I just came back from trying a new yoga class at my local Y. I like trying different classes; this one was late in the evening so I decided to leave Noy with our baby sitter and not bring her with me instead.
I got there a little earlier, the exercise hall was filled with people enjoying a Zumba class. After grooving to a Latin song ,they moved into a new rhythm..and Bora Dance (for the Israeli folk dancers who know this Line Dance ) came up. I smiled right away! But wait! This is not the big deal of today's blog :-)
Zumba was finally over. All of us waiting outside got in quickly and grabbed a spot, set our mats in place and smiled friendly at each other while waiting for the teacher to arrive.
I am always very curious to see who the teacher is, how she/he looks, the vibe I get from them and, let me confess my sin, being a teacher myself I am a little picky when it comes to liking teaching styles ;)
All of a sudden an annoyingly cute, blue eyed, red haired twenty-ish year old comes in, greets everyone while walking towards the sound system, hooks her i-pod, introduces herself and let us know that for the next hour there will be nothing but the present moment..(all of it with too much of a "young" lexical) and soft pop music in the background.
Oy vey! I thought ! After twenty plus years of practicing Yoga on and off; attending Pilates regularly as well..what is it that this "kid" is going to teach me? I was bummed in advance!
She started guiding us through challenging poses -some I can't remember doing ever before!- reminding us all the time that we have the ability to do whatever we put in our minds. She repeatedly said "You have the strength, you have power " "You are your own challenge and you know your body the best" "Stay in the moment".
I just want to share that I deserved a kick in my rear because this girl with her own style, led a class of more than fifteen people beautifully; she engaged all of us and made us focus in all the moves leading to a bigger challenge. Very precise, to the point and aware of how difficult what she was demanding from us was.
Moral: We can always be surprised and be taught. Wisdom applies to all ages. There is no gain in judging by the looks. How would I feel if I were labeled by my students the way I did with her? I still have much to walk in the path of life.
Need I say I am coming back to class next week? :-)
This is my favorite post so far - I am constantly relearning the lesson that you can't always tell who has lessons for you to learn!
ReplyDeleteGood for you that you were able to come around and appreciate it by the end - being open to changing your mind is a crucial and all-too-rare art!