Archive for September, 2009|Monthly archive page
first class – training centre
I was told the class would consist of older people who usually do gymnastics in the training centre. Most of them had no previous experience with yoga. I decided to go very easy in the first lecture.
I started of with a short relaxation followed by pawanmuktasana* practices, practices where you bend and rotate the arms, hands and legs with slow movements. Most of them done in a sitting position with your back straight.
I ended the class with a short relaxation, approximately 10 minutes, as well.
number of students:17
length of class: 1 hour
pawanmuktasana* = group of practices which can be found in the book: Asana Pranayama Mudra Bandha by Satyananda.
another day at the yoga office
audio-CDs, OCR-software, lecture notes, yoga books, google docs and google translate.It was really hard to keep the overview in the beginning 
the last week have been a lot of office work. I am preparing for a beginners lecture in yoga and there were some technologies I wanted to test. In short I wanted to get a complete manuscript for at least 4 beginners lectures in yoga. most of the material is in English and the lecture is going to be held in Danish which is not my first language. My own notes in the yoga book seemed to prove problems for the OCR, optical character recognition and I ended up typing in big parts by hand to Google translate. The resulting text called for a lot of manual editing. To get better at Danish pronunciation I listened to a Yoga CD in Danish and repeated the content out loud. When I was unsure of single words I typed them into an on-line text-to-speech software. The original plan was to use technology only but I got some very valuable notes from another yoga teacher and listening to recorded instructions had some things that the text-to-speech work-flow was missing. For example rhythm and pacing . As expected I spent a lot of time dealing with issues such as preparing text for OCR in Gimp etc.
Here comes a short list of programs/tools that I used in the process:
- Google docs. great place to store files and edit them online. There is a possibility to translate the whole document into several languages
- GTD inbox plugin for G-mail. great for keeping track of the project. I wrote down a list of action points and attached them to different environments. Example Context_IKEA: buy office chair , Context_TOWN: buy yoga CDs
- Fox Lingo plugin for Mozilla Firefox. Contains links to tools for text-to-speech, translation etc.
- Free OCR – on-line service to get a text document from an image file.
- GIMP – image editing program. Used for clean up of scanned pages. Removing underlining etc.
the Real Exam
Filed under: diary, teaching, Uncategorized, yoga | Tags: satyananda, teacher training
Leave a Comment On Tuesday I am going to hold a one hour class in Danish to a group of retired people. This is the first time I teach yoga in Danish and this is the first time I hold a complete lecture in front of a big group. I have the structure for the lecture on paper and I have done some research into the Danish language but still I am really nervous. A little step for humanity but a big one for me. Cross your fingers please !
what is yoga ?
Filed under: diary, religion, teaching, yoga | Tags: exercise, running, sivananda yoga, yoga
Leave a Comment When I hear a teachers who talk about the importance of keeping up the yoga tradition I react with mixed emotions. First of all Yoga was mentioned the first time roughly 2500 years ago. In the Katha Upanishad it refers to a state where you gain control over the senses and the mental activity stops. This leads to a supreme state. In the old texts there is no reference on how this is done practically and this is where the confusion starts. A marathon runner can gain control over the senses and by that his mental activity stops. There are many roads leading to yoga. Yoga has come to describe the travel when in fact it was first used to describe the goal/final state. Ha-tha yoga describes union of polarities and this has come to mean a series of physical postures. There is no way with higher value than the other and that is where some “yoga traditions” get into problems. You see ha-tha yoga school who claim that they have secret initiations from the original tradition. In my opinion there is something suspicious about secrecy and I want to practice something that has been proved by scientists. There is nothing secret about ha-tha yoga and it is a tradition in constant change . When you see thin male yogis in India wearing a loincloth and a smiling women in leotards they both claim to follow the original tradition. 200 years ago practically no women did ha-tha yoga at all. Traditionally only men were initiated into this kind of training and Sivananda (roughly 100 years ago) described how he introduced ha-tha yoga to women in India, they had great difficulty doing it in their Sari and some other outfit had to be worn. In India ha-tha Yoga was only taught to a selected few in and this was controlled partly by the caste system. Yoga for women has developed through trial and error in the last 100 years. Here is where my concern about secrecy come to mind again. We must let doctors, physiotherapists and scientists look at Ha-tha Yoga and evaluate it and be open to their findings.
