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This is the first of two articles and is a summarised version
of a research project Beth completed for her SOYA 500 Hour Yoga Teacher Certification.
Yoga Instructors have a lot to think about. In any moment
we are multi-tasking like crazy. We verbalize precise instructions to safely
guide students into posture after posture, suggest modifications, share benefits
and precautions while encouraging effort in just the right proportion. All
the while we aspire to weave in a little yogic philosophy and create an atmosphere
of contemplation. This comes together with careful planning and divine intervention.
Our influence as teachers often comes through our words. Our
potential to create a truly spiritual experience depends to some degree on
our verbal skill. However only 7% of communication is attributed to our actual
words, while 55% of communication is non-verbal coming from body language
and 38% is derived from voice inflection.
Even so, language can change our physiology and our contemplative
experience.
There is plenty of research, categorization, dissection and analysis of
the etymology of language. There are theories of universality, an international
phonetic alphabet, and exhaustive studies of sounds broken into consonants
and vowels. Aspiration, vibration, ejectives, implosives and glottal stops
have all been studied and conclusions reached. There is a point at which,
“We should not make the intellect our god; it has powerful muscles but no
personality.”, as Albert Einstein said. Language has been duly parsed. Let’s
look at the personality of language.
Science:
Deepak Chopra says, “In modern terms we would say that sounds, quantum events
in consciousness, transform themselves into neuro-peptides in the brain and
body. This new paradigm shows us that awareness produces biochemistry - the
floor of biological information. And the floor of the biological information
can be words. Words can become triggers for biological transformation.” Deepak
goes on to discuss the primordial sounds contained in the Bhagavad Gita,
and the chant Om Namah Shivaya, crediting them with sounds, insights and
images, which change physiology.
Recently the popular travelling exhibit called “Body Worlds”,
has featured the workings of the brain. It was at this exhibit that I found
an explanation of “multiple intelligences”. It is the brains’ executive ability
to link verbal, spatial, and interpersonal abilities in complex processes
of understanding. Experiences linked with emotion often create stronger pathways
in the brain. To that end, we might enhance the multi-layered understanding
in Yoga class, through linking instruction with emotion. Finding words in
the right combinations and infusing multisensory experience may evoke an emotional
response. What would that look like?
What could we say and how might we say it?
What to say:
1. Create a lexicon of Yogic words. Think of the words
you use over and over ad nauseum. For these overworked words like “lengthen”,
try some alternatives.
a. a synonym like elongate or “draw out”
b. an anatomical terms or anatomy trains: “use erector spinae muscles
to create space between the vertebrae, or grow the superficial back line”
c. Reference the breath; take a long slow breath up the spine
d. Ask students to reflect and possibly adjust to a longer experience
during silent holding.
e. Demonstrate by holding your fists on top of each other and slowly
pull them apart.
These ideas may not be original but they do cover the bases for different
types of learners: auditory, visual, and kinaesthetic.
2. Sanskrit: the divine language of India is considered
transformative when correctly pronounced and pronunciation is taken seriously.
In fact in the Vedic tradition, there is an officiating priest responsible
for catching and correcting any mispronunciations at ritual offerings. How
can we possibly get it right? Check out “The Language of Yoga” by Nicolai
Bachman, which comes with C.D.s. For visual learners you might consider having
the posture names written on a flip chart.
3. Poetry: Poetry is transformative. Poetry specializes
in rhythm, and an economy of words, which can express the seemingly inexpressible.
(The love of God, unutterable and perfect,
flows into a pure soul the way that light
rushes into a transparent object.
The more love that it finds, the more it gives
itself; so that, as we grow clear and open,
the more complete the joy of heaven is.
And the more souls who resonate together,
the greater the intensity of their love,
and, mirror-like, each soul reflects the other. Dante) sidebar?
4. Imagery: A wonderful resource for incorporating
imagery is “Hidden Language Yoga” by Swami Radha. She leads the postures as
though each shape is an experiment revealing itself to the yogi. Along with
reflecting on the symbolism of the posture names as metaphors (eg. Kurmasana,
the tortoise, takes us within) there can be some surprising insights.
Imagery is very effective in creating visualizations for Yoga Nidra and
Chavasana. (eg. violet light)
5. Ritual: The word, “spiritual” is made up of two words. “Spirit”
and “ritual”. We invite spirit into our teaching through the simple rituals
of pranayama, mantra, mudra, and meditation. If we generally follow a certain
order of postures in class, this will also create ritual. Inviting students
to set a Sankalpa or intention invokes spirit; collectively and individually.
When you always start or end your class with the same words, you have created
ritual. The lighting of candles, burning of incense, even invoking silence
all qualify as ritual.
Remember no effort is lost. Whether we choose to work on our
vocabulary, drop tidbits of philosophy into our teaching, or simply become
aware of the importance of repetition in our sequencing, we bring intention
to our teaching. Every effort will be blessed.
End of Part 1. Part 2 will discuss “How to Say It” and
address our non-verbal cues. Part 2 will be in the SOYA September e-News.
1 CD enclosure of “Om Namah Shivaya” by Robert Gass.
1996 Spring Hill Music
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