On Wednesday, I went to an entry level yoga class. I was learning yoga but also was observing how the teacher instructed. There were three women, one in her late 70s, a middle aged women with scoliosis, her first yoga class, another middle aged women, and myself. At first, the class was sluggish until the last fifteen minutes. The instructor spoke firmly, but with kindness, and was protective of the students safety in each pose. We did ardha Chandrasana against a wall. It seemed to me an advanced pose. We did baddha konasana while sitting. Great pose.
Towards the end of class, we did a challenging pose, setu bandha sarvangasana but with our feet on the edge of a chair while grabbing the chair’s front legs. The woman with scoliosis praised the pose and said she felt better. She was new to yoga and I could tell she was hooked because she was asking when was the next class. I heard the 70 year old woman say she felt better. She was doing a the pose in a different way because of her age and ability. This class was the highlight of her week. The other woman seemed to appreciate the pose. Setu bandha sarvangasana was a pose that I value. The class end on a high note with everyone excited for the next class. As always, we finished the class with corpse pose, savasana.
The joy is experiencing improvement no matter how little or great it is. That is the joy of yoga for myself. Breaking through a plateau. Tiny improvements and not falling back.
The Yoga Bridge 