In an effort to build my yoga teaching endeavor, I have been making a conscious effort to promote my classes. It takes a bit of time to come up with something fresh and motivating to capture the interest of a potential student. I am still new at this game. At times, it feels much like reinventing myself. But other times, it feels like I am discovering a part of myself that I have kept hidden from the world. It’s a little exciting.

I did not use this photo to promote my class. This one was clicked off after I crazy, uncontrolled propulsion forward out of a drop back to the foam pads in the background. It is one of surprise and a little exhilaration as well.

I took great pride as I left the yoga studio after teaching on Sunday. I’d subbed quite a few classes over the holiday break but this class was my own. It was an opportunity which I knew was rare. I reflected back to the time and effort to which I invested in developing what I deemed to be a creative yet thoughtful yoga sequence, including a theme pertinent to the peak pose(s), and accompanying music playlist. I was proud of what I had created. In my mind, I showed up to teach with my best and, although it didn’t go perfectly, it seemed that my students were receptive and gracious at the end of class.

So you can imagine my emotional reaction when I came to discover that at one of my students had expressed extreme disappointment in their experience. To say that I was crushed would be an understatement.

The yoga sutras say that yoga should be practiced with dedication but without any attachment to the outcome. It seems that I was indeed attached to the outcome. As such, I had a hard time reconciling what to do next. I don’t want to be a quitter, but I don’t want to tarnish the reputation of the yoga studio that I have come to call home. I love it here and want others to do the same. [Read more…]