What is your view of a Yoga teacher and their life ? Have a moment to think, did rainbows, unicorns, sparkles, love, light, glitter, sunbeams come to mind ? I’m having a little playful moment here but If you did answer yes, I am about to shatter this beautiful fairy tale and I am not sorry for it. It is understandable to think the Yoga lifestyle is perfect, immaculate, polished and squeaky clean of all negativity, with the way it is portrayed in our western culture. From well managed social media accounts, glossy magazines, advertisement and all the rest of that sort of jazz that uses Yoga to sell stuff. I roll my eyes, but it is the world we live in so I am here to bring another perspective.
I recall I time, before I was a teacher and I thought to myself, “All my Yoga teachers must have their s**t together, I wonder what fabulously healthy food they eat, they all seem like goddess to me”. The Goddess part, I do still do believe as I believe all men and women have an aspect of divinity in them, so don’t get me wrong I was right on that one part. But the rest simple is not true. I have faced similar assumptions from friends, yoga students and family. I’ve heard things like :” You’re a yoga teacher you don’t eat mince pies do you?” , I instantly corrected them and reached for 2 mince pies of course! “You don’t dress like my yoga teachers at home”, I raised an eye brow. “ You don’t really look like a Yoga teacher”, I raised my other eye brow. The next one was my favourite: “ You’re a Yoga teacher you shouldn’t be frustrated or angry.” My frustration and angry went up a tiny notch…or maybe a big notch, I am trying to be real here after all, it was a big notch.
I hope you can sense the humour I am infusing into this blog, but what I want to get across is the vision of perfection is not real, but not only that, it is not sometime to aspire to. The pursuit of perfect within itself is an imbalance, in the world of Ayurveda we would say this is an intense quality which will increase and bring in too much fire energy. One of the Yogic principles is Satya which means truthfulness. So, it feels close to my heart to be as true as possible. Let’s throw out the phrase : ‘we are “JUST” Humans after all’, in my view there is no “just” about it, simply: WE ARE HUMAN. We are all humans, on this beautiful planet earth, which comes with its ebbs and flows or balance and imbalance, with its incredible messy ugly moments and its beautiful joyful moments. It is the whole spectrum we live in.
Let me share with you, and what I share I am most certain is common amongst other Yoga teachers. I get pain in my body sometimes. I have to go to the gym to be strong- it is not a result of my yoga practice alone. I eat mince pies, chocolate, cake and biscuits and ice-cream and most puddings to be honest! Sometimes I don’t sleep that well. Sometimes I get stressed, down, criticise myself, pinch my belly and poke my fat rolls. I drink more coffee than I know what is good for me some days. I am very clumsy. I swear. I cry. I pass wind. I burp. I can be messy. I am human. I am not perfect, and I never want to be perfect. I never want to fit into someone else’s vision of what I should be like/ dress like/ behave like.
I hope being more real, open and honest inspires you all to feel more comfortable in your own skin and minds on your yoga mat and in your everyday life’s. I welcome ALL of you into class as I welcome ALL of me.
Sending my love
Sarah
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