Tamara Y. Jeffries
It is better to follow your own dharma, however imperfectly, than to assume the dharma of another, however successfully. –Bhagavad Gita 3.35
I love the yoga community that has grown up around the Sharing, Accessible, Free flowing, Energy (S.A.F.E) Yoga offerings. The sense of connection and community is palpable. It’s the best part of my Saturdays. But when the team in Greensboro invited me to join the teaching roster, I declined. At the time, I was working at Yoga Journal, so my mind was on yoga all day, every day. When I logged off, I wanted my practice to be just for me.
That’s what I said, anyway.
The truth is I was thoroughly intimidated to join the team. The S.A.F.E. team is a fantastic group of teachers—each one bringing a unique vibe and perspective. I couldn’t match Sation’s gentle Yin or Milanda’s choreographer’s flow. Andi plays singing bowls for goodness sake. Georgie is just an icon. I couldn’t compete with all that.
Of course I know that the idea of competition is completely counter to the purpose of yoga practice. I am human, though, and my insecurities rise up and show themselves despite, or maybe because of, a yoga practice that has spanned more than three decades. When I teach, I want to share safe instruction, honest information, and helpful suggestions rooted in yoga’s proven traditions.
But my hesitation wasn’t because I couldn’t teach the things that were important to me. I was just too busy comparing my offering to the teaching gifts of the people I admired and followed.
I had to remind myself that yoga is a deeply personal practice. Even when we are participating in the same class, everyone’s time on the mat is different. The same must be true for teaching. Each teacher brings what they have to offer–and each offering is a unique gift to the people who receive it.
One day it occurred to me to lean into what I’ve been given: Iyengar-based training rooted in alignment and anatomy. Experience as a journalist and professor who is always looking for the facts to back things up. Someone whose practice began as an attempt to get my body into some weird, twisty poses, and has evolved to an embodied practice that helps inform the way I try to move in the world. I am a particular person with a particular history in a particular body. I bring all that to my practice. I realized I should be bringing all that to my teaching.
So I braved up to offer my services to the S.A.F.E. Yoga team. And when I stood in front of my first class, I did so less focused on bringing what I know, and more focused on bringing who I am.
The shift in perspective has made me a more confident teacher. I’m giving all I’ve got–and I trust that’s what is needed. When I stand in front of the class as myself, the connection I feel with the other people in the room is palpable. My classes aren’t better than anyone else’s; they’re just the best of me.
Tamara Jeffries completed yoga teacher training at Triad Yoga Institute in 2013. She taught the first for-credit yoga course at Bennett College, and at Rise and Flow Yoga in Greensboro. A former senior editor at Yoga Journal, she is also a member of the advisory board of the Black Yoga Teachers Alliance.