January 3, 2012
Happy New Year!!!
I had this awesome gift of teaching a partner yoga class tonight to a lovely couple and a circle of their closest friends on the wife's 40th birthday. I know the family well--the wife, the husband, and the daughter, all of whom come to my class regularly. The husband thanked me after class for being such a big part of his family, which was just so, so sweet. Wow, I was very humbled to be considered part of their family, knowing that I only see them once a week.
Hearing this comment gave me an occasion to think about my role as a yoga teacher. What do I do when I stand in front of the class? What kind of impression, impact do I make on my students? Why is it that yoga, unlike so many other forms of exercise, whether mental or physical, is capable of stirring such emotions and sentiments in students?
It is difficult for me as a yoga teacher to know the answers to these. First of all, I am in their lives only one, two, maybe three hours a week. That is a very small amount considering that a week has 168 hours. What kind of effect can I possibly have in these people's busy lives?
I have to keep reminding myself that I am not only a teacher, but also a guide. That's right. To say that I teach yoga is only a part of what I do when I do stand in front of the class. It is so much more than just telling students what to do. It is so much more than just adjusting their bodies so that they may unfold in ways the students thought were impossible. It is so much more than just spending one or two hours talking.
It is so much more than any of those.
More than teaching, I guide them as they go through their emotions during the practice. I guide them as they experience their bodies and start to see the unfolding of possibilities of all kinds during the practice. I teach far more than how to bend and bind, I guide them through the process of how to deal with life one hour at a time. Guiding them through their breath, how to breathe in and breathe out, how to feel with their bodies, to see with their eyes closed, to hear with their skin--that is just some of what I do during a class. I don't tell them what to do. I guide them as they find their own path.
That is why being in the seat of a yoga teacher is so gratifying--to see people's lives transformed. It is also scary at the same time! To think that I may have this kind of impact on other people's lives? To think that I have this awesome responsibility to other people and that people are impacted by me and my classes in such intimate way?? If I hadn't gone through this transformation myself, I would have believed that all of this is just nonsense. All I can say is that yoga transforms, not only the students, but also the teachers. Students inspire students as the teachers inspire students.
A student of mine told me that I am one of her gurus. And that is such a compliment. Just I am a guru to this student, I have gurus, too. And that is what yoga teachers are in their role--gurus. hey are teachers who guide, they are guides who show the way, and they are examples of what lies on this path.
That is an awesome responsibility not to be taken lightly.
Happy New Year!!!
I had this awesome gift of teaching a partner yoga class tonight to a lovely couple and a circle of their closest friends on the wife's 40th birthday. I know the family well--the wife, the husband, and the daughter, all of whom come to my class regularly. The husband thanked me after class for being such a big part of his family, which was just so, so sweet. Wow, I was very humbled to be considered part of their family, knowing that I only see them once a week. Hearing this comment gave me an occasion to think about my role as a yoga teacher. What do I do when I stand in front of the class? What kind of impression, impact do I make on my students? Why is it that yoga, unlike so many other forms of exercise, whether mental or physical, is capable of stirring such emotions and sentiments in students?
It is difficult for me as a yoga teacher to know the answers to these. First of all, I am in their lives only one, two, maybe three hours a week. That is a very small amount considering that a week has 168 hours. What kind of effect can I possibly have in these people's busy lives?
I have to keep reminding myself that I am not only a teacher, but also a guide. That's right. To say that I teach yoga is only a part of what I do when I do stand in front of the class. It is so much more than just telling students what to do. It is so much more than just adjusting their bodies so that they may unfold in ways the students thought were impossible. It is so much more than just spending one or two hours talking.
It is so much more than any of those.
More than teaching, I guide them as they go through their emotions during the practice. I guide them as they experience their bodies and start to see the unfolding of possibilities of all kinds during the practice. I teach far more than how to bend and bind, I guide them through the process of how to deal with life one hour at a time. Guiding them through their breath, how to breathe in and breathe out, how to feel with their bodies, to see with their eyes closed, to hear with their skin--that is just some of what I do during a class. I don't tell them what to do. I guide them as they find their own path.
That is why being in the seat of a yoga teacher is so gratifying--to see people's lives transformed. It is also scary at the same time! To think that I may have this kind of impact on other people's lives? To think that I have this awesome responsibility to other people and that people are impacted by me and my classes in such intimate way?? If I hadn't gone through this transformation myself, I would have believed that all of this is just nonsense. All I can say is that yoga transforms, not only the students, but also the teachers. Students inspire students as the teachers inspire students.
A student of mine told me that I am one of her gurus. And that is such a compliment. Just I am a guru to this student, I have gurus, too. And that is what yoga teachers are in their role--gurus. hey are teachers who guide, they are guides who show the way, and they are examples of what lies on this path.
That is an awesome responsibility not to be taken lightly.
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