At François Raoult's Workshop - May 2007

In his May 2007 workshop at Yoga on the Park in Montreal, François Raoult made a deep impression on beginners and experienced yogis alike. Here some notes from his workshop for teachers on Monday May 21, where he shared perspectives on the role of a yoga teacher, offered a wealth of tips from his decades of practise and teaching, and answered questions from a group of teachers and advanced students.

Sequencing a Class - An Iyengar Teacher's View
Each of the many yoga systems has its own logic, rights and wrongs, François noted, as he addressed a question about sequencing yoga postures. "But I am biased. I think Iyengar Yoga is it! With this viewpoint, he sees sequencing in terms of function. "No matter what your mission, the function is primary, and should inform the sequencing."

At the outset, to prepare people for asanas is, above all, is about bringing them to mindfulness. A "warmup", he went on to say, implies a part of the sequence that is of lesser importance, that demands lesser awareness. "The whole class is the warmup." Would you start a class with a deep backbend? Probably not. That is a posture that works better and is safer when the body has been opened, when space has been created for it.

Typically, he sees three main segments to a class:
- first the invitation to practice, moving the spine in flexion, exension and rotation, in positions where where the spine can move most freely, such as on all fours, or Downward Dog (he offered an indepth look at shoulder alignment in downward dog, showing how it affects the entire posture, and extends right to the question of the mission of the teacher in giving the class!);
- second, the standing poses, like triangle, balancing in postures like Warrior 1 (sagittal plane), and Half Moon (lateral plane).

- the third segment typically includes forward bends, backbends, inversions, twists, and Savasana (he had a lot to say about inversions this day, in particular, "which require not so much core strength, as centring");

While the ideal would be to give a third of the class time to each segment, a teacher may often concentrate more on one segment, and balance this with a different emphasis in another class.

François had a wide-ranging question period to answer questions about therapeutic yoga. He discussed arthritis, for example, where his guiding principle is that a student should continue practice "if the pain of practice is less than the pain of not moving." He discussed the stabilization of the SI joint, as well as practicing with an artificial hip, with damaged kneecaps, and other conditions. He also talked about how yoga can be part of treatment for drug addiction.

He emphasized strongly that yoga teachers must respect the limitations of their discipline, and recognize when to refer students to other professionals: doctors, or massage therapists, for example.

Returning to my notes many months later, I am struck by how much of the material from this one day of work with François Raoult continues to be reflected in my teaching, from the placement of the hands in downward dog to the understanding of the role of a yoga teacher. I think anyone who loves the practice of yoga asanas would find working with him to be immensely worthwhile.

François Raoult returns to Yoga on the Park for a workshop May 16-19, 2008.
For more information visit www.yogaonthepark.ca

He will also give a workshop in French on Tuesday May 20 at Studios Lyne St Roch.
For more information visit www.lynestroch.com