Final Draft as I sent it to ELEPHANT JOURNAL
http://www.elephantjournal.com/2012/07/i-was-fired-from-the-facebook-gym-for-asking-a-student-not-to-use-her-phone-during-class-alice-van-ness/
I was just fired from the Facebook gym for asking a
student to not use her phone in class.
By Alice the Yoga Teacher (aka Alice Van Ness)
When the telephone was first invented some people were
annoyed that this technology was now able to interrupt dinner. Now your phone
fits in your pocket and is also a game boy, alarm clock, and personal computer.
It interrupts everything including yoga class, lunch with a friend, and
sometimes your sleep. Maybe we've given it too much power? Does it have so much
power over us that it’s keeping us from connecting in real life?
A few weeks ago I was teaching my weekly noon yoga class at
the Facebook Fitness Center in Menlo Park, CA. They have a little gym there
where I taught a yoga class in addition to a Pilates and cycling class. Right
before class begun a student was typing on her phone. So I asked the whole
class to turn off their cell phones. She did, put it down next to her mat and
we began. Half way into class
right as I was starting a demo of Ardha Chandrasna (Half Moon Pose), she took that as her opportunity
to check her phone. I stopped
talking and looked at her. I said nothing, but I'm sure my face said it all.
"Really? Your email is more important than understanding your body? It's
more important than taking time for you? It's more important than everyone else
here?" Oh and by the way, she was in the middle of the front row. She
stepped out and rejoined class a few minutes later. Apparently she had gone to
complain to management.
I had been previously asked by management to just let the
students do whatever they wanted. Come in late, leave early, answer emails,
come in during class to get weights, take photos for the newsletter, whatever
came up I was told to just say YES. Which is why on this day I didn't actually
say anything to this student. I
just looked at her with utter disbelief.
Two weeks later I was fired from the Facebook gym. I
contested at the time that I didn’t actually ask her to leave. They had already made their decision.
What has happened that work or updating a status is more important than being
in the moment? Are we so incapable of disconnecting? What could be going on
that couldn't wait 30 minutes? This is not the emergency room, it's just
Facebook.
The first time I taught at Facebook I started class, as I do
everywhere, with a short mediation. One student was completely incapable of
sitting still and closing her eyes for what was less than three minutes. She fidgeted and looked around, visibly
uncomfortable with those few minutes of silence. That means she needs to do
this work even more, the more she resisted the more uncomfortable she seemed to
become. Her behavior was similar in Savasana (Corpse Pose, the final relaxation
at the end of class). Facebook and all these smart phones have invaded our
lives and now we are addicted to being connected via technology, but at what
cost? What are we afraid of missing online? Why can’t anyone wait for an answer
anymore?
What I have seen over my years of practicing yoga is that
technology and being "connected" electronically is depriving us
(myself included) of connecting in the moment. For me I welcome my yoga
practice as the one place where I don't have to look at my phone. I enjoy
connecting to my breath and forgetting everything else. It's a pure time. It's
a much need break from the stress or drama that is going on.
As the yoga teacher I want to you experience that break too. I know you need it, just
like a mom knows her three-year old needs a nap. It’s a little like an
addiction. We can’t stop ourselves even when we know its not the right time to
pick up the phone, we do. The cost of being connected constantly is great to
our own sprits. When we live a life disconnected to ourselves, it’s living in
the surface. You are constantly on edge, unable to relax and be in any moment
as it is. Plus is very distracting for everyone else in the room, not to
mention rude. It’s so you can understand the pose better, feel better and maybe
avoid injury. More importantly yoga is your time to pay attention to yourself.
Connect you to you. The hour or so of disconnecting from the outside can leaves
you more clear for everyone else.
Technology invading your peace is not just in yoga class;
start to notice how many times per hour you reach for your phone. Is something
coming up in the silence or stillness of that moment that makes you
uncomfortable, or is it boredom? I encourage everyone to have someplace in
their day where there is no television, no phones, no distractions. It may be
hard at first but that is where the yoga begins.
Bio
Alice is a teacher and writer in the San Francisco Bay Area.
Alice has been teaching yoga since 2006 and practicing since the 1990’s. She
enjoys yoga, Pilates, cycling, photography and the ceramic arts. She is currently
writing a book about growing up and going to high school in Palo Alto.
She has been trained in the Anusara Yoga method but has not
dated John Friend. Alice makes her classes fun, while challenging students to
go deeper. She is a humorous, passionate, knowledgeable, and giving instructor.
She works with students of all ages and abilities, teaching both children's and
family yoga. Alice has worked with children since she was a teenager and finds
them to be a great reminder to stay in the present and have fun.
http://www.alicetheyogateacher.com
http://alicetheyogateacher.blogspot.com/
http://www.facebook.com/AlicetheYogaTeacher
