THE ART OF TEACHING

“While the Iyengar tradition has a very methodical

approach, it is not intended to be rigid. There is

tremendous freedom within its structure. As a

teacher, I want students to understand not only

the method and its structure but also the freedom

and the creativity that is at the heart of this rich

tradition.” Sharon Conroy

The Teacher

Sharon Conroy began to practice yoga in 1986 and is an Iyengar certified

Junior Intermediate III teacher. She opened the first Iyengar yoga center

in New Orleans in 1989 and taught there until Katrina. Sharon recently

returned to the city, and in January 2011 opened a new center uptown in

the university area.

As the first certified teacher in Louisiana, Sharon apprenticed a number of

students who became Iyengar certified teachers. She has conducted

teacher training weekends since 1996 in both Louisiana and Florida and

yearlong programs since 2007. Sharon also serves as an assessor for

IYNAUS Introductory 1 & Introductory 2 certifications.

In addition to her practice of asana and pranayama, Sharon is dedicated

to studying the yoga sutras. Six years ago, this interest led to her writing.

From 2005-2008, she wrote the sutra column for the IYASE newsletter, and

since 2006 she has written an article for each issue of the IYNAUS

newsletter, Samachar. Writing is now an important practice in its own

right. Not only does it provide another means to deepen her

understanding of yoga, but it has helped Sharon become more attuned

to the language she and others use when teaching.

Since 2005, Sharon has studied in Pune with the Iyengar family annually.

She has been a student of Patricia Walden for over twenty years and has

assisted her at many retreats as well as in her two year teacher training

program in Cambridge, 2005-2007. Sharon is especially grateful to

Patricia for encouraging her to conduct her own teacher training.

Through it, she has come to know how much she enjoys sharing her

understanding of teaching in the Iyengar tradition with others.

The Students

To participate, you need to have studied yoga in the Iyengar tradition for

at least two years. You also need to have a regular home practice.

During the program, all students are expected to take a weekly class with

a certified Iyengar teacher, maintain a regular practice of asana and

pranayama, and complete homework assignments in a timely manner. If

you do not have a certified teacher within a 1.5 hr. drive of your home,

Sharon will discuss other options with you.

The Program

The focus of this program is to help both aspiring and experienced

teachers refine and deepen their understanding of the Iyengar method of

practicing and teaching both asana and pranayama. This is done over

the course of three weekends, each 2.5 days long. Homework will be

given prior to each weekend, and there will be at least 50 hours of

instruction over the three weekends.

The Content

BKS Iyengar tells us that we are to teach from our own practice. In other

words, the more firmly established we are in a home practice, the more

authentic and effective our teaching. We teach what we learn from our

practice. And, once we begin teaching, our interest in our own practice

often increases as we work to understand not only our own body but

those of our students.

With home practices at least partially in place, the dual focus of our time

together will be to see our home practices mature and flourish over the

course of the three weekends and to explore the art of teaching in the

Iyengar tradition. In doing so, the program aims to help each participant

come to a deeper understanding of how to both practice and teach the

poses on the syllabus with which they are working in preparation for an

Iyengar assessment.

BKS Iyengar has developed a highly effective method of teaching asana.

However, just as it takes many years to mature in our practice and

understanding of the standing poses, it also takes many years for us to

mature as teachers in our understanding of the individual components of

this teaching method. Just as we learn to use our bodies in increasingly

more precise ways in our practice of asana, we learn to use language in

increasingly more precise ways as we mature in our teaching.

Each of the three weekends will focus on deepening and clarifying our

understanding of one component that defines the Iyengar method of

teaching. In doing so, we will be learning how to use language more

skillfully and more precisely.

Teaching peers and receiving feedback from a more senior teacher is

one of the important ways that we improve as teachers. While almost half

of our time will be spent peer teaching and working on exercises that will

refine teaching skills, participants will also be involved in a variety of other

activities each weekend. There will be an asana class on both Friday and

Saturday morning and a pranayama class on Sunday morning. These

classes will help refine participants understanding of the asanas and

pranayamas on both syllabi. There will also be scheduled times for Q & A,

philosophy, and the discussion of homework assignments which will

include, along with other topics, sequencing poses for a class and

observing our own and others' bodies.

The Art of Demonstrating a Pose for the First Time

November 4-6, 2011

The art of a first demonstration lies in finding effective words to capture

the geometry and/or essence of a new pose. We want our

demonstration to dynamically entice students to work with the new pose.

Participants will develop and then refine their ability to do this for poses

from their syllabus. They will learn how to- make careful choices about

what to have students watch, coordinate their body movements with their

words, and use their voice skillfully. And, all this starts with our own

practice.

