I confess. My favorite part of yoga class is the end.
Wait, that didn't come out right.
What I mean to say is that my favorite part of teaching a yoga class is being witness to student transformation from the beginning of class to the end. Sometimes it's a subtle transformation, and sometimes it's profound.
Everyone carries different energy with them. Some people come into the room quiet, in total calm. Others come in bursting with enthusiasm for the day. More arrive chatting with their friends about last night's date or their plans for later in the day. Some, stressed out, rush in at the very last minute. Everyone's got their own life going on, you know?
But then the class starts. And their buzzing thoughts hang heavy in the air. And we breathe, pushing the thoughts away with each exhale. We set an intention. We begin to move. And something changes in the room. The energy of each person neutralizes and meshes together.
We work. We sweat. We laugh. Some of us fall. Some of us are deep in focus. Some of us are frustrated. Some of us have caught the yoga high. All of us are breathing.
And finally, I begin cueing for savasana - corpse pose. I walk around, essential oil on my hands, making the room smell faintly of whatever I've picked for the day - sweet orange, lemon, lavender. And I settle in, seated on my own mat, observing. A calm has washed over the people in the room. Sometimes their fingers flicker, a telltale sign that they're in the perfect space between awake and asleep.
And that flicker? That's my favorite part. That's what moves me. As a student, that's the sign of a great yoga class. It's what I yearn for. As a teacher, seeing it on others makes me want to work harder, design better sequences, learn and soak up as much as I can so I can do better work and help as many people as I can. I truly love what I do.
What is your favorite part of class?
PS- More yoga teacher confessions.