Don’t Give Up On Your Lightning In a Bottle, Your Passion

when i first started teaching, i was a "hot mess", sweaty hands, nervous energy, confusing messages, mixing my left and my right...i sought as much advice as i could get. one thing was certain, i was not giving up, after each time i taught, i felt awake, it was like "lightning in a bottle" - totally electric. fear aside, i was sharing a piece of myself for the greater good, or so i hoped and wanted. one of the best pieces of advice that i got, that really i only began to understood in the last few years (and i have been teaching for 8 years this year!), was "don't worry about asana, the physical practice, focus on your intention, how do you want your students to leave your class? how do you want them to feel?". be mindful, the energy and emotions that you feel "inside", are not just "inside" to some people / most people in fact. you see, this is the part that technology, texting, emails, etc. cannot communicate - your intention, your true inner emotion, the energy that you radiate. this is where human intellect and human interaction steps in. allow yourself to be seen, a small, but meaningful piece of vulnerability. after all, it is the human element that connects us all - trust that if you share fears, mistakes (if you want to call them that), all the "bad:" things that you have done, whatever it is...the "right" people will look in your eyes and say "yup, i totes get it, and thank you for telling, because now, i love you even more".