Tuesday 8 March 2011

Teacher Training with Claire Missingahm - Weekend 7

The Adjustment Bureau
Starring: The Claire Missingham Posse & Guest starring Peter Rizzo.


Weekend 7 and its all getting very practical!


The teacher trainee crew were joined this weekend by Vermont based yoga teacher Peter Rizzo, for a full on weekend of hands on assists/adjustment training.


Peter Rizzo is a Jiva Mukti certified teacher who specialises in sequencing and hands on assists. You can find out more about him here: http://www.bhavayoga.com/ and the buzz section of this page.

As much as i love sharing this journey with such wonderful inspirational women, It was great having another bloke around to look up to, especially Peter who has a fun approach to teaching and an everyman quality which i really respect.

My teacher Claire Missingham met Peter whilst training in New York. It is evident they have a mutual respect and great relationship. They fuse together a beautiful dynamic of knowledge and experience.


I probably speak for every teacher/trainee teacher that has experienced this type of training, that applying and learning hands on assists is tough! I struggled with muscular pain and a lack of prana over the whole weekend, not just from with me receiving the adjustments, but actually assisting my fellow trainee partners too. Someone once said to me that 'yoga teaching cant be hard, i mean all they do is walk around and speak through the class'. I say to that person and to anyone else thinking that yoga teachers do not train hard to be good teachers, think again! I have realised over this weekend that hands on assisting and adjusting your students is not just moulding people into a pose for aesthetic reasons, but helping create space for your students to reach their highest potential within a pose. I have also learnt by working with a very flexible partner, that there is always somewhere you can take your student regardless of their flexibility. We all struggle with certain postures, nobody has a perfect asana practice and we can always go a little deeper.........in all aspects of life.


My partners for this weekend were Jacqui S and Ali, who i thank so much for their support and feedback.


I would also like to thank Claire and of course the very inspirational Peter Rizzo for both sharing their amazing knowledge on this complicated and valuable layer of teaching Vinyasa flow yoga.


Guinea Pigs welcome.




Stefan Warth

2 comments:

  1. Great blog Stef, congrats!

    I loved that TT we, but I have to admit: it finished me! I've been sick for a few days, moving on a mat is just not on my agenda for now :D

    I second every word you wrote, I loved how hands-on assists are a flow of their own and how indeed they are not just physical adjustments but we have the possibility to create space in the body AND mind.

    Keep up the good work with the blog!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Between you and Emmanuelle, you managed to get me nearly an inch taller with your wonderful assists...when I properly reach 5'1", I might bake a cake to celebrate THANK YOU! Great blog and I agree with your Alanis comments whole heartedly. Best of luck to you in all that you do - love and light xx

    ReplyDelete