My Experience Teaching Yoga in High Andean Communities
My name is Claire Beiersdorf, and I have been living in Cusco for six years. I've been teaching yoga in public and private classes, retreats, and teacher training full time since 2013. Never could I have imagined where teaching yoga would take me!
Cole York, the founder and director of Valley Camp, has invited me to work with the organization on a few different occasions. I have had the pleasure of working at Valley Camp events in the town of Urubamba as well as in more remote communities in the Sacred Valley. All of my experiences have been unique, uplifting, incredible learning experiences. It's interesting to think about them as learning experiences, as I am one of the team members guiding classes and activities.
My profession is teaching yoga. I teach in all different types of settings and with a wide variety of students. However, looking back, I realize that I am always teaching students who have heard of yoga, who have seen photos of postures on social media or have their own connection to the yoga practice. That's not the case when teaching yoga to children and adolescents in high Andean communities.
Teaching yoga to the children in the community of Markuray requires a lot of patience. It allows me to reflect on why and how I want to be sharing my yoga practice as a teacher. What benefits will this have for them? Will they be interested at all? As yoga is so vast, with what parts of it will they be able to engage? What I observed throughout my time working with Valley Camp is that it's all about connection. They aren't going to remember any Sanskrit names of the postures or be able to maintain silence for any significant period of time. But, they will try something new and they do interact / connect to each other in a completely different way. They teach me how to connect to yoga in a different way!
Valley Camp is an inspiration because the learning is two ways - the students learn from the teachers and the teachers learn from the students. We create a unique experience together, where everyone leaves more enriched than they came!