If you're not growing you're dying

That sounds morbid. I know! That's a Baron Baptiste saying and you know, he's right. Stagnation is the death of us.

I've been going through this evolution. For the longest time I saw myself in imposter syndrome. I went through a lot of pain and how I managed it was to teach the same thing over and over. I kept me in my comfort zone. However I wasn't growing. From my student's perspective I assume they found comfort in the predictability. That's how I built such a following. They knew I would always be there. Even when they wouldn't be there.

I also blurred the lines teacher/student. I always considered my student's my friends. Admittedly I would rely on them for validation as a Yoga teacher. After awhile that need would fade but I still wouldn't separate myself from my students. We went through so much together. I love them dearly!

2025 - 2026 has been instrumental in my growth as a teacher. I think I finally let all the walls down and let myself be seen. I also chose to see myself the way others see me. I accepted the continuous praise I received and I believed. Yes! I am a Yoga Teacher. And a damn good one. It's much more than just having a great playlist and flow. It was seeing students, speaking to the collective need and bringing everyone together.

I led a 50 hour Power Yoga Teacher Training and learned that teachers really trusted me. Next I invested in my own learning with the level one Journey into Power.

I don't know how this will land. I feel like I speak to people the same way that Baron speaks to people. Just on a smaller scale. If I'm wrong, I'm happy to be put in my place. I have no ego about it. To see if come back to leading JIP trainings in his 60s, I felt a few things. First I never thought I would ever practice with him like that. I thought he would retire. He spoke to me, engaged me and said my name. When I was so embarrassed about how I said "chaturanga", he replied " I thought it sounded pretty good." It didn't sound like bullshit. It sounded genuine and from the heart. OH MY GOD. This man has trained so many teachers in his lifetime and yet he made me feel seen. This is exactly the teacher I want to be.

Since this training, I stopped being afraid and I stopped going through the motions. I tuned in, paid attention to the students in front of me and intuitively adjusted. My classes were changing. I didn't know how my student's were feeling about this.

Something I'm known for are my playlists. I'm so in tuned with my playlists. It's not just a Yoga class, it's an experience. When I took Luca Richard's Power Yoga training in 2019, I stood and shared, I don't know how to teach without music. Side note, I also made the mistake of mispronouncing the Lancaster, PA. It's not Lan-Caster like the one in California. La(i)n-Cas-Ter, like the one in PA. Luca appreciated my vulnerability. A lot of teachers feel like that. We HIDE behind our playlists.

Lately the music is getting in the way. I actually have found that if there's no music I can give more like hands on assists. Music evokes emotion. Being an empath makes it exhausting to teach and hands on assist at the same time with a dope playlist with lyrics. I've been looking for playlists with drumbeats.

This past Friday I had the privilege to sub for Nathalie. I always feel honored when a teacher ask me to sub for them. It was a power hour which is my jam. I know Nathalie loves arm balances so I offered the foundational arm balance, crow pose. There were seven or eight in the class. Lots of room. No one took their feet off the ground. I was really surprised. No judgement of them. No judgement of Nathalie. Just opened my eyes.

I decided to go into the weekend with the theme from Eleanor Roosevelt "Do one thing everyday that scares you?" I've noticed that in my classes there are about a handful of people that do crow pose. Hmmm. This has the wheels turning. I, like clock work, when I teach will begin to cue crow. Drop in to squat and demo. Sure I can demo it but I can't see anyone when I do it. Am I letting my student's down? Am I letting our student's down? I'm the lead teacher and studio manager at Yogamour.

I understand the mechanics, I understand anatomy. Do I teach it well enough? Sunday I decided to go with side crow even though at this time my body can achieve the posture. I've done it, I have a picture.

Saturday night was a sleepless night. Lots of loud music at home. Typically my home issues make impactful classes. Anyway when I couldn't sleep I was scrolling through my phone and came across a post on Threads about Eleanor Roosevelt. How serendipitious. The post had 15 parts and had so much more depth than "Do one thing each day that scare you." I was up from 11pm - 4am and had to wake at 6am to teach to back to back hot classes.

I taught the 8:30am class with the intention of side crow. I've gotten away from the traditional Journey into Power sequence because it wouldn't support side crow. There were 30+ people in the room which didn't allow for the room for us to get into the posture. Once we came down to the opening sequence ( pigeon) I chose to read the Threads post. It wasn't planned. It had such an impact, I felt I wanted to share it. I probably took ten minutes to read.

After I got home I decided I needed to do better by my students and teach them how to practice arm balances and inversions. Not just cue them. We just happen to have space on the schedule this Saturday because it's the fourth of July. I also created a workbook to give them.

I also believe in my teaching enough to publish the workbook on my website.

Maybe that's what Baron meant when he said stagnation is the death of us. Growth isn't always dramatic. Sometimes it's deciding to teach one pose differently. Sometimes it's creating a workshop because your students deserve more than you've been giving them. Sometimes it's finally believing in your own work enough to share it with the world. That's the teacher I'm becoming, and for the first time in a long time, I'm excited to see where that journey leads.

I decided to make the Freedom to Fly workbook available as a digital download for anyone who wants to build confidence in arm balances and inversions, even if they can't attend the workshop.