Feeling ALIVE.
Started my 6 week course last night and absolutely LOVED IT. I think the thing I am most looking forward to is seeing the change and the growth of these 11 yogis who are sharing this experience with me. No matter how far I go in my yoga “career” and no matter where it takes me, I will always remember this group because they are the first. I have SO much to give these people and so much to learn from them and I’m so excited about this journey that we are sharing together.
As part of the 6 weeks, as we did on our teacher training, I’ve encouraged them to keep a yoga journal. I’ve decided to kick off this journal again- since it would be a bit douche-baggery of me to expect them to do it and not do it myself.
So what to report. I have been loving the home practice/home play lately although I did a wheel adjustment in a cover class I was teaching about 3 weeks ago (didn’t stabilise my own body before making the adjustment) and did something strange to my back- (lesson learnt!) it’s only starting to feel back to normal now. But now something at the top of my neck feels a bit off. I never really get aches and pains so I think I have definitely underestimated how physically demanding being a full time yoga teacher can be.
I have taught about 7 cover classes over the past few weeks Over the Wednesday and Friday lunch times. Last week those covers came to an end and quite synchronistically (#indiewordinvention) I received an email from Holly asking if I would be able to cover two of her classes for her. Holly trained us during our teacher training and I think she is one of the most incredible yoga teachers that I know – so I felt incredibly honoured that she had asked me to cover a class for her. After receiving that email from Holly, my mind went through an entire myriad of thoughts ranging from extreme panic to an insane sense of feeling awesome.
Holly is literally one of my idols – so to have her ask me to cover one of her classes felt surreal.
But here is the thing: there could be a million different reasons why she asked me to teach her class –
1.) She had already asked everyone else and no one else could do it.
2.) She needed a last minute replacement and had to opt for someone with a flexible schedule
3.) Most other yoga teachers she knows were busy at that time OR
4.) She has trained me as a yoga teacher, has seen me in the capacity of a teacher and felt confident in my ability as a teacher to cover her class.
Whatever her reason for asking me, MAKES ABSOLUTELY NO DIFFERENCE to the fact. The one (and only) thing that makes a difference is which of those options I CHOOSE to believe. Because what I CHOOSE to believe in that situation (as in any situation) affects my entire subconscious reality – which, obviously, affects my entire actual reality. The way that I arrive to that class is either as someone who a) is a last resort or b) the person that someone else fully believes in. Nothing in reality has changed about the situation except the way in which I frame it in my mind.
I think generally we spend WAY too much of our lives framing things down for ourselves. Giving ourselves a crappy little pound-land frames, when really – we could choose to set our life situations in brilliant-gold-rimmed-heavy-wooded frames (if that’s what you’re into). The picture remains the same regardless, but the way in which we frame it and hang it in our minds is entirely up to us. And as we know, the way in which those pictures hang in our mind affects the entire equilibrium of our picture wall, which affects the balance of our room, and the zen of our entire house.
So anyway, I’m off to Feng Shui our passage.
Definitely NUMBER FOUR. X
Che, thank you for sending me the link to this blog this post/particular journal entry has had me laughing out loud recognising some of those framing behaviours about classes for you- definitely no 4. Feeling like I’m reading a grown up Yogi version of Adrian Mole (hope you had that growing up in South Africa so you know what Im on about!)..anyway I digress off to read the next entries 🙂
haha! I love that – a Yogi version of Adrian Mole! 🙂 Hope you’ve had a fab weekend Rachel xx
p.s had to also share it on Facebook with a instructor friend of mine we have those 1-4 conversations all the time about how many “likes” we get on a post after class (see my Facebook page Project Body UK to understand) totally ridiculous both of us know but its how we frame it some days!!
Yes I completely agree that it is ALWAYS all about the mindset and the way we enter into a situation with our minds that determines how we behave in that situation rather than anything else!