I've been pretty clear in articulating my feelings about adjustments. I'm not - generally speaking - a huge fan. That said: Adjustments are no exception to the time/place rule. There's a time for them. There's a place for them. I'm getting more and more comfortable with adjustments from instructors I know.
[If you're a yoga teacher in Nashville who's placed your foot on my foot to remind me to put weight into the outer edge of said food, this post is not about you. You may keep indicating that to me in the same manner. We're good.]
Yoga teachers ask students to put their egos on the shelf. I have a notion that yoga teachers should aspire to the same ego-on-the-shelf attitude.
I ran across a blog post the other day. It was by a yoga teacher. The post made me laugh out loud, after - of course - I stopped cringing.
Rant warning.
Commence Rant
Yoga teacher adjusted a student by placing her foot on student. On her student's thigh. She did this to, "... inwardly rotate and ground her thigh."
Student "requested that" yoga teacher remove her foot.
The writer of the blog, yoga teacher, said about her student, "... she was affronted ..." and "... never had I witnessed such a reaction ...."
The yoga teacher then went on to say that in retrospect she, "... might have held off using my foot until we were more familiar."
Ya think?
The teacher went on in her post about the "affronted" student to suggest that the students reaction was - somehow - out of line, stating, "... there's a 'when in rome' aspect to any chosen pursuit."
This teacher seems to feel that the student must adapt her world (yoga) view to the "customary protocols" of this teachers experience. Otherwise, she suggests, the affronted person, "... can leave."
Well, there you have it. This yoga teacher suggests that her student, "... must avoid being easily offended ...."
If they don't like being stepped on (literally), then they should pack up bags and haul ass?
Yes. Haul ass. Run, do not walk.
There's no reason on earth to accept hands on adjustments to your body if you don't want them, regardless of "customary protocols." Even less reason when we're talking about feet-on adjustments.
Especially if the teacher then somehow finds a way to make you responsible for their hurt feelings.
This yoga teacher went on to say that feet are simply, "... additional hands."
[Not true. Feet are not hands. They're feet. I do not keep my hands bound up in socks and shoes. I do not walk through muck on my hands. I've never heard of a case of athlete's hand.]
Feet are not - in fact - just additional hands. They are feet. The structure is different. The purpose is different. Feet are not hands. They're not.
If a student chooses to opt out of a hands-on adjustment, graciously allow them that courtesy.
If a student asks you to remove your foot from their body, FUCKING move it.
Whether you be in Rome, in Nashville, or Vancouver, that shouldn't really be too difficult to understand.