Bringing Us Together

I recently watched a video of the amazing Mary Dunn teaching Pranayama. On the video she did the legendary thing that I have heard about her - she waited until everyone did exactly what she said before moving on - for Sukasana! She was the queen of sticklers. I have to admit that I was rooting for her. Every once in a while I have a student that does not sit exactly the way I ask, or do something the way I ask and I always question myself. How do I handle it?

The beauty of this exercise was how she handled it. She said that "these directions are what bring us together." How gorgeous is that! I always try to plan my instruction based on my experience. For this reason, I want others to share my experience. Why wouldn't I insist on everyone doing the same thing(safely)? Why shouldn't I be a stickler? Anyone who is teaching yoga from their experience has the right to share their experience. And every student should be open to sharing that experience. After all, they paid for that class, they chose that teacher. So, why not try to achieve the experience they are creating.

Moving forward, as a student, I will take a vow of compliance. I will do my best to share in the experience of the instructor(safely). And as a teacher I will trust in the validity of my experiences. These promises to ourselves and to our teachers will do exactly what Mary suggested - bring us all together. Feel the same experience (or at least try). Be open to the vulnerability of a new experience. Trust in each other in the safe zone of our communities.

namaste!