A Lesson in Wasted Energy

In my January blog, here's what I shared about teaching my first yoga class:

I taught my first yoga class at the Treetop Studio which was where I took my first yoga class when I visited Nosara. It felt like a full circle, a home coming! Instead of relaxing on the weekend, I "spotified" for the perfect yoga playlist, practiced the flow sequence over and over again until I got the timing down, and spent way more time and energy stressing over it than I needed to.

As soon as I stepped onto the mat at the front of the studio, everything just happens as it happens. Not perfect as I have practiced it in my mind, but rather it was better than I imagined it. Based on the class feedback, I think I found my yoga voice!

Last week, I taught my second yoga class. We couldn't just re-use the material as this class was a different type of yoga. For preparation this time, I decided to relax and trust that I embody the materials we learned. I simply closed my eyes and pictured the sequence, wrote down a few trigger words on a notepad, and then I tried to relax for the rest of the weekend by binge watching the newly released "Fuller House" on Netflix.

In the end, similar to my first experience, as soon as I stepped onto the mat at the front of the studio, everything just happens as it happens. Again, it went better than I imagined it!

My observations:

1. It is easier the second time around. I can't wait to see how much easier the third time would be!

2. Progress, Not Perfection! As Don says, "Planning is everything, but plans are useless!"

3. Expect Nothing. One evening when we were closing our session, a skunk ran past the studio. Startled, I let out a cry and then my next immediate reflex is to scream "Let's get the h*ll out of here!" right when the faculty was saying "Namaste." So I figure that as long as I don't use the H word in the middle of Namaste, I will consider my class a success. Without realizing it, your expectations may be undermining your happiness.

4. Being authentic is the best gift that we can share. Amazingly, the second class gave me the same feedback about my yoga voice as the first class, even though no one from my first class was in my second class. I'm learning that the best way to inspire others is to share who we are and what we know. So Ham = I am that I am.

5. A Lesson in Wasted Energy. The most interesting lesson to me when comparing the two teaching experiences is that as a planner, I use a lot of energy focusing on the future and worrying about every what-if's scenarios. Sometimes the energy is useful and positive, while other times, the energy is wasted given the end results are the same. By being mindful about where we direct our energy, we can have more space for other things to come into our lives.

Interestingly, when I was sharing this spiel on wasted energy (including over-sharing about my guilty pleasure of Fuller House) during a sharing session, I noticed that everyone who has already spoken is sitting in a relaxed and comfortable position, and meanwhile the rest of us who has yet to speak is sitting upright energetically and waiting for our turn. Isn't that interesting?