Do you remember when you started your practice, the calm, peaceful zen feeling you felt? How about the high you felt with your first yoga class, when your students all moved in accordance with your voice? How on earth then did you get to the point when overwhelm felt more familiar than zen and when stress came calling far more than peace?
Here’s the truth…when you take on a career, there is stress involved. And, when your career is also your passion it can feel like every decision is life changing, career changing and it’s even easier to throw yourself 110% into it all. Emotion makes reason harder to see. I spend a lot of time with Mind Body practitioners and passion defines them all. But, when they are trying to plan a lesson with one hand and define their yoga voice with the other, all while trying to decide if this career can really become full time, the only thing they’re encouraging is their stress level. Sound familiar?
Here’s the silver lining…you’re not alone. I’ve been there along with nearly every practitioner I’ve ever met. And, the best news is that with a few tweaks, that inner peace you used to feel can start to be the dominant feeling in your practice, rather than that thing you used to do.
- Take one full day off each week: When I first started teaching, I taught at least ten hours a day five days a week, on most Saturday mornings and Sundays when a client needed me. This lasted exactly fifteen months before I looked in the mirror one morning and didn’t recognize the exhausted person staring back at me. The only answer I could see was that I needed time totally away from work. A day of rest is not new advice. It’s been practiced since ancient times as a period of renewal, a chance to embrace the abundance we’ve been given. So perhaps the first step in regaining your peace, is step away, take a deep breath and break that you not only deserve…that you need.
- Replenish your passion: You love this career, at least until you’ve worked yourself to the bone. And, when you don’t love your teaching practice, your clients can see it. You don’t need to teach every class that comes your way. In fact, as you grow as a teacher and more opportunities emerge, you’ll need to learn to say no far more than you’ll get to say yes. And, when you say yes, you’ll do it because it’s such a good opportunity that aligns with everything you believe that you can’t imagine doing anything else. That my friend, is when you’ve replenished your passion.
- Reconnect with the necessities: Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Technology whose name has yet to be invented, but which will sweep through my inbox in the next week….these can seem like absolute must haves. How on earth can I live without sharing every detail with my clients. Worse yet, will they know who I am, who my brand is without this? {Reality} There is only one necessity and it’s your relationship with your clients. Social media is an amazing way to develop that relationship, but only if it’s done well. Choose one, yes only one, form of social media and dive in. Make sure you love it. If you’re a video fiend, post away on Instagram. If 140 letters or less makes your heart sing, leap onto Twitter. Share with your clients where they can find you and why you’ve chosen that platform to connect with them. It may offer them the grace they need to let go of a few of surplus items in their own life…wouldn’t that be an awesome teaching moment?
I can’t wait to see what you do to turn your passion into reality! Email us at hello@lisekuecker.com and share your story, connect with us on Instagram and Facebook and sign up for the Kismet Club where we share our biggest and best ideas!
