This last practical frivolity or frivolous practicality about hair has been on my mind a lot this week because I treated myself to a haircut yesterday.
It's quite a change from the way I've been wearing my hair for the better part of the last decade, which was shoulder length or longer and usually pulled back in a bun or updo of one sort or another. I have fine naturally curly hair that has a tendency to fly-away and get in my face, eyes, even mouth at inopportune times if it's worn down when long.
In the 1990s, when I was 18 and weighed 96 pounds, I chopped my waist-length hair into a pixie cut and loved it. I tried a pixie cut again around age 25 and was non-plused. A bit more weighty by then, I had more roundness to my face and the cut was not nearly as flattering... so I grew it back out and the most daring I've gotten since then is a little above the shoulders, but always with the caveat that it has to be long enough to pull back.
For yoga, there is a more complex set of concerns about *how* it's pulled back. I have to have the middle of the back of my head unencumbered for savasana. I first tried pigtail buns, but that got hair in the way for arms-over-head poses like Bikram 1/2moon and balancing stick. So then I went to a bun at the nape of my neck. Pretty good for everything except occasionally annoying in some backbends like standing backbend or camel. So I settled in eventually on a sort of top-knot ballerina bun. Not without it's own set of challenges, though -- if not carefully positioned, it can be quite troublesome in rabbit and fixed firm.
For a while now, I've wanted a shorter cut - not a pixie cut, but a big change... I was just worried about how I'd manage it for yoga and if it would take a lot of styling in the morning before work. I was feeling brave when I sat down in the chair yesterday. I threw caution to the wind & decided to go for the style that I wanted. I'm really glad that I took the plunge. I feel revitalized - fresher and lighter & I'm using my natural curl to its advantage rather than working against it, so that's a good thing.
I'm curious to try it out for yoga tomorrow and see how it goes. I have a couple of ideas for how to keep it out of my face...
So, I'll see how it works out tomorrow.Yes you read right. I am not going to yoga tonight, nor did I go yesterday.
I am seriously jonesing for class, yet I am not paying that feeling too much mind. It's nearing my birthday and so I've got some plans - going out to dinner with my momma tonight for our mutual celebration of her giving birth to me and me getting born. Some things are worth missing class for & this is one of those things. Svaha.
I did contemplate trying to get a 6:30am class in this morning... but I failed to be that motivated.
Happily, from a frivolity/practicality standpoint, when I did finally get out of bed, my hair looked pretty tame. A little smoothing gloss and a clip & I was good to go for work. This bodes well for manageability, which is vital for me, as I'm barely more cognizant that a somnabulist in the mornings. Tomorrow, I am excited to get back to class. I might try a double at 9 and 11... but in all likelihood, I'll just stick with one class at the delightfully civilized time of 11am. There will be a new teacher for this class. I'm curious, hopeful, and a little bit nervous. Generally, I enjoy different teachers and perspectives at the studio. I have a lot of trust in my studio to have good quality teachers, so it is usually interesting and informative to hear a new voice.
Every now and again, though, there's a teacher who doesn't mesh well with my practice. Lots of people blog about this situation and teachers talk about it in classes sometimes too. Advice on the matter often verges on platitude ie: "the teacher you like the least is the teacher you need the most" (the same is sometimes said about asanas). I think for both teachers and poses, this is only truly the case in a very small percentage of situations. The vast majority of the time - something else is going on.
Sometimes a teacher is a fine teacher, but isn't a good match - either too hard or too easy... or just teaching in a style that doesn't suit every student. Other teachers are inexperienced or tangled in their own egos. Some teachers are absent-minded or disorganized. It doesn't take a lot training to become RYT 200. It does take a lot of training to really be a good yoga teacher. There's a space between certification and mastery where a lot of teachers get lost.
There's one teacher at my studio who makes me feel all crunchy and shut-down inside. I don't care for this teacher' sequencing and sometimes think that not enough modifications or options are provided. Sometimes the pacing is inconsistent too. I also don't like it when vinyasa classes repeat the same sequence week after week. It can be over-taxing to some parts of the body, while neglecting others. I also don't like a lot of woo.
I like straight talk, encouragement, and alignment cues, leaving the magic & philosophy to happen privately in my own practice. I want an asana teacher, not a pseudo-spiritual guide or would-be guru. I don't want my teachers to need me to like them. I also want to feel safe - I want to trust my teacher to offer modifications and thoughtful, intelligent sequences that are safe. I don't like it when teachers touch me without asking me first. I am also really private about a lot things in yoga, so I don't like over-sharing or being asked to over-share in conversations before and after class. That's just me & what makes a good teacher for me.
I am very patient with new teachers who are finding their way. But I feel very impatient with teachers who are over-confident, over-sharey, or overly-spiritualizing in their classes & I feel unsafe with teachers who have erratic pacing and over-crowed sequencing. At my studio, it doesn't happen very often - but it does occasionally - so when I see a new teacher on the schedule, I always have mixed feelings. It's uncharted territory, which is exciting and scary at the same time.
Class could be amazing or it could be a class where I have to invest a lot of intellect to rework sequencing in order to stay safe &/or energy to create physical and emotional boundaries to protect myself from my teacher. I don't know till I show up. The latter type of class is actually valuable every now and again for the mental calm it takes to stay your own course with grace and intelligence. Still, it is not the type of experience that I enjoy regularly.
excerpt from: http://bikramyogasimsbury.com/resources/lauries-blog/ Class this morning was a good one for discussion. We had a traveling teacher, who also owns a studio out west. We were quite surprised as this same teacher reportedly spent a lot of time in a Posture Clinic Friday evening lecturing and giving lots of detailed advice on teaching. The class was, well, let’s call it uninspired. There was almost zero dialogue employed. The attitude was one of indifference at best. That, in combination with the usual Monday morning creaky and complaining joints made for a thought-provoking couple of hours. People left in droves, even though the heat was very reasonable. We’re not sure if it was due to kids dehydrating themselves at the pool all weekend, all of the flus going around, or simple disinterest in the class. Once again, we were reminded of the importance of trust in a class – that of the teacher instilling it in the students. We knew within 30 seconds of his beginning Pranayama that we were in for it – the pace was erratic, the sets were at least 17 in the first and probably more in the second (instead of the required 10). One immediately begins to struggle with: When do you push in the posture? How long do you hold it? When do you allow yourself to come out? This is in stark contrast to, say, Mike from Chicago, who recites the complete dialogue and practices spot-on timing. You don’t think in a class like that, you just do what you are told. And therein lies the peace of the class, the ability to hand oneself over to the moving meditation and allow the brain to rest.
I think this says it so well. What it all comes down to is that I want to trust my teacher. Many new teachers have an enthusiasm and humility that is quite special - I trust them to do their best and I know I can hold space for them when they need a little extra encouragement. Sage teachers who are knowledgable and graceful in their instruction are a different kind of delight, equally trustworthy in different ways.
Lindsay Dahl wrote a really good blog about how teachers can make students feel safe. Again, it all come down to trust.
So, in reflection, I realize that when my teacher doesn't inspire my trust, I have to find trust somewhere else to stay in my practice... and in whom do I put that trust? Myself! The most valuable thing I learned from teaching yoga to other people is how to be my own teacher, how to keep myself safe, even when I don't trust my teacher. From ceremonial magick, I've also learned a banishing and fortifying state of mind to insulate from all the emotions that can come up in a class when I don't trust the teacher. Still,even in classes with a strong teacher, you always have to be self-aware and trust in yourself first and foremost.
So - there you have it. The Good, The Bad, & The Mundane from my yoga brain this Friday afternoon. TGIF!
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