Ask the Everyday Yogini
Lilalia, who I am getting to know through WoYoPracMo, is a lovely lady. Her art is spectacular and her insights make me smile.
Last week, she sent me the following question:
Who were the people that inspired you to become a teacher? When did you change from pupil to teacher?
I love this question, because it really gave me pause. It’s been a long time since I started practicing Yoga and a long time since I decided I was going to become a teacher (and I’ve had a baby to fry my memory completely)!
The fact is, the very first class that I took, I went home and taught my roommate everything I could remember about the class I had taken! I started buying books and delving in to postures and would teach it to anyone who would listen to me!
And although I loved my first Yoga teacher (and many of the subsequent ones), I was inspired primarily by the art of Yoga itself. By the way I felt after practice. I knew I would teach Yoga the first class I took, because it was a homecoming for me.
Interestingly enough, somewhere along the line, I decided that I didn’t know enough to be showing anyone anything, and clammed up. I decided I had to be properly certified to teach, so I could know everything (hi, perfectionism). But, the longer Yoga and I travel together, the more I humbly acknowledge that my student days will never be over. The day I decide I know everything is the day I should be required to stop teaching.
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I *puffy heart* your questions! If you have a burning question related to Yoga or life, contact me here.
January 23rd, 2008 at 12:04 pm
Hi, just wanted to let you know I changed my url to the above. I really enjoy reading your blog. You are so brave to move to a completely different country! We visited Rome and a lot of Italy last year and really enjoyed our time there. How do you like living in Rome? If you do come back to CO we have to meet up!
January 23rd, 2008 at 7:11 pm
Nona - I wish you were my yoga teacher. You are so inspiring.
January 24th, 2008 at 3:24 am
Thanks for answering the questions. It is good to know that the elastic layer of your teaching stretches out from the beginning of your experience to now, as does the layer of your learning. I thought it might be like two triangles resting on each other to form a rectangle. The one pupil side starts large goes small and the teacher side starts small and goes large. It is reassuring for me to know that the sides remain constantly large.