For part 1…. read here
Seems to me the more I stay around in this yoga world and the more I read about other yogis journeys, that most of us have come across a time when we just want to ditch the whole yoga thing and find inspiration elsewhere. But where? Coming back to our mats is like most things in life which are cyclical. We can’t always expect our sole inspiration to be found on the mat. But what I have found is that once we let go of the aim to ‘make a success’ of our yoga, it can become joyful again.
Joyful = messy + unpredictable + free of conditions
I have always been worried about losing my body, my practice, my knowledge throughout my teaching career. Teaching yoga teachers isn’t easy. You are up against other more knowledgeable and able practitioners at every turn. But have they put together ALL of your content and studied it to the same degree at that moment? Whatever you are teaching or have designed as a practice, cannot have had the eyes and ears of another. You are the only one who knows what and how you are piecing a thread of knowledge together.. and you are the only one who has this at the tip of their fingers.
I can’t say luckily covid came along but it did force me to start to capture my work, my practice, my voice whilst it was all still there at the tip of my fingers. It helped me to capture the best of my teaching whilst it was happening. There were many nights where I put in 24 hour shifts to learn how to upload content, fill out tax forms for video platforms, subscribe to mail chimp and to remember to look at the little green dot on the computer screen (aka the camera lens) to get everything up online. One of the best criticisms I had at the start of covid was why didn’t I have classes and lectures pre filmed? I’m not sure how anyone could have been prepared or had things ready that quickly but there is nothing like a bit of criticism to get you kick started.
4 years on of filming and writing still at play, I can say that it was worth it. For whilst I’m not able to enjoy the presence of students in big halls or studios any longer, I am savouring more one to one time with teachers who genuinely want to progress and teach more varied classes with better content which I’ve never had the time to do before now. I can focus on upgrading content and fine tuning rather than churning out the same thing time after time.
Teachers and lecturers have a hard job. They are supposed to inspire and be at their best for every performance and we are talking about a career of some 40 odd years or more. Top performers and actors only have to do this a few times and leave the rest to editing, even if they are performing live on stage it’s only for a matter of weeks before the understudy comes along to replace them and continue with the cash rolling in. We can’t do this as yoga teachers! Yet no one can expect to be at the top of their game for that many years. It doesn’t make sense to me that yoga teachers are expected to do this and make a sustainable living. Yet anyone can see that the compensation does not even begin to compare for teachers and actors. But we’re not actors some of you may be thinking!
So what’s the answer? Find another way to make living work if you can. Capture your best classes online so they are there for your eternity. And come back to your joyful messy practice. There aren’t alot of answers that suddenly come to you with other practices that a yoga practice can bring. That’s inspiration enough. And wouldn’t it be a shame, to give up your years of practice that have already given you untold benefits….
Sarah Lo