay connected to each other and our yoga practice. Life is challenging for everyone and many of us are feeling disconnected in different ways. Sadhana Circle is a place for us to reconnect to ourselves and build new communities from wherever we are in the world or in life. The Teachers Circle is something extra for yoga teachers and teachers-in-training to support and share with one another during these challenging times.
If these groups sound interesting to you, join or get more information here. Let me know if you have any questions. I'd love for you to be a part of this warm and wonderful community.
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