This really struck a cord with me since I so enjoy talking to my clients during private sessions and afterwards. I have found that I almost always run past the end time. Some days I admit, I run an half an hour too long (!). Taking care of my energy is crucial for my job and my well being, so I've been exploring as of late, the art of active listening. Instead of jumping into a conversation and trying to solve my client's dilemmas or "save them" from whatever issue they have, I've been truly practicing listening more, and in turn, the irony is that they get to hear themselves and they end up figuring out a bunch of stuff on their own. This has been so, so humbling to me, as one of my issues is that I desperately want to help others and even, dare I say, "save them." 

The humbling fact is that ultimately we are our own saviors. It truly is so humbling to listen to someone, without planning  the next witty comment, the next wise thing, to just listen with an open heart. If I feel the need to say something, well, that's great, but to also realize that all I can do as a teacher, as a friend, as a daughter, as a sister, as a girlfriend, is to create an atmosphere of love where people feel safe enough that they can hear for themselves what they are saying and then find the key for themselves. To step back and realize that it's not all up to me.

This SO applies to my teaching. 

How often I find I rush through a set of instructions without even seeing if the students need them?! 

Or continue with a set of instructions, parroting them, without checking first to see if they landed?

May I listen more, listen better: to my friends, to my students, to all my loved ones. May I listen to the change in seasons; to Mother Nature, to my intuition.

Theme: Listening

Principle of Alignment that I've been focusing on: None! Just showing up and seeing what the class as a group needs! 

Poses I've been working on: Arm balances; headstands; hip openers.

Anusara Poster Project Pose: Half Lotus