The Most Common Questions Asked in a Yoga Teacher Training (Part 2)

0:00 All right, listen up everyone, Paul Byron and myself have been working so hard on putting together a platform dedicated specifically to yoga teachers. And the good news is it's almost ready for you soon. This platform is going to be publicly released but we want to actually make a special offer to those who have been dedicated to following us since the beginning. So that's a lot of you listeners right now. We want to make a special offer for you. And if you are interested in

0:28 being one of the founding Members of this going pro platform, then you're going to have an opportunity to do. So. All you need to do is just go into any of the description of any episode and you'll be able to sign up to the waitlist for this going pro platform.

0:42 So that you can take advantage of this offer will hope to see you. There. Are you currently connected to your higher self Bayern? I am Trying. No. I am. I'm connected. I forgot my my fucking headphones, man. Shit. Maybe that's why I'm having trouble recorded. We're recording here, man.

1:03 Come on. It's already recording right now. Yeah, hurry up. Oh God, the listeners are waiting for you. I always have trouble with this part. Welcome to the going pro. Yoga podcast, nugget series. My name is Michael Henry, and I'm Byron de Marseille and these short 15 minute episodes were going to be answering some of the most common questions in the Industry.

1:22 So you can walk away with the answers in a short period of time. That's right. Michael with each topic, that we choose will be discussing it from two different perspectives, the teacher, and the student. I'll be approaching these questions as a physiotherapist or physical therapist with over 10 years experience treating.

1:37 So the most common and complex injuries. And my guidance will be from the perspective of having taught 7000 classes, roughly 10,000 hours over 10 years. Welcome to our podcast. I welcome everyone. Back to our podcast. We're going to be going through some Kip questions and answers. Again, going through some of the common questions asked in yoga teacher trainings.

1:58 And yeah, we're just going to kick it off so that it's cold out. All right, how much rest does the body need between yoga classes? So we can we can go at this from two perspectives, I think. Teacher student student. Yeah, good idea.

2:16 Okay. So which one are you thinking? How much rest do we need between yoga classes? Yep, as a teacher, I guess I'd say it's nice to be able to for me back in my Heyday of teaching. A lot of yoga. I would teach like 2:00 in the morning 7 a.m. 9 a.m. And then two in the afternoon like 4:30 p.m. 6 p.m. So I got to Prime Time classes and to like right outside the edge of prime time.

2:42 And I found that that was my maximum Edge as a full-time teacher in a big city of Los Angeles to push my limits and that was like twice a week. In fact, it was a little too much and I found myself, you know, valuing the, the money I would make from the class less than I valued a little time.

3:01 So, I went to three classes, then she was 22 and I was like, oh, I enjoy this a lot more. Yeah, but now that I'm in Bali with different Landscape as far as the financial say obligations we have here. I think one a day with a day off is pretty sweet. Okay, and then we can talk more about that if you want, but I kind of feel like this is a student, like, doing yoga practice.

3:29 Like how much is, how much time do I need off before? I do yoga? Again? Some was really excited. They get into it and they're sore and now they're like, when can I go back? Well, I'd say it depends on the kind of yoga you're taking for sure. Kundalini can do more often or Yin Yoga something like that. But if you are sore treat it like a workout kind of thing. Like I would take a little time off. I mean, it's not being said if you're getting a lot of benefits from it, mentally spiritually,

3:59 emotionally, maybe find a way to go back and just not push yourself so hard so you don't need any time off. And if you treat it like a yoga practice and it's kind of like your therapy and your church and all that to, what do you say Michael? Well, the thing that comes up for me, is it really depends on where you're at?

4:20 It depends on how often you'd probably exercise or do anything for your body. Anyway, so, for example, if you're doing yoga for the first time, you know, obviously everyone listening here as, you know, they're not new to yoga.

4:33 I would imagine. But let's just say, you know, use this answer if you want, but if someone's new to yoga, they might be really sore. The first time I need like three, four days off, to kind of rest, but like, if you're in the flow and you've been practicing yoga for years, and you've been doing it, you know, three days a week consistently.

4:50 You could probably continue to do that or more if you want it to write. Like, I know some people that do yoga almost every single day, right? Nico in our training was one of them. You did yoga a lot. He probably needed a little bit less, and that's what we advise them on.

