Coaching a Little Differently

My oldest daughter has been into yoga on and off for a few years now. She grew up seeing me on my mat, stretching, working out, running through a daily yoga flow that was always evolving.

This year, one of her focus goals was to get into a daily practice. She was struggling to focus in between subjects today and asked to go hit the mat for 20 to clear her head. She bounced off to the living room, got out her yoga cards and her mat, and picked out a 10 card flow. But before she got started, she brought them to me, which she’s never done before.

She knows I’m studying for my CPT and asked me if I thought it was a good round. I rearranged a few of them, but she had a lot of good lunge positions, warrior variations. Triangle pose, pyramid, and a few others. I then loaned her my blocks, because some of the poses were demanding and I knew she would appreciate the assist.

And as she began, I started noticing little form corrections that needed to happen. I asked if I could help her settle into the pose properly, and she said “please!” As she toppled over. So I did.

I helped her place blocks where she might need them, adjusted her foot placement, told her where she should feel muscles contract, and where they should relax and stretch out, how to breathe into a hold. I kept asking her how she felt in each pose, if she was feeling the stretch where she should, and she would answer with such a grin on her face, she glowed. She felt capable, and empowered. And helping her, it felt so different from just being Mom, and helping out. It can’t really explain what it felt like, but it was a different kind of feel good.

I’m settling down for the night into my studies, feeling even more confident that this is the path I was always supposed to be on.