yogaHOPE’s Teacher’s Blog

Hawc on saturday

This was the second time going to hawc-  I’m getting familiar with the women and the house. The class started with about 3 or 4 women but quickly grew. They settling their mats into their usual/familiar spots. Its funny how quickly we all find our favorite spots !  women slowly wandered in and it quickly grew to about 6, filling the room to full capacity!  I dont know if i could fit another person in that room.
I wanted to tailor the class to meet everyones needs. One of the women is  over 8 months pregnant. She was one of the first ones to put her mat ready for class. She was really able to take care of herself and adapt her postions as needed. Another lady has a history of back injuries/impingement and was having some difficulty with alignment and postures. Guiding her to use the wall for a few of the postures was really helpful for body awareness/alignment.

To use music or not during class? I don’t usually play music during class but like it for a focus during relaxation.  I played a song by wah. One of the women was tearful towards the end, ” that music was so nice. I dont know what she was saying but it was really relaxing.”  During savasana one of the womens son came into class and quietly lay on his moms side.  He was able to go right into savasana. Initially i thought- oh no! he’s going to disturb moms relaxation time but that wasn’t the case. he knew exactly what to do for savasana.

Towards the end of class some of the women talked about yoga and what they were discovering.   One of the women mentioned how she ” was amazed at how much easier it is to stay balanced when focusing on the breathe.” she mentioned how she was trying to bring her attention to breathe throughout the class. Another one  of the women talked about how she is attempting to do yoga on her own but often gets stuck because she can’t remember the postures/etc. She asked if i could bring in some written information to help remember some of the postures. She seemed very interested in developing her own practice. I have been wondering about whether or not it would be helpful to bring in handouts etc..to help women create their own yoga practice more easily.    Hmm…  I wasn’t sure if it was practical but now that someone has asked about more info….. should consider it.

    Look forward to teaching again next week !

Linda

Softening at HAWC

Today I taught at HAWC, our domestic abuse safehouse.  I had two women to begin with, and we opened with gentle poses for neck and shoulder opening.  One of the women was the woman Sue had referred to in an earlier post who Sue heard hurting her son as she brushed his hair.  I heard she was asked to leave the house, but it is apparent she is back.  It was interesting for me because I had to let go of any judgments about past experiences and simply be present with her.  Another two women came in a little later after they had settled their kids down and we moved into seated twist, bodha konasana, forward fold, then onto our backs for a long bridge, and then supta bodha konasana, and a series of different hip stretches while on our backs, spinal twist, savasana.  One other woman came in about halfway through the class and she settled right into our practice.  All our energy was united and the women’s breath was awesome - I counted the breaths with them and that seemed to help.  It was awesome to hear their breath.  I notice in particular with this population they carry so much and letting go and relaxing is hard for them because they’ve had to be strong for so long.  But when I assisted them, I could almost feel them melt beneath my hands.  It was very intense - I felt a lot of compassion when I touched them.  I felt this today especially with this woman who had hurt her child and was now back.  Her little boy was with us for awhile too until he was brought to play with the other children and it was clear he just wanted her love.  It was also clear that while she wanted to give it, it was hard for her.  When I gave adjustments to her, I just felt that whatever pain she was carrying was so intense it had shut her off to the world, even her child.  She had a hard enough time taking care of herself and then you add this little guy to the mix.  I could sense though that it pained her how she has been with her child.  It made me think how before yoga came into my life there were times I was hurting so bad that I hurt those closest to me in my life, really because I couldn’t be with myself and my pain at all.  Then it brought more pain to me because I knew I was hurting those I loved the most yet I couldn’t seem to change it.  It’s a very helpless feeling. I’m sure she also feels this way.  Yet, I could sense when she was in her breath and when I placed my hands on her, she softened.  Just a little bit, which is a lot for her. 

Truly a great population to teach to and I was thankful to have my time with them.

Be well,

Amanda

Best Christmas Ever!

Hi Everyone.
Hope this letter finds you well and happy. It’s Christmas. Time for reflection, celebration, and cheer.
Yesterday, i was blessed to teach at the Woman’s Lunch Place on Christmas Eve. Wow! For those of you who don’t know me, I teach there twice a month alternating with Vanessa Morris. Most of the regular women attending the First Spirit Fire Retreat and are still in awe. These women amaze me. Practicing yoga yesterday, i noticed all the women changed into some kind of yoga attire or another. It was so cool to be in class and realize how much these women have made yoga a part of her life. Reminded me of when I was first getting turned onto yoga. Teaching on Christmas eve was more intense than I thought it would be. Some of the women were a bit tense and naturally less open. We did a lot of breathing and laughing to ease this. After class we exchanged some gifts. I still have on the black and red socks Josephine gave me. Been wearing them since 5 o’clock yesterday. Agnes gave me a beautiful red scarf. Tina gifted me with a home aid headband. Super funky while my hair grows back. These gifts left me breathless. Was in so much awe of appreciation I left my backpack here. Got back to Cambridge to realize this. Went back into Boston to get backpack and was blessed again for a few more experiences. YogaHOPE’s Porl Wright was there with her son. He is beautiful! Ended up having coffee with the ladies. Heard some lovely live music from a family in Newton. And got some great pictures of the YogaHOPE students singing Christmas Carols. Sue I’ll send them to you. Maybe some nice website photos?? Happy Holidays everyone! Looking forward to seeing you at the January 10th meeting. peace and love, Lori

Bed bugs can’t keep yoga away!

Tonight I arrived at Hello House with Jaclyn, a new volunteer along as well.  I was told no yoga tonight when I arrived as the house had bed bugs last weekend and they have spent the entire week ripping the house apart to get bedding, clothing, sofa cushions, etc out and washed.  The girls did look exhausted, but I had a couple women who were disappointed there would be no yoga.  Hello House staff assumed me and the women wouldn’t want to practice on the carpet.  I told them I’m willing, if there’s women who are interested.  We had 5 who were eager to take yoga.  We began with gentle stretches for neck and shoulder opening, then cat and dog stretches, childs pose, moving into modified crescent lunge twist, seated forward fold, then on our backs for a long bridge, supta badha konasana, some abs, modified half pigeon, spinal twist, and savasana.  The women said it was just what they needed after a very stressful week!  One of the girls who loves her yoga (so much so she even put together a little sequence to do with the women when we’re not there teaching) told me she needed this especially since she has to go to the hospital tomorrow.  They have told her she already has Hepatitis C but her liver counts are so off it’s possible she may be HIV positive.  It amazed me the strength she exhibited while talking about it.  She said that she could get angry about it, but that would be wasted energy.  She said she might as well bring positive energy to her experience.  That will help her.  Jaclyn and I both agreed the maturity she exhibited was impressive.  She said her yoga has helped her achieve a level of acceptance with herself and the things she’s not so proud that she did in the past.  It’s wonderful to be a part of the recovery process with these women!  They are special.

Amanda

my first class

I attended my first yogahope class a few weeks ago at the Genesis House in Seattle, WA. I wasn’t sure what to expect and tried to let go of any expectation but was pleasantly surprised at how much I truly enjoyed it.  I was taking the class with Jo as the teacher and everything about it seemed so soothing and sad but at the same time healing.  The ladies were are so great and brought this amazing energy to the space.  I really appreciated how open there were and grateful.  Going to the class just gave me so much and I am so excited to go to the next one.

always thankful

 ginger