The Art of Finding and Teaching the Primary Actions for a Pose

February 10-12, 2012

This second weekend will focus on two very important aspects of teaching

a pose for the first time. First, what do we want to see happening in a

particular pose? What are our priorities for the pose? Second, what are

we going to teach students so that they manifest these priorities in their

own pose? What actions will we teach them? Again, all this starts with

our own practice. How do we instruct our own body when we practice to

achieve these priorities? What language can we use to most effectively

express those actions?

The Art of a Second Demonstration

&

Teaching a Correction/Refinement or a Moving Along Action

May 18-20, 2012

As we teach a pose for the first time, we want to be able to see whether

our students are actually doing what we ask them to do. If they aren’t,

we want to show them what they need to do differently. If they are, in

fact, doing what we asked them to do, then we want to give them a new

action that will move them deeper into the pose. At the heart of the

second demo is our ability as teachers to see our students clearly while we

are teaching them. We can begin to develop this skill by first learning how

to look at ourselves carefully and systematically when we are in an asana.

Working this way in our own practice will help us understand what we're

seeing when we look at others. During this weekend, we’ll work together

in different ways to develop and refine our ability to see. And, we’ll

practice the art of doing second demonstrations and teaching a

correction or a moving along action.

Assignments

Over the course of the three weekends, you'll work with many, if not all, of

the poses from your syllabus. Assignments will focus on 10-15 of those

poses each time. By the end of our time together, you will have written

first demonstrations, decided upon priorities and tendencies, and

determined primary actions for many of the poses on your syllabus. By

then, you will have developed a clearer understanding of how to go

about doing these things for the poses with which you didn't work. There

will also be written assignments on various aspects of yoga philosophy as

well as sequencing assignments.

Participants will be asked to have the following books available in their

personal library- Light on Yoga, B.K.S. Iyengar, Yoga, a Gem for Women,

Geeta Iyengar, Light on the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali, B.K.S. Iyengar, Yoga

in Action Preliminary Course, B.K.S. Iyengar and Geeta Iyengar. If you are

hoping to be assessed in the next few years, please purchase the 2012

IYNAUS Certification Manual when it becomes available, usually early

January.

Tentative Schedule

Friday & Saturday

9:30am-12:00pm Asana Class

12:00pm-1:30pm Lunch

1:30pm-5:30pm Philosophy/Homework Discussion/ Q&A/Peer Teaching

Sunday

9:30am-11:00am Pranayama Class

11:00am-11:30am Q&A

11:30am-1:00pm Observing/Correcting & Adjusting

Goals for Participants

It is my hope that by the end of our three weekends each participant will

be practicing with increased curiosity and interest in the effects of the

actions that are given to their body by themselves or a teacher. It is also

my hope that each participant will-

.clearly understand the difference between a demonstration and

teaching

.be able to distinguish between an initial demonstration and a teaching

demonstration and do both more effectively

.be clear about how to set priorities for the poses on the syllabus with

which they are working

.know how to find appropriate actions to teach themselves when they

practice and to help students in their classes achieve, or move towards,

these priorities

.be able to see themselves and their students more clearly

.understand what a second demonstration and the second teaching of a

pose entails and do both more effectively using the voice, props, and

manual adjustments.

.develop a beginning understanding of how poses on the first syllabus

prepare and link to poses on the second syllabus.

In preparing the class assignments, participants will have created a

workbook of sorts for many of the poses on their syllabus. This workbook

can be a useful reference in preparing for an assessment. While you may

still have poses to work on, you will have developed a better

understanding of what might be useful to put in such a workbook and will

hopefully be inspired to finish the work for any poses that were not

addressed over the course of our time together.

The Location & Lodging

All classes will take place at Sharon's center which is located at 1138

South Carrollton Avenue in New Orleans. The entrance is on Oak Street.

If you are coming from out of town and would prefer to stay with a local

student rather than in a bed and breakfast or hotel, please let us know

that on your registration. In the past, we have been able to provide

lodging for anyone who requested it.

Cost

Space is limited to 10 participants. If you register by August 15, 2011, the

cost for the three weekends is $1050. To reserve a place, send in the

registration with a deposit of $350. If you register after August 15, 2011, the

cost for the three weekends is $1150. To reserve a place, send in the

registration with a deposit of $450.

The balance of payments for everyone will be as follows-

.the second installment, $350, will be due November 4th

.the third installment, $350, will be due February 10th

If you need to make other payment arrangements, please contact

Sharon via email at Sharon@greatwhiteheron.net or call (504)331-0177. If

you withdraw on or before October 1st, whatever you have paid will be

refunded less a $150 administrative fee. If you withdraw after October

15th, your fees, less $150, will be refunded provided your place can be

filled.

What the Students Say

Here is what some of the students who participated over the last two

years have to say-

Sharon Conroy's teacher training not only made me a better teacher but

it also inspired me to become a better student. Her classes made me

want to practice more, and to do so with more curiosity. I feel more

confident in my teaching because of what I learned in my own practice.

