Delivering Happiness IV - Find Your Strengths and Stick to Them

All yogis are not created equal or to be more exact – we all have different talents and strengths. If you are good at teaching restorative classes and making people feel relaxed but find teaching advanced arm balancing filled classes agitating, don’t force yourself. With time, your students will have certain expectations of how they want to feel after your class if you change it every time in a very drastic way they might not be very happy. Some teachers are really good at pushing students’ limits and challenging them, while others have a gift to create serene environment with their voice and flow that will relax the most tense hedge fund guy out there. A few teachers can even artfully interlace philosophical wisdom into their classes without making it corny.

Question to Ponder: What are you especially good at? What comes to you naturally?

Example: Liz Mandarano is a great Vinyasa style teacher but she is particularly good at teaching Beginner/Basics Level classes. She loves seeing her students succeed and grow stronger, providing clear guidance and support while her students grow more confident. Pursuing her passion and developing her strength, she developed a 8 Part Beginner Series and a Beginner Series DVD. Each class builds on information and movements from the prior class allowing students to build strong foundations and providing a structure designed to maximize a general understanding of yoga’s physical and mental benefits. The next Beginner Series starts October 5th at Viva Vinyasa, a studio run by Adam David. Don’t miss out!

Ways to Implement Strengths Strategy: Pay attention to what naturally comes to you and develop it. If you are a wonderful story-teller but hate yelling at people, don’t force yourself to count out 30 breathes in planks in a military tone!

My Intention: This one is difficult for me because I still don’t know what I am best at and I keep trying different approaches to figure it out. So I intend to keep exploring and to ask friends and students for feedback more. Frequently, the outsiders have a lot clearer perspective of our strengths and weaknesses, we just need to create on open environment for them to be willing to share it. If you have taken my classes, what did you like the most and what in your opinion can be improved? Please be honest!