Mastering Secrets of Flow Yoga
The workshop at Tranquil Space Yoga with Doug Swenson was really interesting. And I mean that in the best way possible! I don’t think I have ever studied with a teacher that is so down to earth, funny, and just amazingly humble.
The class began with a brief background sketch of how Doug came to Yoga and how, in many ways, he was self-taught through books and a gentleman at the Unitarian Fellowship he attended as a child. So, it seems he was learning Yoga, without knowing what it was, until he visited California as a teenager and saw some people doing Yoga near the beach who told him what it was called! The upshot of all of this was that he began developing his own style of Yoga at a very young age because he wasn’t exposed to a lot of teachers when he was first learning.
His unique style of moving between the poses (called the vinyasa part of the practice) approaches dance-like movement with it’s mix of tai chi inspired movement linked intimately with the breath. Although Doug himself is an accomplished Yogi and showed the class quite a few difficult flows, he in no way implied that doing the simpler vinyasa made one less of a Yogini. (Thank goodness for me of the delicate wrist!)
The verbal cues he gave during class were impeccable and went right to heart of what needed to be adjusted in each and every posture. The two physical assists that I recieved during the class were also great and opened up each pose to me in a way I thought I couldn’t reach. His description of moving energy through the body was a totally different approach than any I’ve encountered, and I will definitely be working with it in my personal practice.
When Doug was talking about how we practice Yoga, I was so excited when he discussed how the attention and/or the quality of our Yoga practice closely mirrors our lives. In other words, if I have a Yoga practice that is very demanding and I place a lot of pressure on myself to do the asanas “right” and find myself frustrated with where I am in my practice, I bet my life is going to reflect that same sort of energy. From about the first moment I started practicing Yoga I found this to be true and have used this in my teaching as well, but it’s the first time I can recall hearing another teacher say something to that effect. (Not that they haven’t but it may have been in a way I couldn’t hear it…)
So, even though the workshop was only 2 1/2 hours long, he did a great job of covering a lot of territory without rushing the process. I would highly recommend taking a class with Doug if you ever have the opportunity. It will be a unique offering, to be sure.
