Lessons from my Yoga Teacher by Alison King Tigges
As many of you know (some of you were lucky enough to experience!) one of my amazing yoga teachers, Noah Maze, was in town recently, offering workshops at OTY. I have been studying with Noah for almost 10 years. He is always so great, but I was once again reminded why. Here are a few lessons learned (and ones I already knew but was again reminded of!)
Yoga has been around for centuries and what its meanings are diverse. I think this concept can be difficult to grasp. A practice that has been around thousands of years? There is truly no other physical/mental/emotional/spiritual discipline that has been around this long! This also means there are many ancient texts that explain what yoga is and how we should practice it. We studied some of the Bhagavad Gita this weekend and Noah reminded us how there are many ways to interpret its meaning. What yoga means to me may not be what yoga means to you. The takeaway is, learn more about it! Yoga philosophy is where it’s at! There are countless parallels to yoga on the mat and how it relates to yoga “off the mat”. And it is SO fun to hear someone who knows so much talk about it! These workshops (with a knowledgeable teacher) are a fun way to have more time to dive into the material. A one-hour yoga class is just simply never enough time to cover the big stuff. Noah has been studying the Gita for decades and is extremely skilled at putting the teachings into practice. How does it feel in our bodies? I think the OTY teachers are the BEST around, but it is super fun to learn from skilled teachers outside your typical circle. Or to learn in a different environment than your typical yoga class. Take the workshop, dive into teacher training. We offer lots of opportunities to grow and learn.
The best yoga teachers are always yoga students. I think this applies in many disciplines. Keep learning! And if you aren’t a teacher, I encourage you to be discerning about who your teachers are. Do they continue to learn and grow and study? Are they willing to change the ways they teacher and broaden their horizons when presented with new information? Noah is a great example of this. He is always learning and studying with his teachers. I know personally, my classes are more inspired after I spend time with them. There is ALWAYS something new to learn. Or re-learn. As co-owner of OTY I was super proud of all the OTY teachers that came to learn from Noah.
Slow and steady yoga, focused on muscular engagement and mindfulness is HARD. In the best way. I would argue much hard than quick moving, cardio-based yoga! I am always amazed about how Noah can make downward facing dog the hardest pose on the planet. His verbal cueing is second-to-none, and it always gives me a lot to digest in my own teaching. There is so much to think about and consider in the body and breath. There is so much happening in any given pose. The weekend was a great reminder as to why we teach the way we do at OTY. I truly believe it builds awareness in every possible way.
Community is everything. Being in a room full of other yogis learning from an amazing teacher is about as good as it gets. I have studied with Noah a lot on online and thank goodness for it! It has made much of my training possible, especially during COVID. But there is just something very special to get experience it in person. It reminds me that no matter how challenging the pose (or whatever if happening in life), we are in this together.
Thank you, Noah. Thank you to all my teachers and their teachers and all the teachers before them. Thank you to the awesome students and staff who attended the workshops. If you are bummed you missed out, never fear! We plan to do this again AND continue offering awesome stuff outside of our regular class schedule. Join us! These are just a few (of many) reasons you will be glad you did.
