Teaching, Me, and Yoga

Finding a yoga class that is in sync with what you seek can be a challenge. There are a plethora of yoga studios to try out and an even larger group of yoga teachers. One can do a personal practice at home; however, sweet blend of energy shared in a collectively united group practice. As a teacher of yoga for only four years, here are the top five elements of a fulfilling practice. I

Action #1: Teach and practice from the heart. If the energy is feeling low, the moves offered should be designed to lift it up...physically and mentally. Synchronicity of energies consistently coincide with a collective group and it is truly beautiful to share it. To teach what you think what a group wants takes out the secret ingredient of the heart. The heart doesn't have to think...it feels. Thinking complicates. Feeling completes.

Action #2: Teach familiar poses with new twists to them. Familiarity breeds monotony. Maintaining a blend of staples in your practice along with new poses is key in staying fresh. A yoga practice is like a relationship. You love the practice; however, one of the keys to keeping a relationship strong is novelty...the unexpected. Doing the same thing again and again and again can become diminish sight of new horizons. Being monogamous does not coincide with monotony....lack of growth breeds stagnant-edness. Keep them expecting the unexpected. It's fun. It's desired. It's needed. It keeps the scales of practice balanced.

Action #3: Practice to the energy of great music. The eternal debate of practicing yoga with music or no music will continue. As far as I am concerned, great music complements the moves of a  yoga practice. Music that speaks to your heart and propels you to move is delicious. Beautiful voices, thought provocative verses, and a great rhythm that flows with moves are elements many crave. Music inspires inner creativity. Music that moves you is from someone's heart of creativity.

Action #4: The power of touch is indisputable. To give a person a soft touch of the fingertips on the third eye place or to gently press their shoulders down gives their body permission to let go a bit more. People fear touching another will get them in trouble or they don't have the desire to do it. Truth is...a great yoga teacher will intuitively know how to integrate the power of touch so many seek, but don't even know it until they receive it. It is a privilege to share the energy of love and a wordless message to release an internal grip many hold. I consider this privilege sacred.

Action #5: Keep on learning. It does not matter if you have you been practicing or teaching for twenty plus years...you will never know it all. There is immense knowledge in the concept of "teach to learn and learn to teach." The two go hand in hand...beyond yoga. Apply it to anything you do and will find that integrating those two actions will solidify what you know and keep you adding to the foundation of knowledge layer by layer. To stop learning is to quit. Unless you're ready to quit doing something, never stop the quest for learning. What seems insignificant initially will reveal its purpose when the time is right. That is...as long as you consistently follow Action #1. (Follow the heart)

These words of Helen Keller have been the foundation of how I teach and learn. Nothing could more true:

"The most beautiful things cannot be seen or even touched; they can only be felt in the heart."