Since most of the ha-tha yoga tradition is based on an oral tradition and it was written down not so long time ago there is big room for change and adaptation.
Ha-tha Yoga spread out of the small circles and became a mainstream activity. Ha-tha Yoga became something that is available through CD, DVD, internet, training in group, personal training etc.
method: translating yoga material to Danish
Filed under: diary, idea, teaching, Uncategorized | Tags: learning, sivananda yoga, teacher training, yoga
Leave a Comment Since I want to pick material from several books in different languages I have come up with this workflow:
- Scan text material from books. any scanner will do and I have an old HP Photosmart.
- Use a free OCR, Optical Character Recognition software to get this scanning into a textfile. I use an online solution and I did a quick test today and it came out all right.
- Once the text is in digital format I can use google translate or the FoxLingo plugin ( Mozilla Firefox browser) to get the text into Danish.
- the last step is optional and that is to use a text-to-speech service to get the text into audio.
In the next few days I will use this service to get the basic Sivananda class into Danish.
life balance explained
in the ideal state there is a balance between rest and activity.
In the ideal state there is balance between rest and activity. In the day we perform physical and mental work. In the night we recharge our batteries. In the night our brain is analysing the day and the body is being repaired. In reality this curve is broken up , we rest for a while in the day or we have a hard time to sleep for some reason. If this curve is affected to much we
in reality the curve is broken up.
never reach proper deep sleep in the night and we get tired in the day. This means the curve flattens out and we are no longer functioning on the optimal level. When we compare this to the ideal curve we can see that our highest point is now lower and the lowest point is higher up. An example is when you build up your stamina through running or swimming the heart gets stronger and at the same time the rest pulse will be
not so much physical activity in the day and not so good sleep in the night
lower than for the average person.
10 Steps to become a successful yoga teacher
- Teach yoga to friends as the first step. Teach in a small group or one to one.
- Become a Registered Yoga Teacher. Yoga alliance have a list with schools that live up to the 200 Hour Standards for Yoga Alliance® registration. If you plan to travel and teach this is especially useful.
- Record your class. This can be done with a camcorder, mobile phone etc. Are you happy while you teach ? Are you doing any annoying small movements ? How is your voice ? How long time does it take to show the Shoulderstand ? All these questions can be answered by recording your teaching.
- Write down what you are going to say. Make sure you know exactly what to say all the way through the yoga program. Reading this text through at the same time as you visualize the postures is one way to prepare for the lecture. It is also very useful when you are teaching in a foreign language to make sure you know all relevant words in this language.
- Localize your teaching. Many Teacher Training Courses are in English. If you plan to teach in a country where English is not the main language there is some things you can do. Buy yoga CDs , yoga books in the local language and spend some time on repeating the content out loud. Take part in yoga classes in the local language. Speak to yoga teachers in the area to find out what is appropriate to say and teach.
- Get in contact with other yoga teachers. People who already work as full time yoga teachers have already made all the mistakes you are about to do. You will be surprised how helpful they are. I have to add that my respect for yoga teachers have increased the more I learn about teaching.
- Continue with your own yoga practice. This may sound like an obvious statement but it is easy to forget your own practice when you spend a lot of time commuting and preparing lectures.
- Write a blog or diary. How did the class go ? Did you get any useful feedback ? Maybe you live far away from your guru and it feels stupid to talk out loud to yourself. These notes are great and can work as manuscripts when you are to teach the second beginners class again.
- Find a mentor. According to Wikipedia a mentor is there to “provide expertise to less experienced individuals to help them advance their careers, enhance their education, and build their networks.” Find a yoga teacher who teach in the way you want to teach. A teacher who also have the time to give you regular feedback. A person that you can meet physically at a regular basis.
