An exercise of will

[darkemeralds]

I haven't taken yoga for a long time, and I expected my first foray this afternoon to be difficult-to-impossible, especially since the class was at a posh downtown studio where Real Yoga People go.



It was, indeed, difficult-to-impossible. I'd have loved to be all ace and awesome at it, but life on a bike and in a few Zumba classes a week does not a yogini make, and wrist and knee discomfort soon slid over the line into pain.

Out of respect for my own (hopefully temporary) limitations, I bowed myself quietly out after a few minutes, and watched from the back of the room, joining in at a couple of points where the movements were easier for me.

What follows might not mean much to you if you're not a dame d'un certain âge, so grain-o'-salt, younger folks. Grain-o'-salt.

The teacher called for kartari mukha, and made a reference to Richard Nixon (who famously used the two-finger peace gesture a lot). "I bet you remember that, don't you, Anne?" he said to me.

Well, yes, I do, though as a method of making me feel included this left something to be desired.

After the class, he came up to me and without preamble began explaining that he couldn't make the instruction appropriate for someone who's never taken yoga before (he didn't ask about my prior experience, which was pretty extensive at one point), because it would be unfair to the regulars who expect a good yoga workout. When I tried to explain that it was specific wrist and knee pain, and not general unfitness, that had pushed me to the bench, he said that yes, his mother has arthritis, too, and that there might be some special classes...

Now, I started being age-dismissed by men twenty years ago, and I've become increasingly invisible to all human beings in the years since then, but I think this might be my first really genuine and obvious nonsexual age-dismissal. It was kind of unsettling. Through this man's eyes I saw myself as a little old lady for the first time.*

Thank you, Assumption-Man!

I'll try a different teacher next time, one who's willing (as most fitness leaders are) to offer lower-impact alternatives throughout the instruction. The few minutes of yoga I managed to do felt absolutely wonderful, and I'm not about to let some all-mouth-no-ears, apparently-unconscious-age-bigot stop me from getting more of that.

*I'd argue for just not getting old in the first place, except that a) it beats the crap out of the alternative and b) it really is mostly awesome.

Comments

[tehomet]

When I tried to explain that it was specific wrist and knee pain, and not general unfitness, that had pushed me to the bench, he said that yes, his mother has arthritis, too, and that there might be some special classes...

Oh no he didn't!

[jumpuphigh]

You know what, he fails as a yoga teacher. One of the first things I learned during my yoga teacher training (after 'listen with your heart') was, "Make the class appropriate for the people who show up." In fact, my teacher, as part of teaching teachers, would teach a class with the teachers-in-training as students and then share his angst with us about feeling like he didn't challenge certain students or did too much for other students. I have never once in all the hundreds and hundreds of classes that I taught let a student be segregated from the rest of the class due to differing abilities. I've had students do an entirely different class from the rest of the students but they were always still part of the class.

[just_jes]

Wow, I don't think I'd fully appreciated how universally positive my experience with instructors has been to date. And/or appreciated the ways in which age-dismissal might differ from size-dismissal.

But unless the class was described as being for advanced participants or for people that already have X or Y experience, then the failure of the instructor to provide any kind of guidance about making exercises easier or harder as desired or modifying them due to any physical limitations, or about what kind of pain might signify muscles being used in a new way (good!) vs bad form (bad! but easily correctable) vs any type of medical condition that might make yoga a poor fit (bad! give suggestions of other forms of exercise that might be more appropriate to the individual's particular incompatibility with yoga), is just such an utter failure on the part of the instructor. You know, in addition to the age-dismissal.

Every class I've taken in recent memory has started with a "stop at any point if you have to, join back in as soon as you're able if you can, every exercise can be made easier or harder as desired and I'll show you what the modifications are as we get to each new thing but also as a general rule do this to make things easier and that to make things harder, if you have any wrist/knee/joint issues or any other medical problem that might require different/additional modifications let me know and we'll find something that works for you" preamble. ...I'd kind of assumed that every instructor would start off like that, but I suppose I've been very fortunate.

[twasadark]

Wow, that guy sounds kind of like a dick. I hope you'll try yoga again - it's amazing, especially for women of a certain age (of which I am one, too). I've struggled with wrist pain as well. In fact, it took me years before I could actually do downward facing dog without pain, but that was probably more due to the fact that the injury was still healing than anything. Anyhow, sometimes it helps to make fists when doing that pose.

I agree that getting older is mostly awesome. Although it has been an adjustment for me. I became a grandma and entered menopause within 6 months of each other. Meep!

[lamentables]

Wow, that is the antithesis of my yoga experience. I used to be the youngest, though there are a few younger ones now, and between us we have lots of injuries and age/fitness-related limitations, as well as lots of different body types. Our teacher is all about making it work for everyone. She has tweaks and alternatives for everything and knows individual limitations, so she's making personalised suggestions before people have even figured out they might have a problem. And when appropriate she'll come round and adjust our poses to maximise the stretch or whatever.

Someone new joined last week, someone for whom English is not a first language, and there were lots more explanations and variations on how she expressed things, just to be sure it was working. It was actually helpful for me as a veteran of a few years, because it made me more mindful and also validated some of my own adaptations.

And we have fun, as well as relaxing and stretching and strengthening.

[scribblemoose]

If he can't differentiate for people with different levels of fitness (or ability, for that matter!) he's a rubbish teacher. My last yoga class catered to everyone from beginners to people who could tie themselves in knots, it's just in the skill of the teacher.

Boo! I say! Boo!

[executrix]

The first principle of yoga is ahimsa (non-hurting) so he already flunked big time.

Also, if you are going to maximize your revenue opportunities by having open classes, you have to be prepared to deal with people being at different stages of physical ability and yoga practice. And if you're going to limit the class to people at a certain level, you have to have some kind of audition process.

I'd suggest going only/getting a DVD described as "getting back into it for people who haven't done any yoga for a while" and THEN try classes.

The standard work-around if you can't take weight on your wrists is to make soft fists and put your fists and forearms together and make a tripod. The standard work-around if you can take SOME weight on your wrists but not the whole pose is to spread your fingers and concentrate on spreading weight into the fingers and palm as well as the wrist.

What Changed My Life in doing downward dog was reading a book that said to turn elbows and hands IN instead of out or straight ahead.

Stuff you can't do full out can often be done leaning on the wall (this works especially well for Warrior or inversions) or with blocks and straps.