Teaching Report: Bonzer!

Last night's class went really well!! I feel like I did much better than last time. The class was much different than last time. Six of my friends were there--one total beginner, three pretty new to hot yoga, and two of my buddies from Barkan training takin' it on the road! There were five or six other students, as well. Before class began, I was standing behind the desk and a woman with whom I've taken a lot of classes came in. (To take my class.) She saw where I was standing and her face LIT UP and she said "Are YOU **TEACHING**?!" and when I said yes, well, she acted like Christmas had come early, she congratulated me and she was so excited. It was the sweetest thing; I'm lucky I didn't start crying. I am now, thinking about it. (I didn't sleep well last night and as a result, I'm like a fragile little china thing. Some customer at the bank just now called one of the tellers, for no reason at all--was not even doing a transaction!, a "sorry little bitch" and I cried. But I digress.)

Again I ran the class sort of long and ended up flowing poses or eliminating second sets at the end. I couldn't resist doing the variation of Balancing Staff again and I even threw in Supta Bhadrasana/Reclining Gentle Pose because it is so yummy. I liked the energy of a larger class. My total beginner, my friend, did so well and said it was really relaxing and fun! I think I managed the heat better this time, and felt calmer. My two Barkan buddies also praised me (but they're such positive people anyway) and said my voice was much calmer than it had been in training. I still don't feel totally comfortable--at training I joked around a lot more while I was teaching, but I had Jimmy to make fun of. :) When I got tongue-tied, my friend C said I was very flustered and I should probably just tango on. Which I knowI should do. I was very pleased with most of the cues I gave, though. I spent some time studying in the car beforehand and I think it helped. Although some points I probably belabored. PLENTY of lifting the thighs together and internal rotation of the thighs. Which is almost the same thing. C also said I was very clear, and did a good job of explaining the benefits of the poses. So: yay! And onward to even better teaching!