After a ten-year respite I was teaching at the Om Yoga Show Manchester again last Saturday. I’d volunteered to teach an Open Class on behalf of Yoga Campus. A Teacher Training course is due to start in November at the new studio – Life Centre North, Manchester and as I’m on the Board and Faculty for the Teacher Training, I felt I should show willing. I believe I said ‘I’ll do it if no one else will!’ The reason for my ambivalence is that in many ways the Yoga Show is somewhat contrary to the spirit of yoga (commercial, noisy, etc.) But I was looking forward to seeing some longstanding yoga friends, the girls on the Yoga Campus stand, and my lovely assistants – Lisa Cooke and Paul Oakley.
On Friday I received a slightly dismayed sounding email from Paul, who was at the Show already ‘A bit shocked at the level of noise…not sure it’s conducive to yoga’. I think he found it mad that I’d be teaching fifty odd students in amongst the hullabaloo of the exhibition hall, with various other classes going on at the same time.
All went well on the day – even the mic stayed in place and didn’t pull my trousers down like last time! It WAS strange to have so much noise going on around me as I was teaching – it meant I didn’t feel connected to my students as in a normal class. However my assistants were able to connect with participants who needed help, which was valuable support for me.
One of the aims of yoga practice is to find peace within – even in less than ideal circumstances. With this in mind I finished my class with a quote by Ram Dass “The quieter you become, the more you can hear”.
