That said, I wanted to write about something that is very common for most of us yoga teachers in LA and probably elsewhere: small classes.  Today I taught a lovely class, with a strong theme, challenging poses and yet there were very few people in class. I felt a bit of sadness when I saw how few they were. There is a part of me that goes into a fearful place where I worry about being fired! And of course when classes are bigger I never go through my existential angst.  

But, I was very proud of myself, as I really didn't coddle that fearful and sad feeling and instead I actually managed to turn it around. I started to think, well, what is good about small classes? What are some of the gifts of having a small class?

Here are some thoughts on the gifts of small classes:

1) Incredible attention to the students.

2) Everyone gets nice adjustments.

3) Class becomes more intimate. In fact a student today courageously chose to ask a very personal question because she felt safe enough in the setting.

4) When I teach a big group I find that my energy dissipates a little and in general the group energy takes over. It can be lovely though but it takes a lot to keep the room grounded. When I teach a small class it can get really quiet and at its worse, students can feel a bit self conscious. So I find that grounding myself more, being more earthy, challenging them with more poses but less vinyasa seems to work for me... That said, it is all a work in progress and there are no clear cut formulas.

5) Lastly, small classes teach us about humility. And it teaches us to be truly grateful for every person who shows up.

Theme:

Yes and No: Finding freedom through boundaries

Highlights:

*Didn't let the small size of the class diminish my light or what I had to offer as a teacher.

*A student complained of back pain in urdhva dhanurasana. She kept saying "ow, that hurts" and she would come out of the pose. Because it was a small class I gave her a lot of attention, while others kept doing the backbend on their own.

I tried verbally coaching her in her alignment and it hurt.

I tried having her hold my ankles as she went up and it hurt.

I gave her a block between her thighs to engage her inner thigh muscles and it hurt.

I gave her manual shins in and it hurt.

Oy vey!

I started to feel like nothing was working.

So- I told her to keep the block, then I had her hold my ankles and then Georgina P., a fellow teacher, came over and gave her Organic energy in her legs and that did it!

There are moments when a student is in pain and I start to try things and sometimes nothing works. Then I remember the words of one of my teachers, Naime. He told me once: "Just go through the principles. One by one. Go through them."

And thank you Georgina for reminding me and the student, of that last important principle of alignment, organic energy.

*However is in my class is who is meant to be there. 

Be grateful for everyone who is there.

Love everyone.

Like Maharaj ji told Ram Dass: "Feed Everyone. Love everyone. Serve everyone."