Dear Future Yoga Teachers,
I've heard some of you say, "I'm not doing this to become a yoga teacher, I just want to deepen my practice."
I said the same thing before I began my first teacher training. I admit that for me it was said mostly out of fear ("who would want to listen to me") or unworthiness ("I'm not good enough").
So what shifts during teacher training?
The best of them will give you just enough philosophy, anatomy, and alignment, leaving plenty of room for transformation to shine light upon the truth that you already have everything you need to know.
Through precious moments of self inquiry, you'll get to be radically honest with yourself in where you are right now with your life. Don't wait. Do this now!
The longer you wait, the longer it will take you to realize you have something very important to share and that you are perfectly ready right now. When you deepen your practice, you deepen the study of self.
The more you know yourself, the more you will come to love yourself.
And in that moment when you feel love, you will feel the importance of you in this world. You won't have to DO anything for people to feel your love because you simply BEING a stance for love makes you a teacher of what you are.
To 'teach' is therefore an exchange with someone, some thing, some place whereby you share the truth of what you are. The truth of what you are encompasses all learnings you have gathered, and teaching becomes an outward expression through your voice or presence that gives back to the world an equal exchange of what you once took in.
Think about a moment in your life when you learned something really valuable from a friend or a family member. And then think of a moment when someone in your life came to you and said — thank you. I can guarantee we've all experienced this in some way, shape or form. This makes you a teacher.
So what happens next?
Upon completion of yoga teacher training, you don't have to teach a single yoga asana class and yet, you will still be teaching because every moment you encounter another human being, you are teaching that person something and you are learning something from that person as well.
And if you want to get really spiritual for a moment, even if you were to go into isolation and never see another soul for the rest of your life, you're stuck with the biggest teacher and student of all—yourself.
Whether you want it or not, you're a teacher.
Honor that with the very depth of your heart because you were brought to this Earth, and this very moment here, for a very specific reason which you may not even know right now.
Be open to not knowing and through your curiosity, trust that if you stay receptive to all that you acquire from each breath, you have something special to share and it would be a shame if you held it back.
Love,
A Yoga Teacher (still, and always in learning)
Image credit: Brittany Danielle
