Am I the Yoga Teacher for You?
“The very heart of yoga practice is abhyasa - steady effort in the direction you want to go.” - Sally Kempton
I confess that I once assumed getting to any yoga class was better than not going to yoga at all. I also reasoned there was benefit in attending classes with a handful of different teachers every week – because who doesn’t love variety? And while there is some truth to that assumption and reasoning, the more time I spend in this wide world of western yoga, the more my viewpoint has shifted.
If you are newer to the game (that is, let’s say, having taken fewer than 100 classes), then the strategy of getting to any class and having a variety of teachers to learn from can be a good game plan. It gets us in the habit of making yoga a regular part of our life’s routine. It gives us a broader perspective of all the diversity this ever growing and evolving industry has to offer. But by your 100th class – and for many, long before the 100th class – you should know which style(s) and teacher(s) really serve you best. And that, after all, is the point of any yoga practice: Yoga is meant to serve your mind-body-soul, not the other way around.
👆 And if you are relatively fit and healthy, looking to maintain your fitness, then that there is a great plan of action, but if you are looking into yoga to help with your chronic pain, I'll suggest a different approach - one that is more intentional about the direction you wish to go. 👇
Just as our individual interest in yoga might evolve – one style suits us pre-parenthood, but another is better when we are parenting young kiddos; one teacher appeals to us in our 20’s, but another resonates more in our 30’s, and yet another in our 40’s; in our young adulting years, we might do it to prevent injuries, while later in life we do it to heal injuries – yoga teachers evolve their teaching styles, skill, and focus over the years as well.
After many years teaching yoga classes at local studios, and many, many years of training to become a certified yoga therapist, I have come to the very real conclusion that I am not the teacher for everybody. I have developed a certain niche and I have my forte.
If you are looking into yoga specifically to help your chronic pain, stress, or fatigue - this is my speciality.
To be clear, I am capable of teaching every body that would like to do yoga and everybody is welcome to come yoga with me. I do my utmost to hold space for everyone who would like to learn yoga - no matter their experience, abilities, or aspirations. However, no single teacher can be all things to all people. So, I confess, I don't try to be.
I may not be the teacher for you, if you…
are a super fit, bad ass weekend warrior who wants so badly to do the latest trendy, über-bendy pose on IG that you will push yourself even after I invite you to give yourself a much needed break.
really want to be shown “the right way” to do each posture, because the idea that each of us should find our own unique expression of poses seems way too ambiguous. – I know, I hear you type-A-ers out there!
feel annoyed – or even repulsed – by the suggestion that meditation and mindfulness be the underlying current in all of your yoga, because slow flows, seated breath work, and formal meditation seem to aggravate your anxiety when you just wanna sweat! (I get it. I did hot yoga for years, too.)
would rather skip Savasana (final resting pose) entirely, because, after all, you are going to yoga to move, and not “lay around” for cryin' out loud!?!
are discouraged by the thought that I will likely wait until you have yoga-ed with me weekly for a year before I even offer to work with you on inversions, arm balances, or other fancy postures that look so intriguing, or - gasp - that I may never offer to teach you any of those poses because they have no therapeutic purpose for you personally!
are approaching yoga as a means of weight loss or otherwise fixing whatever perceived flaw you have hanging around your neck like an albatross – because my deep-seated belief that you are stronger than you think, more flexible than you realize, and wonderful as is might make your eyes roll.
will think about being ambitious enough to learn yoga from me every week, and then practice some on your own at home, but realistically only manage to do yoga a few times a month.
If you can check any of the boxes above, you might have a tough time learning yoga from me. And I will most likely recognize your annoyance / disappointment / frustration / anxiety over it, but only because I have been all of those things listed at some point or another over my decades on the mat. I will see you! And I will probably refer you to some of my yoga teacher friends at nearby studios who do offer all of those things you are looking for.
Then again, maybe I am a good teacher for you, if you…
are adventurous enough to use the props, try the adaptations, do the work over time to gradually let yourself find your way into a variations of poses that are most beneficial for you.
can be brave enough to let go of the idea that things are a black-and-white, clearly right- or wrong-way, but instead might just actually be the in-between, grey, just-right-way-for-you.
would humor me enough to include a little meditative, mindful slowing down despite your deeply ingrained need to go-go-go and do-do-do, because maybe, just maybe, slow, grounded, and still actually will have a profound, unexpected impact.
might be willing to concede five minutes out of your day to giving Savasana an honest effort – just in case it does actually leave an impression on your nervous system and mindset afterwords.
could buy into the idea that yoga for self-care and healing is meant to be part of our life’s routine, not a quick fix – and therefore, can look for the big picture of yoga over years rather than weeks… And, as a bonus, the level of self-awareness, proprioception, and strength you'll build means you could still do all these moves ten or twenty years from now without injury!
would overlook my ridiculous optimism enough to consider that despite my views about your strength, flexibility and wonderfulness being contrary to a lot of messages from western culture and messaging, I might be right!
will challenge yourself to stop prioritizing your schedule, but instead schedule yoga as one of your priorities so I can work with you consistently enough to really develop your yoga for self-care practice.
So, maybe I am just the teacher who resonates with you. Or perhaps I would be the teacher who challenges you to grow – the way things that don’t kill you make you stronger. (At least for this season of life.) Then I invite you to schedule a complimentary consultation to chat about what brings you to yoga.
When we meet, I'll ask why you want to learn yoga, and what you hope to gain by doing yoga for self-care. If your injury or chronic pain could be helped through therapeutic yoga, and if my teaching style is a good fit for your wellness goals, then I'd love to help you along your healing journey. (And if I don't feel confident about those points, I will happily refer you to something better for you, truly.)
And, of course, it could be that I am also just the teacher whose blog is a thought-provoking, quick – sometimes quirky – read, but you will skip my courses and workshops. And that’s okay, too. Whether or not I get to yoga with you, I am glad you are here. And I wish you the very best in your yoga journey, where ever it takes you!
