In the years that the TY Training Program has been in place, our graduates have gone on to do some pretty extraordinary things. In fact, most of the people who take the training have truly dedicated their lives to helping others, and that is pretty extraordinary all in of itself. As we are only able to profile a handful of them, we have tried to profile a wide spectrum of circumstances, to show potential training participants the adaptibility of the knowledge taught at the trainings.
True Heroes: The Teachers Who Led Me to Restorative Yoga
By Deborah Quilter
We live in a busy, competitive world where doing more and more – even at the cost of health and peace of mind – is rewarded, and doing less is considered lazy.
Yoga, in its wisdom, knows better than this. By relaxing, we become stronger, more resilient and happier.
It took a little convincing for me to believe this, but, as with many people, I became injured from overdoing. Luckily, my path to Yoga was strewn with kismet. I never set out to teach Yoga, (I’ve been a writer for most of my professional career) but I found myself drawn to Yoga for healing, and then teaching, through my own Yoga teacher, Kevin Kortan. As luck would have it, he had agreed to a workshop in Restorative Yoga at a New York City health club, but was called out of town and asked me to fill in.
Kevin recommended Cheri Clampett and Arturo Peal’s training in therapeutic Yoga, and while I felt nervous about taking on this new role, I leapt at the opportunity to study and called Cheri to inquire about attending.
To my relief, Cheri welcomed me into the program with the warmth of a soul sister. It got even better when I met my teachers in person: I immediately loved Cheri’s soft approach, Arturo’s zany sense of humor, and the wonderful way they ran the program. They transformed an otherwise sterile space into a refuge from the storm of life. Both of them showered me with generosity, making me feel welcome and comfortable, taking time to answer questions and offer guidance. They have been an enduring source of inspiration and encouragement since then, too.
Practicing Restorative Yoga was like stepping in to a warm bath. It was hard to believe doing nothing but relaxing in a comfortable position could be so good for you. During the training, my colleagues and I were so relaxed we never wanted to come out of the poses to move on, much less leave the room. As I prepared for the workshop at the health club, I practiced Restorative Yoga every day so I could plan sequences for my classes. That’s when the magic started to happen.
Restorative yoga is often pitched as good for people with very serious illnesses such as AIDS or cancer, who are not capable of more vigorous practices. But in a very short while, I realized that this Yoga was profoundly healing for me. Without actively working at it, things that I thought would never change were beginning to improve. I was more flexible without stretching. Deep tissues unknotted. I felt at peace. By the time the workshop rolled around, I had gained a deep respect for this work. As far as I was concerned, this was the best-kept secret in Yoga, and I practice it myself on a regular basis to this day.
The workshop was so popular that the health club added Restorative Yoga to the permanent class schedule, and since then I’ve taught many private lessons, classes and workshops in this healing art. I also incorporate this “Yoga of Non-Doing” into many classes, including my program for frail elders at Mt. Sinai Hospital in New York City. One elderly student found that a simple pose (legs on the chair) helped her back pain more than standard physical therapy.
Students routinely tell me Restorative Yoga helps their back pain, their hip pain, their sleep. They say they notice things that never occurred to them before. They report miracles on a regular basis, yet I’m always amazed at the myriad ways this work helps. The same asana can have markedly different results for different people, targeting with unerring accuracy their particular problem, and providing just what they need today.
Sometimes Restorative Yoga leads to emotional breakthroughs. One day at the health club, a woman hung back after class. I was surprised to see her; she was a regular in the spinning class, where people push their endurance to the max. I never expected to see her in a class that was all about relaxation. She seemed to want to tell me something, so I asked how she felt.
“I’m embarrassed to say this, but when we were in spinal twist, I cried,” she confessed. “It wasn’t so much crying as leaking; the tears just rushed out. When you said to let go and relax, and I realized how much I push myself, even when I have so much pain. You taught me a lot today.”
Moments like these fill me with gratitude for this gentle practice. In this Yoga of being, the silence speaks to the students and inner wisdom springs forth, bringing gifts from within that equire only a receptive attitude to receive. Having seen the benefits of teaching Restorative Yoga in both my students and myself, I’m grateful that Cheri and Arturo are so committed to teaching this work and highly recommend their program. Every teacher needs this training.
New York City-based writer Deborah Quilter is an internationally recognized expert in computer-related injuries, the author of The Repetitive Strain Injury Recovery Book and a certified personal trainer and yoga teacher. Ms. Quilter studies Evolutionary Yoga™ with Kevin Kortan; completed her Yoga teacher training through Spanda®: The Yoga of Movement with Jaime Stover Schmitt, Ed.D.; Therapeutic Yoga with Cheri Clampett and Arturo Peal; and is currently enrolled in the Mind in Motion professional Feldenkrais Method® training with Larry Goldfarb, Ph.D. For more information, visit www.RSIhelp.com.