Sharing vs Receiving

We have some really groovy teachers, in my humble opinion. Great senses of humor, nurturing (but not mothering) spirits, open and inclusive. They drink caffeinated beverages, beer and wine and curse like sailors when the situation calls for it. Now that's MY kind of teacher! But they are definately the "teachers" and they proved it today. We gathered our mats in a circle and were called at random to lead the class through the first three poses--child's pose, down-dog and rag-doll. After each there was a time to critique the person who led and learn from what they did right and what they didn't get quite right. One of the students was not into being critiqued. She became defensive and talked over the teachers, trying to explain away all of their constructive criticisms. Our teachers handled it with calm and humor and still she continued to escalate. When told that the point of the exercise was to hear the critique and she didn't need to respond the student said "Well I just thought we were sharing, my understanding was that it was about sharing." At which point one of the teachers looked at her, very seriously, and said "Baby, this is not "sharing" time for you. You are receiving."

Yikes!! Put down your racket Serena 'cause you just got served.

Now maybe it's because I remember when Jimmy Carter was President --Oh hell, I remember when Watergate was going on 'cause that's all they played on TV, pre-empting my regular after-school programs--but my whining days have long been over. I've raised my kids past the whining stage, and I'm not interested in entertaining any whining neices, nephews or neighbors. So, I couldn't help a small woohoo in my head when "Serena" subsided to mumbling unhappily.

The other really great thing about our teachers is that they will happily admit that they don't know it all. So they have lined up some "special" instructors who have a niche or a topic that they are especially knowledgeable about. So we learned about Prana (energy, breath), Pranayama (controlling the breath), meditation and chakras from Cute Tattoo Guy. Now, even if he hadn't made this knowledge interesting and accessible (which he did) it would have been worth listening to him for 2 hours just to get the guided meditation at the end. It was like a big ole Marguarita waiting at the end of the rainbow. And guess what, this is the best part, CTG is going to be back every Sunday that we meet to cover each chakra individually. I'm really hoping he'll do a guided meditation at the end of every class. Or, maybe even a massage or facial. Wow! This fantasy's gettin' better by the minute.

When I left after my first full weekend of training I was happy with my decision to start this process. And I'm looking forward to going back. I know I have alot to learn from, not just the teachers but my fellow students as well. The sharing and receiving will be equally important. I just need to figure out how to tune out the whining!