Friday, January 30, 2009
Monday, January 12, 2009
Indo Boarding and Yoga Mix at the Elk Rapids Yoga Studio
This is an excerpt from the article that I wrote for the Indo Board Newsletter. Please Enjoy!
At the Elk Rapids Yoga Studio, we use the indo board in all of our classes. The indo board for us is a great tool as it is a physical metaphor for any yoga pose. All yoga poses have an opposing pose. Forward fold has its opposite in backward bend, right side bending has left side bending, and so forth, just as the indo board on its roller has a left side and right side rocking action. The metaphor for yoga in the indo board is the middle balance of the board on the roller, as the actions of the body equalize in order to create a stable setting on the at first precarious Indo Board.
I emphasize, the ideas of play, movement, and opposites throughout a yoga practice. Play allows my students freedom to experiment with all yoga poses. Movement is the opposite of rigidity, which releases the students to enjoy themselves. And finally the idea of opposites or opposing forces, provides the mental integration for students to begin to understand breathing, balance, and yoga pose theory. Whenever a new student comes to the studio these three ideas: play, movement, and opposites, are consistently spoken.
The indo board gives us all three. Students no matter what age play on the boards and experiment, that is the only way a student can get good on the board! They must allow themselves to play! Moving then comes naturally and rigidity, a sign of stagnation, goes away. Often times a student will develop new muscle awareness through use of the Indo Board that they would not have had by simply putting them into a yoga pose from the start. Finally, the importance of balance is so strong metaphorically in the indo board, that right and left, forward and back, movement is driven home. This allows me to keep students mentally dialed in to thinking about the opposing forces in their body, in order to seek BALANCE. For me what a better way to show a student the importance of balance as a life concept then by saying “Isn’t it interesting that imbalance causes us to fall off this board, what imbalances do you have in life that are causing you to fall off your board?” And then the thinking begins! This is yoga, this is the mental practice that we look to teach the students. How elegant a board and a roller demonstrate this philosophy.
An initial workout on the indo board for us would start with work on the “porcupine” or indo cushion for 2 weeks, 5 minutes prior to each class. The students get out the boards and take turns standing feet apart comfortably “playing” on the boards, for 5 minutes, maybe picking up 1 foot and shifting their weight side to side. After a couple of weeks on the porcupine, we move to the roller, assisted or with a wall. Students love this, because they love the fact that it looks so cool. Here the idea of balance really comes home, and many students begin to have AH HA moments at this phase. Finally we start to engage in coordinating, walking in ¼ turns from one side to the other, and then full 360 walk arounds, as the students get better. Most of the time though the students don’t really care for the tricks but just want to relax on the board and re-connect with that easy centered feeling that you get from internal balance. As students experience balance so dynamically on the boards, it is a super transition mentally to apply the same feeling to the yoga postures. As a yoga teacher that “balance feeling” cant be taught it must be experienced. The indo board is our laboratory for introducing this experience in a big easy way.
For my first foray into writing for the news letter that is what I would like to start with. Simply by emphasizing the three elements of play, movement and the idea of opposites, is enough to begin with. My oldest student is a 76 year old grand mother of 7 and she loves the indo routine at the beginning of class. Anyone can do it, so use it!
Please feel free to direct any questions or comments to zach@elkrapidsyogastudio.com
Thank you!
At the Elk Rapids Yoga Studio, we use the indo board in all of our classes. The indo board for us is a great tool as it is a physical metaphor for any yoga pose. All yoga poses have an opposing pose. Forward fold has its opposite in backward bend, right side bending has left side bending, and so forth, just as the indo board on its roller has a left side and right side rocking action. The metaphor for yoga in the indo board is the middle balance of the board on the roller, as the actions of the body equalize in order to create a stable setting on the at first precarious Indo Board.
I emphasize, the ideas of play, movement, and opposites throughout a yoga practice. Play allows my students freedom to experiment with all yoga poses. Movement is the opposite of rigidity, which releases the students to enjoy themselves. And finally the idea of opposites or opposing forces, provides the mental integration for students to begin to understand breathing, balance, and yoga pose theory. Whenever a new student comes to the studio these three ideas: play, movement, and opposites, are consistently spoken.
The indo board gives us all three. Students no matter what age play on the boards and experiment, that is the only way a student can get good on the board! They must allow themselves to play! Moving then comes naturally and rigidity, a sign of stagnation, goes away. Often times a student will develop new muscle awareness through use of the Indo Board that they would not have had by simply putting them into a yoga pose from the start. Finally, the importance of balance is so strong metaphorically in the indo board, that right and left, forward and back, movement is driven home. This allows me to keep students mentally dialed in to thinking about the opposing forces in their body, in order to seek BALANCE. For me what a better way to show a student the importance of balance as a life concept then by saying “Isn’t it interesting that imbalance causes us to fall off this board, what imbalances do you have in life that are causing you to fall off your board?” And then the thinking begins! This is yoga, this is the mental practice that we look to teach the students. How elegant a board and a roller demonstrate this philosophy.
An initial workout on the indo board for us would start with work on the “porcupine” or indo cushion for 2 weeks, 5 minutes prior to each class. The students get out the boards and take turns standing feet apart comfortably “playing” on the boards, for 5 minutes, maybe picking up 1 foot and shifting their weight side to side. After a couple of weeks on the porcupine, we move to the roller, assisted or with a wall. Students love this, because they love the fact that it looks so cool. Here the idea of balance really comes home, and many students begin to have AH HA moments at this phase. Finally we start to engage in coordinating, walking in ¼ turns from one side to the other, and then full 360 walk arounds, as the students get better. Most of the time though the students don’t really care for the tricks but just want to relax on the board and re-connect with that easy centered feeling that you get from internal balance. As students experience balance so dynamically on the boards, it is a super transition mentally to apply the same feeling to the yoga postures. As a yoga teacher that “balance feeling” cant be taught it must be experienced. The indo board is our laboratory for introducing this experience in a big easy way.
For my first foray into writing for the news letter that is what I would like to start with. Simply by emphasizing the three elements of play, movement and the idea of opposites, is enough to begin with. My oldest student is a 76 year old grand mother of 7 and she loves the indo routine at the beginning of class. Anyone can do it, so use it!
Please feel free to direct any questions or comments to zach@elkrapidsyogastudio.com
Thank you!
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