I have fully accepted that I will never be perfect but am perfect just the way I am. Therefore, I feel like I am able to make mistakes in front of people and have less shame in making those mistakes. It says a lot to me when people are so forgiving that I am learning right alongside them. It feels collaborative and not one sided.
Teaching yoga is both challenging and rewarding because although the results might not be instant you can start to see a change on the person’s face. You can see the lines on the face relaxing and you start to build a relationship with your students. I used to walk in to a class with the mindset that I was the teacher. Now, I walk into a classroom knowing that I have something to teach but that I am just as receptive to learning as well.
My students are such a joy to work with. Some of them have been students for about a year. To see them excited about achievements and small victories is what makes teaching worth it. I forget that I had to wake up at 4am to get to the studio by 5:30am. I forget that I am going through struggles myself. I get to create space for my students to feel safe, loved and cared for.
When you teach you give all the time. It is also nice to know what my limits are and know when I need to fill my glass when necessary. The day that I understood what it meant to be of service to people was the day that I found my purpose. I found the reason I live.
Knowing that the difference between a teacher and a student is a very thin line completely fulfills me. I walk into a classroom still weirded out by people calling me ‘Sir”, but fulfill that role not because I have to but because it is my calling. The other jobs that I do are becoming less enjoyable and agonizing at times because it’s like trying to fit a round peg into a square hole. It just doesn’t fit. Just like circumstances, situations, work environments and family members, there isn’t any more room for filler. There is no longer the desire to force things to work and an ease to just letting things be as they are.