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Ever since I began doing yoga seventeen years ago I have read articles in newspapers and magazines that give the impression that yoga’s aim is to produce super-flexible bendy people. It’s such a misconception. The aim of yoga is to give people the opportunity to explore who they are, stay healthy in mind and body and interact better with life and each other.
The ancient practice of Yoga began, as most people know, in India, and goes back to a man named Patanjali. Ironically, no one actually knows if he practised yoga himself, whether he was a teacher or simply a compiler of information. But Patanjali’s jewel of a text is the basis of all yoga. The practice is made up of eight disciplines, or limbs, which Patanjali denotes as being practised concurrently, all of them dependent on each another.
They take into account our daily morality – how we chose to lead our life, obviously trying to improve the way we behave. To begin with, the “yamas” and “niyamas” (Sanskrit for moral adherences) cover such things as the non-violence by which Mahatma Gandhi lived his life. The third limb was the physical practices themselves – “asanas”- and the fourth “pranayama”. The word pranayama means “expansion of energy” – something all ancient yogis are known for as they generally live very long lives (literally “expanding” their life or life force).
The fifth is the wonderfully exotic “pratyahara”, or sensory withdrawal. Imagine if you could control your senses so you were not pulled this way and that by your desires.
Pratyahara is the stepping board between the basis practices of yoga and what we call the “higher” practices which are more concerned with the quality of the mind than the fitness of the body. “Dharana”, the sixth limb translates as concentration, while the seventh and eight limbs are concerned with meditation. Clinical studies talk of the great benefits of being able to sit quietly, even for five minutes, and think about nothing.
I know it all seems a little out of reach, but remember that in a good yoga lesson all eight limbs operate together and once you get a taste of the calm and focus that a good practice brings, you might become hooked – as I did.
Kari Knight
One of our Eastern Region teachers, Michael Chissick, who runs the ‘Yoga for Schools’ programme, has published a children’s book ~ Frog’s Breathtaking Speech – How Children (and Frogs) Can Use the Breath to Deal with Anxiety, Anger and Tension ~ a story how Frog triumphs when he has to make a speech to the whole school. Many of you will have attended Michael’s sessions at Congress and seminars round the country based on the work he has done with children in the field of special needs. Using his experience he has put together a beautiful little gem of a book. It is superbly put together and illustrated and will be of interest to all yoga teachers, not just those dealing with special needs.
The story is about Frog who is very worried as he has an important speech to make at his school assembly. The speech is about breathing and he doesn’t know a thing about it! He asks his friends for help and they teach him all about the lion breath, the crocodile breath, the humming bee breath and the woodchopper breath. Can any of these breathing techniques calm his nerves before the big speech?
The story successfully increases children’s awareness of their breath and shows how breathing can be used to deal with anger, anxiety and tension. It teaches children the four yoga breathing techniques in an embracing, fun and interactive way and the calming effect of the breath.
It is clear, intelligent and well constructed. The story is engaging and adaptable to any kind of classroom activities as well as a great bedtime read.
This book will be a great resource for children’s yoga instructors, as well as parents looking for an engaging story to teach their children about coping with difficult emotions and stressful situations.
BWY members can purchase the book at a special a discount: You can receive a £3 discount of Frog’s Breathtaking Speech(£9..99 not including p&p) by visiting the publishers website: www.singingdragon.com or call 020 7833 2307 and quote the voucher code CHISPE.
Review by John Cain
In our 21st century world, where the pace of life seems to be getting more hectic by the day, more people are taking time out to practice yoga. This ancient system of caring for ourselves has a proven track record of giving true benefit in many ways particularly in dealing with stress and anxiety problems, physical tension and tendency to injury. Everyone can practice yoga regardless of age, sex or ability. Anyone who wants a healthier more fulfilled life can enjoy the benefits without the need for special clothing or expensive equipment Yoga, which first developed in India several centuries ago, is far more than a strange far eastern exercise system. It functions at all levels of our being, not just the body. It can, and regularly does, for many people, bring about feelings of inner calm, relaxation and general well-being. Many people are drawn to yoga simply to keep the body supple. Or you may be seeking relief for a specific condition like muscle tension, for managing stress, would like ante-natal yoga or exercise suitable for the less able-bodied. Whatever your need there will very likely be a class near you that can help. To find out where please click here
A recent news items in the New York Times entitled “How Yoga Can Wreck Your Body”, written by William J Broad, was poorly followed up in this country by the Guardian. Lack of balance was the problem - the Guardian did speak to our CEO, Pierre Bibbey , but by the look of things nothing that he said was included. That’s unacceptable - newspapers should stay neutral in their news coverage.
And it’s not the first time. Ever since I have been practising yoga I have read articles damning it for the apparent aim of producing adherents who are super-flexible, and damaging their bodies as a result.
