My favourite way of working with others is individually. The group class supports those who have first been educated in practice that best suits their very particular needs. They can then effectively apply that specific knowledge and skill in the group context.
No two people will practice in the same way. Every practitioner is unique. The body, heart, mind and consciousness signature of each soul is unique only to them. The asana, pranayama, meditation and other yogic practice methods also have a unique signature, it is a very personal and precise fit that can be found.
No two people have the same experience within the same asana. The asana is instructed and practiced according to the constitution (prakriti or dosha balance or imbalance) of each individual. The exact fit and interface will be found with the aid of a skilful guide or teacher. The right fit will find and establish balance and swashta (alignment and unity with essential Self). The student will learn to recognise and sustain that pristine and subtle internal balance.
The breath focus, the internal gaze or awareness, the duration that the posture is to be sustained, the adaptation or modification, the depth, the amount and type of heat raised, the sequencing with other postures, the time of day to practice, seasonal and life stage or situation, are all important aspects of informed tailored skilful practice. All of this and more is considered in divining the way to best engage yoga on its intended terms.
Asana is not a one size fits all practice. Nor is it simply a physical exercise. The subtle levels of effect, benefit, and focus are more important than the physical architecture or body positioning. Asanas are designed to benefit physiological function very precisely, equally to strengthen and realign structural integrity. The next level of benefit will reach inside the breath rhythm bringing restoration and potency to breathing and increased quotient to the energetic component of the breath (prana). The breath, body, and mind will find a unique marriage to bring the dynamics of yoga’s inner work alive. The potent healing and vitalising effect of cultivating prana, as well as seating its discreet forms (vayus) correctly in support of all physical and subtle body function is of immense importance. This pranic aspect of practice brings healing and transformation. Asana practice without this at its foundation is of little value. This is best achieved first in one-on-one work or in small groups with similar needs.
The same individual considerations apply to the practice of pranayama, meditation, yoga nidra, as well as the other more subtle practices that effect the mind and deeper layers of the human being or soul’s garment.
The surface delivery and presentation of Yogasana is like gaining the benefits of sunlight from an image rather than from the sun itself. A plant would not grow from an image of the sun and neither can we.
So, in a one-on-one practice where a skilful teacher works with a genuine practitioner, much can be discovered that directly serves that person in their quest to receive the healing and awakening benefits of an individually appropriate practice. This form of practice requires a commitment from both teacher and student. The teacher seeks the unique consciousness signature of the student to better create practice that fits. The student dedicates time and focus to consistency in applying the practice. Over time the practice is refined and deepened to facilitate a depth journey for the student through their own inner terrain. Over time the student receives the life changing benefits of a practice and path that introduces them to a very real and essential essence that is the intelligent consciousness that took birth through them.
We can settle for an image of ourselves that diminishes and is as fickle as the weather or grow into the fullness of an innate, bright, abiding quality that emanates without need of anything external.
Yogic practice is not a sculptor - it is a revealer.
If we seek what is real and to live free from facades of fantasy and fascination with projected external image, we can meet a freedom that is impervious to everything that is subject to constant change and loss.
The body has its own karma or destiny, we can afford it our conscious presence and align to its innate intelligence. The vehicle then becomes a gift and a source of power and not a source of identity and restriction. As a source of our sense of self it will always fail us. It will only deliver disappointment being subject to so much change and flux. The body born of deep yogic practice is more alive and impervious. It reflects the consciousness that sustains it. Its age, shape, gender become insignificant, its health, vitality, endurance, grace will reflect our changed relationship with it. It can become an energetic field that reflects the state of our consciousness rather than a thing subject to the fads and fears of a society.
Many people are happy to engage at the level of image and identity for a time, while it is youthful, and their efforts sculpt away at its imperfections. But as time inevitably impacts the body, an individual may realise the foolishness of placing so much importance on the external appearance. Turning toward the essence that animates the form brings a more meaningful relationship with themselves and life. To become our own friend a positive independent regard is essential.
Social media is such a deceiver. It encourages fascination and narcissistic engagement with the image we spin. We become ensnared in persona invention and portrayal. We present the unreal, the fantasy and obsession with the artificial fabricated image of the self not the reality. The essence is satisfied without ‘likes’ and ‘views’. It sits quietly at peace and is content with the simple unannounced or ‘posted’ experience- it relishes the freshness of the moment. It needs no witness or stamp of approval- it is the genuine, unaffected, unchanging witness.
‘Likes’, ‘clicks’, ‘views’ and followers feed a distorted egoistic relationship with the fleeting and phantasmagorical shimmerings we portray or present to the external world of a fickle audience.
One-on-one practice is a chance to get real and honest. Find a fresh meeting without an audience in the quietude of a healed heart. Meet the Self without anything attached to it. It doesn’t need a selfie to attest to its existence. Begin with the body as it is. Transform it in function and awaken its subtle potentials and vibrating beauty. Observe the mind in action and in stillness and free it. It can become as clear as a sunlit sky if we work in the right direction.
I love working one-on-one with people who draw the power of the yogic path alive within themselves and in this way realise the greater purpose of their own lives. For a yoga teacher this way of working is essential to better mine their own authentic capacity to guide others.
Many are content to work at the surface where some benefit can be found, and a few will take the dive into the depths where fear and obscuration are dispelled. Courage, presence, patience and potency awaits the honest seeker.
I thank my teachers, the Siddhas, interested only in that which reveals and is the essence of all that is.
300YTT | 300h YTT Certification | ENROLLING NOW!! for March 2023
Training expands teaching skill sets and enables personal practice to exponentially deepen.
You will learn to identify and work more effectively with individual differences and needs, designing practice in the context of a one on one private session. Private yoga sessions require a very different set of listening and awareness skills to group facilitation with a higher level of attentiveness to individual needs.
The course takes study beyond basic practices and explores pranayama, meditation and yoga nidra at a subtler and more powerful level. The thematic components of the training cover essential subjects drawn directly from traditional yogic contexts.
Shantarasa | specialists in traditional yoga education
Facilitators each with over 40 years of
training and teaching experience in Australia and Internationally
Traditional Yoga with contemporary relevance
Full in person training + full online course access
Train to teach
or
Take as a Personal Study Program without assessment for deepening personal practice and study
200YTT + 300YTT= 500YTT Full Yoga Teacher Certification
