What a way to spend a rainy Sunday morning! It was cold and wet, the buses took forever to come and I was stressed out, worrying that I might be late for my 10am class.
This is my first time to cover for another teacher. Usually it is the other way around.
I got a call from Nicole yesterday afternoon if I could do a level 2-3 class. Hmm at first I thought I didn't really want to get out of bed before 10am on a Sunday. The fact that I have also never taught this advanced level in a leisure centre was a bit intimidating. However, my instincts got the better of me and figured this was a fabulous way to get my foot into the centre if I wanted to teach regularly. Since getting the go signal from GLL months ago, I haven't gotten any regular slots at Clissold Centre yet. The only way to start getting those much-coveted classes was to introduce myself to other group exercise leads at the other centres and get on their cover list. I got pretty lucky having been contacted by two leads this week. I had to turn down the Oasis Centre class last Wednesday because I was tired.
Going back to the class, I made it on time. The students were already there. I had 19 students - this is the most I ever taught in one class! I wasn't expecting so many to turn up because students usually prefer their regular teachers. The reason I know this is that my OWN students always fail to attend my cover teacher's classes when I am away. I feel pretty awful when this happens because my cover made the effort to come and teach them something new. Now the trick is sometimes not to tell them if I am going away. :)
The students were very advanced considering this class is level 2-3. But I felt that most of them were more into sthiram instead of finding a balance between sthiram and sukham. There was one student, who wanted to do her own thing and didn't follow my instructions. I tried not to be distracted and not tell her off. I let her do her thing and she managed to end up following the class. But I do wonder what to do in cases like this without offending the student? Modifying a posture is different to doing an entirely new posture, however, similar they may be.
They said they always have a dynamic class. My practice might have been a little different than what they were used to but I think it was appropriate at that time. No shoulder and head stands. I would not say it was easier than what they are used to. There must have been some mixed reactions to the class. But the most important thing is no one got injured. I thoroughly enjoyed myself too.
Now I know how it feels - it is never easy to cover for someone and fill their shoes. Just go in there and teach what I feel is best for the students. Viniyoga.
Nicole called me after class. If I were not leaving next week, I would have covered this class for another two weeks! Who knows where that would lead?!
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