5:02 But the point is, is if your body's condition to do more than it could do more. Hmm. But maybe, you know, a lot of that's gonna have to be learned from your own intuitive sense. Right? Should I be practicing every other day?

5:13 Yeah. Why not? Yeah. Should you be passing every day? Sure. You can for how long? I don't know. Maybe you can do three days in a row then maybe. Need a break maybe you could do for, I don't know. Yeah, I mean the question is are we can we do Asana Asana that many days in a row.

5:26 Yeah, exactly. Outside of the seated Asana like the standing postures. Yeah. Stability oriented postures who are maybe we should bring it to. This isn't one of the questions but it's kind of a question that I asked. Now.

5:38 I'm going to ask conditioning and that are you gonna go there? No, I was, ah, shit that I can read your mind. You want to ask that one. I was just going to say like it's has to do with. Do we need to mix up our Selection, our Rolodex of activities that we pursue outside of yoga to feel, you know, to be balanced, possibly.

6:01 Yeah. Yeah. That's all. That's a big conversation. It's a subjective. It is a big conversation. I believe, yes as well. I never was an everyday practitioner. I taught it every day and I practice it in different forms every day by observing my thoughts, and being coming the witness and you You know practicing kindness and Bak Chi love and devotion and all these things. And yeah as far as well.

6:29 Yeah, I lost my train of thoughts. That's okay. My question. That I didn't even get to was related to Yin Yoga thinking about how often should you do yoga? Or what's the question? How much rest does the body? Need between yin? Yoga classes?

6:44 Rick, is that a different answer? I think you're you. It might be the answers. Yes, but for me the answer is no, but you know, can you hold you? Can you hold postures a long time and stretch a lot everyday. Probably need a little rest from that too. But can you find a way to relax your nervous system like, restorative yoga, which uses props and has a huge benefit to help you sleep and Yoga Nidra.

7:14 For instance, like you don't even move your body. So, in those ways and those regards if it's an inch central nervous system related, like primarily related over the Asana portion then? No, you don't need rest it. Your rest. Yeah.

7:31 Yeah, I agree. I actually don't don't, don't change my answer for that either. Okay, but what I would say is I wouldn't, you know, if you're only doing in that, I would say, you know, there might be a limit of how much in you should do mostly just because your body is going to be constantly doing flexibility.

7:48 Lots of stretching, stretching stretching passive stretching that there's not a lot of room for engagement building up strength near the end range of motion, you know, you're building a lot of range of motion. And flexibility within yoga. But you're not building a lot of strength and stability, and control also known as Mobility, right? So if you're doing in classes, five days a week, yeah, maybe you're able to do that and it's the classes are mixed up. So, you know, you're not

8:12 repeating too many long stretches. Too many days in a row allowing a little bit of time and recovery, but that's all you do, right. Then you go out and maybe do something that is, you know, maybe you're just going to be running around with your kids or your nephew or niece has or something like that.

8:28 And all of a sudden All this flexibility, but you don't have that mobility and then you maybe you injure yourself possibly. So just kind of basically throwing that in because I think it's important that again is fantastic and maybe you can do a lot of it, but it's a needs to be complimented a little bit.

8:44 Next question. Do I need to plan the full yoga class ahead. So, this is obviously for teachers. Mmm, playing the fool yoga class ahead. At first, it's nice to know what you're doing. That way. You don't feel insecure and you can really focus on the content of the guidance or the, you know, the breakdown of what you're doing. Because if you don't know where you're going, then your students are going to feel lost.

9:12 So it really depends on the experience that you have teaching in the relationship as a Didn't merging together in a way that, you know, kind of is a give-and-take and you've got to learn that a little bit, I think by teaching an off-the-cuff where you don't know what you're going to do and feeling like, oh that wasn't good and then planning a class and being like, wow, that went really well and then maybe down the road, you do it again off the cuff and it felt really good.

9:42 Hmm, if it is, always felt really good to teach off the cuff. I would encourage you to take Take a look at that. And if that's true for your students to write how they getting it. Are you getting repeat? Are you doing it?

9:56 Just because you feel good about everything all the time. Yeah, or is this real for them to? How would that answer differ or at all, from teaching, maybe online? So do I need to play in the full whole yoga class? If I'm going to be doing it online or do what? I do?

