Discussion with Allegra
What
brought you onto the path of yoga?
I took gymnastics as a kid and then went on to other things, while occasionally
practicing a handstand or cartwheel when the mood struck me. I tried
other sports over the years, soccer, tennis, cross country running, but
none seemed to give me satisfaction, nor was I really suited to them.
I would have bouts of exercise, followed by bouts of couch sitting. After
college I got a job in a bookstore. For three years I progressed from
part-time, to full, to assistant manager. All that time on my feet and
lifting heavy boxes, climbing up and down ladders with arms full of books
took its toll. My feet hurt all the time and my lower back ached and
sometimes would be in acute pain. I rediscovered my old gymnastics stretches
for my lower back and they seemed to help, but only when I was actually
doing them. I noticed that my back pain went briefly away when I stood
with my belly pulled in, instead of my habitual collapsed position. I
felt like I was going in the right direction, but needed more detail.
I bought a book on yoga. After experimenting at home, I signed up for
classes at the YWCA. I could duplicate the outward shape of the most
difficult poses such as handstand, headstand and wheel pose, but I didn't
understand the proper alignment of downward dog and forward bends. I
started taking classes at Sun & Moon (level 4). After a while my
understanding of alignment began to improve and it was helpful to have
a plan to counter my lower back pain, but more importantly, the atmosphere
and ideas presented in the yoga class were changing how I was thinking.
I began to become more aware of when I was criticizing others or myself,
or of my pessimistic attitude and anger. Although it was not my original
intent to change my outlook on life, a more positive attitude was unfolding.
I began to devour the "mythology" of the Mahabarata, and then other yoga
books, my body started to ask me to do yoga, even when I was annoyed
or distracted. I craved opportunities to share this transformation with
others. When I repeatedly wanted to reach out to strangers in the mall,
or friends or family to help their posture, or improve their attitude,
I knew I had to become a teacher, or drive everyone crazy!
Describe your style of teaching.
I have been teaching now for over two years and my teaching style is
still evolving. Overall, I would say I am an intuitive teacher. I used
to have each class planned out, but then I found myself straying away
from the plan and ended up teaching more interesting combinations or
ideas. Now, I don't have a lesson plan, except to sometimes plan one
or two poses or ideas I would like to cover that day. Currently, the
main themes that I stress in my teaching are finding and distributing
the core strength of the body and alignment, while flowing through poses.
I stress an attitude of exploration, patience and enjoyment as well as
moving with the breath. I often string a few poses together in vinyasa.
These vinyasa routines are often my inventions, which I was spontaneously
inspired to teach at one time or another. I like vinyasa because it heats
and soothes the body at the same time when moving with the pace of the
breath. I believe it makes people feel graceful and pleasurable, even
when they do not expect it. My classes can be challenging at times, but
the pace is moderate and I give generous break poses such as child's,
mountain or a chance to "wiggle things out" in between. I believe in
interacting with students about the whole process, often asking them
to vote on what to do next, or in higher classes asking them for suggestions
for the next pose. I sometimes do what I call an "all request class,"
where I ask students what poses or types of poses they would like to
do in the beginning and then attempt to cover them all. I encourage questions
and comments about their experiences in the poses or with the pranayama.
At the same time I have a goofy sense of humor and will often have classes
laughing while doing difficult poses. If you were to describe my style
according to known schools it would be a combo of elements from Iyengar,
Vinyasa, and Integral.
What do you predict for the future of yoga?
I have a lot of dreams for yoga, but feel a bit nervous in calling them
predictions. I hope that yoga will eventually be offered in all the schools
to help children feel empowered, be able to concentrate and develop a
sense of compassion. I feel if this were to happen, they would be less
likely to desire junk food and video games and they could teach their
parents how to better nurture themselves by example. I wish that people
in all positions of governmental decision making would be required to
attend yoga or meditation classes to better comprehend the sacredness
of life and the consequences of their actions and to give up attachments
to greed and ego. If all the world did yoga it would probably end poverty,
war and violence in a few decades. But these are dreams! I do predict
that yoga will continue to grow in popularity, beyond the question of
whether it is a fad or not; just as rock-n-roll has surpassed that question.
It also seems that the various branches and approaches to yoga will continue
to grow, despite the cries of some purists. It is simply human nature
to take such rich and varied teachings and give them their own personal
spin. Yoga should be accessible to everyone. How could anyone be denied
this wonderful tool of transformation because they are too sick, poor,
worldly or modern? Yet, I would hope that as yoga evolves, it will grow
ever deeper into the original spiritual intention which created it: unity
with the divine.
What do you do in your spare time?
I love to read. I usually am reading at least two books at a time as
well as one magazine. Right now I am reading The Autobiography of
a Yogi , a book I very highly recommend to any cynics or spiritually
questioning people, Under the Black Flag (a history of pirates),
and Edith Wharton's House of Mirth . I was an English Major
in college and I still love the classics! I also love to take walks or
hike/camp in the Shenandoah mountains. Quality movies and music are always
a pleasure. My current favorites are Dirty, Pretty Things and
David Bowie's Cd Heathen . I also love the beach and traveling
to environmentally or culturally gorgeous places. My guilty pleasure
is eating out at restaurants.
Allegra teaches Level 1, Pre- and Post-natal Yoga, and Vinyasa.