Opportunity

I have started teaching yoga again after a year long hiatus. I have missed it so for several reasons and wish I had never stopped. The most important one is simple; I love that "ahh" look people often get at the end of a class. I feel good when other people feel good and most people feel good after a yoga class. The second reason, a far less lofty and yogic reason, is that it takes so much time to build classes, to gain any kind of following.

When you leave teaching, no matter how good your reasons for doing so might have been, nobody is hanging around waiting for you to come back. You are just one of thousands of instructors in the world looking to ply their trade. You might be a good instructor but it makes no difference if you are not paying your dues, so to speak, every day, every week, even during the lean times, the lean seasons (think summer vacations). You have to be committed, you have to stay committed even through all your myriad other life commitments (day jobs, family stuff, grad school, etc...).

Like everything else in life, I can extract a lesson (or two) for myself from this. I understand commitment better now even though I think I did then too. I just didn't think I could stretch myself in the multitude of ways life required of me at the time (yes, pun intended). If there was a way to do things differently I would have chosen to stay committed to my teaching. I feel more balanced mentally and spiritually when I am connected to others who value yoga practice the way I do. All that good yogic energy helps sustain me. So this time, if the universe smiles on me, I will trudge along and pay my dues. I will be committed and have an open heart and mind about it and be grateful to have the opportunity to start again.