Rotation: to turn on an axis

Today I taught a very small class.  Just three of my regulars.  (It has been below zero here for a couple days  and not everyone is silly enough to leave the house for things like yoga class.)  

I assumed our transformation work would go quickly, working with partners to remove/reduce rotation in the back leg in Side Warrior (Virabadrasana B for those of you who do Sanskrit).  I should know by now that what I think will be simple usually isn't, and what I think will be hard goes easily.

So here we are looking at legs, and I'm aware that one of the women is not getting what we're supposed to be looking at.  It isn't important to me that she see it --- it is the first time I've ever pointed this rotation work out --- but she clearly is bothered.  When her turn comes, her emotions are at the surface from frustration.  And she is already holding tight to every instruction I have ever given in this pose.  I try to tell her this isn't intended to change any of that, just to refine it.  No good.  By the time we have done "helping" her in the pose, she is so disconnected from her body and quite upset.  

Once, years ago, I had the same response to too many instructions and tweaking.  So many that I ended up cranky and disconnected.  I looked at my student and very quickly put her through the same transformation work she had just done, only with minimal instruction and staying in the pose for a very short time.  She stood up, calm, content, one with her body. 

Life lessons learned today:
For the very cerebral, too much time and too much instruction only puts you further into your head.
As a teacher, know your students.  Do not feed their imbalances.

Which leads me to this:  All those ways you approach life may have served you well, but when they get in the way, can you change your approach?  If you keep pushing through challenges, are there times when maybe you should just ease up?  Can you persevere if it is your natural inclination to walk away from difficulty?  Do you know yourself well enough to know your patterns of approaching life's challenges?  

Watching how you approach a yoga pose can teach you a lot about your habits and patterns of mind.  Taking yoga off the mat can happen while you're on the mat.