3 REASONS WHY THERE CAN NEVER BE TOO MANY YOGA TEACHERS

In my previous article, “Mindset Alchemy: Shifting Fear and Feeling Inadequate as a Yoga Teacher,” I talked about how living and working in the online capitalist world can be hard for yoga teachers, both new and experienced. 

With so many advertisements placed before our eyes, and algorithms putting anyone ‘like us’ in our stream of consciousness on a daily basis, it can feel less like we are part of a community, more like a fight for survival, or competition for limited limelight.

Well, yogis, let's un-think again.  Come back to the wholeness that reminds us that the sun shines equally on us all and from within us all.

If you’re in the stage of feeling doubt about whether you have something special to offer this world, then I suggest you take a look at that last article and go through the journaling process to help shift some of the heaviness that can keep you stuck.  Once you come out the other side, it’s all about feeling a renewed sense of inspiration and positively excited about how much growth is actually taking place in humanity.  You can remind yourself how special it is to be a part of such a massive consciousness shift and have easy access to the tools you need for continual growth and transformation.

As a yoga teacher, there will be many times where the commercial aspects of teaching put a damper on your vision and ideas, but the light within doesn’t go out.  Although there are SO many reasons why being a yoga teacher is an amazing life choice, I’ve put together a few here to help you keep the fire alive when you’re feeling low.

Here are three reasons why there can never be too many yoga teachers, and why being ANOTHER yoga teacher is… Awesome!

1. You started the process for yourself - that’s where the magic begins.

The moment you came to your training you understood that yoga is so much more than physical exercise. You learned that we are whole beings, with body, mind, emotion and spirit all connected into every moment of each day. We inhabit this body and are given insight into our greatest potential as we learn how to listen and care for ourselves and others.

Remember those times where the burning desire to become ‘better,’ or ‘more,’ moved you to take action?  When being ‘sick and tired, of being sick and tired’ finally saw you step out of the house with the intention of committing to yourself?  Well, the journey isn’t over yet.  There will be countless days ahead where we need the tools learned through yoga to get onto the mediation cushion, to the mat, or tuned-in to spiritual insights to help us make sense of our experience, over and over again.  

Which means, if practicing yoga and teaching yoga are the commitments you’ve made to yourself, you have the gift of personal experience that you can refer back to over time and reconnect with your soul calling and share your motivational and inspiration tips with others.  Your path begins anew many times over, and there is expansion always yet to come.

If ever you feel that there’s just ‘too many people’ out there, remember that we are all here for a reason. Consciousness may be looking through 9.8 billion pairs of eyes, but the only way to experience wholeness is to look inside.

2. If you can lead others from a place of separation, fear, and judgment - this world needs you.  

It doesn't matter if you teach yoga classes in a gym, studio, or none at all!  Being yourself and having natural conversations with others about how your world view has been transformed, and opened through yoga is a compelling and effective way to teach yoga.  

Finding common threads amongst our differences is a way of actively engaging with yoga in real life.  Meeting someone where they are, seeing yourself in their shoes, looking for similarities rather than differences is compassion in action.  

You’ll be more likely to get someone interested in you and your yogic lifestyle when you can relate to one another.  This doesn't mean you have to agree with ideas and principles you don’t share, but learning how to listen without becoming defensive shows you are comfortable in your own skin, and that the conversation can move without becoming an argument.

The amazing skill of creating connection, true  communication, and peaceful acceptance is what the world has always needed, needs now, and will continue to need forevermore. Own that ability as a strength.

3. Without large scale participation global change is not possible.

It really is the case of, ‘the more the merrier!’  How crazy would it be if we said that there were ‘too many’ vegans?  What kind of effort would we be trying to make if long time vegans ‘poo-pooed’ newbies on their efforts to become vegan?  It just doesn't work.  Even though that seems to be a natural human inclination (to hate on the posers, wannabes, or newbies) when it comes to yoga, veganism, or any positive social effort being made, we need more and more people to get on board.

Now, I know it’s hard for people to get out of their own way, put aside the ego in order to blend in with ‘the new crowd’ that shakes up old ways, but get with the program.  We’re making changes not only for ourselves, but for everyone.  If you could make a bold statement about what you want for the future of humanity, and make one change in your own lifestyle to make it happen, then you can see why there have been people since the dawn of time that have sacrificed something (even their lives) for the greater good.  Here we are people, 2021, get those yoga pants on and we’ll warrior-lunge boldly into the future!