THE ART OF TEACHING
“While the Iyengar tradition has a very methodical
approach, it is not intended to be rigid. There is
tremendous freedom within its structure. As a
teacher, I want students to understand not only
the method and its structure but also the freedom
and the creativity that is at the heart of this rich
tradition.”
Sharon Conroy
The Teacher
Sharon Conroy began to practice yoga in 1986 and is an Iyengar certified
Junior Intermediate III teacher. She opened the first Iyengar yoga center
in New Orleans in 1989 and taught there until Katrina. Sharon recently
returned to the city, and in January 2011 opened a new center uptown in
the university area.
As the first certified teacher in Louisiana, Sharon apprenticed a number of
students who became Iyengar certified teachers. She has conducted
teacher training weekends since 1996 in both Louisiana and Florida and
yearlong programs since 2007. Sharon also serves as an assessor for
IYNAUS Introductory 1 & Introductory 2 certifications.
In addition to her practice of asana and pranayama, Sharon is dedicated
to studying the yoga sutras. Six years ago, this interest led to her writing.
From 2005-2008, she wrote the sutra column for the IYASE newsletter, and
since 2006 she has written an article for each issue of the IYNAUS
newsletter, Samachar. Writing is now an important practice in its own
right. Not only does it provide another means to deepen her
understanding of yoga, but it has helped Sharon become more attuned
to the language she and others use when teaching.
Since 2005, Sharon has studied in Pune with the Iyengar family annually.
She has been a student of Patricia Walden for over twenty years and has
assisted her at many retreats as well as in her two year teacher training
program in Cambridge, 2005-2007. Sharon is especially grateful to
Patricia for encouraging her to conduct her own teacher training.
Through it, she has come to know how much she enjoys sharing her
understanding of teaching in the Iyengar tradition with others.
The Students
To participate, you need to have studied yoga in the Iyengar tradition for
at least two years. You also need to have a regular home practice.
During the program, all students are expected to take a weekly class with
a certified Iyengar teacher, maintain a regular practice of asana and
pranayama, and complete homework assignments in a timely manner. If
you do not have a certified teacher within a 1.5 hr. drive of your home,
Sharon will discuss other options with you.
The Program
The focus of this program is to help both aspiring and experienced
teachers refine and deepen their understanding of the Iyengar method of
practicing and teaching both asana and pranayama. This is done over
the course of three weekends, each 2.5 days long. Homework will be
given prior to each weekend, and there will be at least 50 hours of
instruction over the three weekends.
The Content
BKS Iyengar tells us that we are to teach from our own practice. In other
words, the more firmly established we are in a home practice, the more
authentic and effective our teaching. We teach what we learn from our
practice. And, once we begin teaching, our interest in our own practice
often increases as we work to understand not only our own body but
those of our students.
With home practices at least partially in place, the dual focus of our time
together will be to see our home practices mature and flourish over the
course of the three weekends and to explore the art of teaching in the
Iyengar tradition. In doing so, the program aims to help each participant
come to a deeper understanding of how to both practice and teach the
poses on the syllabus with which they are working in preparation for an
Iyengar assessment.
BKS Iyengar has developed a highly effective method of teaching asana.
However, just as it takes many years to mature in our practice and
understanding of the standing poses, it also takes many years for us to
mature as teachers in our understanding of the individual components of
this teaching method. Just as we learn to use our bodies in increasingly
more precise ways in our practice of asana, we learn to use language in
increasingly more precise ways as we mature in our teaching.
Each of the three weekends will focus on deepening and clarifying our
understanding of one component that defines the Iyengar method of
teaching. In doing so, we will be learning how to use language more
skillfully and more precisely.
Teaching peers and receiving feedback from a more senior teacher is
one of the important ways that we improve as teachers. While almost half
of our time will be spent peer teaching and working on exercises that will
refine teaching skills, participants will also be involved in a variety of other
activities each weekend. There will be an asana class on both Friday and
Saturday morning and a pranayama class on Sunday morning. These
classes will help refine participants understanding of the asanas and
pranayamas on both syllabi. There will also be scheduled times for Q & A,
philosophy, and the discussion of homework assignments which will
include, along with other topics, sequencing poses for a class and
observing our own and others' bodies.
The Art of Demonstrating a Pose for the First Time
November 4-6, 2011
The art of a first demonstration lies in finding effective words to capture
the geometry and/or essence of a new pose.
We want our
demonstration to dynamically entice students to work with the new pose.
Participants will develop and then refine their ability to do this for poses
from their syllabus. They will learn how to- make careful choices about
what to have students watch, coordinate their body movements with their
words, and use their voice skillfully.
And, all this starts with our own
practice.
