“Ciao Bella!”
The voice and accent is unmistakably Claudia’s as she enters the studio with laughter that is contagious and ongoing throughout the class; unusual for an Iyengar teacher to say the least. She’s personable, charismatic and funny, but can she teach?
I’ve been to countless classes with Claudia, and I always take away something new. She is precise with her instruction, and while not always easy to follow, sometimes even chaotic, this is in part because Claudia is so tuned in to the students; she is like an eagle constantly reassessing her flight to keep everyone on track. She often uses the students to keep things going, both in demonstrating postural alignment dos and don’ts, and in working together (“Help each other, help each other!”).
Claudia gives all of herself to the students who seem to not only have fun in her class, but to learn a lot along the way. From time to time Claudia shares great, important insights into the Iyengar method of yoga; if only she would repeat these and slow down her speech so the words would be heard and remembered..
Tomorrow I’m going Yin with Norman Blair, who is holding an afternoon workshop at Indaba- a great way to finish week two and begin week three of the challenge. Insights and next week’s schedule coming tomorrow, including visits to a few studios I’ve been dodging the bullet on. Time to own up and really get out of my comfort zone!