Living My Passion
“The cave you fear to enter holds the treasure you seek. ”
Before I was a teacher, I was a student like many of you.
Not long ago I was asked by one of my students why I like to teach. It’s not the first time I’ve been asked this question. In fact, it comes up from time to time, but for me, my answer is always the same:
I teach because I love it.
I teach because I am still a student and I know what it feels like to be in that yucky place where you feel stuck, unsure what the next step is, but know you need to MOVE.
Transformation can happen in a squat, in a push-up, in child’s pose, or in Savasana. What happens from the beginning to the end of a class can change a person. It can give breath to a person who hasn’t been able to breath in who they are and who they’re capable of being .... in an instant.
Several years ago, during Yoga Teacher Training, I was a student learning how to teach Yoga. It was a 200-hour course, and we were about mid-way through the program. One day we were asked to practice teaching. We had to stand in front of the room and teach other fellow students.
I was dreading the day that I’d have to teach during Yoga Teacher Training. Then, it was my turn.
What many may not know, and what my teacher didn’t know, is that I have HUGE social anxiety. I don’t like standing in front of others and speaking, or performing, ... or teaching.
I gathered my notes, my water bottle, and my mat, and headed to the front of the class. My stomach was tied in knots and my knees were already shaking. With sweaty palms, I unrolled my mat and sat in child’s pose.
I froze.
I lost my words.
I was paralyzed with fear.
I started to shake and broke down in tears.
I was afraid that I was going to fail, forget my sequence, or even worse, forget my purpose. And I was, and still am, afraid of not being good enough, disappointing people, letting others down.
The difference between then and now isn’t that I don’t have those same fears. It’s not that my anxiety has left me. It’s still very much a part of what makes up the fabric of who I am.
The DIFFERENCE is now I have tools to deal with it. Tools that my teachers have helped me learn and incorporate into my everyday life.
I use the tools that my teachers, coaches and mentors have given me over the years, every single day. The amazing teachers I have had have shed light in the darkest of times. They have held belief in me when I didn’t hold it for myself. They have helped elevate me to higher levels.
Then, I realized that I want to do THAT. That’s why I teach.
When the student is ready, the teacher appears.
We’re in this together. Every class I teach and with every client I train, I want to help people see themselves WITHOUT ANY BAGS they carry.
I want to remind people of their inner POWER, their WORTHINESS to love and be loved.
I want to help people MOVE THROUGH THE STRUGGLE that is holding them back.
I want to help people find their VOICE.
Not everyone is a teacher, but we’re all students. We all have a daily practice. The teachers in my life have helped me hold grace for myself when I fail. They’ve helped me hold compassion for myself in times of struggle, and they’ve helped me find my witness in a sea of judge and jurors.
Are you ready to be the student?
Are you ready to stretch beyond your habits, your limitations, your boundaries?
Are you ready to transform?
If not now…When?
Jennifer Fujii
Inspired Fitness Training Center, Founder & Owner