I've been working on leveling up my yoga teaching skills recently. I would say it started with Leandra's "Lizard Tail" class, but I didn't start putting concept into creation until I received constructive feedback from my friend Julie Bergfeld after she took my class via Zoom on 8/25/2020. Essentially her feedback was that I should use student's names and be specific on who I am speaking to, it would be helpful if I had a specific theme, and what I spoke to was good, but was enough for two classes worth and I should leave more space (less instructing, more holding space). Her feedback was accurate and helped me get real with how I was holding the container for the students to have a yoga practice. I'd been winging it, waiting for inspiration to hit me with what I could/should speak to during the class. I began deconstructing Leandra's Lizard class, looking for a pattern to work from in order to lead more powerfully.

Julie took my class again on 9/26/2020 and by then I'd themed twelve classes in Leandra's styling & the theme for the class that night was "using resistance as a catalyst for growth". Julie's feedback for me after this class was she wanted to hear more from my share (I'd cut it short) and I say 'good' without directing the encouragement to a specific person.

Luca Richards held a Grow Tips Live webinar on  9/9 on the "The Shape of Sharing" which was all about theming a yoga class powerfully. It took me a while to digest what Luca covered in his webinar, but I began to put it into action in the class on 10/7. Simplifying the theme of the class to a single concept or single word has been my biggest challenge. I started out with "unconditional self-acceptance" and have whittled class themes down to justice, love, connection and gratitude.

This is a mountain with no top. As with everything in life, the only constant is change and as I grow and change how I hold the container of a yoga class, I'm able to look back at the classes I've recorded (especially the videos classes) and see pivotal points in the work that I've been doing to grow as a Baptiste yoga teacher. I'm grateful that video recording your classes was required at the time I was seeking Baptiste certification. I have mile markers that show me messy, hiding and awkward. The first video I made was way back in December of 2016, four months after attending Level One.

In 2017 I was recording classes to apply for Baptiste certification and receive feedback for how my teaching was landing. Messy, awkward, all the cues. First attempt, second attempt and a full class of YTT students I led the same day as the second attempt video. 

Fast forward to June of 2018, I had the opportunity to lead Sunday yoga at the Tampa Lululemon store and I setup the camera to record the 10/31 class at All Y'All Yoga because C. S. Hoback commented on one of my audio classes on YouTube and asked for a new video class. 

Luca says that leading yoga classes is not about you the teacher, it is about the students. Holding the container of the studio space (in person or over Zoom) is all about the students' experience. I'm able to hold the container more clearly as I leave more space, less teaching, more sharing from the space of "I" in a way that creates connection and triumph for everyone listening.

What does all of this mean? It means I'm committed to showing up fully for you. I am committed to honoring and respecting your practice and I am committed to putting my attention on creating more connection.

If you are a yoga teacher and are interested in one-on-one coaching, reach out to Julie or Luca. You'll be glad you did.

Learn to Release Old Toxins 

Just as splinters can get embedded in our body, old emotions and beliefs can act like toxins and become embedded in us, too. We may have picked up residue along the way—beliefs we didn’t consciously choose, feelings we weren’t safe enough to feel, toxins from the world around us.
Now is a time of cleansing. Now is the time to heal your body and emotions, your mind and soul.
What beliefs and emotions do you need to heal? Look around at your life right now. What are you thinking? What are you talking about? What issues are cropping up in your life? Who are you talking about? What are you remembering? Who has come back into your life? What hurts? Is that feeling familiar? When have you felt it before?
Once you’ve identified what you’re feeling and thinking, release it. Let the energy go. Let it leave your body. You can chatter all you want about what’s going on with you, but that doesn’t release the energy from your system anymore than talking about a splinter takes it out. Sometimes the process will sting just a bit when you pull out the splinter. But don’t worry. It won’t hurt for long. And soon you’ll feel better than you’ve felt in a long while.
Often the process of releasing old toxins can be as gentle and natural as the way a flower or tree grows with sunshine and rain, a bit of fertile soil, and a little pruning and weeding.
Growth can be gentle now. Growth
can be fun. Breathe in new air. Breathe
in new energy. Exhale the past, its feelings,
beliefs, and toxins. Let it go. Let
yourself be transformed.

