Guest guest Posted February 4, 2009 Report Share Posted February 4, 2009 Does anyone have experience in giving lessons to blind people? A 28 year old woman seems to be interested in learning KY. Due to an accident, she has been blind for the last two years, got a depression and started to eat compulsively, however she is willing to take lessons. I would like to learn experiences from others. Your comments, guidance and/or suggestions will be appreciated. Jai Jot Kaur Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted February 5, 2009 Report Share Posted February 5, 2009 Sat Nam, Yes I had a blind student who came to one of my public classes for a while. She seemed to get a lot out of the class. I had to make sure my verbal instructions were very clear, and I kept an eye on her to make sure she was understanding various techniques, mudras etc. If she wasn't getting it I would either try to describe it differently or get her permission to reposition her arms or hands. Good luck, Simran Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted February 5, 2009 Report Share Posted February 5, 2009 Kundalini-Yoga , " glosamo " <glosamo wrote: >Yes and they have just come to regular classes. You have to be very clear in your direction and you may need to touch them if they don't get it. It is really more about you than them. They are used to seeing with their ears so if you can convey it verbally they will attempt it. Don't be afraid just let it come through clearly. Blessings Gurutej www.gurutej.com www.theenergygurus.com > Does anyone have experience in giving lessons to blind people? > A 28 year old woman seems to be interested in learning KY. Due to an accident, she has been > blind for the last two years, got a depression and started to eat compulsively, however she is > willing to take lessons. > > I would like to learn experiences from others. > Your comments, guidance and/or suggestions will be appreciated. > > Jai Jot Kaur > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted February 5, 2009 Report Share Posted February 5, 2009 Yes, for a University 10 week class. The University has a great program for including people so teachers, students and those attending who cannot participate/be taught in " regular " way can be graceful and comfortable. I also have in my current class someone who is very hard of hearing, she mentioned she would be sitting up front so she can read my lips...as I write this I am reminded to check in and see if I am doing enough for her. Besides the psychology of both you and her dealing internally with this situation your teaching style will quickly highlight what words you use to " verbalize " and how much you depend on " showing " . At first, I felt my verbalization cadence off as I periodically used " see, like this " as I showed the students what to do...I sometimes continued with this verbalization and had the blind students assistant help or sometimes my verbalization changed or I assisted personally as it was both a learning for me, a point of teacher to student contact and also a way for other students to view my assistance. Perhaps you and her can agree that someone will be her partner during class to assist in the details. My student had a friend who sometimes attended class and sometime did not. Her seeing eye dog was always there and added a warm dimension to the class. There was also the aspect of how much to change her posture/motion so it is " correct " and how much to let her flow with the class/kriya. You will also need to be aware of standing postures and also postures that are are " slow " or " fast " ...what does that mean to someone who cannot see others rhythm or a clock. Although we don't realize or acknowledge I would say we use a lot of visual cues for group " pace " ...we like to say it is group " sensitivity " ...yes, our eyes are sensitive and we are looking at what others are doing...forgive me in advance if I " dissed/flamed'' anyones style. Hope this wasn't too much, I didn't realize until I wrote this how much it had impacted me...perhaps I could try journaling...is that yogic Sat Ganesha " participate, share, contribute " Kundalini-Yoga , " glosamo " <glosamo wrote: > > Does anyone have experience in giving lessons to blind people? > A 28 year old woman seems to be interested in learning KY. Due to an accident, she has been > blind for the last two years, got a depression and started to eat compulsively, however she is > willing to take lessons. > > I would like to learn experiences from others. > Your comments, guidance and/or suggestions will be appreciated. > > Jai Jot Kaur > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted February 5, 2009 Report Share Posted February 5, 2009 Sat nam, I had a blind student in one of my classes. He was married to a hatha or kripalu yoga teacher and definitely had experience with yoga. I found I had to be even more specific when describing the postures and exercises and occasionally I had to adjust him or say his name to let him know I meant he should rise his arms up higher for instance. It wasn't much more challenging than teaching sighted students. you can do it. Kundalini yoga will help a lot with the student you described and her depression and self-esteem issues. Guru Beant Kaur Bridget Kamke, LMT Kundalini Yoga Teacher Licensed Massage Therapist Children's Book Author www.infinipede.com __________ Don't leave everything up in the air. Click here for great quotes on flight insurance! http://thirdpartyoffers.juno.com/TGL2131/fc/PnY6rbvaOVFFKCbNloadH66467sKscxtOZi0\ Vrt6wnrWFUr0QhS2R/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted February 10, 2009 Report Share Posted February 10, 2009 I had two really rewarding experiences teaching Kundalini Yoga to the blind. One was at the Austin School for the Blind and Visually Impaired, where I worked with the youth summer activity program. The other was at an elderly care facility in South Carolina, where one of my female students was blind. I found both experiences to be incredibly rewarding. The most profound discovery I came to in the process was a heightened awareness of my own use of language. I came to realize how often my habit of verbal instruction included visual cues that would be useless to a blind person. I also called into question the validity of metaphorical associations that equate light with goodness, and dark with badness. For instance, I usually give some definition for ONG NAMO GURU DEV NAMO before leading the class to tune in. Gu = dark, RU= light, so a Guru is any thing that transforms you from dark to light (sickness to health, habit to choice). Is this sort of language prejudicial towards blind people? Teaching the teens at the school for the blind had additional challenges; many kids who are blind have other physical and mental impairments. But I found my students to be very motivated and enthusiastic. Many of them had come to practice some sort of meditation technique on their own. The elderly women I worked with loved singing! Even though I usually never touch students when teaching Kundalini, I found that touch was sometimes helpful at times to help give students confidence that they were "doing it right". May light and love grace all your teaching endeavors. Sat Nam, Hari Dev Kaur Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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