My Yoga Teaching

Most of my practical experience and training in yoga has come through the tradition of Sri Krishnamacharya and his son TKV Desikachar. Their approach to yoga is a lifelong practice of personal transformation based on the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali. I continue to teach with this approach and maintain a regular relationship with a mentor in this tradition, meeting regularly to continue my personal and professional development.

When I first encountered this method of teaching, what struck me most was how different I felt during the practice. Instead of something to accomplish, yoga became something to experience. My relationship to the practice was what mattered. This method places so much emphasis on the appropriate application of yoga techniques, based on the student’s experience, age, lifestyle, interests, personal beliefs, etc. It is the “viniyoga of yoga,” the adaptation of yoga poses, breathing, meditation—everything—to best support the student.

What this adaptation usually looks like in a group class situation is bringing movement to parts of the body that are stuck for my students (these tend to be the back, neck, shoulders, hips), coordinating breath and movement to improve concentration or quiet the mind, and focusing on an idea or object that will bring some measure of relief, peace, hope or whatever the students seem to be seeking that day. 

And this changes everything about teaching yoga. For example, the goal of a forward-folding pose might be to move a certain stiff area of the lower back, rather than to touch the floor, and I can have the student bend the knees, or sit, or change the arm position to find the movement we’re seeking. The goal of a breathing practice might be a longer, steady exhale to supports focus and the feeling of calm, rather than a specific, arbitrary duration of counts. The goal of a meditation becomes building the conviction that I am safe, rather than struggling to empty the mind of anxious thoughts.

One of the things that surprised me the most, was that I didn’t have to try so hard for change to happen. I apply myself steadfastly to a reasonable, doable practice (almost) every day. And things fall into place.

I have a deep longing to be useful. To do real, good work in the world. After I had experienced how this approach works, how it gradually loosens and alters physical and psychological structures and behaviors that seemed so stuck or set, I knew that this was the work I was meant to do.

So I continue my own personal practice. I do a mixture of physical movements, breathing and meditation with the guidance of my mentor. But the most powerful tool for me has been chanting, so that is my preferred practice, and I have a handful of regular mantras I work with, as well as new ones I am learning from my teacher.

And I teach in this method as well. I try to hear and see where my students are, where they are coming from, what their interests and concerns are in the moment, and I listen to a guiding inner voice to deliver classes that support their healing, growth and transformation.

I have learned and benefited from the work of countless yoga practitioners and other teachers. Thank you to Chase Bossart, Dolphi Wertenbaker and Pamela Hightower and other teaching staff at the Yoga Well Institute, and to Chris Crews of the Evansville Yoga Center for getting me started in teaching yoga. Thank you to all the yoga teachers who came before and paved the way for me to learn and share this practice.