On Saturday afternoon, 10 April 2010, Siobhan Russell contacted me on Facebook chat and asked me a series of very penetrating questions that I tried to answer as best I could.
Our conversation is below.
Siobhan:
What is your philosophy as a yoga instructor?
Jack:
To teach yoga in a safe and accessible way. Everyone should be able to do yoga. So modify the poses and sequence as necessary to suit the person.
Siobhan:
Do you apply the same philosophy to your daily practice no matter what you have come to expect of yourself from what youve gained through training?
Jack:
Last year when I injured my knees it was necessary for me to modify many poses so that I could continue my practice. The focus was on continuing the practice while helping to heal the injury.
Be content with your practice for today. Tomorrow maybe better or worse.
Siobhan:
Exactly. What is your philosophy about assists?
Jack:
Assists have two purposes.
- The first is to do the pose safely and with the best alignment that the person can achieve given the state of their body.
- Second an assist can be used to help a person to go further into a posture, but only when the body is ready. The muscles may be a little weak in the direction they need to go in and an assist will make the difference.
Siobhan:
So you’d say that you don’t do an assist so forcefully that it causes injury correct?
Jack:
An assist should never force a person where the body is not ready to go.
Siobhan:
Exactly. Are You more Ashtanga inspired in your style and teaching influences?
Jack:
I have been teaching and doing Ashtanga exclusively for the past 12 years.
Siobhan:
What drew you to the Ashtanga style?
Jack:
Over the many previous years of doing yoga there always seemed to be something missing.
The defined sequence of postures with one pose building on the next is what first attracted me to the Ashtanga style.
The benefits that I achieved with the Ashtanga practice keeps me here. Benefits such as
- More flexible
- Stronger
- Better breath
- Calmer mind.
Siobhan:
Who would youi say was the teacher that had the most and best influence on you?
Jack:
I started with Jody Manley and continue studying with her even after 12 years. The other teachers that I am following closely these days is David Williams and Nancy Gilgoff. Both David and Nancy have a similar philosophy that I have towards teaching Ashtanga yoga.
Siobhan:
To modify it as needed?
Jack:
Not that so much.
Rather, you can do the entire Primary series even if you can not do all of the postures perfectly. Do the postures as best you can with safety and work your way through the entire Primary series.
When you have had reasonable success with the Primary series then start on the Intermediate series. Again moving forward with safety. Modify the postures as required depending on the bodies ability. And always moving towards improving your ability to do the individual postures.
Siobhan:
Thank you. I was curious about what different teachers are about in the area. thats why i asked 🙂
Jack:
Your welcome.
