2-26-11

February 26th I walked into yoga nine and there was a substitute teacher, Steve. Now that I have been going to yoga on a weekly basis and have practiced under multiple teachers I am definitely noticing how each teacher is different, and how much the teacher controls the atmosphere of the room. The general practice was much like all of the past saturdays that I have been to, we did a vinyasa sequence. The big difference was his teaching style in comparison to Jen's. Jen and Alice, whom I have done yoga with at all my previous sessions, don't spend much time on their mat doing the different asanas that they call out. They spend a majority of their time going around and correcting form in each posture, walking between the row of mats. Steve on the other hand spent his whole time on his mat performing every motion that he called out. I have two theorized reasons as to why he takes this approach to teaching. Number one, because he was new to the class and didn't feel comfortable yet. And number two, because he is a male teacher in a class that is largely filled with female practitioners. Jen and Alice have no problem using their hands to fix some ones form in an asana, but as a male touching a female to fix a posture it becomes a little bit more awkward of a situation. This is especially true when from my experience there are new comers on a daily basis, who may not be familiar with the practice or comfortable with the idea of a teacher touching them to correct their form. The next time I practice with him I will see if anything changes in his teaching style.