Presence over Performance
A couple of weeks ago I attended an audition (yes, this is how us yoga teachers seek classes) at a London gym. It's been a while since I've taught in a gym but I was quite excited about the possibility of this one, which included yin yoga and gong baths and more gentle forms in their schedule.
During the audition however we were all asked to teach 10 minutes of 'vinyasa yoga'. They wanted to see our creativity in designing flowing sequences as well as our individual styles of teaching. Vinyasa often refers to yoga practices which link movements with breath, something that I love doing in my teaching, albeit through a slow, steady flow.
The audition happened to fall after a few weeks which had been busy professionally and emotionally depleted due to things happening personally. Hugging a bolster in restorative yoga was what my nervous system was needing, but here I was about to practice 2 hours of dynamic flowing yoga, as we each led each other through a 10 minute session.
What surprised me as we taught each other was how I was the only teacher that chose not to play music and the music that was played was generally quite upbeat (I left feeling like I had been in a club for a couple of hours). At times the sequencing and guidance offered appeared to me to promote a sense that 'bigger is better' with ever increasingly more complex options being offered as we moved through poses often at a fast pace.
It may not surprise you to find out that I wasn't accepted onto the teaching team. Their feedback was that while they really liked much of what they saw in my teaching (that I had a calming energy and taught in a very grounded and confident way) they had a policy that all their teachers must play music (because there is sometimes background sound). They could see that as I had stated I taught a slow flow, but they require all their teachers to demonstrate their ability to teach a more dynamic 'vinyasa' style. They asked if I would be willing to re-audition with a more dynamic flow to music.
I fully appreciate that the way that I teach is not for everyone, but I share this because it feels such a shame to me that the power and benefits in slower forms of yoga are sometimes sidelined. I find it odd that music has become so prominent in yoga classes that people find it strange or uncomfortable when its not in the background. I feel disheartened when as teachers more emphasis is placed on guiding students into poses rather than presence, and when a 'stronger' or more 'powerful' practice becomes defined by more complex poses, often undertaken at speed.
I feel passionately that our practice offers space to cultivate mindful, compassionate presence not another platform for forever pushing and performing. For me, some of the benefits of teaching more slower, mindful forms of yoga are that:
It deepens our capacity for presence, having time to truly tune into our experience rather than moving quickly between poses.
For me, practicing without music helps us draw attention towards our inner experience rather than our attention being drawn outwardly to the music.
It offers time and space to adapt our practice according to our individual needs which inevitably change daily.
Slowing down both movement and breath helps to regulate our nervous system, so that we feel energised yet calm.
It offers space to notice unhelpful habitual patterns (whether physical tensions, or mental / emotional states such as self-criticism or overly-striving) and counterbalance them rather than perpetuate them in our practice.
It creates the conditions to be more comfortable and focused in stillness at the end of practice (rather savasana being about collapsing in an exhausted heap or being still with the mind still racing).
I know that stronger forms of dynamic yoga have there place but I would love for slower, more mindful and therapeutic forms of yoga to be offered more airtime within the fitness industry. I would love there to be more recognition of their benefits on our mental as well as physical wellbeing.
It is one of the reasons that I have spent time over the last few years on a project relating to the importance of mindful, compassionate yoga.
I would love to hear your thoughts on this.
How do you feel you benefit from practicing more slower styles of yoga?
Do you love music when practicing or prefer to practice without it?