SueBear Sews And Flows

This is post is going to start on a fairly muted note but will end on a high note. I'm turning 34 this week and I'm having some anxiety about it. I've never been one to dread turning older. Usually, I've been excited to get older because it meant I could begin to do things that felt exciting or rewarding. This year feels different. Frankly, this year feels like an afterthought. Some plans for my birthday fell through a couple weeks ago. I have some vague plans to go out to eat with my husband and a friend, but that's about it. I'm pleased to have a night out, but I'm not jazzed. I'm just feeling blah and unsurprised by it and I'm ready to just be 34 already. Ok. I've admitted to some feelings of disappointment and pettiness. I have them. I acknowledge them. And I'm moving on. I do have some exciting news- I completed my community service hours and I have my Yogafit Level I certificate! I actually got it right at the end of June. Although ...

Downward Dog Sue Style Later this month will be five months since I completed Yogafit Level I training and I thought I’d check in.  I spent February, March, and April team teaching both gentle yoga and the regular yoga classes at my rec center. So invaluable. While I felt the weekend training was extremely helpful in breaking down how to get in and out of poses and putting together flows, the team teaching I did was where I could see refinement. Diana, my mentor, and I really talked about strategies of teaching, how to turn the class away from the mirror, how to teach with the mirror, how to begin to connect the pose to what people may feel in the pose. We talked about physically getting through a class while talking and how that affects my breath. While I really appreciate the ability to take the Yogafit trainings when it’s convenient, I can also see the benefit of doing a more traditional training that may be 3 or 4 weeks long. I would imagine those trainings have time to ...

Sooo.... I've taught a few classes by myself now. I've subbed two classes for my fellow instructors at my rec center and I've done two volunteer classes at my local library. I would not say I feel like I have my class personality yet, but I do feel much more comfortable at this stage than I expected. I think that has a lot to do with my other fitness teaching. Let me tell ya, once you've taught in your bathing suit, in front of 25 people, 20 of whom are not in your class, your comfort level has been stretched, shall we say. I also teach dance cardio which can be rather complicated and work intensive with choreography. I know I use a lot of the same phrases my mentor Diana uses, but that's to be expected. Her class is my most frequented and she really taps into how I communicate with my own body. There is definitely a difference between my free classes and the rec classes. My friends have really shown their support by coming to my library classes so the v...

Some yoga stretching after I taught my dance cardio class today. Many thanks to my awesome student who kindly took my picture.

Time for another round up! I've brought together some props that can extend our practice into restorative and limited mobility yoga. Just click on the picture to head to the Amazon link. Chair Yoga is for everyone, including folk for whom floor work is not an option. A sturdy chair can help facilitate a deeper practice without the stress on the knees and wrists that the floor can sometimes create. Any sturdy chair that will not scoot across the floor would be a great choice. I like this option because of the extra cushioning provided as well as the ability to fold it away. A cushion-less version may give extra stability to wrists when doing forward fold.  Blanket Blankets can really provide the extra coziness during a restorative practice or savasana that can bring truly deep relaxation. The blanket on the left is what I have personal experience with in a restorative class I attend. I use it as a blanket, as an extra cushion under my head or hips, and roll it ...

Occasionally, I peruse Society6 and I thought I'd do a little round up of some of my favorite inclusive yoga art. I've linked to each of the artists' Society6 homepage. These prints are all available on a number of items including framed prints, mugs, bags, etc. Not a sponsored post, just hope you enjoy! _moewsje_ on Society6 has such whimsical black and white line drawings.  I love jesmyne's graphic style. Huebucket's illustrations made me literally laugh out loud. Especially the pug inhaling and exhaling. The otter demonstration might have to come home with me.

I won't start by saying life lately has been crazy. Because honestly, some part of my life swings out to the hinterland just as soon as I manage to corral this little bit over here. Suffice to say, my life is in a perpetual state of "wait, what?" I am someone that sets a high value on nights in. I prefer to watch down our DVR with my husband over heading out to a social event. Clearly, I am an introvert. I have begun to recognize how valuable the time I spend with friends is for my mental health. If I've had a chat or seen one of them for lunch, I always reflect that I had a good week. I'm building this all up to say I've spend a lot of time recently in the company of others and, like a slightly ill-fitting shirt, I've been uncomfortable and tired of the adjusting. And my attitude and tone of voice to those I most care about has not been gentle. I'm feeling overwhelmed for both uplifting and distressing reasons and I haven't felt I...

