To Every Monk,
There Is A Path.
For some, the path is yoga and in yoga the path may be chanting; for some it's asana; for others it's meditation. The point of the story is that there are several ways to climb the mountain and that's going to be unique to each of us. Around these parts I feel like people have only been introduced to one path: asana (postures). And after my time in India I made a commitment to myself and my community that I would teach authentically, from*the*heart, not just asana, but all the different paths...A well rounded person makes for a more open mind. I knew that along the way there would be people who didn't like the paths I was introducing and incorporating. I knew that there would be some people who loved it, and others who thought that I was crazy. But as I said, I made a commitment to honor the decision I made about teaching what's closest to my heart and what is so new and foreign to little South Jersey. Well, the other day it happened. One of my biggest fears. Someone hated what we were doing. And not just that, this person was so irritated that they got up and left in the middle of savasana as we were chanting. It threw me for a second. And then I was upset. And then I was slightly ticked off. And then I was hurt. And then I didn't care. Boom. A flurry of emotions in a matter of seconds. And then I took a breath in and out and all was good. We were chanting aum, all of us, while lying down in savasana. It was a continuous chant of aum for a few minutes as we were working on balancing our throat chakra. I definitely was asking people to come out of their comfort zone, but I was doing so in a fun way and in a safe and sacred space. It comes back to the saying "if you never try, you'll never know"...so I'm happy that some of you are open to trying. The gratifying bit is that after class I got a GREAT response from everyone else in class. They were ecstatic about all the new stuff that I added into class and even asked for more! In the end, you can't please everyone- and the first person that we need to please is ourselves. Authenticity, Authenticity, Authenticity. You can do no wrong when embracing your authentic nature. Blessings everyone!
But why are you making it sound like you had to reconcile some slight. This person left because they had a legitimate right to choose not to engage - this is no reflection on someone's capacity or incapacity as the case may to try new things. This just wasn't for them.
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