by Linda McGrath
Barry used to teach on Mondays at 5:15pm and 7pm. He since decided to move to Reno and abandon us. He was a long-time favorite among the students; his energy and optimism proved every class to be contagious. We miss him very much and hope he'll read this and feel sorry for us and come back to Los Gatos.
Tell us about the first time you tried yoga.
It was an Iyengar class in Seattle in 97. I had injured my knee running and went to see a sports medicine doctor. He said I wasn't stretching enough. I thought I stretched plenty for a triathlete but he said I needed to do yoga. Iyengar helped my flexibility but it didn't really do it for me – it was pretty boring. I moved to Monterey and tried Ashtanga for the first time with Bill Arce and I thought “Yes, finally! I'm getting a workout, this is good, my body's likin' it…” I did Ashtanga for 2 years before I took Bikram. My first Bikram teacher was Bradley and I loved her energy. I think she has really influenced my teaching style to this day. I thought she created a really good experience. But my first class, man… I was like: what's this breathing thing in the beginning – that really freaked me out! I couldn't get it right. But I loved the sweating and the workout. At the end of the class, my body knew it needed it.
What were your challenges when you first started? What was your most challenging pose back then?
All of the poses were challenging. If I have to pick, probably Triangle and Camel. Something about Triangle – can't wait til it's over. And Camel… always dreaded Camel. My lower back and my hamstrings were very tight from all the cross training. And they still are tight but much better than they used to be. Today, my spine feels longer, my shoulders are back more. I move more easily. But you really can't quantify. I know when I started, I was like: How long is it gonna take me? Is this really worth the effort? But it really is. You just gotta practice. Just keep coming and you will see.
How has your practice changed since then? What elements of your practice do you find challenging now?
I am learning patience. And breath awareness… When I started, I was trying to muscle my way into everything. If I can push harder, I thought, I'll get faster results. If it hurts, keep pushing. I acted like every class was the last class. Now I let the breath tell me where to go. I still find all the poses very challenging, but I guess my biggest challenge is the heat. When I have a rough class, it's usually the heat.
Do you do any other style of yoga? Other physical activity?
Not anymore. I did a lot of running, mountain biking, weights, and I kept that up until last year. Now I just do Bikram because I want to teach it better.
What experience do you want to create with your class?
Safety, patience and focus. I want to encourage students to be Ok with discomfort.
What do you like to see in your students? What is it that makes you say “He or she has a great practice!”?
I guess to a certain extent, that answer would be a reflection of my own practice. I can appreciate depth and beautiful poses but that's not it. Depth comes with time for everybody. I like to see focus and patience. I don't like to see students muscling through to the point where they hurt themselves.
What is your pet peeve when you teach? When you are a student?
Part of me wants to say that I have none either when taking or teaching. I see each as learning opportunities. Loss of concentration by teacher or student. When I teach and see students move into postures on their own, I know there are many possible explanations. All of them boil down to a loss of concentration. Concentrate. Listen. Turn off your brain and move your body with the timing of the class.
When I take class, I strive to learn from every teacher's style. I appreciate a class that moves steadily, flows and ends on time. So when I take a class that does not flow or ends late, I take that as a reminder when I teach.
How do you feel about variations in your class?
I see two cases for variations: 1. to achieve depth greater than the original pose; 2. to accommodate a spinal, musculoskeletal condition. For case 1, I believe the original poses provide adequate depth and usually don't require variation. For case 2, it's more difficult for me to prescribe variations. I have personally experienced only minor injuries, so I have no direct experience of serious injury. I refer them to an expert like Linda. [NFE: I swear, I did not pay him to say that… ;-) ] I think that in most cases you can safely experience the postures without variations by reducing depth. Easier said than done but you can still stay with the series if you enter the pose with the correct alignment and breathe through your nose and just carefully find your depth where there is a stretching sensation but no joint pain. And your breath is flowing. If you lose the breath, you're going too far.
What made you decide to become a teacher? What did you do for a living before that?
For years I did virtual reality research for the Department of Defense. After 911 I decided to contribute to peace not war. Yoga can help us break fear's stranglehold on our behavior. So teaching is my way to contribute.
From who have you learned the most?
I learned a lot from Bikram Choudhury during teacher training. In particular I learned the value of living one's truth regardless of how society, family, friends may respond. Bikram is living example of such truth.
Regarding teaching, I learned a lot from my Ashtanga teacher, Bill Arce, about patience and focus. He kept saying: “maybe next week…whatever happens, happens…” until I got it. And I've learned a lot from my own practice – it really helps my teaching.
Give us one pearl of wisdom.
Just do your yoga. 90 minutes of practice spreads to the rest of your life. In class, if it gets too rough, find your breath. And breathe through your nose.
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