The Art of Finding and Teaching the Primary Actions for a Pose
February 10-12, 2012
This second weekend will focus on two very important aspects of teaching
a pose for the first time. First, what do we want to see happening in a
particular pose? What are our priorities for the pose? Second, what are
we going to teach students so that they manifest these priorities in their
own pose? What actions will we teach them? Again, all this starts with
our own practice. How do we instruct our own body when we practice to
achieve these priorities? What language can we use to most effectively
express those actions?
The Art of a Second Demonstration
&
Teaching a Correction/Refinement or a Moving Along Action
May 18-20, 2012
As we teach a pose for the first time, we want to be able to see whether
our students are actually doing what we ask them to do. If they aren’t,
we want to show them what they need to do differently. If they are, in
fact, doing what we asked them to do, then we want to give them a new
action that will move them deeper into the pose. At the heart of the
second demo is our ability as teachers to see our students clearly while we
are teaching them. We can begin to develop this skill by first learning how
to look at ourselves carefully and systematically when we are in an asana.
Working this way in our own practice will help us understand what we're
seeing when we look at others. During this weekend, we’ll work together
in different ways to develop and refine our ability to see. And, we’ll
practice the art of doing second demonstrations and teaching a
correction or a moving along action.
Assignments
Over the course of the three weekends, you'll work with many, if not all, of
the poses from your syllabus. Assignments will focus on 10-15 of those
poses each time. By the end of our time together, you will have written
first demonstrations, decided upon priorities and tendencies, and
determined primary actions for many of the poses on your syllabus. By
then, you will have developed a clearer understanding of how to go
about doing these things for the poses with which you didn't work. There
will also be written assignments on various aspects of yoga philosophy as
well as sequencing assignments.
Participants will be asked to have the following books available in their
personal library- Light on Yoga, B.K.S. Iyengar, Yoga, a Gem for Women,
Geeta Iyengar, Light on the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali, B.K.S. Iyengar, Yoga
in Action Preliminary Course, B.K.S. Iyengar and Geeta Iyengar. If you are
hoping to be assessed in the next few years, please purchase the 2012
IYNAUS Certification Manual when it becomes available, usually early
January.
Tentative Schedule
Friday & Saturday
9:30am-12:00pm Asana Class
12:00pm-1:30pm Lunch
1:30pm-5:30pm Philosophy/Homework Discussion/ Q&A/Peer Teaching
Sunday
9:30am-11:00am Pranayama Class
11:00am-11:30am Q&A
11:30am-1:00pm Observing/Correcting & Adjusting
Goals for Participants
It is my hope that by the end of our three weekends each participant will
be practicing with increased curiosity and interest in the effects of the
actions that are given to their body by themselves or a teacher. It is also
my hope that each participant will.clearly understand the difference between a demonstration and
teaching
.be able to distinguish between an initial demonstration and a teaching
demonstration and do both more effectively
.be clear about how to set priorities for the poses on the syllabus with
which they are working
.know how to find appropriate actions to teach themselves when they
practice and to help students in their classes achieve, or move towards,
these priorities
.be able to see themselves and their students more clearly
.understand what a second demonstration and the second teaching of a
pose entails and do both more effectively using the voice, props, and
manual adjustments.
.develop a beginning understanding of how poses on the first syllabus
prepare and link to poses on the second syllabus.
In preparing the class assignments, participants will have created a
workbook of sorts for many of the poses on their syllabus. This workbook
can be a useful reference in preparing for an assessment. While you may
still have poses to work on, you will have developed a better
understanding of what might be useful to put in such a workbook and will
hopefully be inspired to finish the work for any poses that were not
addressed over the course of our time together.
The Location & Lodging
All classes will take place at Sharon's center which is located at 1138
South Carrollton Avenue in New Orleans. The entrance is on Oak Street.
If you are coming from out of town and would prefer to stay with a local
student rather than in a bed and breakfast or hotel, please let us know
that on your registration. In the past, we have been able to provide
lodging for anyone who requested it.
Cost
Space is limited to 10 participants. If you register by August 15, 2011, the
cost for the three weekends is $1050. To reserve a place, send in the
registration with a deposit of $350. If you register after August 15, 2011, the
cost for the three weekends is $1150. To reserve a place, send in the
registration with a deposit of $450.
The balance of payments for everyone will be as follows.the second installment, $350, will be due November 4th
.the third installment, $350, will be due February 10th
If you need to make other payment arrangements, please contact
Sharon via email at [email protected] or call (504)331-0177. If
you withdraw on or before October 1st, whatever you have paid will be
refunded less a $150 administrative fee. If you withdraw after October
15th, your fees, less $150, will be refunded provided your place can be
filled.
What the Students Say
Here is what some of the students who participated over the last two
years have to saySharon Conroy's teacher training not only made me a better teacher but
it also inspired me to become a better student. Her classes made me
want to practice more, and to do so with more curiosity. I feel more
confident in my teaching because of what I learned in my own practice.