And, the Intro II assessment didn't terrify me when I took it! Sharon's

teacher training is well-thought out, and these weekends have helped me

understand what practicing in the Iyengar tradition is all about.

Rachel Mathenia, Nashville, TN

Iyengar Certified 2010

Participant 2008-2009 & 2009-2010

I would describe this teacher training as intense and thorough. The

weekends met my expectations in that I feel my practice deepened, and

I am clearly on the road to becoming a teacher.

Sandra Evans, New Orleans, LA

Participant 2010-2011

These weekends have clarified my understanding of each of the poses on

my syllabus, as well as introduced me to a variety of different ways to

teach the poses. In addition, my own poses have improved tremendously.

I find the homework and the sessions extremely well planned and helpful.

I always learn a lot when I practice teach, but I also learn from watching

others practice teach and receive feedback. Learning to establish

priorities for each pose has done more for my teaching than anything

else. And, even though I have done some of the assignments, such as

listing priorities for poses, several times, I see them in new ways as I learn

more about the poses, and I think it's been very beneficial for me to

repeat these activities. In addition, there are always some new activities,

like the work on sequencing, which has been excellent.

Julia DeHoff, Tallahassee, FL

Candidate Introductory I 2011

Participant 2007-2011

I really got a lot out of Sharon's teacher's training and would highly

recommend it. I've attended a lot of teacher trainings over the years,

and I found hers especially helpful because the group is small and very

focused.

Mary Beth Sartain, Nashville, TN

Participant 2010-2011

The teacher training exceeded my expectations, and the growth that I

experienced this year was far deeper than I had expected. While there

were some difficult times, I thoroughly enjoyed the weekends and

homework. It was as if I was a piece of iron being molded into something

useful. And, I learned much more than I thought was possible.

Dorsey Pierce, Covington, LA

Participant 2010-2011

The program is thorough and complete, and I wouldn't leave out any

portion of the weekends. They helped me know how and when to use

props, what to look for as we assess students in the poses, and how to use

language in teaching that is both precise and concise. Doing the

drawings of the poses and then listing the priorities and tendencies was

the most helpful to me. And, there was ample opportunity to teach,

receive feedback and ask questions. I also learned a lot from Sharon's

observations of the students in the poses and the modifications that were

given. Sharon is an inspirational teacher, and I highly recommend the

training.

Becky Estes, Nashville, TN

Iyengar Certified 2010

Participant 2008-2009 & 2009-2010

Overall, I would say that these three weekends have given me more

confidence in my teaching and a better understanding of the asanas. I

learned so much from the morning classes! I also learned that knowing

the asanas from my own practice is the key to being a competent

teacher. The systematic approach of the weekends really helped me

become better at demonstrating the asanas and seeing what has gone

wrong in students' poses.

Patrice Daws, Nashville, TN

Partiicipant 2009-2010 & 2010-2011

What Sharon's Mentor Says

"I just read over your teacher training material/program. It's excellent! It is

clear that you have put a tremendous amount of time and thought into

it."

Patricia Walden, Cambridge, MA

REGISTRATION FOR THE ART OF TEACHING

New Orleans, LA 2011-2012

Name

Street

City, State, Zip

Telephone: work home cell

Email

If accepted into the program, are you interested in staying with a local

student?

Please answer the following questions on a separate piece of paper and

return it with your registration and check. Your answers don’t have to be

long, and it would be helpful if you typed them. If possible, also email

your answers to- Sharon@GreatWhiteHeron.Net. That way Sharon can set

up a phone appointment with you sooner.

1. Why do you want to participate in this program? Are there particular

things you are hoping to work on/learn?

2. Who is your regular teacher(s)? How often do you study with her/him?

3. How long have you taken classes in the Iyengar tradition?

4. Please describe your current asana practice. How often and for how

long do you practice? What are the strengths and weaknesses of this

practice?

5. Do you have a pranayama practice? If so, please describe it.

6. Are you currently teaching Iyengar yoga? If no, are you apprenticing

with someone or have plans to start teaching? If yes, how long have you

been teaching? Please list the classes you currently teach, the average

number of students, and the level of the class.

7. Would you like to become an Iyengar certified teacher? If so, have you

already passed the Introductory I assessment?

8. Do you have any chronic injuries or other challenges?

9. Do you have any other kinds of challenges or concerns?

10. Is there anything else you’d like Sharon to know, any concerns?

To reserve a place, please mail your answers to these questions, the

registration, and a check for $350, on or before August 15th, and $450,

after August 15th. If you are not accepted into the teacher training

program, your check will be returned. If you are accepted and decide to

withdraw before October 1st, then you will receive a refund of what you've

paid less $150.

Please make your check payable to Great White Heron and mail it to

Sharon Conroy, P.O. Box 19202 New Orleans, LA 70179.