As part of my AFFA Personal trainer certification I am required to do continuing education credits. What better way to fulfill this requirement than an all day "practical yoga instructor" workshop. To prepare, I completed two "yoga essentials" online courses- which mainly amounted to vocabulary, history and the study of basic asanas. I was required to take mini quizzes to fulfill the courses.
This yoga instructor class was held at the enormous recreation facility of NC State in Raleigh. Wow - quite the place. The building went on and on for days- rock wall, pool, indoor track, the largest locker room I have ever seen. Our class was in a normal multi- purpose room- with a well equipped equipment closet, I snagged a blanket to fold up and sit on when, I saw we'd be on the floor, on our mats all day. Duh, yoga. No desks or chairs in site. There were roughly 30 of us in the class- from young college students who worked at the rec. center, to group fitness professionals from all over the state of all ages and backgrounds. Some had extensive yoga class experience, some had a background in dance, Pilate's, boot camps and senior fitness, one person had only been to one other yoga class ever.
My AFFA cont. ed instructor was a great inspiration for fitness, she was well spoken, and enthusiastic to teach us. She taught a variety of aerobic classes as a profession, as well as tai chi, she is also a massage therapist- she knew anatomy very well. To jump in, we went through an hour long hatha yoga class- focusing on the primary poses that we would later be breaking down and studying in depth. We ended the class with a final 1 hour yoga session, with a few more advanced poses included. There was no testing involved, just participation. We took turns volunteering to demonstrate poses in front of the class and the instructor would discuss the pose in depth. We broke into small groups and practiced teaching poses to one another. She went over breath work, class set up, and use of music and lighting.
Sanskrit names were not used- the focus was on form, injury prevention and the modifications, and progressions depending on the students one would have in a class setting. Contraindications were discussed and and how to approach / include safely special populations- such as seniors, and prenatal participants. You never know what the dynamics of a class might be, and the reminder to breath- breath - breath was of up most importance. The instructor tols us she could remind her class to breath upwards of 100 times in one class. She went over a breathing techniques, class set up, and use of music and lighting.
After 7 hours, I was ready to not be on my purple mat anymore, the tips of my fingers were sore form rooting down and my shoulders were on fire. When we concluded I walked away very happy I enrolled, it was a great way to spend a Sunday. I learned a few more things, started to feel my inner voice and style come through. I feel ready to take even more classes- dive deeper.
Next up... was a partner yoga class with my husband at Evolve.
