Today in yoga class, I was surprised to find myself the only student with a new teacher subbing for our superstar yoga teacher who was in Italy. The regulars seemed to have taken a day off, or gone to Rome with him.
When you sign up for a class, its normal to assume that you’re not going to be the only student. To be by yourself with the teacher, as I was in this yoga class, felt awkward for the first few minutes. I needed time to adjust to the fact that I had a big studio all to myself! Gradually I tuned into the reality here. I was not alone. A teacher was here and she was going to give me a private lesson. This was going to be a treat. A privilege. And it was. Yoko-san gave me her full attention. She adjusted the pace to my pace. And she moved her mat close to mine so I could better follow the moves.
And if you’re a teacher yourself, you know that this one student is the reason why you’re more likely to innovate, improvise, get inspired, be inspiring, have fun and learn something new. This has been my experience in Genesis art workshops with one-on-one teaching. Wonderful!
But as an art teacher I know that some people really do not like one to one lessons. And I don’t take it personally because even if I were Picasso himself, this student wouldn’t show up for a second lesson and put themselves through the ordeal – and it really is to them an ordeal – of feeling conspicuous, on the spot, self-conscious. The lone student.
As I think about these one-on-one only lessons, from experience I can tell you that because you’re the only one in the room, there’s an intuitive fine tuning going on throughout the class. I gauge your reaction to what I’m teaching. You signal to me that you want more time doing this, less of that. I see you engrossed in the painting you’re doing. There’s an unspoken volley going on. We are trading time and I may be the time keeper but you are the time transformer. Because of you, I am here teaching. The volley builds up momentum. The lesson becomes an exchange. Giving and receiving continues until who is doing what merge as one.
In my Genesis art workshops, the lessons are planned but there’s flexibility in one-on-one tutorials. I tune into your way of working, flow with your way of working—though you may not realize it. And through this exchange there’s a mysterious energy that builds up between your art and mine. We can see it clearly when we put our works side by side. The connections are clear. In visual communication, there is understanding, support and gratitude. A beautiful two way exchange.
If you don’t find a convenient time on the schedule for Genesis art workshops, contact me directly and I will do my best to accommodate your schedule. One to One. 090-4122-6626.