Group dynamics are always interesting and yoga classes seem to be no exception!
This weekend I attended my second training day and with my homework complete, ready to hand in, I was looking forward to what the day had to offer.
Interestingly enough, that morning I decided to pull a few cards for myself, as I often do, just to see what the energies of the day may bring and as soon as I looked at the cards, I felt that the day was likely to present a challenge and situations may arise that would require some compassion and understanding.
The day began with where we left of, with some talk of joint articulation, which followed on from our homework; a work sheet asking us to give an example of various types of movement, such as "an asana that demonstrations a flexion, extension, hip rotation etc etc"
I had only completed my homework in the last week. For some reason I was struggling to motivate myself, no matter how much I travelled around with my yoga books and homework in toe, I just couldn't find the inspiration to sit and complete it. (I think we can thank the retrograde energies for that) When complete it was easy to say that it was not as difficult as I anticipated and I must have a little more understanding than what I thought with regards to the joint articulation.... hurrah! I retained some information!
We were given the dates for our first formal assessment which will be for us to teach a 25 minute session which will include a Basic Breathing practice and Relaxation. The dates and practices were chosen by random selection, which was good as it could be easy to select something you already know of or understand. I was allocated Straw Breathing, which I had never heard of, but have a little info on, but not sure if I have fully grasped it just yet.
The tutors aim was to go through all our BB and Relaxation practices, so we would all know what we are expected to deliver, as the assessments begin in 2014 with lesson plans due in a month prior to the date.
As they say, the best intentions go astray and that was certainly the case! Some of the questions that came to light during the class grated on me a little, as they seemed a little out of context and there is always someone who likes to ask just for the sake of asking. As the day wore on I grew irritable and perhaps a little restless, partly due to pain, but certainly due to the energy that was manifesting in the group.
I had forgotten the difficulty that can occur as part of a group dynamic and some some people in this group were very vocal; loved the sound of their own voices over the sound of the tutors!
The questions continued, I began to switch off. The questions were becoming even more irrelevant than before and taking us round in circles, on top of that they were beginning to confuse what little understanding I and many others had grasped. We were now way off track and the dear tutor frustrated that we were now missing out on the days course content.The questioning students were becoming rude and a little hostile, pack mentality had kicked in it seems. I really couldn't wait to leave by this point. You couldn't help but feel an air of difficulty and arrogance in many ways. Some people will always feel that their point is always valid and that they are an expert on all matters; which is fine, but if you know so much, why attend a training course? Or perhaps they like to feel more clever by asking and being challenging? They were not funny or clever, I have to say!
The end came and I was happy to leave, with the conclusion that some people are just plain old rude and do not know how to speak and treat others with respect.
Who would think that a group of seasoned yogi's could hold so much ego and hostility? Well really I am not surprised, but my sister was when I told her the experience of the day.
Too often we see this is spiritual circles, the ego comes forth and everything else goes out of the window, manners included. Some people are so focused on the self and their own individual needs and experience that they forget about the experience others may be having and how their actions impact on the rest of the group.
I feel it was a day of great learning for all whether we wanted that experience or not, there is something we all can take from that. I think the energies next month should be interesting. I wonder if there will be a change in the group dynamic? I do hope that we all take time to reflect on our experience, this will make all of our journey's all the more richer and perhaps a few in the group may have had a pleasant serving of humble pie. :)
