Taking Flight
“When we’re free from any kind of expectations, we’re simply present, watching the process unfold, there’s a flow, a freshness to the experience.
Creativity relies on a certain kind of flow; as soon as we get stuck on an idea, we lose that inspired thought. ”
What makes a yoga (really any) class phenomenal?
What makes a class experience really good is fairly objective. The key ingredients will all there: building simple to complex in big and small ways; safety and alignment; smooth, logical builds; clear, concise directions (pro tip: a formulaic approach to cuing provides clear direction for student + confidence for teacher), etc. That said, the craft of creating what is an outstanding, even life-changing, class experience is entirely subjective. It is an art.
Creating a class you believe in first is essential. To build confidence, begin by leveraging the framework of outstanding sequencing, playlisting, theme weaving and anatomical translation to create a holistic 360 degree class you wholly get behind. That’s the key—if you don’t believe it, no one else will. And that you actually enjoy teaching. If you’re feeling it, others will too. Artfully add expression by finding clever ways to diversify sequencing, crystallize complex anatomical principles & movement into simple, elegant terms, and forage for unique, rhythmic songs.
Essential Concept: You have to believe it first before anyone else will. Trust is essential to the smooth flow of a room. When you intimately understand what and why you are teaching what you are teaching, this builds confidence + authenticity. Further, when you know & believe in the “why” and allow yourself to fully be seen, you are less diluted by the inevitable energy shifts around the room and can curate the energetic space and flow better.
Confidence is built by knowing your material thoroughly – why are you doing what you’re doing? Once empowered to nail all this part (the objectivity), you are better able to shine from within in creating something you are proud of, excited to teach, even love and that is your own.
When you are worried, distracted, attention diluted, about what other people think, creating this experience is scary. It has to start within.
FInding Your Voice
There is a big difference between giving your all, being wholeheartedly vested in what you are doing, and blessing all of life around you with your very best, and … in getting tangled up and distracted by judgments, other peoples’ experiences, energies and perceptions (good or bad, it is all the same).
In fact, the only way you can truly accomplish the first is if you remain unencumbered by the second. You must first be a gatekeeper of you own energy before you can effectively hold space for others.
The greatest gift you can give others is your 100% true authentic self, unencumbered. This elevates us from a place of me/you to only one - we.
