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Mirror, Mirror on the Wall

4/6/2021

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According to Donna Farhi, “Countertransference refers to the way a student, client or patient may evoke repressed feelings on the part of the teacher, therapist or doctor”.  By being aware of the countertransference, it enables the yoga therapist to create and maintain better boundaries as well as develop tools to contain feelings so not to destabilize the client-therapist relationship.  Trust me-this is easier said than done.  I am always working on this aspect of the client/therapist relationship.  

I openly admit, I struggle with perfectionism making the most prominent feeling a client can evoke in me--accountability.  In my professional and personal life, I am always prepared and hold myself to a high standard especially if I commit to do something for another person.  I equate this trait to respect for and towards others.  So, when a client lacks what I would call accountability or respect, it makes me soooo angry.  I’m also greatly disappointed in and saddened by someone I thought was reliable and trustworthy as if I really know that client on a personal level.

I have to remind myself-I’m the yoga therapist and I don’t know anything more about the client than what he/she/they tell me. The client/therapist relationship is not personal.  So, I endeavor to remain professional at all times and try diligently not put my moral/value/ethical system on others or cling to expectations of others that I have no control over.  Like I said…easier said than done!!  You don’t have to be a yoga therapist to know how hard this is—we experience this same clinging to expectations in everyday life.

Do you hold on a little too tightly to certain aspects of yourself, your life or others? Is it possible to let go of expectations?
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How Do I Work on Letting Go Expectations?

I go back to the Yoga Sutras and, in particular, the last Yama …Aparigraha (non-attachment).  This enables me to let go of my expectations of others since it only creates suffering for me.  Here’s are some ways to cultivate Aparigraha:

  • Let It Go. “Possessions” take up space and energy—in our heads as well as in our lives. Don’t let someone or something live rent free in your head.
  • Just Breathe. When stressed, we hold our breath which increases anxiety. Breathe fully and deeply-remember your Three Part Breathing.
  • Self-Care. When we feel insecure, we try to control those around us. Develop ways, like meditation, to center yourself so that you feel independent and can allow others to be who they need to be.
  • Positivity. When we cling to negative thoughts, emotions, or memories, we spiral into unhelpful patterns. Replace negative thoughts with an affirmation/mantra for yourself.
  • Forgiveness.  Free yourself by offering forgiveness to those around you.

​What tools can you put in place to steady yourself when attachment and clinging raise their ugly head?
 
Farhi, D. (2006). Teaching Yoga: Exploring the Teacher-Student Relationship. Rodmell Press.
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A Man Without Ethics Is A Wild Beast Loosed Upon This World

1/26/2021

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I was once hired at a recreation center for a class called “All Levels Hatha Yoga”.  The core group had been taking this class for a year.  I soon realized they had never been taught alignment, pranayama...well, let's just say, they pretty much hadn't really been taught anything "yoga" in the course of the year.  They were also all over 60 years old.  Not surprisingly, I had to teach with a lot of modifications and props.

After nine months, a director (a non-yoga instructor) takes my class (they develop a performance assessment based on one class) for my yearly appraisal.  A week later, we have my performance discussion. 

Director: You do this weird breathing thing that I’ve never seen.
Me:  You mean pranayama?  No other yoga teacher here does pranayama?  So, I then explained what pranayama was and why I have the class do it.

Director:  We advertise this as a Hatha Yoga class.  Why are you not linking breath to movement?
Me: Do you know what Hatha Yoga means? So I explained Hatha, Vinyasa, etc. and the differences between styles.

Director: Why don’t you use modifications like other instructors?
Me: The poses are already "modified" to the level of the students.  I don’t show them the hardest version and then modify down-that’s demoralizing.

Director: You need to make the class harder, so more students come. 
Me: So, the students you have are not important and you would rather I drive them out of the recreation center in order to increase numbers.  It sounds like you want young students and don’t value your older students.  You also understand that if I make it harder-your current students will get hurt, right?

And so the discussion went….which leads me lead this crazzzy concept called ETHICS!
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There are certain values that informed my decision-making in this particular situation. They include: 
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  • Ability to Excel. When a person is evaluating performance based on how much revenue I generate and not on the proper utilization of my skills, I can't improve myself an instructor. 
  • Client Centered and Equal Access.  By putting profitability over the reason public-run recreation centers were established, to serve the WHOLE community, and by disrespecting older students, and less-abled students, creates barriers to equal access.
  • A Reverence for Life. DO NO HARM.  When a supervisor has no regard for student safety and well-being, that supervisor shouldn't be in the business of wellness.
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What Where My Options:
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  • I could stay employed, not change my class and potentially be terminated in the future.
  • I could stay employed and change my class to increase participant numbers.
  • I could  resign.

So What Did I Do?

Based on my professional and personal ethics which are ultimately framed and defined by the yama-s and niyama-s, I could not stay in a place with that type of moral and ethical compass.  I gave notice and I quit.

I use the yama-s and niyama-s daily in my professional and personal life.  They guide me in developing classes and therapeutic offerings that are non-harming, truthful, honest and informed.  I always put the student or client first and meet him/her/them where they are on the yoga journey.  This has always included making my services adaptable and accessible both physically and financially.

How do the yama-s and niyama-s frame your daily life?
What ethics or values do you hold dear? Personally or Professionally?
How do you handle a situation when someone crosses those boundaries?

 

 Albert Camus: "A man without ethics is a wild beast loosed upon this world."  ​
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    Kelley Gallop

    I AM Boundless Bliss Yoga. Just me.  I'm a one-lady band. I'm a yoga therapist. I didn't start out to be a yoga therapist,  I just wanted to learn more and SHAAAZZAMM...here I am.

    I'm far from your stereotypical yogi.  I cuss a lot.  I have a dark sense of humor.  You might actually see me in a Jack Daniels t-shirt teaching.  You will never hear me say, "Notice how your buttocks blossoms as you breathe into it".  WTF does that even mean and how would you do that? 

    But what I do know and what you will learn from me is...yoga works.  It challenges. It empowers.  It heals.  

    And that's why I teach.

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