Tuesday evening teaching yoga in Milan : voice assists

Last week on tuesday I taught in english italian a full vinyasa class in Milan. It was a great experience. But I asked to my colleghes do you think it is right to change language during a yoga teaching? In a nutshell, many of them told me not to answer because they never had to. A few of them told me not to feel like teaching in another language. My friend and colleghe Belinda said to me it is right to be understood by students.

My personal feeling is not to touch too much students (verbal guidance) so if I need to express in a few seconds to change a foot position to improve the posture, I need to say it as quick as possible. And possible means if I communicate a first assist and the student does not understand, I will change my teaching language for him or her at the next one. The best book I red about assisting is Yoga assists of Sharon Gannon. In this book it is suggested to teachers to know how to adjust but to decide if to do it or not. I guess thatmis the point. Freedom of speech, to get a result. Action on the contrary.

London with Tara Stiles...and Reebok...new yoga life

I had a diner with newspaper journalists from Europe and US. Anyone has his own personality, the german woman is nice, the French one not at all as Tara Stiles says anyone "make his own rules." I guess in this kind of meeting it is hard to find oneness.

The agent of Tara speaks italian and makes me feel home. I like to hear italian spoken by an american, he is lacking of only our gesture. Speaking with Tara means talking about life, lifestyle, work experiences... And yoga! I find easy to share my experience even in a such glamour environment. My toughts are it is possible to be yoga star, to have money, beautifulness, youth. It sounds crazy but in Italy I never met all these things all together.

Among our small community I notice only Tara and me are vegan. Hopefully the restaurant has great dishes vegan. As I feel hot, I eat mostly raw vegetables so to make smile my guests.

I ask for Tara some more about her way to teach yoga, and how she inserted herself in the yogi world. She answers, and ask me about my point of view. We feel closed, in our anticonventional way of teaching. At one point I say Bye to go to my yoga class.

...ieri sera ho cenato con circa 10 giornaliste provenienti da Francia, Germania, America...le tedesche sinceramente sono simpaticissime! Più delle francesi? ...non me ne voglia l'amata Francia...
Al mio tavolo sedeva Tara ed il suo entusiasmante agente! Un uomo che per un anno ha studiato in Italia e...si parla anche italiano...ma la cosa straordinaria e' sentire parlare un americano l'italiano con quelle movenze tutte nostre con cui siamo noti nel mondo...che sulla bocca di un americano o inglese divengono così cool! siamo noti per la nostra gestualità...bellissimo essere l'unica italiana!
Qui non si parla solo di yoga, si parla di vita, di esperienze, di condivisione! Parlando con Tara, mi pare quasi di ritrovare un'amica, la cosa entusiasmante secondo me degli insegnanti americani...e' che non si atteggiano a guru...ma soprattutto che sono giovani! Voglio dire...sono giovani, belli, simpaticissimi...e questo non li penalizza, ma anzi li valorizza...!
Tara ed io parliamo la stessa lingua e mi fa sorridere avere la consapevolezza che tra molti siamo le uniche vegane...e ceniamo mangiando tofu...e insalate...sorrido...tutti al nostro tavolo sorridono di questo!
Tara ed io ci scambiamo idee, esperienze...la cosa che mi piace di più e' che c'è allegria tra noi...ovvero non ci prendiamo troppo sul serio...siamo anticoncenzionali...tutti a questo tavolo!
Ora scappo alla mia lezione yoga...presto vi aggiornerò sui dettagli di questo viaggio alla scoperta di un nuovo yoga life style?
Love
Benedetta