ollieyoga

I have some time as I am on summer vacation and am stuck on a mathematics problem. So, I am gathering my thoughts on various issues.

As I've said in several places in this blog, I am undertaking a project called "parter yoga" with my teacher, Vickie. We've practiced a few times, and it has gotten me to thinking about the role of touching and being touched in yoga.

Personally, I prefer that instructors take a "hands on approach" with me. There are several reasons for this:

1. I don't have great body awareness and having my limb moved to where it is supposed to be helps.
2. Remembering where I was touched gives me a mental and an emtional reminder of what the pose is supposed to feel like. For example, when I get into wide legged forward bend (Prasarita Padottanasana), remembering Vickie's light touch on the butt helps me raise my seatbones up to where they belong.
   
3. The "student/mentor" relationship works for me. Having the strong arms/knees/whatever of an instructor adjusting me makes me feel safe, cared about, and encourages me to take risks (e. g., go a bit deeper).

(photo from: http://www.astangayoga-sandiego.com/tour2000.htm and no, I can't do this pose. Yet.

Of course, I am a moderately large male (6 feet, 195 pounds, modest weight training, football and wrestling background) and I had a good childhood, so perhaps I don't have the issues that others have as far as being touched. And, of course, one can't wrestle or play football if one has an adversion to touching.

And I should point out there are issues concerned with adjustments.

Witness this one article from Yoga Journal:

http://www.yogajournal.com/views/899.cfm

Basically, this article makes some points:

1. The touch should do no harm; that is, students shouldn't be pushed past the point that they are ready for.
2. The touch should be done in a non-abrasive way.
3. The touch should be non-sexual, either in intent or in how it is precieved
4. The touch/adjustment shouldn't deny the student an opprotunity to attain the pose "on their own", so to speak.

One side note: this is Malasana pose (Garland Pose) that the article talked about; in this case a woman instructor helped another woman get into the pose by lifting her butt with her hands, and the instructor acted as if the woman's butt was difficult to lift.


So, there is an art to adjustments, and there is a book on the matter:
http://www.yogapostureadjustments.com/
The website has an "adjustment of the month"; this is one of them.


So, what does this have to do with Partner Yoga? Well, some of the Partner Yoga poses involve one partner adjusting the other, such as here:
The difference in the way we do this is that the top partner puts their feet on the floor and only lightly touches the bottom partner's legs; then the top partner raises the bottom partner's shoulders off of the floor.

This photo came from here: http://www.familyyoga.org/FamilyYogaDougWorkshopPics.html
this looked as if it were a fun workshop.