Deaf Yoga

Today I finished my 3rd deaf yoga class. It is awesome! I previously took an entire year of yoga through PCC, and while it was great and I learned a lot, it wasn't good, like this is. For that class I had a hearing teacher with an interpreter, so while I was able to understand quite a bit of it, it is still impossible for me to do downward dog and continue to get instructions in sign language, unless I can somehow get those instructions through my legs and understand them upside down.

To understand why it is so awesome to have yoga taught in ASL, imagine yourself trying to learn yoga in a soundproof box with a teacher speaking a language you don't understand. Sure you can imitate the poses you see, but there is so, so much more to yoga than that. When do you breathe? While in the child's pose, how do you know when it is time to come out of the pose? How do you know you are supposed to clench your butt tight when in the cobra pose so you don't hurt your back? You start to get the idea.

Taking a yoga class with a hearing teacher and an interpreter is an improvement, but still not ideal. This is because a hearing teacher will continue to give instructions while you are in the pose. Thus I risk injuring my neck while in some poses because I'm trying to see the interpreter while doing the pose attempting to breathe in and out at the same time. You just don't quite get the same focused, meditative effect.

Currently, there are only 20 yoga teachers for the deaf in the entire USA, and none in the Pacific Northwest. Until now! Teacher J is fluent in ASL and she graduated from yoga teacher training last June. She has now set up deaf yoga classes here in P-town and we are so lucky! And it shows that there is a real need/want for deaf yoga classes -- for all 3 classes so far, more than 20 people have shown up (yeah, it is a bit crowded).

J is still working out the kinks... exactly how to set up the room so that everyone can see, how to communicate particular instructions, etc. She has been in touch with another deaf yoga teacher in NYC, and taking suggestions and ideas. The classes are an hour and a half long, longer than most because instructions for each pose have to be given just prior to each pose, and not during them. But it works! We are shown each pose, what to do and what not to do, and then we hold each pose for a certain number of breaths in and out (3 or 6) at our own pace, before coming out of the pose to go on to the next one. It actually works really well. I find myself much more relaxed and also learning much faster than I did during my previous yoga class. And then at the end, during savasana (corpse pose), the lights are dimmed. When it is time to come out of savasana, the lights are brightened again. It is relaxing, restorative, and best of all, totally comprehensible!