April 28

by Donna Farhi

The Art of Small Transforming Steps

When the mind has settled, we are established in our essential nature,which is unbounded Consciousness. . .

Our essential nature is usually overshadowed by the activity of the mind.

- Sutra 1:3 & 1:4 *


In the third Yoga Sutra, Patanjali proclaims that our essential nature is unbounded (and unbroken), a shimmering, vast potential. And then, barely a breath later, delivers the disturbing news that, unfortunately, most of the time, this panoramic experience of life is eclipsed by our thoughts. And it’s true that, right now, many of us feel overwhelmed not only by the rapidly shifting pressures, troubling uncertainties and demands of our own busy lives, but also things over which we have little or no control; world conflicts, climate change, a global pandemic.

How could we possibly deal with one more thing on top of that?

Amid all this tumult, how do we regain equilibrium? Recapture our sense of the joyousness of life and the promise of each new day? How do we become reinvigorated, restored, nurtured, and grow in confidence secure in the knowledge that we have the tools we need to not only to be enriched in our own lives and Yoga practices, but to share that with others?

The Art of Teaching seeks, over seven uplifting months, to guide you in taking small but deeply transformative steps. Whether your Yoga journey is just beginning, or you are a teacher of many years’ experience. Surrounded by support, and with the rare gift of the flexibility needed to accommodate your other loves, and responsibilities.

I invite you now to be re-inspired. Register for The Art of Teaching online course, beginning May 18th and running through to December 7th, 2022, delivering course material and live engagement every fortnight. There will be an break for integration from September 1-20, 2022

Speaking about the course, participants from the most recent cohort of The Art of Teaching expressed a profound appreciation, and sense of relief, for an experience that they felt freed them from fetters instead of binding them.

I found the course content to be transformative. It has provided me with countless opportunities for reflection, integration and renewal. It has made me think differently about myself not only as a yoga teacher, but as a human being! There have been so many beautiful opportunities throughout the course to pause, to consider, and to think carefully about interactions with others and myself.” - Deborah Segal

Whether teaching online, or in a physical space (or both!) The Art of Teaching provides the resources, techniques and approaches teachers need to fully realize their own potential, and that of their students, through shared-inquiry. Moving beyond prescriptive methods, it finely hones the ability to teach with clarity of purpose, confidence, and an authentic delight in the teaching process – from the very first day until long into the future. 

“I am so grateful to be part of your course and I am learning so much on so many levels. It does impact my daily life in a very positive way and I am looking forward to teaching again soon to implement the new insights and tools.” - Annkathrin Koepke

As the seasons have changed, so too the world around us. With many of us having moved to livestream and online teaching formats, or pivoting back and forth between distanced and physical space teaching.

In today’s environment, evolving our teaching skills and practice has never been more important or more pressing. Purposeful class planning, intelligent sequencing, and articulate instruction have always been at the heart of good teaching. Now, these skills have become exponentially more important.

As Spring follows Winter, with new challenges have also come new opportunities to reach out to a global yoga community and to share the guiding principles of the shared-inquiry model for teaching that underpins The Art of Teaching.  Helping students to access their own perception and interoception proving just as successful in digital teaching as it is in physical spaces.

I look forward to sharing with you, very soon, this contemporary pedagogic model, honoring and encouraging the self-sovereignty of the student to make their own choices and delight in their own discoveries. 

Namaste,

Donna

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*Effortless Being, The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali translated by Alistair Shearer, Unwin Paperbacks, Boston, 1989

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