To Teach or Not to Teach

Is that the question? Or is the question do I teach what I want to teach or teach what the students expect me to teach?

Often students are curious as to what our asana practice looks like. Some of us teachers have showpiece practices, stuff that is YouTube worthy and gets shared and shared amongst the yoga community. As well it should. It's awesome and inspiring to watch. And then there is the another end of the spectrum. Breathe prana through the body and go. Or use asana as a means to smooth out the pranic flow. Or there's the asana that's the "stand in line at the grocery store pose" or the "foldinglaundransana" - towel variation. So if the teacher has a really glamorous physical practice, of course the student wants to do what that teacher does. What a thrill to be able to do the teacher's practice!

When students ask me about my practice, I don't really talk about it. In my public classes, you get glimpses of concepts that I find interesting, universal and useful. You get glimpses of my journey and how my practice has evolved. You get just enough to hopefully inspire you to want to explore some concepts, poses, attitudes, points of view on your own both on and off the mat, and in the class I teach, as well as in the context of other classes. It's important to try on an idea and see if it works across the board. From yoga mat to boardroom, from another person's class, to cleaning the kitchen.

For the most part, I dilute nothing. On that rare occasion where I'm feeling a bit out of sorts while teaching (less that once a year), it might be because I feel conflict about class content/curriculum. (digging that alliteration? I know I am)(that i am)...  Sometimes I just want to give the methodology that will take a person from pain to less or even no pain, from struggle to ease, from doubt to joy. And sometimes that is not what the class would order off of a menu.

So as teachers, how do we walk that line? We stay true to the concepts we believe. We stay out of judgment. We trust the Wholeness. We have fun and remember our mission statement. We remember why we teach. And we don't dilute our truth, and incorporate it into poses that are useful and beneficial to the students. You can practically use the same poses, and with different themes, concepts, teaching points, make them seem fresh and new, not only for them, but for us, the teacher.

To teach. Yes. Not to teach. Impossible. For if we ever decide to leave the studio or the classroom, our mission, our dharma lives on. And if you dont think this applies to you because you aren't a teacher, guess again. We are all teachers. And again, I thank you for teaching me.