When the Yoga Journal started a newsletter for teachers complete with an “Expert Panel” I sent in a question assuming it would be part of a flood of questions and I’d never see anything back from it - and the answer has been published! Thanks Dean, I appreciate your response.

I had to chuckle when I read his suggestion about starting with Reclining Hero Pose - when I suggest that one in class the guys generally grumble at me :-) (some of the women too).

A while back I’d asked the same question of Allison Ulan at a weekend workshop and she suggested sticking with backbend poses to energize and open the heart and to avoid forward bending poses. She said “if you focus on the calming poses you might just have everyone in the class crying!”

Dean suggests Fish for a backbend and I agree, that’s a great backbend that doesn’t require alot of energy. He also suggests Standing Forward Bend. His point of view is more about the benefits of the individual poses. So far, when I’ve dealt with this issue in class, I haven’t avoided forward bends but I’ve focused on back bends and on moving the spine to get some energy flowing (Cat/Dog, multiple Cobras or repetitions of Childs to Upward Facing Dog in a more advanced class).

But there was also a class where I talked about the need to rest, take care of ourselves and not just push ourselves endlessly. I talked about the need to listen to our bodies and respect when we’re low energy (that’s a big one for me). So when we got to the end of class I turned the lights down, had some good music playing and really felt that people were getting into a calm positive space. We did some Reclined Bound Angle and Legs Up The Wall and it seemed to work well. It’s like we gave ourselves permission to be low-energy so that it was a open-heart calm, not a depressive thing.

It’s challenging to read the vibe in the class and to know how far to stray from your class plan. Sometimes it’s tough to know too if you achieved the results you were hoping for. I’m trying to get better at either asking for feedback from someone I trust to be honest, or letting it go and trusting it worked out ok for someone in the class.