By Kat Harding 15 August 2014
Simon Park’s Fluid Power Teacher Training Day 2
And it was another amazing day of sharing, moving, chatting, aligning and learning with Simon. I often think about how much more there is to learn, and even sometimes doubt my ability to be as mind blowing or influential as some of the teachers I look up to and see. But experiencing and being part of such a wonderful teacher and student group this long weekend and hearing wonderful stories, anecdotes and interesting information is opening up so many doors in my mind. I’ve had so many ‘ah-ha!’ moments in only 2 days that I know this is where I’m meant to be and that I’m ready to take the next steps in what will be my continuous development as a student and a teacher.
The day started with an incredible, flowing class run by Simon where we had the 9.30am class join us to share the experience. From there we spent some time running through our manuals and asking questions about the different alignment techniques taught / written about and experienced during our own practice / classes. The great thing about getting such a varied group of yogi’s, bodies and levels of experience from across the world together was that there was a plethora of information to be shared – and that we did.
One thing that stuck in my mind was a comment by Simon because it reflects so much more than just our practice on the mat…
‘Every Body is Different’
I know this isn’t necessary a new thing, most of us have come to accept that, but it was one of those moments where someone says it out loud and everyone’s eyes in the room light up – like a whole world of inspiration / thoughts and opportunities to try things differently or to adapt and change had just flooded into our brains. Maybe this was just me.
I started thinking about what this means to me. I often find that on any given day my body may feel differently, it may feel achy, alive, sluggish, jumpy. This then translates on to the mat and I find myself doing movement that feels right at that point in time. Sometimes that’s a few stretches and practicing a headstand, sometimes its stretches then savasana, sometimes I end up walking, and clearing my mind and feeling satisfied and happy at the end.
This also translates to my classroom, you can feel the energy when your students walk in and it is important to cater for that, recognising that everybody is different, and could be feeling different on any given Tuesday. It’s challenging to find the right way to support or lead the movement in the class but consistency is the key, slowing down when you get the sense that everyone needs a break, using those moments of silence to contemplate the next flow of movements. I also often start my classes asking my students to take a moment to feel, and to recognise those feelings within their body throughout the class acknowledging where pain / tension may exist and moving accordingly, this is the most I can ask for of my students, and myself.
Each day it is important to listen, recognise and to accept that your body is different, different to others, different to yesterday, different to tomorrow. If you choose to ignore your inner workings it will backfire on you in ways that you may think are completely unrelated but actually they’re not. It’s your body telling you that it needs time, that you’ve taken it too far, that it’s time to slow down, smell the roses.
Listen, be content with your body and accept how it feels or looks, because Every Body is Different.