INTRODUCING YOU - ALLI BLACK

Feb 16

The wisest woman I know.

Introducing… Alli Black. .

I found yoga when I was addicted to drugs around 25 years old. Behind my addiction was the grief of my father dying suddenly when I was 17 years old. I was taught in the Iyengar tradition by my teacher who was still learning this form of yoga from the Iyengars in Pune themselves. It was a journey of discovery, and reconnection to my body and mind. Asana was often painful and an observation of sensation and occasionally a disassociation from that pain. That is one of the dangers of yoga. Similarly the emphatic instructions go further go deeper are no longer needed, but at the time it helped transform me. Through Yoga I found sobriety, security and loving people. My natural enthusiasm for rebellion and dance flowed again and still does.

Teaching yoga is a wonderful gift. I honestly felt called to it. I’d returned to a friend and teacher’s class and I stopped midway and thought, “oh man, I have to teach, I have to teach god damn yoga”. Of course, that was the beginning and end of simply being a student. As much as I love being a student forever, I’m always a teacher as well now. How would I teach this? I wouldn’t do that that way. I didn’t see that before… It’s wonderful.

Oh my goodness, students - how great are they? They teach me SO much. I am happy planning a class, I’m happy teaching a class. I’m happy getting up and travelling in the rain to teach. I’m teaching elders on chairs. Young people who’ve practised for years. Mates. My son and his mates. A football team. Students doing final year at school. Sweaty teenage boys. Refugees. What a privilege it is.

Alli shares…

A tip for teaching over zoom / in these new ‘unprecedented’ times

Do Zoom. Personally I find 45 mins on zoom is enough. Get to class 10 mins early, chat to those who want to unmute. Then demo and encourage your students through your session. Stay online and see who hangs back after class. Oh, and have a tech person who is your buddy to test your sound and image before every session.

A tip to help you feel comfortable teaching in front of others

Being fully prepared. Arriving on time. Have a written plan and be prepared to throw it out. I always say if you feel a bit nervous before you teach that’s good thing right because it keeps us honest. Well not nervous but not complacent either - fully aware of the responsibility we have as teachers. To respect boundaries, be professional, inclusive and imaginative.

My favourite yoga cues

“Breathe” and “Be conscious of your breath”.

Tips for feeling confident talking with your students before/after class

Remain fully present. No reflecting on the class to come or the class you just taught, it will be different to everyone who comes. Do not try to fix things or problems that students might come to you with. Instead, ask questions and if you feel it's appropriate ask, “Have you seen a physio/a counsellor or professional help for this concern?”

Be a great listener, be professional (boundaries are another whole conversation). Sure, you might be more personable if go for a coffee after class with student - then you can be you. But immediately before and after class is when students see you as their teacher.

Make eye contact - be fully present calm and focused on the one task at hand. Even if it’s the frigging check in system.

If you are not feeling confident connecting to students before or after class then I would question if you are ready to teach? Making this connection is probably the most important one.

The greatest trait a yoga teacher can have is…

The greatest trait you can have as a teacher is skilled observation for two (of many) reasons:

1. Observe how your student responds to your cue or instruction. Did that work? What else could you say? Oh that worked for that student but this one over here is looks like they’re in pain. How did that student respond to praise and encouragement, did they relax or puff up and strive more?

2. Understand the reality of your intention and the actual effect of that intention. For example, your intention is to create a peaceful loving feeling for your students - you might say imagine you are by the ocean you can hear the waves - and they might have nearly drowned or hate the beach so how do you know? If you become blinded by your good intentions, you don’t recognise that even the best intention can have a seriously negative effect. What assumptions are you making with your intention? Is the motivation to help people - a lot of yogis want to help. We get a buzz from it - it makes us feel good. But we may be disempowering someone or making them feel inadequate… Are we? So question your intention your motive (ego) and observe the response.