Fall is a softer season than Summer.
All slanted light and warm cups of tea. Orange tones and a hint of magic. It’s during this time that the yoga practice tends to shift. Teachers talk of transitions. Reminding students that the seasons indicate a time to go inwards. As the air gets colder we take more time to arrive, more time to warm-up, more time to explore not only the physical, but the mental, perhaps the spiritual.
I don’t think any of you would teach if you didn’t believe that yoga was a gift. Something to offer the world, something to offer another. And you, like me, know that the gift of yoga isn’t just a physical one. It’s not about “getting a workout.” There are plenty of other modalities to teach if that’s the prime goal (though, I would argue that perhaps any physical activity transcends just the physical).
Teaching yoga asana is about cuing others through movement, yes, but it’s so much more than that. It’s about helping another person arrive. Arrive into the space. Arrive into the moment. Arrive into the body, mind, and breath.
As teachers, we use our words and good yoga cues to help invoke that shift. I often marvel at how I can feel the energy change in the room when I am cuing the “opening” and “closing” moments of class. Those moments when there is no movement, just stillness, just softening.
I think these moments need lots of silence. But I also think many students benefit from being guided into their relaxation.
So, here is how I like to cue my students as they enter savasana. Because savasana, too, is a pose that takes some adjustment. These are cues and reminders that can help a student arrive into the posture and soften:
Starting from the crown of your head, imagine there is a wave of energy sweeping over your body. The forehead softens. The eyebrow bones soften. The eyelids soften. The shoulders are heavy. The hips and the calves are heavy. The heels are heavy. The toes and fingers are light. The belly feels as if it’s melting down towards the ground. And for a few breaths, you simply notice if there’s any part of your body that is still “holding” and with each exhale you soften. With each exhale, you let your body sink deeper and deeper towards the earth. Totally supported. Totally at peace. Totally at rest.
There’s always a yin and a yang of energy in a life; a hot flame and a warm ember. Even in the most dynamic of vinyasa classes, you can remind your students to soften. What’s all that fire worth if we can never temper the flame?
How do you like to cue your students into relaxation? I’m sure many of us would benefit and welcome new ideas and cues! Feel free to leave some thoughts in the comments.
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