Student scurry

[Guest guest]

Sat Nam and Hello!

 

I want to share what I have been experiencing with a yoga class I just

started teaching and hopefully get some feedback from the group.

 

I am teaching a KY class at a dance/ yoga studio in the city of

Philadelphia. Everything is managed by the owner of the studio who takes a

percentage of the earnings. She called me and offered me a prime time slot,

and if I wanted it I had to consent right then. I did and debated with her

over my amount of time (she thought an hour should be fine), and I managed

to get an hour and 15 minutes. The descriptions for the class were written

on the fly with her making the final edit. This is what she put in:

 

Kundalini comprises sets of exercises that are geared to specific energy and

emotional health and which prepare the body for the concluding meditation.

 

It's sort of what I said, but I would never actually write that. Oh, and

she refused to mention that we chanted. Anyway, I gave my first class

almost three weeks ago and had a very nice turn out (about 11 women). I did

the surya kriya set and finished off with long sat nams. The energy was

really intense and the meditation was beautiful. Several people approached

me afterward and told me it was great and so on. I was extremely high and

expansive feeling after class myself.

 

Then next week I had two students. I found out that eight of eleven people

signed up through a certain advertising service cancelled. One person, who

eyed me critically throughout the class, reported that I giggled and used a

book and the class was very disjointed.

 

I told Pam, the manager, that perhaps people did not find what they expected

or were ready for. I think kundalini yoga is very intense and not another

style of hatha like the other classes offered at this studio. However,

having so many people cancel really does not look so good.

 

So what do you think?

 

Love Always,

Sat Siri Akal,

 

littlebird Leslie

aka Guru Chiter Kaur

[Guest guest]

Sat Nam Guru Chiter Kaur:

 

Don't be discouraged! KY is definitely intense, and often people are

not ready to pursue this sort of work, even if they enjoy it very

much at the time. As my first teacher advised me when I started

teaching (and having similar experiences), you gave them a wonderful

experience, a taste of something that is very effective, and even if

they are not ready for it right now, they know it is there and can

come back to it when they are ready.

 

As far as all the withdrawals go, I don't think your experience is

particularly odd: I teach a class through a local community ed.

program which often starts with 15-20 people, and usually finishes

with 3-5. I also teach a drop-in type class, and in the past year I

would say that many dozens - more than a hundred people, easily -

have told me how wonderful the class was and that they would be

coming regularly, but then never return. Some of them even buy

passes good for a number of classes and don't come back. I often

joke with other teachers that if all the students who said they would

come actually showed up that we'd have to rent a concert hall!

 

I do memorize some basic kriyas so that I can really focus on the

students and the fundamental techniques, particularly for the first

few classes (for a class that isn't the drop-in type). Along the way

I will mention that there are thousands of different kriyas to choose

from, and often get students to participate in choosing a theme for a

particular class, so they are accustomed to seeing me work from a

book.

 

And I always start with some simple warm-ups, perhaps some pranayam,

and remind them about keeping eyes closed (and all the little tidbits

about posture, breathing with silent "Sat Nam", etc.), so by the time

we get to the kriya they are more focused on what they are doing than

what I am doing, and I can easily peek at the next asana during the

current one (or the in-between relaxation) and thus can move through

the kriya without appearing to be reading much (I am much smoother

about this than when I began, I'm sure

 

My regular students often come in saying they have a particular issue

they'd like to work on, so I always bring several books along so I

can find something that seems right. I used to prepare for every

class by memorizing a kriya to work on, but that rarely worked out -

I would choose a challenging kriya and nothing but new students would

show up that night - and then the following week I'd prepare a great

beginner's class and only my regular students would show up...

 

Don't give up - "if you teach it, they will come"

 

Much love & many blessings,

Sadhant

[Guest guest]

Sat Siri Akal,

Wow. What a dilemma you have there. It is very strange that students

would tell you they loved the class, then next week not show up. Would

the studio have their addresses at all? Perhaps if comment cards were

sent off, maybe someone would answer truthfully why they didn't return.

It's possible that kundalini yoga wasn't what they expected. Maybe they

didn't take to your teaching style (hopefully this isn't the case). Or

MAYBE everyone was just plain sick. I live right outside Philly, and

there's certainly a bug going around. What night do you hold classes?

Where in Philadelphia is it? Center City? NE? If it's convenient for me,

maybe I'll hop on over and take a class of yours. Best of luck.