Change Is in the Air

Just as the world around us changes and evolves, so do the circumstances and situations in our lives. We live in a universe that is alive, vibrant, and constantly evolving. Change is the way nature, the universe, and the Divine move us through each period of our lives and into destiny. We are led to our next lesson, our next adventure. There’s no need to deny change, to fear it or fight against it. Change is inevitable. Just as the earth is constant motion and transformation, so are we.
Take your place in the universal dance, the universal rhythm. Allow change to happen. Work with it as your life unfolds. Sometimes change comes in one smashing moment like a volcanic eruption. Other times it happens more slowly, the way the winds and rain sculpt bridges out of canyons.
Learn to trust your body—its signs, signals, warnings, and excited proclamations. We let the gathering clouds warn us of impending storms, and we learn to study and predict tremors in the earth. In much the same way, our body can function as a barometer for our soul and its place in the constantly changing and evolving universe.
You are open now, more sensitive than you’ve been before. Change is coming. It’s here. You can feel it in the air. You can feel it in yourself.
Thank your body for helping you.

Thank the universe for what it is about
to do. Then thank God because change
will bring you closer to love.”

Remember the Sun - Madison Taylor from DailyOM

If darkness has fallen, we know that the sun is still shining at this very moment somewhere not too far away.
There are times when gloom or darkness causes us to momentarily lose sight of the light. Although it is at these times when the thought of the sun can help us. Its warm, glowing rays brighten even our thoughts, and it's good to remember that despite appearances the sun is shining right now. We may not be able to see it at this very moment, but if clouds block our view, they are only filtering the sun's light temporarily. If darkness has fallen, we know that the sun is still shining at this very moment somewhere not too far away, and it's only a matter of time before it will shine on us again.

When we remember that the sun is still shining, we know that things are still in motion in the universe. Even if life feels like it is at a standstill, sometimes all we need to do is have faith and wait for the time when everything is in its perfect place. Or we can we can choose to follow the cues of the sun and continue doing our work and shining our light, even when we can't yet see results. In doing so we exercise our patience, making sure we are prepared when opportunity knocks and all other elements are in their right and perfect places.

The sun also reminds us that our own shining truth is never extinguished. Our light shines within us at all times, no matter what else occurs around us. Though the sun gives us daily proof of its existence, sometimes our belief in our own light requires more time. If we think back, however, we can find moments when it showed itself and trust that we will see it again. Like the sun, our light is the energy that connects us to the movements of the universe and the cycles of life and is present at all times, whether we feel its glow or not.

Get Back in Your Body 

Whenever you find yourself drifting away, losing touch with yourself, jumping from the present moment to some far-off point in the future, get back in your body. Instinctively, when we become afraid or find ourselves in a painful situation, we may leave our bodies temporarily. We may shut down, move our consciousness out, abandon or ignore ourselves. Sometimes, it’s natural to go numb, to just go through the motions until things calm down. It’s easier than feeling. But shutting down our bodies and emotions—disappearing—as a way of life won’t get us where we’re going—to the heart. Living with an open heart means we stay present for ourselves and feel as much as we can, as much as we need to. We feel the feelings that come our way. You are safe now. You know how to own your power. You know how to lovingly care for and nurture yourself. You know how to trust God and the universe to help you. You know you can trust yourself. You are safe now, safe enough to feel. Deliberately, consciously, get back in your body. Feel your feet, head, arms, legs. Feel your heart; listen to it beat. Rub your shoulders. Massage your feet. You’re powerful now, and powerfully connected to
yourself. Get back in your body. Come back to life.

The Grass Is Always Greener: Finding The Joy You Have - The Daily OM by Madisyn Taylor Not one life goes by in which there is not the search for joy and happiness. It is unfortunate, however, that people so often believe that the search will be entirely fulfilled by finding the perfect job, acquiring some new gadget, losing weight, or maintaining an image. The problem inherent in looking outward for sources of happiness is that focusing on what you don't have or what you aren't inevitably leads to unhappiness. It is easy to get caught up in your desires and to ignore the sources of joy and growth already present in your life. It is said that the grass is always greener on the other side of the fence. When you have stopped comparing yourself and your assets to others, you'll be able to recognize that to others, you are on the "green side." Learning to live in the moment and to enjoy your personal lot can be a source of profound contentment. Start by recognizing what you have. Make a list of one hundred reasons you have to be thankful, even if they seem like small things. Our emotions are based on our perspectives. Try to envision a circumstance wherein your reasons to be thankful feel important. Then apply that perspective. Joy and satisfaction must come from the inside. Many people feel very sincerely that a different circumstance, financial situation, or wardrobe would bring them happiness, only to find out when they have achieved their goal that they feel the same as they did before. Accepting your current circumstances and embracing them, rather than expending energy on negative thinking, will help you overcome obstacles and enact changes naturally. The happier you are, the more you will be able to make the positive changes that really matter. Unhappiness inspired by what you don't have is easy to overcome when you open your eyes to the wonderful things already present in your life. Remember that joy is a state of mind and it is pointless to sacrifice the happiness of today for a set of possibilities that may or may not come to be.