Forever Student
I’ve always had a fascination for learning. Yep, I was totally that nerdy kid who got straight A’s when I was in school. I was also the quirky kid who explored all the unconventional stuff growing up. It’s probably because I was always a bit of an outsider when I first immigrated to the US and knew from a young age that it didn’t really matter what other people thought of me, all that mattered was what I connected to within myself. If you’re wondering from that sentence - yes, I was bullied and I’m lucky in that my experience made me stronger and recognize this belief even more. But, I digress. The comment about the offbeat stuff was really to say I’ve always had a curiosity to learn in every possible capacity. There are so many different ways to learn, endless subjects to learn about and, if you’re conscious enough, you can literally be learning something new every single day. Nothing is too small of a subject to gain knowledge from.
With respect to the yoga practice, I have found that the best teachers I’ve ever had the privilege to study under and practice with are the ones who consider themselves to be always learning with endless interest. As a yoga teacher, I personally learn so much more from my students than they could ever know. I often find it ironic that they feel like they are gathering vast information from me when they come to class or a session, but, in reality, I’m the one who gains further insight by being there for them. Yes, I absolutely do know about yoga philosophy, sequencing, asana, pranayama, spirituality, anatomy, etc, etc, etc and have my own point of view and teaching approach (how could I attempt to be an instructor if I didn’t?!). But, the beauty of what I’m talking about is the nuanced learning about human nature, personal intention and growth, as well as, honest curiosity about life. Recognizing this about my fellow humans is something that helps me cultivate further gratitude for the incredible (and difficult) work that is teaching yoga and the yoga practice itself.
I’m currently in the midst of a brilliant advanced 100hr teacher training with The Threesphysiyoga Method. If you haven’t heard of this group of super smart and fun physical therapists and yoga teachers, look them up. They bring an exciting approach to the yoga practice from the lens of PT’s who see injuries and rehab day in and day out. I’m not going to get into all the nitty gritty of the training, but I will say that I love how they are encouraging me (and all of my fellow trainees) to observe, reflect and approach our own teaching with renewed intention to help students and clients feel their own bodies, practice yoga and and optimize movements in a smarter, safer way. As someone who has sustained several injuries and rehabbed more times that I would have liked, I wish I could have had some of this knowledge before. But, all things are timed in life as they are meant to be. I’m still digesting the information and sprinkling what I can into my weekly classes and private sessions. I’ll probably write more about this once the training is completed because there is so much I could say.
In a beautiful contrast, earlier this fall I took a Ganja Yoga training with Dee Dussault, the first person in North America to publicly hold enhanced yoga classes 10 years ago. Dee is incredibly passionate about bringing together a community of yogis and non-yogis alike to reap the health benefits of both cannabis and yoga, blending together two practices that seamlessly compliment each other. Having battled many health issues throughout my life, cannabis has proved time and again to be one of the greatest, most potent medicines that my doctors could never prescribe, until now (in New York State cannabis is medically legal, but legislation is still on the table for adult recreational use - at time of writing this post). Yoga played an equally poignant part in helping me to heal and gain strength throughout the years. These two things always highlighted healthy living for me. I’m excited to see that the general public is finally wising up to the health benefits of cannabis (hello green rush!) and that yoga in the western world is being eaten up like the hottest new health food trend. All joking aside though, this training with Dee increased my own knowledge about cannabis-enhanced yoga and added to my toolbox on how to combine these two practices together to promote self-inquiry, relaxation, healthful living and connectedness for each person’s unique path to enlightenment. I have so much I would like to share about this and will likely write a separate post later (so that I don’t digress again).
These are just a few examples of how learning guides my daily life. As mentioned in the beginning of this post, I believe if you’re conscious enough you can learn something new every day. I find that I do when I’m attentive, connected and don’t fly through my days with goals, but rather with intention to soak up my surroundings. Learning is one of the greatest gifts in evolution because we humans have the ability to process thoughts and information in a concise way that other mammals cannot. My hope is that each of us stays conscious and curious enough to gain some new knowledge every single day and pass these tidbits of learning to future generations to improve, not only ourselves individually, but the global whole of human existence for the better. Please never stop learning and forever stay a student of magical thing called life.
Photo credit to Sean Scott Davis for Ganja Yoga and Dee Dussault, taken during our NYC Ganja Yoga training September 2019.