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How
did you get started taking yoga?
I
was first introduced to yoga when my aunt gave me one of Richard
Hittleman's books when I was in high school. I was a difficult,
depressed teen with a lot on my mind and a penchant for dancing
and naps. I had two surgeries on my right side when I was 15 and
was already having back pain at that time. I tried some of the
poses but didn't really get into it until I moved to Austin when
I was 19.
I
had dropped out of college (many times) and fallen deeper into
depression. I took a class at Austin Community College on Friday
mornings. It was two and a half hours long. I was so skinny and
bony, most of the poses didn't feel so good, but something was
there. I got into classes at the UT gym and started doing Ashtanga
over the summer in San Francisco. I went every day that summer,
and when I came back to Austin I looked up Sharon
Moon and started going to her classes.
When
did you decide to start teaching?
I
didn't really. I finished my degree though a very liberal program
that allowed for off-campus research, and I completed teacher
training as a part of that. I was very interested in yoga-it had
rescued me-so I was talking about it to anyone who would listen.
When
I finished school (I had originally studied writing and photography),
I got a few measly jobs writing and several offers to teach. I
was already conducting classes in my home so I decided to give
it a shot. I was a fragile 21-year-old at that time. It was very
empowering to lead a group of people, most of whom were older
than me, into the practice of yoga. Even though I was providing
a service for them, they were secretly keeping me sane.
What
have injuries taught you about your practice?
Too
much, I think. When I first started practicing, I was in serious
pain, and the yoga helped. But after a few years, that changed.
I knew the yoga worked, and I trusted in it more than myself.
I've always sat just outside of the circle of things, and the
injuries just added to that feeling. Now, I've discovered that
more people are in pain than I thought, and some of them are not
even aware of it. I've learned to trust myself within the context
of yoga, instead of handing myself over to its ideas.
It
sounds crazy but I wouldn't trade the opportunities I've had or
lost because of my injuries. Teaching Ashtanga can get boring
if you let it (all that counting!), but gaining an understanding
of the body and how to help others with their physical and other
issues has become the passion behind why I still do it. It is
important to keep learning. The more I learn, the less I know
and the more I intuit.
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What
advice would you give people who are suffering from injuries too?
Well,
aside from a whole lot of technical advice about low backs and
knees, I'd advise them to look at what is important to them and
why. To me, I'd like to be running circles around my grandchildren,
so that is what fuels my practice. Standing up out of backbends
doesn't. It used to, not that I would have admitted it at the
time. I think too many students (or is it only we Ashtangis?)
just accept pain and suffering as part of the practice.
I
remember back in the day when I practiced really hard with a close
group of teacher trainees. I showed up, as I usually did, unable
to touch my toes due to soreness from the day before, and got
up the guts to ask: "Anybody else feel like they've been
hit by a truck?" They shook their heads. I'm not sure they
were being honest, but I suppose I would have done the same. Students
shouldn't assume that the practice always has their best interest
at heart.
You
teach Beginner Series classes, as well. What do you learn from
students who are just getting into yoga?
I
love the beginners. I love the challenge of trying to provide
the most important tenets while building personal responsibility
in practice. And it is a challenge deciding what to teach and
what to leave behind. If you're always learning-and that's the
best way-your teaching will to change, and you may encounter resistance.
Building a student base that understands and supports flux is
very difficult. To me, it is more about teaching people how to
have contact with their body awareness on a deeper level, which
is something they can use for a lifetime, even if they never come
back.
Anything
else you'd like to say?
Sure.
I think Ashtanga is at an interesting place right now, and I'm
glad. I've seen the practice hurt many people, but I've also seen
it save lives. I believe in the spirit of the practice not the
dogma, and I'm hopeful that people will start to see it as something
that is theirs, not something that is rigid and put upon them.
I
don't do shoulder stand, and I don't take every vinyasa. Sometimes
my practice looks a little off. I can't do everything in more
than half the syllabus, and I don't intend to. I practice and
I'm going to keep practicing, not the things I "can still
do" but the things that benefit my well-being. And if those
things have to change, so be it.
Click
here to
read more about Rachel.
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