From Supervisor to (I hope trusted) Advisor

For the past 21 years, I have been in a long-term job with the title “Mom”.  Although the job description has changed over the years in many ways, that job has remained constant. Now, however, that job description has been completely rewritten. I have gone from being the decision-maker to being a consultant at best, and I no longer have the day to day responsibilities that I used to have. And without those responsibilities, how do I define myself? I am still a mom, yet what does that mean? What’s my role? What is my identity now? And just when I think that I have no more “Mom” responsibilities, I will get a message from one of my kids saying that they need help in one way or another. I am pulled back in briefly, only to be pushed away again as soon as they figure things out for themselves.I have been grappling with these questions for the past several months, and have felt like I am on very shaky ground.

Luckily, I have a business to run, and it is one which has provided me with another identity over the years as a Yoga teacher. This past weekend, I attended a weekend Svaroopa® Yoga workshop led by a colleague of mine, Addie Alex, in Holliston Mass. The workshop was called “Find the Unshakeable You” and as soon as I saw the title, I knew that I needed to be there. For me, the weekend clarified a lot of what I already knew as a Yoga teacher, but had been having trouble integrating into my life. What I realized was that my different jobs (being a Mom, or being a Yoga teacher), do not define me. The jobs are identities that may come and go, but underneath that is an unshakeable core that never really changes. During the weekend, I connected with that core in a very powerful way, and it has shifted how I view my life now. I am so grateful for my Yoga practice, which has enabled me to know that my true Self never changes, even though my job description has undergone a massive overhaul.

Students come to Yoga classes for a variety of reasons – usually because they have physical aches and pains, or they are feeling stressed and think Yoga will help them relax. Yoga does help with this, but what students often discover is that practicing Yoga brings them so much more. It is that connection with their true identity that keeps people coming back again and again. That is where the true power of Yoga lies.