I recently started a Yoga lesson. My goal is to learn the breathing techniques in Yoga to improve my breathing. Although I have been doing Taiji for many years, I have found my breathing is still shallow. It seems even though I feel the Qi goes down to Dantian but my chest area is still tight. Worse even, I forgot to breath sometimes! Although I will continue reminding myself about qi sinking into Dantian during the practice, I thought I might look at it from a different perspective.
After two classes, I felt I had more control of my breathing. In addition, I am inspired by the technique that the teacher used for Yoga beginners. I decided to share some thoughts with you.
My teacher, Alice, was trained in traditional Yoga. She is very encouraging, nurturing and supporting in the class. She put all the students at ease by her pleasant smile, soft voice and gentle touches. She constantly reminds us: "Just give it a try." "Listen to your body. Maybe it tells you something." "Don't make judgment, just feel it." I found I was led into Yoga postures without too much thinking.
On the way home after taking the first class, I thought of a quote from Martha Stewart in the book "Being Martha" by LLoyd Allen: "I do as I please and I do it with ease."
I recalled when I just started learning Taiji, how excited but overwhelmed I was about various postures and transitions.
I thought if one day, I would teach Taiji, I would do the following:
- I would seek to understand what motivates the students to learn Taiji
- I would ask how much they knew Taiji already
- I would introduce Taiji principles one at a time
- I would teach my students how to relax first
- I would have the students try one posture a few times and then move to another posture
- I would ask my students to feel themselves after learning one principle, posture or movement
- I would not bombard students with all the Taiji principles at once
- I would not teach any form at the begining
- I would not constantly correct students for postures until they are ready
In summary, I would create an easy and relaxed environment, have the students learn one thing at a time and encourage them to reflect what they have learned. I would make the learning process interesting and inspiring.
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