14. Teachers and Teaching

Teachers and Teachings

Giving credit to one’s teachers is traditional and a very cool thing to do. As I was thinking about the flip side of this, which I often do, I started to see things in a different (not more or less correct) light.

If I thank Dennis Adams, master healer (www.dennisadamsmasterhealer.com) for the metaphysical foundation he provided, who am I thanking? Dennis or the teachings? Dennis never claimed to be a guru, in fact, he said he didn’t even want the job. His teaching was “if I can do it, so can you” and he would even appear to get impatient with teachings where there was a practiced hierarchy.

What about Rod Stryker (www.parayoga.com) who really taught me about yoga?  My knowledge of what I had learned from Dennis was re-framed into a yogic way, making me a better “yoga” teacher. I could speak to those students whose path was truly yogic.

And then there is Pandit Rajmani Tigunait. Panditji. As Rod says, “a jolly genius.” (www.himalayaninstitute.org). He takes the teachings to level that resonates with the yoga teacher in me, but also touches the metaphysical, which is more to my sensibility. Who is my “teacher?” I struggled with this when I got back into the “yoga world” after years of personal practice, my only input was from applying the teachings of Dennis in the everyday world, so my practice was equal, both on and off the mat. There was no separation.

In yoga, they say you need to choose one guru. I don’t know if I can because they have all taught and continue to teach me. The ultimate teacher is my life and my exploration and experience of these teachings every single day. If I’m not applying the teachings to when I’m in line at the grocery store, then my “yoga practice” is what? Learning a bunch of cool poses and ways to breathe? If the cool poses and breath control don’t bring me closer to understanding my place in this physical world, and bring me closer to a more and more consistent merging of physical and non-physical, then I would rather just spend my time watching movies, enjoying the beach with a cold Margerita, or other delectable, sensory, Divine pleasures that we get here on Earth.

If the Teachings are the guru, then yay! That makes more sense to me. And what about my role as a teacher? Do I hold back what I’ve learned? What do I share? Why do I teach? For me, it is my mission to help people have a direct experience of who they really are. To provide a space for them to, without a doubt and repeatedly have direct experience of their Wholeness. So what do I teach? Whatever it takes. Whatever works. If I am truly the conduit, then I trust the teachings to come out of my mouth as needed, which requires me to be more in the moment and to have my mind “out of the way” so my Mind can run the show. My job is to teach without attachment and to trust that whatever happens is perfect.