Yesterday I had the incredible pleasure of teaching a group of 20-25 young football players some yoga. Most of them didn’t quite know what yoga was all about and like most people out there (I did at least) assumed yoga was for wimps and hippies. The group of boys was between the ages of 17 and 19 and despite their maybe preconceived notions of what yoga was all about they were all more than willing to jump in and try something new.
I am currently in my 7th month of teaching yoga on a regular basis and not that I don’t love all of my classes, but this one was so much fun. Not only was it a nice big class, it was full of a bunch of young athletes looking to help improve their “game” so to speak. This class also helped to highlight to me the differences in each of our bodies.
After teaching a couple yoga classes full of yoga enthusiasts you can start to get lost and start thinking that everyone can touch their toes or that chaturunga really isn’t that difficult, because those that practice on a regular basis have a way of making these things look simple. With this group of boys there was so much variety in flexibility, strength, endurance and focus. It was so fascinating to my teacher side to see each of them put in as much effort as they could afford and to find their own personal edges when it came to holding poses.
My only regret about last night’s class was not snapping a picture of them doing, what was most of their, first yoga class in the grass. They were definitely troopers putting up with the mosquito for the evening, and trying something that was maybe outside of their comfort zone. I can’t wait to have more opportunities to teach them yoga and hopefully help them out in the area of injury prevention.
I hope everyone is having a great week so far and that you have all had the chance to enjoy some of the beautiful spring weather (hopefully you are all getting nice weather too!).
Happy Thursday!
gingersneezes 