9/20/13
Every year I assign my middle
school students to write for five minutes without stopping; it’s a way to free
up their thoughts, letting them know that whatever topic their brains are
thinking about is okay to write about. The mind works easily, nonstop, and the job
of the writer is simply to record what the mind is thinking. The only rule of
the assignment is to keep their pencil or pen moving. I will attempt to do a
similar writing here, but on the typewriter—I mean computer.
Yesterday, I felt the pressure to
get a sequence done. It turned into a
chore; something I had to do. The resistance was centered in my stomach, and I
felt like a high school student who didn’t want to do their homework. I kept
telling myself it’s not supposed to be like this. This should be something that
you love. Yet, yesterday, I hated sequencing.
I see no point in it. Why should a
beginning teacher have to design these steps for their students to follow? It should be the job of the advanced teachers
to come up with the subtle, beautiful, free-flowing, rejuvenating, and,
especially, safe sequences. New teachers aren’t capable of coming up with
sequences.
As I write this, I realize I am
avoiding the responsibility of a teacher, even a beginning teacher who is
learning. How does one become an advanced teacher? Capable teachers all begin
somewhere. And the best way to learn is to make mistakes. Jump in, childlike,
and have fun. Who cares? Enjoy. This is the attitude that I am striving for
anyway.
9/22/13
After I finished my third sequence,
Virabhadrasana II, Warrior Pose, Jen reviewed it with me. And I feel like I’m making some progress:
