Language For Embodiment
When I first started teaching yoga, my teachers spent a good amount of time and energy explaining to us the importance of the language we used. It was important to them that we walked away understanding that our words would have an effect on our students; it mattered to them that we did our best to be intentional about how we spoke when we were holding the seat of the teacher.
One of my teachers in particular told us that one of her pet peeves was when teachers used “the” instead of “your” when referring to parts of the body. For example: “raise the arms” should be “raise your arms”, “plant the feet” should be “plant your feet”, etc. She explained her reasoning for this: from her estimate, the average person walking through our doors would be at least somewhat disassociated from their body. For a number of reasons, we often learn to detach ourselves from our physical bodies, and as yoga teachers, one of our main objectives is to guide people back inside their own bodies. Though it may be subtle, using “your” instead of “the” could help to teach people that your arm isn’t some disembodied limb - it is YOUR arm. It is a part of YOUR body, and therefore it is a part of you.
I took this lesson to heart and for the next several years, this languaging was an integral part of my teaching. And I’ll be honest, I have a pretty thick internal know-it-all mask. So when I took classes where the teacher would use “the”, NOT “your”, when giving physical cues, I would notice and often judge it. Don’t they know? The whole point is to help us take ownership of our own bodies! That leg isn’t just some random-ass leg - it’s MY leg!
Over the next few years, as I dived deeper into the teachings we study here and in YSD, I began to understand why (and when) I might choose to use that languaging. We can look at it from the perspective of Advaita Vedanta which says that I am NOT this body, or the perspective of Classical Tantra which says that I am not JUST this body, or the many many other spiritual teachings that are in line with some variation of one or the other of those two schools. What they have in common is this idea that the physical body is not ALL that we are. And when we hold too tightly to the identification with this body as who we are, we create for ourselves a great deal of suffering. Death becomes the absolute end of our existence and something to fear, despite its certainty. If this body is who we are, and all we’ve ever known is the body as it is, then the inevitable change that comes with aging becomes something to resist and avoid at all costs. As I see it, the average person that walks into a yoga class would be at least somewhat conditioned to attach or cling to their physical body as the sum of their being. I watched as my language slowly began to shift, as I recognized using “the” instead of “your” as a subtle signal to my students that you can be and move in this body without attaching to it.
Over the last 6 months or so, with some time and integration, I’ve found my way directly back to the middle (for now). From where I sit today, both of these teachings are equally valid, valuable, and important. And I would argue that one without the other is incomplete. Guiding students away from being in their bodies misses the human experience of getting to experience this magical meat suit from the inside! And guiding students into their bodies without at least an internal understanding that they are MORE than the sum of their physical parts misses their divinity.
As with most things, there isn’t one right way or wrong way that fits all situations. It all depends on what my intention is, and what I’m aiming to communicate in that moment. (My teachers would be so proud. Maybe. Their business. ;)
In Love,
Lucy