 

Sat nam,

Angie

[Guest guest]

In a message dated 1/31/01 10:16:51 PM Eastern Standard Time,

Kundaliniyoga writes:

 

<< I want to share what I have been experiencing with a yoga class I just

started teaching and hopefully get some feedback from the group. >>

 

 

First of all, I would say congratulations on actually getting out there to

teach; it can be a daunting experience, can't it? Secondly, please do not

get discouraged. I have been in the same situation as you, as speak from

experience. I am currently in my third year of teaching KY. My first year,

I started with an ad in the local paper and picked up a couple of students,

teaching out of my home. I was then approached by a local women's health

club. The owner/manager of the club did not seem to get it either. I

started the class with about a dozen people and within 2 weeks was done to

2-3. By the end of that year, she was doing the class on a drop-in basis and

I was never sure who would show up; some nights there were no students at

all. I experienced that same thing you did. Students would approach me

saying how much they loved the class, and then I never saw them again. I no

longer teach there. Then I started a class at a local YMCA....these classes

were offered in sessions. Again, some would start and then drop out, some

would claim to love it, and disappear. After a year and a half there, the Y

management decided to cancel KY, to add an additional hatha class as that

class was busier. I am still teaching my own class, but no longer at my

home, but at my church, as the class has grown to 7 regular students. I have

had moments of despair and discouragement, but I keep plugging. The

students I have all love the class and are learning; I have found that that

is what is important and even if it is only one student, I shall continue.

I don't know if my sharing this experience helps you, but I wish you luck.

 

Devta Kaur

[Guest guest]

Hi Leslie,

 

As a new student myself I can honestly say that you shouldn't take this

personally. People do not come to class for their own reasons.

Among them, is that they just have other priorities. When they told you they

would be returning they probably meant it at the time.

We're all just so nuts with all the stuff we are "supposed" to do these days,

people often feel overwhelmed most of the time. So,

something has to give. Very often, it's things like yoga or tia chi classes

because unlike weight lifting or serious cardio exercise

the effects of yoga are slower and much more subtle (as you know). Even though

you may understand the wonderful benefits, many people

just can't wait to get to that point, so they abandon it for something faster

(at least in their minds).

 

Good luck with your classes. I hope you will continue to offer them, even if no

one shows up sometimes. Where I live there are no ky

classes at all, and I doubt there ever will be. The only yoga class available

is held in the loud, flourescent, freezing cardio room of

a local gym - not exactly conducive to a good yoga experience. If you were

teaching in my area, I would run and not walk to your

class. I'm sure there are others in your area who feel the same. You just have

to be patient and give them time to find you. You

might even be surprised to find many of your students returning when the weather

gets warmer.

 

Tammy Schilling

 

 

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[Guest guest]

Hi, I'm new on the list and find this subject close to

my experience

 

I've taught ky since 1991 and have over that time have

5 serious practicioners. Over the years my classes

have ranged from 30+ for a Parks and Rec. dept....to 3

(3 of the 5 in a private home. I have had my own

studio but the inconsistancy of attending classes

coupled with high overhead caused me to move out after

1 year.

 

I also teach astrology classes. Same thing. A class

that starts out with 20 or so students dwindles to 5

or 6 after students are presented with work.

 

And I lead a meditation group at the Buddhist Temple

where I practice. Again, same thing. Here, the

practicioners seem more dedicated, but formal classes

don't motivate dedicated attendance.

 

And so I ask myself over and over (the

years)....*Maybe I should get a real job?

To the person who posted that as long as 1 student is

truly interested they will continue, I say Sadhu!

I watch the Abbot at the Temple and he is faithful to

dharma whether there is 1 or 100 people present. This

is the light of the candle that supports my practice.

 

Shanti Shanti Shanti

 

daisie

 

 

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[Guest guest]

Sat Nam,

 

Welcome to real life KY. KY is the real thing. It includes all yogas. If

you practice it, it will change your life quickly and forever. Change

includes looking at your issues and facing things you have put in the denial

bin before. Some people are ready for this radical approach and some are

not. Many people are not ready for the fast track.

 

I had a student once who paid for a series of classes. He was so delighted

with the class and had looked forward for weeks to begin KY. He called me

after the first class and said, "It was wonderful, but it is too fast for

me, I just can't change at this speed." Most people are not that clear

about what is happening.

 

Some people have karmically earned the priviledge of only one class. Some

will be back months, even years latter after they have integrated the

energy. There are so many factors.

