“Do your practice and ALL is coming!“ – Sri K. Pattabhi Jois
Many Yogis know and love that quote. Usually we just think of all the good things happening to us once we start practicing Yoga.
The daily practice comes with many benefits, such as physical strength and flexibility, improved stamina, creates discipline, leaves us radiating and in inner peace, relaxes and nourishes our body and soul.
But the quote doesn’t say: „All GOOD is coming“, but “ALL is coming”.
Everything we are, everything we carry around inside of us comes out – The good, the bad and the ugly:
Our impatience, our goal orientation, our frustration, the judgements we think about ourselves and the world around us, our laziness, the missing trust in our ability to master anything we strive to master, and of course the physical and emotional pains we don’t want to feel.
And that is were the potential for transformation of a Yoga practice lies if you follow the advice of the Yoga sutras and practice with dedication, consistently and for a long period of time.
By facing ALL that is coming, we adjust and fine-tune our awareness, we can acknowledge whatever is there, be with it, breathe through it and then let it go – the good AND the bad. Because both are not permanent. As we do that again and again, we become more and more unattached to the fluctuations of the mind and of life in general, simply resting within ourselves, able to take action and do what needs to be done, but without spilling all that energy for unnecessary fear and judgement.
The practice of teaching will also bring out all the good, the bad and the ugly
As we strive to teach Yoga, the same thing happens again – often even more intensely. The practice of teaching uncovers all of our conceived shortcomings. And as those become apparent, our mind gets ready to judge, accompanied by all the emotional pain that is stuck inside of us.
Insecurities that one has about themselves, their own practice and life lead to missing confidence about one’s ability to teach. The fear of not knowing enough, of not having all the answers, not being good enough, strong enough etc.
And as much as I think that we should only teach from experience, we don’t have to be constantly perfect, strong and knowledgeable. In fact, allowing ourselves to be clueless and unable can go a long way as long as we ask the right questions that lead us to where we want to go.
Also, it would be sad if we’d hold ourselves back in sharing this beautiful practice of Yoga due to negative judgement about ourselves.
So what do we do? Practice, practice, practice!
The only thing to get over that, to get though that dark tunnel is to work on yourself, to work through ALL that comes. To practice, gain more awareness, gain experience and confidence, grow on your own path, and always keep being a student first. Then, over a long period of consistent, dedicated practice, we will accept more what is – without judgement.
Having gone through your own challenges, having faced your own dark side, a teacher then rests within herself and remains calm while their student is in crisis. Not effected, but rather empathic, the teacher can provide the best support for the student.
