Guest guest Posted July 31, 2008 Report Share Posted July 31, 2008 Sat Nam,I couldn't agree more with the spirit of this message. Love for our students means we love their limitations and respect their level of fitness and age. I always tell students to do the best you can, go easy and if anything hurts make the movement smaller, slower, or just imagine doing it if you can't do it at all. I also tell students they know their body better than I, especially their knees--challenge yourself but you also know the difference between a sharp pain that might aggravate a pre-existing condition and the good pain of challenging your muscles. After all, we make modifications for women who are more than 3 months pregnant, trying to conceive or on the first three days of their cycle out of love and respect for them and their condition. I attract a large percentage of people with cancer and HIV and have many in their 60's and 70's. For instance I will show full cobra, but then show 1/2 cobra for those who cannot due full cobra or want to work up to it. Same with wheel pose and half wheel which is basically the upper half of pelvic lift. I also tell people to challenge themselves but use common sense , come out of the pose for a few breaths and come back in if you feel unstable, precarious etc Even with stretch pose I've seen numerous teachers show the pose but then encourage students with lower back problems to put their hands palms down underneath buttocks so small of back is protected by resting on forearms or wrists, and I recommend this as well. I've also picked up a lot of common sense modifications by watching how students with limitations modify on their own. I have one 75 yo student who comes with a grocery basket full of props. I am a "by the book" teacher, won't teach a kriya if I don't have the music etc. and if i have questions I generally consult folks who've been doing it 30 years and they are generous with their thoughts, suggestions and information.Not all of us are 20 to 40 and in good physical health. I've seen people do white tantric sitting inchairs so I encourage some over 70s to use chairs when they need to.I also chuckled over the 15 reasons not to go to solstice. But I am wondering what accomodations are made for people with disabilities who need electricity for medical equipment, use wheel chairs etc before I can recommend folks with special needs (myself included) go. And with most all schools of spiritual development , even the small things, like asking people to remove shoes, what about those with orthotics who could damage our already sorry feet or are we to just suffer a bit more than those who have not walked in our shoes?I love this list and have learned a lot from it, so forgive me if this sounds like a rant.In the spirit of including all, loving all, respecting all--walk in beauty, honor mother earth, drive lessand have fun, Ram Das Singh/John Iversen Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted August 1, 2008 Report Share Posted August 1, 2008 Sat Nam dear Ram Das Singh, thank you so much for your very thoughtful words - I think they do apply not only to older or disabled persons but to all of us: We as teachers have to be open-hearted, generous and of course use common sense! My students are usually young, very fit, and eager to really go deep into poses, but I have one 27 year old who had leukemia and is very stiff. She is the one who is actually my great teacher because she is confronted with limitations I have never experienced. So I have to think quick how to enable her to have an enriching experience with KY. In teacher training I was encouraged to always stretch my limits and so I had to learn from my students what it actually means to be subtle as a teacher of a very subtle technique... So thank you again - your comment was not at all a rant - in my eyes! Love, Light & Blessings Siri Ram Kaur Cordula Seel, Berlin Germany www.SatSangat.de, www.Yoga-LinX.de Kundalini-Yoga , John Iversen <johniversen94702 wrote: > > Sat Nam, > > I couldn't agree more with the spirit of this message. Love for our students means we love their limitations and respect their level of fitness and age. I always tell students to do the best you can, go easy and if anything hurts make the movement smaller, slower, or just imagine doing it if you can't do it at all. I also tell students they know their body better than I, especially their knees--challenge yourself but you also know the difference between a sharp pain that might aggravate a pre-existing condition and the good pain of challenging your muscles. After all, we make modifications for women who are more than 3 months pregnant, trying to conceive or on the first three days of their cycle out of love and respect for them and their condition. I attract a large percentage of people with cancer and HIV and have many in their 60's and 70's. For instance I will show full cobra, but then show 1/2 cobra for those who cannot due full cobra or want > to work up to it. Same with wheel pose and half wheel which is