My Classes

Back in 2019 I started journaling. One of the podcasts I was hooked on recommended it as a mindfulness tool and as I was extremely keen to treat my anxiety, I gave it a try. I wrote everything starting from how I felt and where in my body I felt it; what made me feel upset, angry, uplifted; people that were adding value to my life, and those who drained my energy; why I love my job & how swimming was meditation before exercise; what I felt grateful for regardless of 3 in a row nights of insomnia & minimal energy. I understood the roots of my anxiety through being curious about my pain & my emotions & not being afraid to dip into my childhood. I asked myself a huge number of questions starting with 'why' & invested hours to investigate the answers. I didn't enjoy everything I found at the time, but it gave me a better vision of who I was. I asked for help from a psychotherapist, started complementing my yang yoga practice with yin, prioritised friendships & set some clear goals. Goals which involved self-improvement, not getting another teacher certificate or mastering a handstand (which in fact I still can't do without support). Goals which involved healing my emotions, helping people, improving relationships, and all in all becoming a better version of me.

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My journal was locked in a storage for 4 years and finding it was one of the best gifts I could make for myself. I reconnected with my dreams, struggles & tears of the time. I felt the pain & joy of releasing it through writing. I realised how much work I've done in the past few years, how many relationships I've mended & how much lighter I feel because I know myself better.

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Journaling is only one way of reflecting. We may find that conversations with our loved ones prompt us to notice things about ourselves, making observations during a walk in the nature can also serve a similar purpose. Reading profound quotes also aid in asking ourselves critical questions and figuring out our purpose in life.  

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When I teach my students languages, there is a part of the class called 'controlled practice' - that's when the student is trying to use 'fresh' language we've covered during the lesson through some exercises. Sometimes I give a student a choice - to take the time to think through it and structure their answers. Or to respond right away.The ultimate purpose of the former it is to minimise mistakes & build confidence gradually.

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The incredible discovery I've made over the past few years is that most students prefer to answer right away. Without taking the time to think and plan their answers, look at their mistakes and self-correct before they actually present their responses. 

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In yoga classes I observe a similar thing. We want to get into a headstand before we patiently build our core, arm muscle or practise balancing. We are eager to get into a split not knowing well the anatomy of our own body, so we attempt the pose because others do it, in order to satisfy our own ego or feed another exciting photo to our followers.

 

There is a positive element to being a fast doer - facing the challenge with confidence and not being afraid to fail. Not thinking too much about the consequences and encouraging ourselves to get out of the comfort zone. On the other hand, analysing my students' responses reminds me of how we live our lives on a daily basis, because at the end of the day whether we are in class or on the mat, our behaviour reflects what we are like while doing house chores, completing a project or spending time with our community.

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The pace of the current world is significantly favouring the speed & reaction, rather than inaction & response, doing rather than being. Sitting back and giving a bit of thought (and time!) to what's happening in our lives, how we feel, what our purpose in life is & how we want to achieve that next important goal is considered mainly a waste of time & effort.

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Same as in my classes, I believe in life a mixture of two is important - a good balance of acting promptly & slowing down when needed. 

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Why personal development benefits not only us?

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I love reading books that inspire me, listening to nourishing podcasts & having uplifting conversations with friends and strangers. The initial reason is always selfish - to educate myself, to make myself a better person, to get tips on how to improve my lifestyle. Though what I am noticing is that others benefit from all these 'selfish' goals as much as I do, because we are all connected. Navigating wisely through my emotions makes me a better listener and a more compassionate friend;  my conscious choice of eating more plant-based foods sourced locally results in healthier planet and connects me to people alike; my personal excitement to design a new yoga sequence converts into my students having a safe and fun practice.

 

Why is it important for a teacher to continue being a student?

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I consider personal improvement to be part of my yogi lifestyle. It's deeply routed in Yoga Sutras of Patanjali, Zen Practices, Stoic philosophy, which I all admire greatly. But more importantly it's the essence of peace & kindness which we are massively lacking in the current world. I also believe that if I want my students to learn, I must believe in the knowledge I share and try it out by myself. Being a language teacher I have to put myself through learning a foreign language to live through all the pain of grammatical pitfalls. Being a yoga teacher I have to attempt & see the benefits of the postures I encourage my students to do. I must carefully select material for my meditation and actively practise daily mindfulness myself if I invite my learners to be more aware.
 

What triggers a change?

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They say 'pain is our best teacher'. I agree! Ever since I started feeling the pain of ignorance & emotional immaturity, which hurt a lot of people including myself, I set myself off on a journey of continuous education & improvement. I think a lot of us start welcoming a change following some sort of discomfort whether physical or emotional. The tricky part is to not ignore it, but get alarmed, start investigating & be prepared to experience and not resist a different type of pain at start.

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Why is change difficult?

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Showing curiosity is the most difficult first step. Whether it's reading some profound stories, listening to striking first hand experiences or discovering the value of reflection through journaling. All are equally valuable & can bring about some tremendous transformation. But opening up to something that is the exact opposite of what we used to believe in is not easy. Unlearning voluntarily what feels familiar is extremely disturbing. It takes courage to let go off our ideas, start something from scratch & admit that we can be not very good at so many things. But once we are past that self-destroying mental chatter, let go off resistance and start changing the narrative to a more positive one, we feel free!

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What's then?

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Then we start to fail. And see teaching in that. It leads to even greater expansion of our personality. And then we reach the point where we want to shout it out to the rest of the world that it really does work. We feel selfish to have benefitted from all that content, hard work & improvements, so we feel responsible to pass all that on. 

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Once knowledge is shared it can pick up the same cycle - learning, practising and sharing again - which I believe is how we all grow and how we impact the world around us, hopefully, in a positive way. We help each other to be more aware and open-minded. We encourage each other to be more courageous, kinder and stronger. We show each other that a habit can be unlearnt and relationships can be mended. We build connections and create togetherness, because it makes us healthier and happier human beings.