10:13 Off-the-cuff kind of talked about this earlier, but I like the idea of really planning your online classes. To make them stand out. Someone's choosing to click on you where they could click on so many there's so many more choices online, right? So, unless you're having a person that's already a follower, a student somebody that already likes you, then you're trying to grab them and pull them in. So, there's a higher likelihood that it's their first time with you.

10:44 And in that first impression having a curated class is I find at least for me that it works better. Yeah, I agree with that. Okay, cool. Everything else was a bun. You know, we can talk like 12, 15 minutes a question, honestly, but I think moving on would be great because there's always another question.

11:05 Yeah. Okay. Let's go to the next question. Okay. This one's who can I bend the knee more than 90 degrees. Which number is this? This is three of this episode. So can I bend the knee more than 90 degrees? No, yes. Yes, you can.

11:21 Do you can't, you, you'll be able to talk in an atomic? That's basically, what's Google's answer is? Yes. Oh, yes. You can bend it over. 90 degrees, is the long, is this the just cut to the chase? Yes, you can. Is it safe to depends when and if you're in a standing posture the likelihood, at least, if you're standing in the nips, nips, the nipples are that know? The knees Bryan, kest favorite word is nipples and class. He would have loved that slip up

11:53 right there. That worry. Slip of the nip. Yeah, lower down everything, except your nipples to the floor. I just said that because I like to say the word nipples. That's what he says. So yeah. I'm trying to say warrior to those kinds of poses, where your knees are a certain height up. 90 degree angle Bend.

12:14 Yes. Absolutely. No more than that. Less than that's fine. Fine. And then there's certain poses like scan Dawson a squat scandalous in a lunge where you can bring any past your ankle if you want. There's a toe balancing pose. There's a lot of stuff.

12:30 Michael. I did a can you still talk on that as am? I so good at that physical therapy stuff. I mean, it's a big topic. I know we could talk about this for a really long time. Actually. I'm pretty sure I spent 30 minutes talking about it and trainings such a big conversation. So I'll just I'll say a few things just to give you some, you know.

12:48 Perspectives. But you know, just now that there's there's lots of different poses different situations position of the hips at all these things that are going to determine whether or not someone is better off to or not to but just knowing that yes, it's fine to go knees over your ankles and it's her knees over Toes or whatever.

13:06 The languages is. Probably the most important thing. So what I'll say is that usually this conversation comes up because originally there was a lot of Articles and stuff saying that when you bring your knee past your toes, there's an increased amount of stress that goes through the knee, which is true.

13:26 But when you actually look at the stats behind that the increased stress is like, you know, 58% I think, I think it was a Michigan University study. So when your knees go past, it's about a 58 60 percent increase in stress, but what it also said, The same study is that when you do that in a situation where it doesn't feel natural or you're holding your knees from going back. Sorry too far forward.

13:50 So your hold bringing them back to stack them over your ankles basically forcing the stacking. When your knees naturally want to go forward, you're putting like up to a thousand dollars, a thousand dollars thousand percent more stress through your hips to be more than 1,000 in the long run.

14:04 Yeah, exactly. So more stress is going down through your hips when you're trying to not let your knees. Go over your toes and then situation. Like, for example me. I got a super long legs, like it's hard for me, not to bring my knees over my toes almost impossible. When I'm doing lots of things, like even chair pose and stuff like that.

14:22 But then again, you know, Yogi squat, your knees are way over your toes totaling sitting pose. Your knees are way past your toes, right? So, there's just so many situations, and when you're in the last thing I'll say is in neutral standing postures, you know, like a lunge, low lunge or even a crescent lunge. Like, you could arguably bring your knees over your Hose in a way that it's probably pretty solid, you know, there might be some more stress going down

14:46 through your knees, but it's going to be a safe amount in your body will tell you when it's too much. What I would say would be more challenging is something like Warrior Two or an externally rotated posture or your front leg is externally rotated in your triangle pose.

15:00 Triangle pose both. But triangle you wouldn't stack or you wouldn't bring your knees over your toes. But yeah, basically with Warrior to side angle, those types of ones your front knees. Gonna want to fall in a little bit, most likely. And then if you already have this kind of stress or pressure on the outsides of your knee and now you're bringing your knee past your toes.