basically the upper half of pelvic lift. I also tell people to challenge themselves but use common sense , come out of the pose for a few breaths and come back in if you feel unstable, precarious etc Even with stretch pose I've seen numerous teachers show the pose but then encourage students with lower back problems to put their hands palms down underneath buttocks so small of back is protected by resting on forearms or wrists, and I recommend this as well. I've also picked up a lot of common sense modifications by watching how students with limitations modify on their own. I have one 75 yo student who comes with a grocery basket full of props. > > I am a " by the book " teacher, won't teach a kriya if I don't have the music etc. and if i have questions I generally consult folks who've been doing it 30 years and they are generous with their thoughts, suggestions and information. > Not all of us are 20 to 40 and in good physical health. I've seen people do white tantric sitting in > chairs so I encourage some over 70s to use chairs when they need to. > > I also chuckled over the 15 reasons not to go to > solstice. But I am wondering what accomodations are made for people with disabilities who need electricity for medical equipment, use wheel chairs etc before I can recommend folks with special needs (myself included) go. And with most all schools of spiritual development , even the small things, like asking people to remove shoes, what about those with orthotics who could damage our already sorry feet or are we to just suffer a bit more than those who have not walked in our shoes? > > I love this list and have learned a lot from it, so forgive me if this sounds like a rant. > > In the spirit of including all, loving all, respecting all-- > walk in beauty, honor mother earth, drive less > and have fun, Ram Das Singh/John Iversen > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted August 1, 2008 Report Share Posted August 1, 2008 Sat Nam, for ever and forever, Amen. Kundalini-Yoga , John Iversen <johniversen94702 wrote: > > Sat Nam, > > I couldn't agree more with the spirit of this message. Love for our students means we love their limitations and respect their level of fitness and age. I always tell students to do the best you can, go easy and if anything hurts make the movement smaller, slower, or just imagine doing it if you can't do it at all. I also tell students they know their body better than I, especially their knees--challenge yourself but you also know the difference between a sharp pain that might aggravate a pre-existing condition and the good pain of challenging your muscles. After all, we make modifications for women who are more than 3 months pregnant, trying to conceive or on the first three days of their cycle out of love and respect for them and their condition. I attract a large percentage of people with cancer and HIV and have many in their 60's and 70's. For instance I will show full cobra, but then show 1/2 cobra for those who cannot due full cobra or want > to work up to it. Same with wheel pose and half wheel which is basically the upper half of pelvic lift. I also tell people to challenge themselves but use common sense , come out of the pose for a few breaths and come back in if you feel unstable, precarious etc Even with stretch pose I've seen numerous teachers show the pose but then encourage students with lower back problems to put their hands palms down underneath buttocks so small of back is protected by resting on forearms or wrists, and I recommend this as well. I've also picked up a lot of common sense modifications by watching how students with limitations modify on their own. I have one 75 yo student who comes with a grocery basket full of props. > > I am a " by the book " teacher, won't teach a kriya if I don't have the music etc. and if i have questions I generally consult folks who've been doing it 30 years and they are generous with their thoughts, suggestions and information. > Not all of us are 20 to 40 and in good physical health. I've seen people do white tantric sitting in > chairs so I encourage some over 70s to use chairs when they need to. > > I also chuckled over the 15 reasons not to go to > solstice. But I am wondering what accomodations are made for people with disabilities who need electricity for medical equipment, use wheel chairs etc before I can recommend folks with special needs (myself included) go. And with most all schools of spiritual development , even the small things, like asking people to remove shoes, what about those with orthotics who could damage our already sorry feet or are we to just suffer a bit more than those who have not walked in our shoes? > > I love this list and have learned a lot from it, so forgive me if this sounds like a rant. > > In the spirit of including all, loving all, respecting all-- > walk in beauty, honor mother earth, drive less > and have fun, Ram Das Singh/John Iversen > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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