Yoga
There is a lot of controversy these days in the yoga world. Should it be regulated, who should regulate it, sexual harassment, power dynamic between teacher and student, what is safe and what isn't and the list goes on and on. I am no yoga newbie, after 25 years of practice and 16 teaching I have a pretty good handle on a lot of the aspects of yoga as they pertain to my personal practice and I continue to educate myself on host of things to bring to my students each week. No one has to tell me to do this, I do it because I am someone who has always been curious, loved to learn new things and in the yoga space I test it out on myself before I ever present it to my students.
I willingly admit that I do not know everything there is to know and the older I get the more there is to learn about longevity in practice, not just the power or peak poses. I prefer a more slow and intentional practice that explores body placement and noticing how your body moves through space, modifications as needed and truly listening to what your body has to say in each moment you step on your mat. I had to learn that my practice would change each time I stepped on the mat and to let go of expectation and to truly listen deeply to what my body was telling me in the moment. There is something to be said for some life wisdom and a long term ongoing yoga practice. Many times I wish that I had been smarter about this practice at a much younger age.
While I understand that in the last several years that most yoga studios realized the way to make money is to host a teacher training. I also understand wanting to teach for whatever reason you have personally. I never would have pursued that course without encouragement from my instructor all those years ago. I don't teach because of ego, I teach because I want to help others live a better life with yoga. I have had it change my life for the better and have seen so many of my students over the years have the same thing happen. I aspire to a healthy mix of practice and staying present in your body. I have personally witnessed so many people who are not present in their body, who don't live in their body so to speak and it is such an amazing thing to watch them find that presence.
In many things in life there is a power dynamic and yoga is included in that. I seek to pass on knowledge, have a sense of humor and to approach your practice from a space of humbleness and I never portray myself as the most knowledgeable, I am forever a student of yoga. I desire with every class to create a safe space for my students to practice and know that I am there to guide them and that I trust them to know what is best for their body in that moment in time we are together. I seek to serve. Sometimes I wonder about teacher motivations when I take classes from other instructors, any number of personal things can drive someone to teach and some of them are less than noble. As a student and an instructor I seek to everyone, including myself trust their intuition, know what feels right and what doesn't and not be afraid to speak up should they need to. It is always good to try different instructors, there is always something to learn, even if it is that you don't ever want to take from that specific instructor again.
Yoga, it does a body good.
XO
Titanium