Ignoring the Guardian story is easy, but the New York Times piece repays closer attention. In a well-written and entertaining view of current teaching, Broad talks to Manhattan based teacher Glenn Black, who says that “awareness is more important than rushing through a series of postures just to say you’ve done them”.
Sound familiar? I have often attended yoga classes in London that are apparently modeled to appeal to the young, fit, slim and trendy. They are not yoga classes but exercise classes, whizzing from one pose to the next.
However, Black goes on to say that “the vast majority of people” should give up yoga altogether. It’s simply too likely to cause harm. This opens up an interesting debate and one about which I think yoga teachers need to be more open, particularly with regard to their own bodies. I’ll start – I have had a problem with a sacroiliac disorder.
Many years ago, when I began as a student teacher and was teaching the Triangle, Trikonasana pose, a student said that she had a pelvic misalignment issue and that “yoga had caused the problem”. I can remember wondering how on earth to deal with her anger. It wasn’t until I was a far more experienced teacher – and a country BWY rep for Suffolk – and worked with the renowned Dr Ruth Gilmore that I came up with the answer. I had discovered that there was a link between side angle poses and sacroiliac disorders and asked Ruth to do a workshop discussing and highlighting the problem. It was only then that I realised that it was a secret among established yoga teachers – and that many of them, too, suffered from sacroiliac disorders.
We all have physical weaknesses and underlying problems that make us vulnerable to injury, whatever form of exercise we choose to take. At the end of the day the onus is on the individual in class settings to be honest about what they can achieve. One way to do that would be to avoid those increasingly common instances in which people, sometimes as many as 50 in a class, follow barked instructions from a teacher on a mike. It’s the American way, creeping into Britain, but I hope we don’t go in this direction and remain sensible about class numbers.
The NYT article may be unhelpful in its portrayal of a widely held yoga stereotype, but it does draw attention to the need for greater understanding of anatomy and better teaching styles. We need an honest and open debate about how some of these ancient ideas can be out of date with modern thinking on anatomy and the way the body works. Certain Iyengar manuals and the Bihar books often give out-of-date and esoteric knowledge that cries out to be revised (I’m thinking here in particular of Iyengar’s Light on Yoga). We need more teachers who cross over from yoga to other disciplines, such as Ruth Gilmore an the osteopath Peter Blackaby, who continue to help us explore our yoga more safely. The British Wheel of Yoga promotes safe practice and is working towards raising standards in teaching, but we all have to face the reality that folk are unrealistic about yoga because they have misguided preconceptions about its aims. It is not to be hyperflexible bendy people but to give us an opportunity to explore who we are, stay healthy in mind and body and to engage with life and each other in a better way.
Kari Knight, RO, Eastern
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The government recently announced forthcoming changes to the system of CRB checking for those working with children and vulnerable adults. Currently CRB checks are not ‘portable’ between organisations, meaning that some yoga teachers may have 3 or 4 duplicate certificates at any one time. It looks as though this will change next year, although please note that until it does the current system of renewal of your BWY CRB check (at Enhanced Disclosure level) remains in place.
Changes to the BWY Child Protection Policy
The only significant change for teachers is for those who teach Post-Natal or Mother and Baby Yoga. Until now, Post-Natal Yoga teachers have been required to undergo the full vetting check by the BWY, but this requirement has now been revised and Post-Natal teachers need only undergo a BWY CRB check (Enhanced Disclosure). The Wheel considers that in child protection terms, this is a sufficient safeguard, given that babies are always with their mothers during classes. Those people teaching dedicated classes to children should still apply to the EWM for the full vetting check, which consists of the completion of an application form, a self declaration form and providing two referees in addition to the CRB check.
Please note also that the Wheel does distinguish between Post-Natal/Mother and Baby Yoga and another activity known as Baby Yoga, which often goes hand in hand with Baby Massage. We consider that the latter is an activity distinct from yoga. Therefore those teaching in this related area should be aware that their BWY insurance does not cover them to teach Baby Yoga. Mother and Baby Yoga is covered, so long as the focus of the teaching is post-natal recovery.
If you at all unsure about your own teaching situation, always contact the Equity & Welfare Manager for advice.
The government recently announced forthcoming changes to the system of CRB checking for those working with children and vulnerable adults. Currently CRB checks are not ‘portable’ between organisations, meaning that some yoga teachers may have 3 or 4 duplicate certificates at any one time. It looks as though this will change next year, although please note that until it does the current system of renewal of your BWY CRB check (at Enhanced Disclosure level) remains in place.
Be one your guard. There are a number of scam e-mails surfacing on the internet and one regular one is aimed at yoga teachers. The scam usually involves asking for rates for teaching yoga for relatives (usually a son or daughter or family group~ but it could be anyone ) who are coming to the UK.
There is another scam going around where you might get an e-mail from another yoga teacher, saying they are on holiday abroad and have lost their wallet and mobile and need some money to get home. They will request money to be sent and they will settle up with you when they get back to the UK.
