How Judo improves your yoga experience

The judo match was very intense. The lady from the Blue team has the Green team member on the ground in an arm hold. Suddenly the person on the ground taps the Blue team person on the back to signal that they give up and has been defeated. The Blue lady immediately releases her hold on the Green person and they both get up and return to their starting position, ready for the next round.

“They have an agreed upon signal to tell each other when it is time to stop.” thought Bob. “We should have something like that in yoga class. Then I would be able to tell my yoga teacher when an adjustment is starting to hurt during Mysore class.”

What is a Mysore class

Ashtanga yoga is unique in that it is taught in two different fashions. It is taught as a lead class and it is also taught in the Mysore fashion as well.

Lead

Pretty much all styles of yoga are taught in the lead fashion. The teacher is at the front of the room and they tell you which pose to do next as they demonstrate the pose. Everyone does the same pose at the same time. Everyone in the class starts at the same time and finishes at the same time.

Mysore

The Mysore style of teaching yoga is very different. In this style of teaching the students arrive at different times and they begin their practice. They move at their own pace through the sequence of poses that is part of the Ashtanga yoga practice. They finish their practice at different times as well. They seek assistance from the teacher when they need it.

The teacher is not telling anyone what to do nor when to do it.

One of the surprising things about a Mysore class is the silence. All you hear is the breathing of the students as they move from one pose to the next.

The teacher is moving around the room quietly helping each person as they need assistance. When they finish with one person they move on and help someone else.

When do you manage your teacher

Just like the judo contestants manage their interaction with each other there are a couple of times that you are involved in managing your yoga teacher’s interaction with you.

• You can ask your teacher to help you with a pose. You do this when you are working on learning a pose or you are having difficulty doing a pose and you want your teacher’s help.
• Your teacher comes by and starts adjusting you in a pose without you asking. This happens when your teacher sees that you could hurt yourself as you struggle with a particular pose or that a bit of assistance will help you to go further in a pose.

Your teacher offers suggestions and modifications that will help you work with the pose a little better and protect you from injuring yourself.

It is during these times that you get to manage your teacher’s interaction with you.

Why you should manage your teacher

Your teacher needs feedback from you as you work together on the pose. This feedback can protect you from getting injured in a pose.

You let your teacher know that you have been in the pose long enough. Most teachers will continue working with a student beyond the traditional 5 breaths that a pose is held for in Ashtanga Yoga. You let your teacher know that the 5 breaths are up and it is time to move on to the next pose.

Like the two people on the judo mat you let your teacher know that it is time to move on.

How do you manage your teacher

In the judo match the opponents have a couple of signals they use, slap the floor or pat the other person on the shoulder to let them know it is time to move on.

There are three ways to control your yoga teachers interaction with you during a yoga class.

• ask for help
• complain
• release the pose

Ask for help

You can get your teacher’s attention in two ways during a Mysore style practice. You can sit quietly in Lotus until the teacher comes to you or you can raise you arm and wave at the teacher.

The first method is the preferred approach and is less distracting to the people around you. The second method while a little more disruptive is quite effective.

Your yoga teacher if they are busy with someone else will acknowledge your request and let you know when they will be there to help you.

Once your teacher is helping you, you move into the next part of managing your teacher’s interaction with you, complaining.

Complain

Sometimes when the teacher is adjusting you in a pose they may take you further into the pose than is comfortable for you. If you are feeling pain or are worried about being hurt the right thing to do is to tell your teacher what is going on. They will adjust what is being done and help you move into the pose in a safer fashion or they may stop the adjustment all together.

If you have an injury the teacher may not be aware of, let them know if they start to stress that injury. Once again a comment from you is the best approach to let your teacher know.

Sometimes your teacher looses track of how long the two of you have been working on the pose and that is when you use the third way of interacting with your teacher.

Release the pose

In judo you tap your opponent on the back to tell them it is time to come out of the hold and move on.

In Ashtanga yoga the poses are held for five breaths. It is your responsibility to let your teacher know when you have been in the pose long enough. The easiest way to do this is to start to move out of the pose. You can also let your teacher know that it is time to move on by saying “Time” or something similar.

Summary

In the judo match, the two participants have a set of agreed upon signals to tell each other when it is time to release the hold.

In yoga there are some agreed upon signals that Bob can use to manage his yoga teacher’s interaction with him.

• Ask for help by sitting in Lotus or raising his hand
• Tell the teacher to stop the adjustment because it hurts
• Tell the teacher when it has been long enough in the pose

When you do these things your teacher will be able to work with you on a yoga pose and know that you are not being passive and letting them possibly hurt you.

Next Step

The next time you are in a Mysore style class utilize these three techniques to improve the quality of your yoga practice.

Additional Reading

To find out more about your yoga teacher helping you with a yoga pose read Why you need a AAA yoga teacher.

In the article Why is there touching in Yoga you can learn more about your yoga teacher’s interaction with you during class.