11: The Yoga of Discernment—What It Is And How To Teach It

Is all discomfort good? Is all discomfort bad? What is the “right” way to teach any given asana? How do we offer the version of a pose or practice that will be most beneficial to our students right now? Being able to answer these questions with confidence comes from a depth of understanding of what I call The Yoga of Discernment.

I don’t think there is any magic in an “ideal form” of asana, and I think that every person will find benefit in a slightly different variation of a pose. As teachers we are charged with helping our students find the version of the pose that is ideal for them right now. How the heck do we do that?? There are so many physical and emotional benefits possible for every single pose and in my opinion, there is no resource that could explain them all! I know that is overwhelming to think about....

But! There is hope, I promise.

It is possible have something useful + helpful to offer your students, even if it isn’t hard and fast rules about the most “ideal” alignment.

Listen to this episode to learn:

• What is The Yoga of Discernment? Why is this important for us?  

• What is important to teach our students, if it isn't a very specific set of alignment principles.

• The problems I see with the “do whatever feels good” mentality.  

• What I’m doing with a current student in chronic pain.   

• Why studying anatomy is like putting up elfa shelving in your closet.

• How to start teaching the Yoga of Discernment right away.

And after you’ve listened to the episode, pop over here and let me know how it landed with you!