"When I saw your name as a sub on the schedule, I made sure to get myself here!"
Although I loathe the amount of self-aggrandizing that yoga teachers often do about their classes, I have to say that it felt really amazing to hear this compliment repeatedly when I subbed at my local yoga studio this morning. For the last 7 months, I have been teaching yoga to middle school students... who, by and large, are not exactly the most welcoming and enthusiastic yogis. This quarter I have had a mutiny of sorts with my eighth graders, with a dozen or so of them acting out and refusing to participate each day, with the remaining five or six just doing the minimum to get a passing grade. Yet, because of said dozen students tearing down my tapestries, sticking gum to their mats, and throwing yoga blocks around, I feel like I don't have much attention for those five or six kids that only kinda care. So, teaching *willing adults in public* as I phrased it, feels like coming home. Willing adults that made a special effort to see me, this morning, felt like eating my mom's home cooking.
One student told me that she had read my blog post about getting dumped, and it helped her to put her grief on the line in her own way. Another student mentioned that she takes class regularly and is always checking her watch, but today she didn't check her watch once. Anther let me know that her back always hurts after class, but today it did not. Yet another let me know that she hadn't been back to the studio since taking my class six months ago.
Lately I have been feeling like no one wants what I have to offer, so I was compelled to kiss the feet of the students that came to class today. Thank you. I really needed to hear your words and feel your warmth. I am so grateful that you showed up for yourselves today, and that you let me know that I helped you do that in some small way.
You are helping me show up for me. I DO have so much to offer, and there are people that want it, people that need it. Please share your gift with someone today, or thank another person for sharing theirs. You may not know how much you are helping.
