Have you ever worked with a yoga teacher one-on-one?In my first few years of practicing yoga, I did. I had a regular practice of attending public group classes and I was loving it, but I felt ready to take my practice to the next level. I wasn’t entirely sure what that meant for me, but I knew I wanted to know more than what the teacher could offer me with 30 other people in the room.
I have one leg that is significantly shorter than the other. What that means for me in poses likebridge is that the foot of my shorter leg stands closer to my body than the one of my longer leg. If I bring my feet together–as exampled in thislink–the hip of my shorter leg droops down, because it is too short to line up with my long leg. I have to reach to get my shorter leg to align with the long one.
It wasn’t until a private lesson with my teacher that we discovered this imbalance. Before then, random teachers in public group classes would correct me by telling me to align my feet. I would follow their instruction and then wonder why my back would ache on one side.
Working privately with my teacher I learned that my body has to take a unique alignment in certain poses to compensate for my leg length discrepancy and that it is OK to do that. (Side note: Leg lengths are usually hard to determine. In this case my teacher is a physical therapist and the difference of mine is so great he was able to capture it. This is not the case for all yoga teachers.)
Here is another example:Check out this photo (below) from an ad I came across on Instagram. The ad is for a yoga app and is glorifying this woman’s ability to “go deeper” in a backbend. I would imagine most people look at the photos and think she succeeded. I look at them and think, “back surgery”.
- See the line on her back I circled with the green marker?This indicates hypermobility (beyond normal range of motion) in this part of her spine.
- Now, see the part of her back I circled with the blue marker in the second photo titled, “May”?Notice how stiff her upper back is. This part of her back has not changed at all between the “January” photo and the “May” photo, which means all this “work” (aka pushing) she has done to increase her backbend is happening in the same exact place.
- Note how much deeper the line on her back is in the second photo. Think of what happens to an old credit card when you bend it back and forth until it breaks in half–that is what she is doing to her spine.
I think it is pretty safe to bet she has no idea this is happening. How could she know when she is using an app to help her “go deeper”? Even if she attends public group classes it is very unlikely a teacher would spot that when their attention is spread thin over a room full of people.
If she was working with a teacher privately they would encourage her to strengthen her core to stabilize that area of her spine where the line is. Simultaneously, they would help her find more mobility in her upper back, so that she could find safer freedom in her movement. And, most certainly, they would instruct her to stop doing that pose.
Working with a teacher privately can take your yoga practice and body awareness to a whole new level. There are tons of other reasons you might want to work with a teacher privately,hereare some of them.
Do you want to work with me?I have four 1:1 spots available this Fall. Private 1:1 sessions are $100. Or, you can purchase a 6-pack for $85 a session ($510). Packages are to be paid in full prior to session 1, OR I offer a payment option of two payments: First pmt before session 1 and second pmt before session 3. We meet on a set day/time once a week at a studio in Midtown. E-mail me to schedule.