Share the Spirit of Gratitude
After I had volunteered to hold a little speech at our yoga graduation, I sat down and thought “Shit, why did I do this?” After all, I am the German girl – just if you wonder where the accent is from. What do I have to say here?
But then I noticed why I had wanted to do this: To thank all the amazing people in this room here to have joined this journey of becoming a yoga teacher with me. And wow – it has been a ride. It was so inspiring, exciting, beautiful, and at times overwhelming.
It was in the truest sense a creation of spirit. When I looked up spirit in latin I found that spiritus stands for energy, or as we yogis call it pranayama!
And what a spirit – energy – prana we shared as a group! It was so uplifting, strong and beautiful.
We learned so much as yoga students...
As students, we learned so much. We learned yoga asanas, cuing them, creating yoga classes, anatomy, yoga philosophy. But besides what you can read, write, and learn from books, we also learned to listen, to see each other, and to be completely present with each other. I don't think I will ever forget the moment, when I felt like I saw into Jennifer’s soul during one meditation and thought, "what a shining little star". In those moments, we were so vulnerable, so small, so hurtful. And then again, together in this shared spirit of openness, of willfulness to both grow and learn about ourselves and each other, we were so strong. We certainly grew a little bit every weekend we met. I was so often impressed by how brave we all were, too: Charley, you are so strong. You became my little inspiring Buddha. Thanks for that.
Beloved Yoganerds, thanks so much for this spirit, this prana – this path of transformation. I can say for myself, I have changed a lot and I am so happy, you have been on this journey with me.
And our teachers guided us lovingly
It would not have been possible without our yoga teachers. They helped us to both create and live this spirit. They fed us with knowledge – Laxman, thanks so much for all the sutra talking. As hard as it sometimes was to sit still and just listen, the sutras will certainly be with us for a long time. And PJ, besides allyour great organization skills, what will certainly stick with me most were your nidras. They are just the best: You got us so skillfully and gently into states close to ourselves, yet, you never lost us during these meditations. Thank you!
And yeah… Erik and Joy: You are the heart and soul of this place. You created this beautiful safe space to help us get more in touch with our true selves, our Purushas. You did it with an eternal smile, with all the joy and love you have to give. For me personally I can say, although arrived alone in the US three months ago, I never ever felt alone. Thank you, too!
I am very grateful that we shared this journey
In the truest spirit and energy of gratefulness, I am thanking everyone here for having been on this journey for me. Thanks for all the openness, the hugs, the frollocking, and thanks for being earnest, silent, and supportive, too. We gave each other space to be and to grow, which was amazing. I have never been in a class where I felt more safe, protected and supported!
Thanks for growing together and showing all your beautiful true Purushas every single weekend we met.
Let the beauty of what you love, be what you do.
Rumi
Yoga graduation YTT-200hr-Spring 2016
@Purusha Yoga Studio, San Francisco (05/15/2016)
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The journey of becoming a yoga teacher