15:19 Now, you're just adding more stress, right? So it's just doubling up the stress. So in those poses I'd say it's a lot more important to try to stack and you know Crescent like you can do it, but it can go over and it'll probably feel fine.

15:30 You know what I mean? Yeah, I do. I do. I think it was, I think we completely gutted that question. That's good. Right? 15 minutes between the two of us. You know, what? That's pretty good. I hope. All right. You know what?

15:43 We got one more question. We got one more. Yeah. Okay. Let's do it. I think this is a pretty easy one. Do I need to know all Sanskrit names of all poses? Fuck. Awesome. Do you need to know all the Sanskrit names of all the postures?

15:57 The answer is absolutely not and thinking about the origin of where that comes from. It comes from The Vedic. Scriptures of, you know, the Hindu religion and that is a language. It's like it's like learning a poem and another language or the let's see in the Bible reference another thing and then not being able to translate it into English and like having to memorize the Hebrew in order.

16:21 I mean, I'm not saying yoga is religious. But what I am. That's a great caught we should do on over that. We should do one over that. Okay. Alright, okay, write that down. Religion in yoga. Think you guys get what I'm saying? Right?

16:34 It's It's just another language. Another interpretation. So what's the point of memorizing? It? It's kind of cool to know it. I don't want to discount it. That's nice to know the origin and I really respect the tradition and I really appreciate it. When people know what I'm what I'm saying a term, I think a lot of us listening to the podcast, know some Sanskrit. So it's easy to have you know, that nose turned up a little bit and be like, oh, you don't know

17:04 what this means, but I This means that makes me more of a yogi than you. Yeah, right, but it doesn't doesn't now. And especially when you know when you're teaching using Sanskrit, there's going to be a good chunk of people depending on, you know, your audience.

17:18 That's not going to know what any of the Sanskrit words mean. Anyway, you know, what? I like though, at least from, you know, if you teach yoga and people are coming to your class and you live in a place like Bali or somewhere.

17:28 That's kind of a Melting Pot of all types of different International people. You can always say Say, like veerbhadra Asana to, or just something without a one or two, even just think of, let's go into heard the done your Asana and like they can't understand your English when you say upward-facing bow or wheel. Yeah, but they're like, oh, I know that one has been arrested but when they go into it, so it does help with that International interesting

17:54 universal language. Yeah, that's smart, but not necessary for becoming a good. Yo be yeah. Totally. Cool. Plus it also I think I do if it adds respect to the to the lineage of yoga, but just knowing some of that history I think is always kind of nice I believe.

18:14 So I think it should be necessary to know the history of anything that we do at least as much as we can know it. Oh, and also knowing that it's been passed down. A lot of the messages might have been diluted. Yeah, totally. And the only thing that I can think. So mind that kind of somewhat similar for me from my perspective is like a lot of names of muscles and stuff. Like have a lot of Latin roots and like why they're named certain things, depending on

18:35 what they do, the force, the Direction, all this stuff. And like, I know all those names, but I don't talk about them because I don't know what the hell they mean. All right, let's hit some is door. Sorry Michael. Where's, yeah, exactly.

18:46 So, having those like medical terms and having like the roots of where they come from, is kind of cool for me, but for the people that I talk to, they don't, you know, some of them might actually be interested, but others like, I don't know what the hell you're saying. So.

18:59 So yeah, it's not as important as you think. No, no, no, Cool, right. Well, that's three. We did it. We did it. That's the end flew by. I guess. We had a week from next time. Dang it. Alright, that's it for us. As always.

19:11 We have any questions you want to throw in the mix. We're happy to answer them. Well, do them. However, long it takes to answer the question and that's it for me. Byron. Take a deep breath in. Exhale, Let It Go. All right, listen up everyone, Paul Byron and myself have been working so hard on putting together a platform dedicated specifically to yoga teachers. And the good news is it's almost ready for you soon. This platform is going to be publicly released but we want to actually make a special offer to

19:46 those who have been dedicated to following us since the beginning. So that's a lot of you listeners right now. We want to make a special offer for you. And if you are interested in being one of the founding members, Is of this going pro platform, then you're going to have an opportunity to do so, all you need to do is just go into any of the description of any episode and you'll be able to sign up to the waitlist for this going pro platform. So that you can take advantage

20:11 of this offer will hope to see you there.