From Left: myself, Traci (my trainer) Welcome to Part 3. I'll just dive in with the biggest drawback of the weekend for me- sitting on the floor. My understanding is this is the standard for most yoga trainings and retreats. Quite frankly, it's not good for anybody who has mobility issues and back issues. At the end of the first day, I had significant back pain and nerve pain down my legs. I asked the facility who was hosting to provide some folding chairs for the second day (which they happily provided). I wound up being the only one who used a chair. I find the assumption that the participants will sit on the floor for 9-11 hours per day to be exclusive rather than inclusive. If yoga training programs would like to encourage a wider variety of body types and abilities, offering more than the floor as a place to sit would be a good place to start. Having that offer come from the teacher legitimizes the option whereas it's intimidating to insist on something nobody...

Welcome to Part 2. I'll talk more about the structure of the weekend here. Below is a rough outline of how the weekend progressed. Day 1: 30 minutes of introductions Hour or so with the manual 1st master class 75 minutes Remaining time till lunch spent reviewing poses Hour for lunch 2 hours spent reviewing poses 45 minutes with partner work 2nd master class 75 minutes Day 2: 1.5 hours with the manual 3rd master class 75 minutes Remaining time till lunch spent reviewing poses Hour for lunch Remaining time spent in partner teaching work Ended the day with a share circle Level 1 training is a lot of information and we spent a lot of time going methodically through the handbook, pose by pose. Traci had at least two participants demonstrate each pose so we could begin to see how each pose looks on different body types. Most of our time through the weekend was taken up either with poses or with a yoga master class. Traci integrated the teaching language as we worked...

Hello, I'm Sue. I weigh 300 pounds and I am training to be a yoga instructor. Earlier this February, I participated in and helped host a Yogafit Level 1 training in my hometown. I've practiced yoga with varying degrees of intensity and commitment for more than five years. Two years ago, I began teaching water aerobics with a local group exercise program. My supervisor, Whitney, is amazing. She's so encouraging and welcoming of all body types. Classes range from pilates and yoga to HIIT and Cycle/Spin classes and she's all about encouraging people to try something new. She recruited me for water aerobics and later encouraged me to begin teaching dance cardio (like Zumba but with more pop and less latin music). All along, she has encouraged me to think about training to teach yoga. My favorite yoga teacher, Diana, has also been incredibly encouraging and supportive about the possibility of teaching. I finally found the courage to jump in.  Y'all. It was ...

The communal mats were disgusting. I hate to be that basic, but I was tired of other people's feet smears touching me. In 2016, I'd been regularly attending a yoga class for about five years. A coworker introduced me to a particular lunch-time class and I got hooked. I got hooked on the mini-mid-day nap. I wanted more of the glorious long feeling from stretching. I needed the eventual quietness that came to my brain and sometimes to my spirit. I did not want the foot cooties anymore. Participants weren't great about wiping the mats off. The staff were mildly aware the mats existed so they were no help in keeping foot cooties at bay. The weight lifters often used the mats WITH THEIR SHOES ON so...my internal squick alarm finally went off. Also, I had a bit of mad money. So I treated myself to the Manduka Pro 85 incher in a glorious olive color for $135 smackaroos. I picked that mat on direct recommendation from my yoga instructor, Diana. And frankly, she was ri...

Below I've listed some props that I've found helpful in my yoga practice. If you're interested in shopping these items, just click on the image. Blocks My go-to prop is the block. I generally use two thick blocks in my practice for everything from support in pyramid pose to support under my thighs in savasana to help relax my lower back. Strap Straps are great for the stretching portions of my practice, of course. I like the one below for both the longer eight foot length and the snappy design. I may have to add this to my kit since it matches my yoga towel! Speaking of which... Towel I use a yoga towel since I get super sweaty during sun salutation and twists and I want zero chance of slippage. I have the previous iteration of the pattern below and I love it. It's held up for over two years with frequent washing. Bolster I have only recently come to recognize the loveliness that is a yoga bolster. I started taking a restorative yoga class l...