Effects of Online Lessons

So far I have been receiving very good feedbacks, and so I think the attendees have been receiving benefits on physical aspects. Readers, please put your comments as you wish. Here in this post, I describe my own feedback about ‘Effects in mind occurring through Online Lessons’.

Yoga ultimately teaches one becoming one’s own master through finding that one’s own innate divinity is no difference from the divinity of natural law, which is enabling all phenomena of the universe to exists and occur. Oki-sensei put this into his unique expression “The life force is God”. Thus as each individual practising to be his/her own master, we respect and help each other and develop together – This is the ideal human society in Oki-sensei’s teaching.

As running 90-minute online lessons, I am realising this way of yoga lessons can serve very well enhancing our awareness towards the above mentioned.

1. As an English saying “You  can  lead a  horse  to  water, but  you  can’t  make  him  drink” indicates, it is the most basic importance that we must prepare ourselves to attend anything consciously willingly, if we want to produce its best effect. To attend online lessons, you may have to reschedule your daily routine, have to ask other members of your family to cooperate to your ‘Me’ time, have to prepare comfortable environment which helps you focus on your practice, have to prepare yoga kits yourself, not like jumping out of your house into a yoga studio. In a few words, basically you have to organise yourself to get ready for entering a special realm even for just 90 minutes. But, you can guess what will develop if you accumulate such self-discipline.

2. In online lessons, I don’t come around to give individual advice or point out this or that in order for you to adjust positions, speed or general intensity. Instead, you have to observe my demonstration when I show differences of positions at this angle or that, carefully listen to my explanation about inner sense that would occur according to small differences, and finally you have to communicate with your own inner sense. This kind of mental attentiveness is really a good practice to polish our inner sense. I believe it is a very important element to make physical exercises to yogic exercises. Using the body as a portal and developing conscious mind, yoga is a method to integrate the balance of the body, mind and spirit, throughout all levels of our existence. Even while giving for a short lesson each, I hope I am viewing this direction.

Some may feel put off using technology to attend yoga lessons. However, with positive feedbacks from both the attendees and myself, I am very happy to run the online lessons.

8 thoughts on “Effects of Online Lessons

  1. Tomoko, I have been enjoying your on line yoga sessions very much.
    They help me anchor my week and you are absolutely right, it allows me to carve out some me time, which has been difficult lately.
    I also like the way you demonstrate each positions and problems if not done correctly. This allows me to adjust and watch out for usual habits not creeping in.
    Thank you, keep on going I am loving it!

  2. Thank you, Tomoko Sensei. I’m very happy that you are able to offer the online classes. For me it’s part of the silver lining that I see in this lockdown situation.

    I was wondering how it would work practically, in the space I share with my partner, and mentally, on my part, to carve out the dedicated time and attention in the same way I would do attending a class in person. After sorting out practicalities, it’s been a revelation that in some ways, the online classes are better. Perhaps it’s because I’m in my own space and can mostly relax for some time before and after (instead of being busy making a journey) that I feel more meditative throughout the class. The balancing effect I feel is always deep and I’m very grateful for it, especially on Tuesday evenings, after the working day.
    I’m learning from the suggested modifications that you offer to make the exercises/poses possible for everybody too.
    Now your classes are so accessible, I hope many people join and benefit from the experience.

    • Junko, Thank you for your comment. Except the beginning and ending, all students are set as mute in case somebody’s background noise is unknowingly passed to other attendees. This means that on my end I do self-performance without any audience’s reaction. In the very first lesson, I became self-conscious but could manege to shake it off from the second time. My imagination of people’s presence is getting clearer as if everybody is directly here. Or just ‘trying to put everything in me’ is a better picture, as I am not yet a psychic. An stage actress or singer was asked a question about what is in her mind while she performs towards the silent audience. Is she almost talking to the audience? Her answer was: she prays during her performance. Isn’t it so beautiful to lift up one’s consciousness in such a way through her work? Well, let’s enjoy and explore what we didn’t do at normal time. And we may shift our perspective of what is normality.

  3. Thank you Tomoko, I am so happy with the lessons online. In the first place, for me you are the one who learned to do the asana’s in a way it works very well for me. Start slowly in my own ease. And now I have the opportunity to follow your lesson every week. Second; I was sceptical about an online lesson but it works very well for me. I’m comfortable in my own space and somehow I feel connected with the other attendees.
    I’ll join the lessons in June!

    • Leonneke, Thank you for your comment. From many other people via emails, I receive similar comments, “first sceptical about online lessons, but actually they work very well”. I too feel connected with attendees. Sharing time in the same thought must be very powerful.

  4. Thank you, Tomoko. I attend all the classes. They are very profound.
    Every time I do the class, my kids become very quiet. My breath influences everything around me.
    Tomoko said: in practising asanas, you can’t immediately fix in the first impression. Balance does not come promptly.
    It needs time and continuous training to search for truth.
    Life changes. Life is not fixed.
    During the class we move from outside towards inside and outside again without interrupting the inner sense. In each class we reflect on what we are, gradually moving into meditation, deep inside. Once I felt happy, another time I felt to be a tree with long roots. Class by class I felt the happiness again and I stopped on it. The happiness changed in quietness and calmness as there was a place that was unchanging. Mind and feelings change. Stability does not come promptly.
    Oki said: To search for balance, make efforts in order to change habits and avoid repetition.
    I read the Meditation book again and Masahiro Oki said : When the efforts you make in your search for self-perfection contribute to another’s growth ,this is devoted service. This is the path towards the joy of living. Thank you very much.

    • Michela, Thank you for your comment. You have beautifully described what are going with you as attending the lessons. Certainly it is a wonderful feeling to notice that we are growing inside.

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