And, the Intro II assessment didn't terrify me when I took it! Sharon's
teacher training is well-thought out, and these weekends have helped me
understand what practicing in the Iyengar tradition is all about.
Rachel Mathenia, Nashville, TN
Iyengar Certified 2010
Participant 2008-2009 & 2009-2010
I would describe this teacher training as intense and thorough. The
weekends met my expectations in that I feel my practice deepened, and
I am clearly on the road to becoming a teacher.
Sandra Evans, New Orleans, LA
Participant 2010-2011
These weekends have clarified my understanding of each of the poses on
my syllabus, as well as introduced me to a variety of different ways to
teach the poses. In addition, my own poses have improved tremendously.
I find the homework and the sessions extremely well planned and helpful.
I always learn a lot when I practice teach, but I also learn from watching
others practice teach and receive feedback. Learning to establish
priorities for each pose has done more for my teaching than anything
else. And, even though I have done some of the assignments, such as
listing priorities for poses, several times, I see them in new ways as I learn
more about the poses, and I think it's been very beneficial for me to
repeat these activities. In addition, there are always some new activities,
like the work on sequencing, which has been excellent.
Julia DeHoff, Tallahassee, FL
Candidate Introductory I 2011
Participant 2007-2011
I really got a lot out of Sharon's teacher's training and would highly
recommend it. I've attended a lot of teacher trainings over the years,
and I found hers especially helpful because the group is small and very
focused.
Mary Beth Sartain, Nashville, TN
Participant 2010-2011
The teacher training exceeded my expectations, and the growth that I
experienced this year was far deeper than I had expected. While there
were some difficult times, I thoroughly enjoyed the weekends and
homework. It was as if I was a piece of iron being molded into something
useful. And, I learned much more than I thought was possible.
Dorsey Pierce, Covington, LA
Participant 2010-2011
The program is thorough and complete, and I wouldn't leave out any
portion of the weekends. They helped me know how and when to use
props, what to look for as we assess students in the poses, and how to use
language in teaching that is both precise and concise. Doing the
drawings of the poses and then listing the priorities and tendencies was
the most helpful to me. And, there was ample opportunity to teach,
receive feedback and ask questions. I also learned a lot from Sharon's
observations of the students in the poses and the modifications that were
given. Sharon is an inspirational teacher, and I highly recommend the
training.
Becky Estes, Nashville, TN
Iyengar Certified 2010
Participant 2008-2009 & 2009-2010
Overall, I would say that these three weekends have given me more
confidence in my teaching and a better understanding of the asanas. I
learned so much from the morning classes! I also learned that knowing
the asanas from my own practice is the key to being a competent
teacher. The systematic approach of the weekends really helped me
become better at demonstrating the asanas and seeing what has gone
wrong in students' poses.
Patrice Daws, Nashville, TN
Partiicipant 2009-2010 & 2010-2011
What Sharon's Mentor Says
"I just read over your teacher training material/program. It's excellent! It is
clear that you have put a tremendous amount of time and thought into
it."
Patricia Walden, Cambridge, MA
REGISTRATION FOR THE ART OF TEACHING
New Orleans, LA 2011-2012
Name
Street
City, State, Zip
Telephone: work
home
cell
Email
If accepted into the program, are you interested in staying with a local
student?
Please answer the following questions on a separate piece of paper and
return it with your registration and check. Your answers don’t have to be
long, and it would be helpful if you typed them. If possible, also email
your answers to- [email protected]. That way Sharon can set
up a phone appointment with you sooner.
1. Why do you want to participate in this program? Are there particular
things you are hoping to work on/learn?
2. Who is your regular teacher(s)? How often do you study with her/him?
3. How long have you taken classes in the Iyengar tradition?
4. Please describe your current asana practice. How often and for how
long do you practice? What are the strengths and weaknesses of this
practice?
5. Do you have a pranayama practice? If so, please describe it.
6. Are you currently teaching Iyengar yoga? If no, are you apprenticing
with someone or have plans to start teaching? If yes, how long have you
been teaching? Please list the classes you currently teach, the average
number of students, and the level of the class.
7. Would you like to become an Iyengar certified teacher? If so, have you
already passed the Introductory I assessment?
8. Do you have any chronic injuries or other challenges?
9. Do you have any other kinds of challenges or concerns?
10. Is there anything else you’d like Sharon to know, any concerns?
To reserve a place, please mail your answers to these questions, the
registration, and a check for $350, on or before August 15th, and $450,
after August 15th. If you are not accepted into the teacher training
program, your check will be returned. If you are accepted and decide to
withdraw before October 1st, then you will receive a refund of what you've
paid less $150.
Please make your check payable to Great White Heron and mail it to
Sharon Conroy, P.O. Box 19202 New Orleans, LA 70179.