- Use IT to Communicate with your students and to attract new students. With your blog you can explain concepts that take to long in class. In Facebook/Twitter you can advertise your next workshop. A Youtube video makes it possible for you to present yourself and your method.
translation from English to Danish
Since most of the yoga material I have is either in German or English I need to translate it into Danish. I went into town
today to buy some Danish Yoga CDs. I found “yoga på stuegolvet” and “oplev Yoga Nidra”. Now the plan is to listen to them for some time at home and take some lectures with Flexyoga. This will hopefully improve my Danish vocabulary of yoga related words.
where am I right now on my journey ?
it has been a lot of impressions and I feel a bit tired of yoga right now. When I open a yoga book there is nothing new to read. I feel sadness because me and Jessika could not find a way together. I still have strong love for her and I want her all the best.
I remember sitting in front of a computer in the computer games industry and feeling I was in the wrong place. Now 8 months later I have taken a few steps to become a yoga teacher. I have a certification from Both Sivananda Yoga and Satyananda Yoga and I have teaching experience from personal teaching . Next step is to go to many lectures with flex yoga so that I get better with holding a lecture in Danish. Once I feel confident with the language I will contact gyms and other organisations.
review:Sivananda TTC in Austria
Filed under: ashram, diary, religion, teaching, TTC, yoga | Tags: asana, ashram, sivananda yoga, teacher training, yoga
Leave a Comment Can you really learn yoga in Austria ? During my stays in India I have been terrible ill and that is the reason why I went to the yoga teacher training in Austria. Sleeping on health mattresses and eating food featured in the Michelin guide proved to be a winner. If you are looking for ascetic living and military discipline you have come to the wrong place. What you will find is open minded teachers in a picturesque setting .
staff versus students. According to Swami Atmaramananda football is part of the vedic lifestyle photo: Alessandro Califano
The teachers, swamis are approachable at all times and there is room in the schedule for your personal questions. If this is your first time in an ashram, a religious hermitage you maybe find the theory part of the course abstract and hard to grasp. This is not a course to deepen your Sadhana, personal practice but rather to deepen your knowledge around yoga philosophy. Each day you are to hand in a handwritten summary and by the end of the course there is a 3,5 hour exam.
Different experts in Astrology, Philosophy and Cranial Sacral Massage
Sri Venugopal Goswami reading from the Srimad Bhagavatam. photo: Katalin Kurko
gave guest lectures. The most scientific one was Dr. Annika Waldmann, nutritionist lectures on the health benefits of a vegetarian diet. In the breaks there was a chance to get personal counselling/treatment from, an astrologer, a physiotherapist and a massage
therapist. I got a very good treatment from a physiotherapist specialised in yoga.
One evening there is a movie night and we get to see Swami Vishnu-devananda, “The Flying Guru” and when the swamis talk about him they come alive. They talk about his flight over the Berlin wall and the great preparation that went int
o the project. The essence of the teaching is that we are ambassadors of peace.
The yoga lectures are taught in a way that suits me perfect. The teacher walk around during class and give the students help/corrections to find the right alignment.
The only issue I have with this way of teaching yoga is the chanting in sanskrit in the beginning and at the end of the class. Swedish and Sanskrit are miles apart and it reminds me of the time when the church had all the prayers in Latin. Why not start the yoga lesson with words that an ordinary citizen can understand ? Words in his own language that have the same meaning.
swami Keshavananda is demonstrating Neti - nasal cleansing. photo: Alessandro Califanos
Without people dedicating their life to serve others this education would not exist. The swamis have made the choice that the whole world is their family and when you see what Swami Vishnu-devananda did during his lifetime you get a clear proof what dedication and love can accomplish.
At an early age I got interested in Buddhism and the prince who left his kingdom in the search for truth. How can I apply this story to my own life ? to be able to sit I took up the study of yoga. Is there a contradiction between yoga and science ? Sure we can get a theoretical understanding through books, but without the experience we are stuck. Why is it so hard to practice non-violence when the mosquito is landing on my neck ?