 

Personally, my classes are small. I know I can teach students who really

want to connect to their souls and achieve a direct on-going experience with

the Divine. So that is my intention and goal. Not everyone is ready. But

some are and they are the ones that come. It gives me so much satisfaction

to see how these few students are genuinely transformed and operate at a

higher level of consciousness.

 

Everything has a purpose. Since my classes in San Diego are small, I was

motivated to share KY with other students in other places of the world who

also wanted the gold of KY. So Gordon found me and we created all the

internet services you are using.

 

My next goal is to be able to record and even video my classes so that they

can be shared with a bigger audience. Every time I teach, I think of all of

you and wish you were in the class. Maybe you are. Last night we connected

the third eye with the heart and then the whole body. We praciced makilng

our whole being an intuitive sensory system. Yogi Bhajan says that this is

one of the skills we must cultivate to thrive in the Aquarian Age.

 

Some people are only ready to stretch their bodies. Others want to stretch

their awareness to include their whole soul and even the cosmos. Everyone

is where they need to be. Everyone is doing the best they can. Whoever you

are blessed to teach, teach them with sincerity. Help them gain the

experience that they are after. We are only here to serve.

 

Sat Nam,

 

Gururattan Kaur

[Guest guest]

[Every time I teach, I think of all of

you and wish you were in the class. Maybe you are.

Last night we connected

the third eye with the heart and then the whole body.]

 

Undoubtedly my class with the medical group (NC) was

with your class last night! We also connected the

ajna with the heart center

 

Thanks for the positive observations and

encouragement.

 

Shanti Shanti Shanti

 

daisie

 

 

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[Guest guest]

I've really appreciated this discussion as I'm about to start teaching in

my home. I plan to do two classes a week. I began teaching about a year

ago in a hatha teacher's house - she offered me the space and came to the

classes herself. I became very discouraged when the numbers dropped

while her classes were very sucessful - I felt my inexperience was to

blame and after a while I gave up. For the past few months I've taught

in a local health club and have two serious students and a few who come

and go. Early on I realised that people in the health club are not ready

for intense kundalini and stick to fairly simple routines/sets.

 

Like Gururattan Kaur I feel this yoga is for people who desire a

connection with the Divine, and the truth is very few people are willing

to pay the price. To a lot of people yoga is another form of exercise

and other types will appeal more. I think to be able to make a living

out of teaching KY is a very wonderful thing, but most of us will not be

able to be in that fortunate position. Reaching whoever we can is the

important thing.

 

I know a wonderful teacher here in Louisiana who has built an amazing

following in a small town out in the country. She got ten people to do

the teacher training course with her as she did it herself.. They all

went to a White Tantric course in Houston and were so impressed they all

signed up for teacher training. Meredith was fortunate to own the

premises suitable for a yoga centre , but she worked exceptionally hard

and regularly brings in out of town teachers to hold seminars. I think

they have one thing in their favour down there - when they do get people

interested it may be a liitle easier to keep them coming back when there

is not a whole lot of interesting things to choose from to do. Now up in

Sin City (New Orleans) where I live it's a whole other story......

 

I tell you this story to encourage you all , and myself too. I asked

Meredith about her sucess and she basically said it takes working your

butt, off day in day out. So I guess commitment is the thing ......

 

Love to all,

Avtar Kaur

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[Guest guest]

I read the student scurry and would like to know where are you located? Are

you down south? I live in Northern Louisiana and cant find a class for

anything.

Michelle

[Guest guest]

My wife and I have been teaching two classes a week in Portland, Maine for

the last several years and have observed the ebb and flow of students.

Attracting students depends on the time of year; summer is the worst for

attracting students, and as soon as it gets cold is the best, also it depends

on holiday schedules and so on.

 

We have the same experience of students coming, enjoying class and

disappearing mysteriously. I suspect this is true of most teachers. However,

even years later, many call up and say they really miss doing KY and want to

return. Some do, some don't. It seems to be primarily a matter of motivation

and discipline, secondarily other factors like schedule, health, relocation,

etc. As Yogi Bhajan says, half the effort is just showing up for class. And

then there are the few students that really get KY in all its magnificance,

and can't get enough of it. That is so thrilling to see. Everything works out

as it should in the end- don't attach to much importance to the hurry and

scurry of it all. Blessings- Ram Rattan Singh.

