The Biggest Thing I’ve Learned after 14.5 Years of Teaching Yoga

Last Sunday I had the pleasure of presenting on a panel at the Philadelphia Society of Psychoanalytic Psychologists brunch series to talk about alternate forms of healing.

It was pretty sweet to break down what I do and why I do it to a room full of psychologists. And definitely a first.

During that time I talked about a monthly event I do called The Yoga Music Experience.

This event appears to be pretty simple. People come to class, I play a particular artist for the entirety of the class and we sing and dance and have loads of fun.

But there is so much more that goes on in these classes. Honestly there is so much more that goes on in all of the classes I teach.

I’ve been teaching for almost 15 years and I’d say for the past 7 my classes have morphed into an experience that is equal parts fun, deeply therapeutic and vigorous.

I tap in when I teach. I read the room energetically. I receive information and go with it. I don’t question what my intuition tells me to do. I know I have enough experience to back it up.

So when I started teaching Funky Friday yoga classes years ago I knew it wasn’t just for fun. I knew it had a deeper meaning. But they never quite took off the way I knew they could.

Then I started teaching The Beyonce Yoga Experience back in July. I was SO excited to teach a class with Queen Bey.

I invited all of my friends and we went out to dinner after. It was fabulous.

And in these mini workshops I felt free to do whatever I wanted and so they’ve evolved naturally.

And every single thing I do has a purpose…

Like when I ask my students to sing as loud as they can, I’m giving them the space to be heard.

I’m providing a platform for their voices to shine, which I believe is one of our most powerful tools for change.

When I ask them to dance, I’m giving them the opportunity to be seen. To let go of the fears we all have of being judged when we are actually being truly ourselves.

I’m also giving them the space to explore what that actually looks like.

This took shape a few weeks ago when I taught the GAGA edition of the YME. This shit blew my mind.

During the dance party, I told them to be as weird as possible. To let go of what they think good dancing is and to get strange, get ugly- because that can actually be really beautiful.

And they totally did. We did.

There was this moment when Bad Romance was playing. You know when Lady Gaga is belting out “I don’t wanna be friends!!!!”

And we all dropped to our knees and starting pounding the floor as hard as we could and screaming the lyrics at the top of our lungs. It was amazing. It was primal. It was raw. 

After that class I had two psyche students come up to me and ask if I studied psychology. They wanted to incorporate some of what I did.

I also had a student write a very long comment on one of my Instagram posts. Here’s just a piece of it. I cried rivers when I read the entire thing. And then I read it 10 more times…

“I was going to tell you how great I felt after this class was over. However upon further reflection, I realized that this class will never be over for me. The things I learned in this class……. I cant even begin. For the first time in years I went to work out a drop of makeup on. I felt so radiant I didn’t want to cover myself in anyway. I felt and still feel absolutely divine. I felt myself becoming more present and more aware of myself.

The effects of the #beyonceyogaexperience will have some powerful ripple effects in my life. I can no longer fly through life on auto pilot in my safe zone. There is a whole world to see, people to meet, lessons to learn. I see the world through a new set of eyes. I am learning that fear of anything that stops me from being my fierce and fabulous self is only there because I let it be.

Wow. Just wow.

And yes, this isn’t for everyone, which is why I say everything we will be doing in this class in the descriptions.

But still I never know how powerful they will get or what exactly will transpired. All I know is that they seem to be getting deeper and deeper.

What I’ve learned after all these years of teaching is this…

If you give people a safe space to be seen and heard, if you make it ok for them to push their edge and step into discomfort because they trust that you will hold them to it and just plain hold them, then they will often go there. And the results are exquisite. 

I know this is a gift I have. I know that not everyone can do this. Because we all have different gifts. That’s how this thing called purpose works.

I’m sharing this with you because it does feel like a breakthrough. I feel like I’m finally owning this piece of myself and realizing more and more the profound affects what I do has on those that work with me.

It’s not bragging to acknowledge your gifts. How the hell can we share them properly if we can’t talk about them? If we can’t own them??

So I encourage you to consider the ways you make an impact on the world and the people in it.

I’m just really happy part of my contribution involves yoga and Beyonce.

I teach The Yoga Music Experience every 2nd Friday at Priya Hot Yoga. Next up is 4 Decades of Hip Hop.

I will also be teaching The Beyonce Yoga Experience at Namas Day April 21 and at the Rise Gathering Retreat May 18-20.

I hope you can be a part of the magic…

**Photo by Joe Longo Photography