19/07/2026
Tried and tested 🙌🏼
It’s been so interesting for me to teach over the last 6 months, I’ve seen more new people than I have in years. This week in classes we were back bending - something that I actually find challenging to teach WELL. It’s probably because it’s not a shape my body is naturally “good” at (think camel, bow, updog etc), then I tend to overthink it. It literally sounds ridiculous to state that a back bend isn’t really about your back, doesn’t it? But there are so many components to creating a backbending shape, I think it’s important for the mind to be really in conversation with the body on this one, so we layered it in, from hip extension to knee flexion, we separated neck extension from thoracic extension, we also flexed all of these important junctions too….its just a lot to expect of a body that spends a lot of time hunched over a computer, steering wheel or garden stool! With so many new/different bodies in front of me this week it felt like a hard class to deliver, it took a look of energy.
Then this morning, just by chance I had a class that was ONLY students who have been practicing this method for 7+ years. They’ve done some version of this practice many times before, and today they did the work, then ticked off the shapes one by one, with e a s e! Which is the whole point of yoga. I looked at them all in bow pose (on your tummy grabbing feet) and they were in the ASANA! The comfortable seat of it all!
A method is a systematic, orderly and logical process and when you follow the method, you get to the goal. In the PYM world, words mean something, they are on purpose and hold value, language is important for strengthening the pathway from the mind to the body so none of this work is taken lightly - apart from the cramps!
Looking forward to seeing you on the mat soon….ps, don’t feel guilty if summer has your routine upside down, The Method doesn’t change and your body will quickly remember when you’re back on your mat!
