It’s all about Healing. And Wholeness.
Dedicated to Melanie Deshaies; in union of our bright and caring souls!
We are in week 6 of the Covid-19 related shutdown. All our group classes have been taking place online and will for the next 4 weeks. There’s a lot going on in the world and I remind myself every day that every system finds its balance continuously and consistently: everything happening that appears to have a ‘negative’ vibe brings about a happening with a ‘positive’ vibe.
The Covid-19 situation doesn’t feel easy on the big scale and on the long term.
Wonderful things happening, every day – if you remain alert and open-minded.
I most recently was in correspondence with a woman who practiced yoga with us several times for certain periods of time. She repeatedly left The Hague for work-related reasons and lives abroad now. As we took our group classes online in response to Covid-19 restrictions, she was extremely pleased to be able to join in.
I am touched by her dedication and decision to practice yoga with us. I’m particularly grateful for it as there are tons of yoga teachings online these days. I learned about her attitude and willingness, while I know some of her life story that impacted her physically and, most obvious to me, spiritually.
Being sensitive
“Nuance is something that is in short supply.” Trevor Noah
If I re-formulate this quote to my profession as a yoga teacher and coach, it becomes “Sensitivity is something that is in short supply.”.
In response to her life’s story, she developed a sensitivity that is hard to recognize in students initially these days. I remember the atmosphere that dominated our private classes, she always listened to her body very well and responded accordingly. A lot of movement professionals have an understanding of ‘fitness’ that unfortunately only addresses physical aspects with an ‘one size fits all’ approach. This gets often intensified by doctors’ opinions, physiotherapist’s advices and everybody else whoever is trying to impose their knowledge and opinions on us, even though it happens with good intentions. I do not exclude myself when saying that, and I’m truly sorry for it.
I learned that my feeling of fitness only feels right when I am raising my awareness of the uniqueness of my origin and destination. I teach to support raising my student’s awareness for the uniqueness of their origin and destination.
Why I teach what I teach
My intentions why I teach what I teach became even clearer to me in the last couple of weeks. As I’m not in a room with my students when teaching remotely. I need to formulate my instructions carefully. I need to speak slowly and repeatedly invite students to explore. This instead of teaching vaguely, not being aware of action and impact while narrowing down student’s individual contributions to make their practice fulfilling and deeply nourishing. The red line connecting movement, stillness, sensations and awareness is sensitivity, accompanied by softness, subtlety and generosity.
To be sensitive, one has to be honest. It is so easy to give in when the incredible capacities of our minds dictate the agenda, instead of becoming aware of what is actually going on, i.e. what we’re actually feeling.
Serving our bodies on the healing path
When teaching remotely, it is my intention to encourage my students to clarify what it means to be caring for body and soul. Every body needs to be respected. As every body needs to be trusted! Every body is a wondrous phenomenon that is extremely wise and capable – if we invite it, allow it and respect it!
I would like to emphasize that every mover needs to be SENSITIVE and take decisions that one FEELS as the right ones to serve the body. It’s about feeling good, opening up and making space. It’s about the ability to enjoy. It’s about taking it step by step on the healing path, a path to Wholeness. A path with a dimension that is hard to comprehend for most of us. A spiritual, soulful path.