 

 

 

[Guest guest]

Sat Nam,

 

Thank you to everyone for your responses! I found every one helpful. I

have taught before. We've moved a lot (I trained in Buffalo with Siri

Narayan Kaur Khalsa Fuda), so I have started up classes five other times

(plus my husband taught before I started). It has been the same everytime,

small classes. Two or three people usually are steady and into it. For a

long time I would just figure that I wasn't ready, or they weren't, or it is

just what was meant to be- whatever. This time it was different for me

because I'm working out of this studio and the manager seemed pretty shocked

at the drop outs. She thinks it's just another type of hatha yoga. So, I

guess that is what it is- it's not like the other classes. People who teach

basic hatha yoga classes get a lot of people to come and people who teach

kundalini yoga have smaller classes generally because there is a smaller

percentage of people who are ready. Interesting. It is great to have this

group to talk with!

 

I just taught tonite and we had a really nice class with two students. We

did the rejuvination set and meditation. It seems I have three steady

people right now. I plan on creating my own flier to get my personal

essense into the advertising. I'm not really worried. Everything works out

just as it was meant to.

 

Oh, and for Angie- Classes are at the Moving Arts of Mt. Airy studio (MAMA)

in NW Philly. on the corner of Carpenter Lane and Greene St, just off of

Lincoln Dr. They are Thursday nights 6:15- 7:30pm. $11 drop in $80 for ten

classes.

 

Well, I just love having this dialog. Thanks again.

 

Sat Nam,

 

littlebird Leslie

aka Guru Chiter Kaur

[Guest guest]

Hi Leslie,

 

FWIW (for what it's worth), many people that I know like small classes, myself

included. I prefer that the class, regardless of the

type of yoga, is smaller. This allows for more time to ask questions of the

instructor, spend more time on individual needs for

everyone without anyone feeling left out, and getting to know people within the

class fairly well.

 

I know that small classes aren't the best, economically, for instructors. Maybe

it helps, at least, to know that your students may

appreciate the small size.

 

Just a different perspective.

 

Tammy

 

 

"Leslie Howard (E-mail)" wrote:

 

> Sat Nam,

>

> Thank you to everyone for your responses! I found every one helpful. I

> have taught before. We've moved a lot (I trained in Buffalo with Siri

> Narayan Kaur Khalsa Fuda), so I have started up classes five other times

> (plus my husband taught before I started). It has been the same everytime,

> small classes. Two or three people usually are steady and into it. For a

> long time I would just figure that I wasn't ready, or they weren't, or it is

> just what was meant to be- whatever. This time it was different for me

> because I'm working out of this studio and the manager seemed pretty shocked

> at the drop outs. She thinks it's just another type of hatha yoga. So, I

> guess that is what it is- it's not like the other classes. People who teach

> basic hatha yoga classes get a lot of people to come and people who teach

> kundalini yoga have smaller classes generally because there is a smaller

> percentage of people who are ready. Interesting. It is great to have this

> group to talk with!

>

> I just taught tonite and we had a really nice class with two students. We

> did the rejuvination set and meditation. It seems I have three steady

> people right now. I plan on creating my own flier to get my personal

> essense into the advertising. I'm not really worried. Everything works out

> just as it was meant to.

>

> Oh, and for Angie- Classes are at the Moving Arts of Mt. Airy studio (MAMA)

> in NW Philly. on the corner of Carpenter Lane and Greene St, just off of

> Lincoln Dr. They are Thursday nights 6:15- 7:30pm. $11 drop in $80 for ten

> classes.

>

> Well, I just love having this dialog. Thanks again.

>

> Sat Nam,

>

> littlebird Leslie

> aka Guru Chiter Kaur

>

>

> "OUR DESTINY IS TO BE HAPPY"

> - Yogi Bhajan

>

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[Guest guest]

Dear Michelle,

 

I'm in New Orleans - if you are interested e-mail me off list and I'll

send you the details. Meredith is in Houma.

 

Sat Nam,

Avtar

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[Guest guest]

Dear daisie,

 

> Undoubtedly my class with the medical group (NC) was

> with your class last night! We also connected the

> ajna with the heart center

 

We are more connected than we imagine. Thanks so much for sharing this.

 

I remember reading a story once of a master Vitvan who lived in the West of

US this century. He had two students and was a bit disappointed. Once he

met another master and wanted to share with him about his disappointment.

But first the other master started telling him how delighted he was that he

had one devoted student. Vitvan was glad he did not complain to him about

only having two students. He went home more satisfied than anticipated.

 

Sat nam,

 

Gururattan Kaur