The 5 Things I Learned After 12 Years of Teaching Yoga
This September will mark 12 years of teaching Yoga internationally and in my nostalgia, I wrote a list of 5 big things I’ve learned. Teaching and practicing Yoga is one of my life’s intentions and I can’t wait to see what the next chapter brings. I hope this piece makes you smile, reflect or maybe experience an “a-ha” moment no matter where you are on your wellness journey.
1. If you feel called, listen and take action
We all have that voice in our head that whispers sweet little ideas all the time. “Go on the retreat,” “Sign up for the certification” “Submit your resignation,” and so on. We are so quick to brush off the message as a fantasy or impractical idea that doesn’t work in the “real world.” The truth is this persistent voice is the intuition — the deep inner compass of your soul. It’s scary to follow the intuition sometimes because it doesn’t always make sense and it presents a lot of unknowns.
We make up long stories of how our life would take a turn for the worse if we listened to these seemingly crazy ideas. “I would lose my steady income, be unable to afford the mortgage and no one will want to be with me.” If this is the narrative we tell ourselves, of course we can’t to listen to our intuition or inner voice! We are so quick to dampen the intuition in order to keep the ego safe and keep life at status quo. After repeated failed attempts, it becomes harder and harder to follow the call of the intuition and side step the ego.
When I signed up for my first Yoga Teacher Training in 2008, I spent hundreds of dollars on a training as an undergraduate student with no idea where it would lead me. I simply knew I had to do it. My decision didn’t make sense to everyone and I received pushback. However, I didn’t see any other option because my intuition was so strong and told me this was necessary.
We can’t listen to our intuition when it whispers things we like and ignore it when it challenges us or pushes us out of our comfort zones. It doesn’t work that way. If you feel called or pulled in a certain direction, acknowledge the pull and determine what you can do to honor the feeling.
2. A little bit of fear is okay — do it anyway
The first Yoga class I taught was a full room of UC Davis students and staff back in 2008 at the campus rec center. My friend attended the class and gave me some valuable feedback — I needed to slow down my verbal cues because I was talking way too fast and I needed to find some alternative resting postures other than child’s pose!
I was scared and so nervous before teaching my first several classes not only because I curated the class plans from scratch but mostly because I was terrified of public speaking and having a large group of people looking at me for 60 minutes! We were required to use headset microphones because the room was so big and there were noisy automatic fans that would turn on randomly. My introverted self was not thrilled with public speaking or having so much attention on me, to say the least.
But I did it anyway. We can’t always wait for the perfect motivation to take bold action. Sometimes the best moves are made with feeling a little bit of fear and doing it anyways. Through trial and error, repetition and some great coaching and mentoring, I came to love speaking to and leading large groups and became more skilled at it! Pretty soon, I found my unique style of teaching Yoga — grounded, calm and intuitive. Through consistent teaching, I learned how to intuitively read the energy of the room and feel into what my students needed from their practice and cater to those needs in the moment. I’m so happy I stuck with it even when it was scary and even when my voice was shaking in that very first class!
3. Learning makes you an excellent teacher
We are all teachers no matter what our profession or circumstances might be. We teach our partners how to communicate with us, we teach our colleagues what to expect from us and we teach our children our values by how we operate in the world everyday. Having any human relationship makes you a teacher. The opportunity is to embody your role as a teacher and prioritize self-growth and learning.
There is tremendous opportunity in learning. I did my first set of Yoga teacher trainings in 2008 and 2009. I followed that with advanced training in India in 2012 and more intimate mastermind trainings every 2 to 4 years after that. My teachers do not present radically new material at every training, but I receive information differently today than I did two years ago, simply because of my own personal growth and life experiences. My body and mind absorb a deeper level of understanding every time I attend a training, read a Yoga manual or do my own self-practice.
I find that the deeper my understanding and self-practice is, the better I can serve my students. I prioritize learning so that I can meet my students where they are at, recognize their inherent potential and celebrate them constantly!
We are dynamic, ever-changing beings. Therefore, there is no harm in hearing something twice and everything to gain from a student mindset.
4. Taking a pause is more productive than pushing through
From 2012 to 2015, I taught 1 Yoga class a quarter, at most. It was a significant pause in my teaching career because at that time, law school was my compelling priority. It was taxing to focus on much else besides studying, preparing for being “on-call” and completing externship work.
This time in my life taught me the power of focusing on one thing at a time and making it your priority. If I had pushed through and continued to teach Yoga while balancing a heavy school and work load, my teaching would have suffered. Teaching Yoga requires authenticity, love and a spirit of service — at least for me. During law school, my plate was too full to add on anything additional and it would not have been in service of my students. Not what I needed to be focused on at the time!
When I finally resumed teaching, I was in a much better place emotionally and had the energetic space to hold for my students. Taking a pause, even from things we love, is sometimes necessary and highly beneficial.
5. Seek guidance in order to stay in high vibration
As human beings, we experience sadness, struggle and grief — sometimes in the course of one day and sometimes over longer periods of time. The helpful part about it is, we do not have to “just get over it” or figure it out on our own. There are so many resources out there to support — whether it’s getting over a bad mood or a serious mental health issue (free ones too)! We are meant to seek help from other human beings and build trust and relationships. There is nothing shameful about asking for help or receiving help from another.
After law school, when I resumed teaching Yoga, I didn’t feel like myself, I lost my groove and wasn’t bringing my best self to teach my students. I taught the same things over and over again and didn’t bring my unique calm and creative energy to classes. I knew I needed support from my Yoga teacher community, so I enrolled in a mastermind weekend training with one of my favorite teachers in southern California. Just signing up for the training put me in a better state of mind!
The weekend training was only 3 days long but it was just what I needed to be in community with fellow teachers, re-discover what I love about this practice and of course spend some quality time at the beach. I soaked up every moment of being a student — learning about anatomy, Ayurveda, effective hands-on assists and even how to take great beach Yoga photos!
I returned from that weekend feeling a massive reset; I was so giddy with excitement to return home and curate amazing classes for my students! In the Lyft ride home from the airport, I promised myself I would invest in mini-trainings and mastermind weekends often to keep myself and my teaching practice as high-vibe as possible. I’m so grateful that I took the leap and sought out guidance when I was feeling stuck.
It is always my responsibility to ask for help when I need it and take advantage of every opportunity to raise my vibration.
